"High Level PM's...............use two or three armatures and a passive crossover.  Our Custom 3 goes much further.  Not only does it have two different types of drivers and a passive crossover it also has a patent pending low pass acoustic filter.   The Custom 3 utilizes a Klipsch KG723 for the HF tweeter which is a premium armature.  This allows the vocals to be ultra silky and very low in distortion.  The LF is implemented by a KG732 armature for the LF woofer.  The Custom 3 has TWO low pass filters the armature has an internal LP filter plus an additional.... you guessed.... patent pending LP filter on the outside which is optimized for a very low crossover point in such a small chassis without sacrificing sensitivity in the low region of the response.  This bad boy has it all!  Looks! Comfort! And Concert Level Sound!  The passive crossover has 5 components more than any other in its league. With the two acoustic filters and a second order crossover, the LF has a 24 dB per octave rolled off at 1 kHz.  Why so low?   Everyone else seems to crossover above the vocal region but we wanted to eliminate Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) so we have remove the kick drum and bass tones from the tweeter so the diaphragm can concentrate on silky highs without movement from the LF signal.  This also allows use to take advantage of the shape of the crossover for additional EQ in the midrange.  The vocals are so natural that this high end IEM won't fatigue your ears like most designs can.  But my favorite part is the BASS.  I use to have a regional touring pro sound system for live performance applications.  I had eight 18 inch 1000 watt drivers just for the subs, so I don't have to tell you how much I can appreciate good clean bass.  Image hearing headphones flat BELOW the musical bandwidth.  There is no limitation to the bass.  I just wish it would shake my pant legs like my pro system did.  I encourage everyone to try this product before the buy any other.  You will find that the money was well spent."

THX Mark, this sealed the deal for me. Can't wait to plug a pair into my Tomahawk

Hey Thumper & Brad,

I just want to mention that I hate headphones...I hate even more "ear" phones--I cannot standing having things in my ear.  Probably because my ear canals are TEEEENY, and one of them looks like a flattened oval.  Nothing fits them properly.

Did I say "hate?"  Yes, I did, and I do.  So when someone handed me a VERY early prototype of the Image earphones, I said "pffft," and put them in a drawer. 

When I needed to listen to a pod cast at my desk, I thought I'd give them a whirl.  It was either that, or try to listen on my speakers without bothering my neighbors.  And guess what....I LOVE these earphones!  Honestly, there is nothing like them, and they are not only tolerable (dare I say, COMFORTABLE?), but they sound great to boot.

Did I mention that these are a very early prototype?  Like from about last winter or so?  Did I mention I could use an upgrade?

I just tried the "snowman" ear tips, and they are even better than the single tips. 

Good job, kudos, and all that.  I think you guys have a winner. 

Amy,

You know Richard will read this and you should be really carefull when you talk about your ears around him

Steve

customsteve01:

Amy,

You know Richard will read this and you should be really carefull when you talk about your ears around him

 

Steve

Oops, good call.  I do so like ignoring him, though.

Amy Unger:

Hey Thumper & Brad,

I just want to mention that I hate headphones...I hate even more "ear" phones--I cannot standing having things in my ear.  Probably because my ear canals are TEEEENY, and one of them looks like a flattened oval.  Nothing fits them properly.

Did I say "hate?"  Yes, I did, and I do.  So when someone handed me a VERY early prototype of the Image earphones, I said "pffft," and put them in a drawer. 

When I needed to listen to a pod cast at my desk, I thought I'd give them a whirl.  It was either that, or try to listen on my speakers without bothering my neighbors.  And guess what....I LOVE these earphones!  Honestly, there is nothing like them, and they are not only tolerable (dare I say, COMFORTABLE?), but they sound great to boot.

Did I mention that these are a very early prototype?  Like from about last winter or so?  Did I mention I could use an upgrade?

I just tried the "snowman" ear tips, and they are even better than the single tips. 

Good job, kudos, and all that.  I think you guys have a winner. 

 

Amy Unger:

Hey Thumper & Brad,

I just want to mention that I hate headphones...I hate even more "ear" phones--I cannot standing having things in my ear.  Probably because my ear canals are TEEEENY, and one of them looks like a flattened oval.  Nothing fits them properly.

Did I say "hate?"  Yes, I did, and I do.  So when someone handed me a VERY early prototype of the Image earphones, I said "pffft," and put them in a drawer. 

When I needed to listen to a pod cast at my desk, I thought I'd give them a whirl.  It was either that, or try to listen on my speakers without bothering my neighbors.  And guess what....I LOVE these earphones!  Honestly, there is nothing like them, and they are not only tolerable (dare I say, COMFORTABLE?), but they sound great to boot.

Did I mention that these are a very early prototype?  Like from about last winter or so?  Did I mention I could use an upgrade?

I just tried the "snowman" ear tips, and they are even better than the single tips. 

Good job, kudos, and all that.  I think you guys have a winner. 

 

Awe shucks Amy!    I know that I speak for Brad when I say that statements like this coming from you dear Amy really says something.  We do have the smallest eartips that I have seen.  They are approximately 2.5 mm in diameter most eartips aren't smaller than 4 or 5 mm.  The truth is that when I was doing early studies I noticed that my daughter Nikki had REALLY small ear canals.  We took impressions of her ears, (silicone molds) and I loaded the laser scanned data from the impressions into the 3D CAD system.  I was surprised at how far off the industry was from her needs.  She is an adult, although petite, she is probably similar in size to 30-40 % of the women internationally.  So I was glad that I had used her for a guinie pig.  I also learned that she like the IMAGE prototypes best. We had three styles of Industrial Design built but she liked these best because they were small chassis and didn't interfer with here tiny ears.  They were also light and easy to load into her ears and take out.  Why is this important? Because she puts verbal communication higher than listening to music.  She needs to talk alot! Go figure...Most guys can not say a word for hours when they are listening to music.  She also liked them better because they were small and tucked easily in her purse.  She is a Lucky Girl... to have a Daddy like me.  But don't tell her so, she will deny it.

So again Amy, I am glad you are a convert.  I have talk to lots of people that are opposted to earphones that have tried the IMAGE and have changed their minds.  I think Klipsch is on the right track.

STICK IT!.................In your ear of course...........

I have a little Custom Beta test that will be circulating this weekend.

Thump, if you would be so kind, send your file to my personal email. I want to collect good user data for you.

Thanks

M 

Thanks for the reminder.  You are such a rock star now that you have those big thumpers from Florida.  Can't wait to hear them. 

BTW guys and gals... if you want to hear preproduction samples of our In Ear Headphones Michael will be happy to show them to you.  I even gave him a bunch of alcohol swabs so he can clean the ear cheese off the tips.  And when you are done Michael said he would whip up some grilled cheese sandwiches.... Oh that was too cheesy

Stick THIS in your ears!

Jay, we're not quite in production and with your fine tastes in audio gear we want to make sure that your pair are JUST RIGHT!

Hang on a bit longer buddy, they'll be in your hands very soon!

M 

impatiently waiting here too...

Bill

Professor Thump:

 

... 

BTW guys and gals... if you want to hear preproduction samples of our In Ear Headphones Michael will be happy to show them to you.  ...

 

 

 

Stick THIS in your ears!

hmmmm,   Indy is pretty close ....  Does Michael have all models available?  Maybe I'll have to make a visit in the next couple of weeks.... but I'm afraid that once I actually compare all the models I'll decide I have to have the Custom 3 or IMAGE, but may be surprised at how good the Custom 2 and Custom 1 sound even compared to the more expensive Custom 3 and IMAGE. 

So is "Stick THIS in your ears!" going to be part of the marketing?  Kind of catchy.  I also like something along the lines of The Legendary Sound of Klipsch that fits in your ears or the palm of you hand.  

Best sounding earphone I've heard. CP1 had a pair with him as a demo unit when we were loading his KP/MCM equipment this last weekend, and I tried them. Superb!

We also tested them on the most finicky test subject I know..... my 9 year old son... Don't laugh, he has my original store bought Klipschorn KC-BB's in his room hooked to his DVD/VCR, his Play Station, his Frogger, etc with an AU-G77X-II amp.... He really liked them. He tested them for about an hour on his PSP, and said they sound just like the "big ones", pointing to the K'horns. Kids' ears are funny, they are, buy default, much better than us "old folks", so I think it's a valid test and they should sell really well to the I-pod, PSP, student crowd, for sure!! Only thing he did not like was that Colter would not let him keep them!!! LOLOL

I just bought Sennheiser 280 headphones from Partsexpress. Plugged them into my H/K 930.

What a disappointment. Sez they go down to 12hz. My ears say 50hz, if.....probably 60hz.

Nothing crisp about them.Mush.

Cornwalls crush them.

I'm sending them back. So disappointed.

Are the Klipschphones better?

Mail me a pair to try for a week.         I'll either pay for them or send them back.   You know where I live.

                                                                               Sincerely,

                                                                                    Arf

Thumpowski,

I used the Custom 1 (is that the name for the black ones?) yesterday in the van. Got the correct seal this time. Fit is absolutely crucial to sealing out ambient noise and getting proper bass response. These are wonderful now, not as detailed as the 3 (obviously), but I'm going to spend a few hours with each during this weekend. Will give a full report later. Have my iPod crammed full of misc Jazz, Roy and Mark K's fave's (exquisitely recorded), and some rock- ALL on Lossless format I might add.

Want to share these with some friends- PLEASE send your form to me this am if you read this.

Michael