Klipsch Custom-3 earphones: High-end sound isolators

When you think of earphones, you might think of Sennheiser, Etymotic or Shure. The name that won't immediately jump out at you like a lame plastic corpse on a ghost train is Klipsch. Quite justified you'd be too -- Klipsch is best known for its loudspeakers. But there are three pairs of sound-isolating earphones hitting the market from the company, starting with the Custom-1, going up to the Custom-2 and -- would you Adam and Eve it? -- the Custom-3.

As sound-isolators, they'll let you keep the volume of your music player down by blocking out external noise. All three models offer this handy feature, but the ones we're most interested in are the Custom-3s. The top model incorporates two drivers: a woofer and a separate tweeter. This is much like the Shure SE420s, another great pair of sound-isolators, but one woofer less than the flagship SE530s.

Klipsch claims you'll get double-plus comfort and the "'live on stage' euphoria only Klipsch can provide". Well, we'll see -- there's some stellar competition out there in the high-end sound-isolator world. We'll be getting all three models in for full reviews within the next week, so check back for our first 'ears-on' report.

If you want to shell out some pounds beforehand, you'll be looking at about £200 for the Custom-3s, £150 for the Custom-2s and around £100 for the Custom-1s. All three models are on sale now and we must admit we're very excited to hear our first Klipsch earphone. -Nate Lanxon

Update: Read our full Klipsch Custom-3 earphones review.

PermaLink

Email this

Comments (1)

RELATED REVIEWS

Klipsch Custom-3 earphones

Comments

AnonymousFri 27 June, 2008 1:14pm

I purchased the Klipsch Custom 3 earphones about 2 weeks ago, after reading the reviews in the press. I have to say that I have a perfectly good pair of Shure E4C earphones, that I have been using for that last few years, but from what the magazine reviews were saying, the Custom 3's were supposed to be outstanding. I have to say that I am very critical about my sounds (the majority of the music I listen to is recorded in lossless files) so the magazine reviews had tempted me enough to order a set and judge for myself.

Upon receipt, I took the Custom 3's out of their packaging and tried them out, quickly finding that the large gel inserts were the best fit for me. The comfort of wearing the in-ear type of earphones plays a large part in the enjoyment of using them. In this respect, I can say that the Custom 3's are extremely comfortable. I think this is down to the very flexible and soft material that the gels are made from and also the overall light weight of the earphones and cable. By comparison, I always found that the Shure earphones, once fitted placed a lot more pressure on my ear to keep them in place. The Custom 3's really do feel like they are almost not there at all.

On my first listen to the Custom 3's my thoughts were that the sound was pretty good with lots of potential. I say this as all new electrical components require a bit of time to bed in to a point where they reach their full potential. Over a period of 2 hours the Custom 3's settled down and the base started to come through better. It became deeper and cleaner and the highs played in tune.

By comparison to the Shure E4C's that I have been using for a few years, the Custom'3s have a warmer and smoother sound with much richer bass presence. The music appears to be presented in an effortless manner, which makes it easier and more enjoyable to listen to. Overall, I am very happy with my new purchase and imagine that anyone else buying the Custom 3 earphones will be as well. The only caveat to that is that I expect that everyone's ears are unique and peoples tastes differ so therefore I expect that most people will be very happy with the Custom 3's and some will have a personal reason for not liking them.

If I were to be picky, I would say that I do not like the carry case that comes with the Custom 3's, its large and bulky and the material it is made from has an unpleasant burnt rubber type smell. I have to say that the Shure carry cases are much nicer, but hey, I didn't buy the Custom 3's for the carry case.

The paperwork which came with the Custom 3's offers free new gels if the product is registered with Klipsch. I duly registered them online with Kilpsch and the new gels arrived in the post to the UK within 3 days.

It is now two weeks on I am very impressed with the Custom 3's and cannot fault them. I can't wait to enjoy them on holiday in a weeks time.

Callum
Scotland