Klipsch IMAGE Noise Isolating Earphone

For the past two years I have been using Shure E2C earphones and have been very happy with them. But they broke three times on me (Shure did a great job of replacing them each time) and with the warranty ending I decided that I would retire these as my main earphones and use them as back ups for whatever earphones that I upgraded to. After looking and reading reviews I decided to get the Klipsch Custom 2 isolating earphones.
I am in love. I must, however, confess that I did not fall in love instantly. It took a while. When I bought the Shure E2Cs, all I had to do was pick out the right size of sleeve, pop them into my ears, and love the sound. The Klipsch earphones, on the other hand, are far more sensitive to placement within the ear and far more difficult to fine tune. The Shures are very tolerant to the angle you place them in the ear; the Klipsch have to be "just so" or they will not work well. It was also pretty difficult to find precisely which sleeves I should use. After three days of experimentation I landed on the large sleeves and it has been nothing but joy since then.
The sound of these earphones is infinitely better than that of the Shures, but the improvement is not as large as the jump from the earphones that came with my iPod (which are, I'm sure we can all agree, are pretty much crap) to the Shures. Going from Sony's earphones to the Shures was a titanic leap in quality. The jump to the Klipsch did not represent anywhere near as extreme an improvement. That being said, there is a definite and sharp improvement. I tested a number of songs ripped at 320 bps (using EAC rather than iTunes) and in every case the Klipsch earphones brought startling new levels of detail out in the music. For instance, if I played a song at a rather high volume over the Shures there was a fair amount of distortion. The same song played over the Klipsch resulted in nothing but clarity. On many rock songs, for instance, there is a presence to the bass drum that is entirely lacking on the Shures. I couldn't be happier with the sound. And because there is so little distortion I find listening to my iPod even less tiring than I did before.
There are a couple of design details that I really love. For instance, the wires are wrapped in cloth mesh rather than rubber or plastic. Living in Chicago, this is a very big deal. I mentioned that I had to have my Shures replaced three times. In each case it was because of a short in one of the wires. I believe that each time the short was caused because of inflexibility in the wires when the covering material became very brittle during extreme cold. But with the Klipsch's cloth mesh covering, this simply will not happen. I don't know if I will have to have these replaced at some point (and let's face it, one of the real problems of earphones is that they are fairly delicate), but there is no question that these are much more sturdily constructed.
The comparisons I have been making between the Shure E2Cs and the Klipsch Custom 2s isn't entirely fair. After all, I paid just under $100 for the Shures two years ago (the price has since dropped further) while I paid $199 for the Klipsch. A truly fair comparison would have been with the comparable Shure product, which I have no doubt is very fine. But I don't have the kind of cash that would allow me to be fair. I can say that for the money both earphones are outstanding. I was a bit hesitant to double the amount of money that I was going to spend on earphones, but am very happy that I did. I can enthusiastically recommend these earphones, though I urge patience in experimenting to see which pair of sleeves is best suited to the user's own particular ears.

Klipsch Custom-3 In-Ear Noise Isolating Earphone

Sometimes a good product makes you want a great product. That is what the Klipsch IMAGE In Ear Monitors (IEMs) did for me. They were very good and made me consider even more expensive IEMs. Sounds crazy but a good product can satisfy you or make you want even better!
Alright now for the IMAGE review...
Overall
A winner. Doesn't try to be a details leader or super treble shining star or a sterile but trusted studio advisor but plays well with all the kids in the sandbox. The Image wins the "nice guy" award. You can place the Image with any of your music and the Image will play nice.
4+ stars out of five.
Soundstage
Really strong 360 degree feel but not too deep front or back or left or right-- a lot of the music is central and ambient sounds circle all around. There is more headstage than soundstage here-- my biggest quip. Reverb is pretty cool on songs where the digital damper pedal is pressed. There are some angles seemingly missed - Assuming 360 degree field then these angles have limited sound:
40 - 55
220 - 230
300 - 315
Possibly a seal issue? I don't know. Perhaps it is the music also. Perhaps it is the listener?
The ambient sounds come in and are times a little shocking-- I guess at least for a IEM noobie.
Sound Signature & Quality
Can't place it-- definitely reminds me of the Audio-Technicas W11JPNs-- not in sound signature but in terms of being a little hard to call out. But very fun to listen to. Perhaps decay is a hair longer than on "fast" phones (I am not even sure this is true-- that is that some phones are faster or slower than others but) the Image's a little slower *OR speed neutral* -- nothing in a bad way. The Sony CD3000s are my baseline and they are faster than most. I do think these are faster than the AKG K701s so perhaps they are speed neutral.
Certainly a midrange and lower bias. I would not call it a treble veil or dark in any way but rather no treble shimmer. I have briefly heard the Sennheiser 650s (no amp mind you) and they do not sound like the 650s in terms of treble veil or darkness.
BIGGEST POINT-- Bass is a powerful prescription for all that ails. And so fun and engaging.
Epilogue
Like any good phone it makes you rediscover your music collection. Well I am listening to songs I have not heard for some time. Really fun and enjoying old tunes.
A tad expensive-- who knows perhaps a $90 IEM would sound as good? Since I have not heard one I cannot say. It would be cool to save $200+ bucks-- perhaps I should find out. (I won't -- I am going to spend even more on another IEM).
Yes they are comfortable-- but compared to what?? Well compared to my expectations. Edit: I have tried the Klipsch Custom 3's and I could not get a seal or any of the comfort features found with the IMAGEs. They are the leader in comfort and ease of use.
And yes they do very well with acoustic music -- focus on guitar and drums. Good on women sopranos and dudes. Not too sure on altos given my comment about the lack of treble shimmer. Also they resolve OK-good and never come across as muddy but on certain songs all the sounds stick together-- again no muddy but not a lot of resolution either.
Wish you the best in your purchase!!

JBuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Ear Buds (Black)

I bought these headphones to replace my Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones. I like these better for one two reasons
1) completely superficial reason - it matches my black ipod
2) completely non superficial reason - it's better for my hearing
I typcially keep the sound on my ipod locked at 75% to minimize damage to my ears. With these JBuds I don't have to take that precaution, because I never have to raise the volume up that high. And I listen to my ipod chiefly going back and forth on the subway in D.C., where it can be pretty difficult to block out the sound of the train. I'm really glad I bought them.
Two words of caution, however. First, I don't think the sound is as good as it was with the Sony headphones. I listen mostly to podcasts and audiobooks, though, so it doesn't affect me much. Also, I'm not an audiophile so my standards aren't that high. Secondly, I've gone through 3 pairs of these types of headphones due to the rubber tips falling off. While I prefer these type of headphones to other in-ear phones (I've got small ears, and other types hurt), this is getting pretty aggravating. So electronic companies? Work on that.

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones

As everybody I'm sure, I debated between these and the Bose Quiet comforts. I have listened to all 3 and I myself like the over the ear better first of all, so the QC 3 where out ( and they pretty much compare evenly with the QC2 ). Now for the review of this product versus the QC2, my two remaining choices.
QC 2 - Excellent noise canceling, overall excellent balance in music tone. Good Highs, Good Mid-range but EXCELLENT bass. Downside is 300 dollars and very flimsy (cheaply made)
ATH-ANC7 -
1.SUPERB Noise canceling: Plane: W/O music - everything is muffled as if you where in a room by yourself but you could hear people outside the door. With Music: I had trouble hearing ANY Noise outside the music, It was almost completely silent...I could turn my Ipod down to around 25% of max volume and could hear every instrument and then some. These are BETTER than Bose as far as Noise canceling.
2. The High and Mid-range on these things are some of the best I've heard, and I am now comparing with the Bose as well as some Grado's. These demolish Bose in that area, you almost can FEEL the snare drums and the breath of the singer...honestly.
3. Bass - This is kind of the downside. The bass is there, but definitely is not as apparent as with the Bose. It has a nice muffled thumping sound, but is kind of back shadowed by the highs, but after adjusting the EQ you could hear it more, and it was fairly descent with no distortion. There was,however, some distortion with the very deep punchy bass on some songs, which is kind of annoying. You can't hear it that much enough to mess with the song, but it is there sometimes, I'm trying to guess whether it is my headphones or it just does this, but all in all the bass is a 5.5/10.
4. Comfort - Excellent comfort, more so than the QC 2. Has a more padded cushion, and it fits nicely over my ears.
5. Construction - Doesn't feel as flimsy as the QC 2's, and has a nice solid feel.
+++ Added Bonus - The Noise Canceling option runs off of AAA batteries ( one to be exact ) versus charging with the QC3s. This is SOOO much easier than charging, and the battery lasts for around 40 hours. I absolutely love this feature.
All in all I think you know which one i recommend. I bought these new for 140 versus 300 for the Bose, and I can't tell you enough how much these are actually better than the Bose. You will be saving money and getting better features along with it. If it sounds to good to be true - it isn't. I am the first reviewer of these and I went out on a limb buying these, now I come to you to let you know that you don't have ONE choice when it comes to noise canceling headphones. So I thank you for reading my review, and happy listening!

Coby CVE92 Isolation Stereo Earphones

I've used plenty of earphones in my day. I've used headphones, I've had the ones shaped like circles that you have to stick in your ear (with our without that piece that wraps around your ears), and I've used big MONSTER headphones that look like those ones that plane traffic engineers use.
Never have I had a pair of earphones that are as comfortable as these. Many times, you get those earphones that you stick in your ear and they are VERY uncomfortable. Not so with these. They are so gentle. Comfort aside, these earphones are EXCELLENT. I can't hear a thing when I have them both on (which I think is a BIG PLUS). And the sound quality is excellent.
And you just can't beat the price for earphones of this size and quality. I highly recommend them.