We recently had the opportunity to tour
Klipsch's headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, and while we're currently working up a walk-through showing off gobs of behind the scenes footage from the design lab and quality assurance facilities, we gathered two particularly juicy tidbits that simply couldn't wait. The outfit informed us that since the
Image S4i earbuds have been such a success, it will soon be adding its three-button iPhone microphone / remote to the top-of-the-line
Image X10, and as you may expect, the resulting product will go by the name Image X10i. They'll officially debut in the same gold and black motif at CES, and they
should ship to consumers in early 2010 for $349 (while the original X10 will remain at $349). The other discovery was that the hot-selling S4i earbuds (which we
tested out a few months ago) will soon be shipping in a fresh color scheme (black and white, as seen above) and with the same metal tin that the
S4 currently ships with. This is actually the first third-party headphone set with an integrated Made for iPhone remote / microphone that Cupertino has agreed to sell in white, and we can safely say that this two-tone look will probably have the Apple zealots drooling. Everything else about the $99 set remains the same as the standard S4i (including the cable material, electronics and price), and while we couldn't confirm, we'd say that chances are high for future color options to sneak out in the S4 / S4i range. Check out the new wares in the gallery below.
Update: The S4 earbuds will also ship in the black and white color scheme pictured above.
posted December 20th 2009 7:24AM
350$... for in-ears...
another overpriced accessory for the iPhone...
@Sphynx Another hater? Ever look at IEMs prices from Shure, etc? Those are for any audio device, not just for iPhone.
@pika2000
the Shures are more expensive - so what? Didn't say they are not overpriced... imho 350$ for some in-ears is slightly too much.
But hey, if you got the money... go for it.
@Sphynx
Not all headphones are created equally.
@Sphynx
Actually, you can get the Shure SE530 for less than $260 on Amazon. Awesome deal IMO for a IEM which was over $500 an year ago.
The s4i's have got great reviews, I would of brought them but the cheapest I could find them is £80, which is too much for me
@naz
Try Apple's "Dual Driver In Ear Monitor" [aka ADDIEM], they're pretty good. You can find 'em on eBay for around £40, or in the Apple store for about £60.
@DestrictoEnse I've actually heard good things about the Apple dual-driver model, as long as you keep them away from moist areas, or don't sweat on them.
@Branhower
Yeah, the latests models are a great improvement on the cruddy ice-cream cone model.
I'd only pay that much for earbuds if they were unbreakable.
S4s have sibilance issues. Get Etymotic Hf2s if you must have an iPhone headset... otherwise Head-Direct RE0s kick both their asses, as well as the X10s.
Also, Etymotic are releasing an in-line remote model of the Hf2 (Hf3) at CES, which was announced on iLounge ages ago. Well done on being up to date.
/head-fi
So now headphones come in two major flavors? iPhone and normal? That's strange.
@HardToBelieve
The inline remote has to interface with the phone software so in this case the iPhone tag isn't just search engine spam.
@(Unverified)
I see. Makes sense now. But now it's like that iPhone is it's own culture.
What the frack, $349 - who's gonna pay that!?
@tap profit funnel
Some one who likes to listen to music instead of wasting time dloading stoopid apps?
@egress63
They wouldn't have an iPhone then if they really like music.
Nice looking headphones and I think Klipsch are great. But for that amount of money, i'd like to purchase a new pair of Bluetooth stereo headsets.
I just ordered a pair of the Klipsch Image 4i headphones (which come in black) and am looking forward to using them, but I realize that a lot of people still don't understand why these headphones are appealing specifically to iPhone 3Gs users. The reason is the iPhone 3Gs' Voice Control feature, which is not available in older models of that product.
Apple has a special Made for iPhone remote / microphone controller which must reside inside a remote control in order to allow full voice control of the device. With this special inline remote you can initiate telephone calls or play music hands free. At this point, as far as I've been able to determine, there are only three manufacturers who offer products with this feature: Apple, Klipsch, and Shure (prices scaling lowest to highest respectively).
I have and love the S4's though I recently destroyed a pair but klipsch still sent me another new pair. You have to let them burn in for a little bit though as when I got my new pair they didn't sound at all like I remembered them and the bass and treble were weird. Now they sound as amazing as ever.
There quite probably is an "iPhone tax" on these, however there are plenty of expensive earphones out there for similar amounts. As has already been mentioned, Shure and Etymotic do earphones for more than this.
I have a pair of "mid range" Etymotic ER6s, which cost £80 ($200 at time of purchase), and you do notice a difference over cheaper earphones. The sound is 'brighter' and more rounded. The sound reproduction from the original recording will also be much closer.
@cherryboom
Those $23 dollar headphones that you bought probably weren't engineered very well and probably sound like shit. These headphones are way above those in terms of sound quality.
forgot to tell:
Product only sold in Abu Dhabi xd
now, about the audio quality of the ipod t/iphone...
@furquanatique
I don't know why people bag on the iPod sound quality so much. PCWorld.com has lab tests proving that the iPod Touch and iPod Nano 5th Gen are still two of the best-in-class portable audio players in terms of audio quality.
I can also say that the iTouch has pretty good quality from my own experience. I went from using a 1st gen iPod shuffle, to using my cell phone, to a 2nd gen iPod shuffle, to a Sansa Fuze, and then to a 2nd gen iPod Touch all within the last year and a half. I liked my old shuffle, but it had only 512 MB of space. I got a 2nd Gen Shuffle when I noticed how horrible the signal to noise ratio of my cell phone was. After plugging in my Senheissers to my HP HDX 16t, I was wowed by the sound quality of it, and decided to get a higher class MP3 player. I decided on a Sansa Fuze because it could play FLAC, but the performance on it sucked since it would lag horribly between songs, so I went back to my 2nd gen shuffle. And now I have a 2nd gen iPod Touch, which I love, and it matches/surpasses the sound quality of my laptop, except there's no random noise from all the extra electrical circuitry in a laptop.
I'm no audiophile, but I do love great quality music, and the iPod Touch delivers in my opinion.
anyone know if the S4i's will work properly (with remote call control etc) for the Droid?
@deancollins I don't know for sure, but I would guess not.
Older iPhone compatible headsets with only a single button tend to work on all phones with a 3.5mm jack. However, the s4i uses the new iPhone remote with the volume buttons as well. These aren't compatible with other devices, in general.
I'd highly suggest the Etymotic hf2, however. They work perfectly with my Palm Pre, and should work great on the Droid as well. Not only that, but they sound great.
no mute button on the headset to mute the mic = worthless headset
I just bought these after owning several other popular in ears made for the iPhone. I really love them and in addition to sounding great and having one of the only non Apple 3GS compatible remotes on the market, they are really comfortable, resolving a problem I've had with my last few sets.
The shape of the earpiece is oval instead of round, letting me go a size up from my normal "medium." It sits in my ear very comfortably and does a nice job of creating a seal which is essential with these kinds of headphones when making a seal.
I also really like the build quality. Hopefully I feel the same way in a year or two, but they seem like they are of a much higher build than they last few I bought in the $50-70 range. The included two year warranty is nice peace of mind as well given that there simply is not another pair of $99 earbuds that go longer than a year. Now I just need to not lose these like I do all my other buds.
@thinkthis
I meant to write:
...which is essential with these kinds of headphones [if you want bass]
so what makes this thing so special is it the 3.5mm jack whit 3 parts to it or is it connected to apples usb thing. i"m betting i could get this to work in a couple of other players to and use the mic, but i would probably get the monster turbines or the bets by Dr. Dre tours instead(the only way i will ever get ear buds for 500 is if they show me that a half tone truck can drive over them and still work perfectly!)
Sony Ericsson X10? no?
Boy am I glad I didn't get the S4is already because this new color scheme is smokin'!
Can't wait to get these:)
@BeeQAL
umm, $250 for a new color scheme? Or are you not happy with the sound quality of the s4's?
gah, just noticed new colors for the s4 AS WELL as the x10i being released. oops.
@cherryboom
yeah but your $23 headphones suck ass, are uncomfortable, and you're still getting raped for them 'cause they cost $0.50 to make. Also they don't block ambient noise on the airplane, and i can't use 'em under a motorcycle helmet.
I think I'll have to buy a set of the s4i -- but I like the black better than the white.
I have been thru 2 sets of Shure e2s and mostly loved them, but both pair have failed at the stress relief at the plug. One lasted 1 year (replaced under warranty) and the replacements lasted 5 years. I'm just a bit leery of spending the cash again if I know they're gonna fail.
I bought some Sennheiser CX300s for $20 on Amazon 'cause I figured I couldn't lose at that price. They sound great, but tangle incessantly, I don't like the unequal length cord design, and they're damn near impossible to seal in my ears even with the largest tips.
Cool to see the s4i at the $100 pricepoint. Perfect for the gym, travel, and under the motorcycle helmet. I definitely want the volume/track control on the cord, and its nice to have the mic every once in awhile -- a good 'freebie' feature.
These prices are a joke!
@UnixSystemsEngineer What headphones do you use when riding? I've wanted to try this (when spring comes around), but I don't have any earbuds that would block out the wind well. I've been curious how the S4s would fit. What type of helmet do you wear?
Absolutely hilarious, for the pretentious at heart. Honestly that much for a pair of ear cups these guys are jokers ! LOL
Good luck to the suckaz out there who buy these things
How is the headphone amp quality on an iPhone? If it's anything like the ones Apple uses on MacBook Pros (or just about any other consumer electronic equipment out there) I little point in spending this much dough on such high quality 'phones unless you've got a good headphone amp.
I own (and love) a pair of The Image headphones. They are so accurate they reveal all the flaws of garden-variety headphone outputs: noise, harsh treble, weak or flabby bass. Plug these into a real headphone amp and the difference is not subtle. It's more like "WOW, I never realized this song could sound so good." Even with MP3s.
When is soon? I have been thinking about buying the S4i for a while but now that they will be made in white, it's a no brainer :-)