Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones Review

Hypothetical situation. Let’s say you have some loud neighbors, hypothetically two of them, that sit on their back porch all hours of the day and hypothetically rant about politics and life in a drunk, nonsensical manner. They have all the answers. If only….if only they could bring themselves to sobriety long enough to instill their knowledge to the masses, we all could be in a tranquil utopia.

Also, why does one of them hypothetically sound like a retired ex-mafia hitman from a foreign country? Who does he scream at on the phone during all hours of the day? Is he onto me? One must know the answers to these questions. In the meantime, let’s see if I can hypothetically drown them both out with the Klipsch Image S4 Headphones.

BUILD QUALITY/INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

The Klipsch S4’s are about 53 inches long and come with a tin protective case and three sizes of washable ear tips. You’ll notice right away that the angled nozzles on each in-ear headphone are quite long and will extend into your ear, but the ear tips give you more than enough protection and comfort. The plastic encasement for each headphone seems to be of high quality and not just some cheap mold that could easily break. The cords are a bit on the thin side, but that’s to be expected with most in-ear buds.

Impressively, there is a 1 year warranty included with the S4’s, so I feel like my money is being well spent. Regardless, the price was under $100, which made the whole transaction that much more alluring for me, given the fact that I had just vacuumed up the cord to my precious Bose Quiet Comforts and needed a quick fix…..infinite sadness. 

FEATURES

Here are some of the key features that Klipsch promotes in their product. The following is a list and quick synopsis of each one:

• Noise Isolation

Sound suppression is quite impressive for passive. It takes out quite a bit of surrounding noise, so be careful if you’re engaging in activities that require some form of awareness.

• Comfortable Fit

The three included plastic tips are all very comfortable. No hesitation to agree with that. However, I will say that I couldn’t get a perfect fit with these headphones. In particular, they seem to want to slip out while exercising, which is a big bummer for me. Nonetheless, for sitting and editing for hours on end at a computer and/or transcribing audio, the Klipsch S4’s have a comfort level that I have never experienced before.

• Smooth Sound w/ Enhanced Bass

The mids and highs are quite clear and the bass doesn’t overpower either one of the aforementioned. More on this in the “use” section.

• Angled Nozzle for proper in-ear alignment

This actually causes the headphone to go a bit deeper in the ear. That may worry some if they’re not used to it, but honestly the plastic tips do more than enough to protect the inner ear.

• Works with iPod, iPhone, and other MP3 devices.

I had no problem using the Klipsch S4’s on multiple devices.

USE

I can’t stress enough how ridiculously comfortable these headphones are. You can literally wear them for hours at a time and even forget they are there. In fact, I’ve been known to fall asleep with them in my ears for the entire night while listening to my creeper ASMR videos. That’s how comfortable they are. 

Sound quality is always difficult to articulate because one could hear something entirely different with the same pair of headphones, but I’ll attempt to be as objective as possible. When comparing it to other headphones, I noticed that the S4’s are a bit quieter. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because none of the sounds are blown out and running over each other. For instance, any vocals with the Klipsch S4’s are incredibly crisp and warm. Musically, anything in the mids and highs feel very accurate to me. The bass is somewhat of a double-edged sword, though. On the one hand, the bass never completely drowns out the mids or highs. The flipside is that you never really feel that Booty Essentials bass impact that Beats Audio loves so much. In short, could be a matter of preference, but with in-ear headphones I will take a bit less bass if it makes the other sounds more inviting every time.

Noise suppression is very important to me because of the line of work that I do, both with editing audio and my transcription business. Passive sound suppression is nice in that there is no need for batteries and for the most part, it does the job effectively. The angled nozzle that goes deeper into the ear allows for even a better seal and a better listening experience.

One frustration I had is that I struggled to keep the ear tips in when exercising. I tried various tips, but couldn’t quite find the perfect fit. That’s not to say I couldn’t exercise with them, but definitely had to push them in multiple times, so that they wouldn’t slip out completely. If you’re staying stationary, no worries at all. 

The other issue I have is that of build quality. After about two weeks of use, I noticed one of the rubber shields at the base of the headphones had torn apart completely. The second followed soon thereafter. Due to the thinness of the cord, I was very concerned that they would easily rip out. Fortunately, the wires are still intact even after years of use, but definitely an aesthetic that could be improved upon and should be pointed out. 

CONCLUSION

The Klispch Image S4’s are a great value for the money and the added warranty is a nice bonus. If you are a zealot for hard-hitting bass, you may want to look elsewhere, but for the average easy listener, these should be more than sufficient. The S4’s are my current go-to in-ear headphone and will continue to be until someone can knock them off their pedestal. 

Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones

If you decide to purchase the Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones after reading the review, please consider using one of our links below. We receive a small kickback and it helps support the site.