Amy thanks for posting this... 

 Hi fellow pilgrims and corner horn loaders! 

First of all I want to thank the pilgrims who visited Indy this summer.  As you now know, we are in the headphone business.  It is amazing that nobody leaked the news about our new headphone programs that you auditioned at the pilgrimage.  You really helped us surprise everyone.  Nobody can believe that we have developed 4 new products in 18 months from scratch without any prior experience in IE audio.  This wouldn't have happend without Brad Geswein, our new boy wonder and genius of stuffing small stuff in little tiny packages.  Wait 'til you see the pictures of our little crossover for Custom 3 next to the Paladium crossover.  The extremes of design are increadible.  Buckets of copper were used to make the inductors on Paladium's Xover and we have to look at our ity bity components under a microscope.  Pictures to follow when we go live. 

Headphones at Klipsch wouldn't have happened without Tom Gospel keeping us on track and paving the way for approvals at the top brass.  I have never seen anyone build a team within many departments as well as he has.  Through his planning and communication, I think that every department has been involved from the beginning of the projects.

I also want to mention our super tech, John Andrews.  John came to us from the video electronics industry, and he has jumped right in there with us when we needed a hand building prototypes and making measurements on our little B & K green man.

This is an exciting time at Klipsch!  I think I speak for the company when I say we are turning the corner.  Everyone here is real busy developing cutting edge products that you may love and use everyday in the near future.  We are constantly reinventing ourselves to keep up with you audio enthusiest.  The way music is distributed digitally has allowed us to morph into brand new categories.   This isn't to say that we don't all own alot of Vinyl and tube amplifiers.  But times are changing and we are changing with them.

People tell me all the time that they can't believe that we get to work with speakers and audio gear everyday.  Sometimes it is just work for us, but usually it is more of a passion, a labor of love.  I have a son who just started college this year.  If he remembers anything that I have said I hope it is the philosiphy I have for pursuing a career...  Find something you love to do, that someone is willing to pay you to do, become an expert at it, and you will love your job for the rest of your life.  I have been lucking in this category. 

Of course we can't talk about new product that we are developing until they are officially announced, but it is safe to say that you will be delighted when they come out.  We have collected a great team of experts with passion for music and video, most of whom are musicians or at least groupies.   Each of these talented people contribute in there special way to the success of this company.  But none of this could be possible without our Klipsch fans.  So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 We will be giving you much more information on the Klipsch website for exciting products and especially all the nitty gritty details about headphones so stay tuned as I know you will (from reading your number of blogs).

I can't wait for you to all be proud owners of our new products.  So stick it in your EAR!

 

All the best,

Mark Blanchard,  Sr. Acoustic Development Engineer  (Professor THUMP)

...  But none of this could be possible without our Klipsch fans. 

 

Please don't hesitate to give us your ideas.  If you think there is a product or an improvement that Klipsch should be pursuing, please contact us... oooh I mean Amy....I am already burried in woofers! 

All the best,

Professor THUMP

IVstringer:

Only the image (world's smallest) will have the newer wire, the other three Custom models still have the textured wire.

Cool.  I thought the textured wire was pretty cool and like Michael, I tend to get things all tangled up.  
 

Mark, 

I don't really like headphones though most of my music listeniing is through headphones at work.  And I never could stand any of the in ear models I've tried. 

But the Klipsch earphone prototypes I feel privileged to have tried as the prototypes at the Pilgrimage are not only very comfortable but deliver amazing sound...  legendary Klipsch sound quality in the palm of your hands.  

I for one am looking forward to sticking a set in my ears!

Awesome job!   

And it was difficult not to tell people about the Klipsch phones.

 

Thanks for the words!

When Klispch's CTO Richard Paynting asked me to do headphones I said I would help any way I could but my business card says "speaker engineer" on it.  I went from 250 Watts to 25mWatts!  This experience has given me better appreciation for the value of a good headphone.  I realize now that I can listen to music with extremely accurate fidelity much more than ever before.  Of course I am biased, but when I am on a plane for 15 hours or at an airport with noisy "klipsch" intercoms all day long now I can choose to listen to my library of music.  I have to admit I was a purist only wanting to listen to CD's the direct digital data, but MP3 players have created a new dimension to my listening pleasure.  I have heard things lately with our new IE phones that I had not realized was in the mix previously.  For instance, what do you hear at the beginning of "Back in the saddle" by Aerosmith.  Listen closely and see if you have been missing something.  The only other way to hear this detail is with a Klipsch speaker Cranked!  or a really low noise listening room.  There are things burried in mixes if you listen closely. 

You will be pleasantly surprised at the convenience of IMAGE when you are working.  If you are in a cube farm like we are, you can dial out your neighbors speech or in our case the Klipsch horn cranking in the lab with these little beauties.  You forget that they are even in your ears they are so comfortable! When I started studying ear impressions to look at the 3D geometry I noticed that virtually everyone is oval in the cross-section of their ear canal.  I couldn't believe it.  Nobody had thought about comfort and the shape of your ear holes!  And you will find that they are simple yet elegant.  Simple and quick to load into your ear canals and very unobtrusive to others when you are wearing them.  People can't tell that you are wearing them unless they look closely.

Musicians will love the Custom series of products.  Customs were built with them in mind.  They are stable due to the over ear wire mount.  You can move around the stage with very little movement of the IEM.  Jimmy Hendrix is going to love them!  The wire also takes most of the weight off the ear canal so the pressure is minimized for optimum comfort.  Oh did I forget to tell you that they ROCK!  Of course you would expect this from Klipsch. 

 Time will tell... I am sure you will let me know if I am right.

 

Thump

Very cool looking product.

 

Does anyone that has heard these have any experience with the Entymotic ER4S headphones? If so any comparisons?

 

Shawn 

 

 

BadDad:

Just a little warning about the Klipsch earbuds I listened to. There was only had one major negative I found  with the headphones.  If you touched the earbuds the resulting noise was very distracting.   A very loud rumble!    I guess you can't help this, but at the price that will be charged for the earbuds there will be alot of returns.  I would think most people would find it an unacceptable flaw, in a very expensive set of headphones. 

 

That is actually a very common problem with almost any in ear headphones. They tend to pick up and transmit vibrations like a stethoscope. The cables on the ER4S are like this for example. If they rub against something you hear it.

 

Shawn 

Boy wonder?  Ha ha ha!  I still have a lot to learn.  Thanks for the recognition!

Hey Brad,

Nice picture.  Were you a surfer in a previous life before you got a job?

Thumpster

Hey there Mark,

I am so glad you and Brad found us.  It's great to read you guys' posts.  We thought the earphones were super!

Buddy, our grandson thought they sounded really good too.  His wish list includes the 700 and Klipsch earphones.  In that order....sorry!

Welcome to the forum and we hope you guys come chat with us more often.

dtel's wife:

Buddy, our grandson thought they sounded really good too.  His wish list includes the 700 and Klipsch earphones.  In that order....sorry!

Welcome to the forum and we hope you guys come chat with us more often.

Good to know you also.  I couldn't believe how easy it was for Buddy to slip the IMAGE proto's in his ears.  Instant smiles...  I understand his interest in the 700 it sounded too big for it's britches in the demo.

 

Thumper

I also thought he may have a problem with the proto's because his ear canal is small.  Thank you for checking with him to make sure they fit.  It made him feel right at home with all the grown-ups in the room.    

He really enjoyed his trip to the 2007 Pilgrimage in Indy!  I appreciate all of you making him and us feel welcome. 

Now that you put it like that the "700 does sound too big for it's britches".  It ought to work nicely in his bedroom!

Professor Thump:

If you think there is a product or an improvement that Klipsch should be pursuing, please contact us...

Any plans to get back into live sound reinforcement?

I haven't liked headphones since the 1970s and never cared for earphones...UNTIL I heard these at the Pilgrimage...comparing them to Bo$e, Shure etc...WOW...you hit it out of the park on the first swing (IMO)...

Bill

All I know is I had bought a new set of headphones shortly before the Pilgrammage.  Then Klipsch sprung these on us and I was very interested because I had identified a variety of "issues" with mine.  After evaluating a number of different models, I identified THE Klipsch headphone to have.  Clarity, loudness and comfort were my concern and I was thrilled because the cost was relatively cheap... THEN that head engineer pointed out I was mistaken and had selected the most expensive model.  Just my luck.