Thanks to the team at Powermove for providing us with the opportunity to review their product The IN5 The Klipsch earphones are a sturdy, stylish, compact and ‘all weather’ set of sports headphones, which are reasonably priced. The most outstanding characteristic of the headphones is the quality of the headphone chords – they do feel like they are worth the price you are paying for the headphones – and do instill a sense of ‘all weather’ confidence. On paper they look great, but how do they hold up in the real world? Read our review to find out. Design The Klipsch earphones initially appear like standard earphones, however, upon closer inspection it is clear that the folks at Klipsch have come up with a ear piece which can be secured in your ear in two different ways. The first method is the standard method of using earphones (simply put them in your ear with the chord falling down over the front of the ears). The second (and rather nifty) mode of wearing these ear-phones is done by using the elongated earpiece (smartly put together by Klipsch) with the chord extending over the back and behind the earlobe and then down over the front of the shoulders/under the neck. This is a reasonable solution to the ever-occurring ‘won’t stay in’ issue with ear-piece headphones during physical activities. This proved to be very useful during physical activities. The Klipsch ear-pieces connects (via an length-adjustable chord) to a control pad with easy to see and use buttons where you can control music and even phone calls on certain devices. Unlike many competing headphones, the Klipsch earphones do not have the issue that many of the standard earphones have with the control pad and buttons usually being too small. The larger buttons (although limited in functionality to play, pause and volume) are practical, given that the users are likely to be running and will need to access these functions easily and without pressing the wrong button by mistake. However serious runners might find that the control pad tends to dangle and will tend to knock around you as you run – a simple clip would have made this easier (but that can create another annoyance as well). Color wise you also have the option to suit you, with colors ranging from Blue to Yellow to Red to Orange and more so you’ll certainly be spoilt for color choices. Sound Quality Klipsch states that their headphones can provide enjoyment from their ‘flat frequency response, controlled directivity, low distortion, high-efficiency and as the founder intended, for their ability to connect you with your favourite music. The Klipsch earphones function well, with decent sound quality, enough power to hear songs louder than usual when compared to regular Apple headphones (for those people who want to listen to ‘angry music’ when they are working out), and the comfort pads around the earplug have sound cancelling qualities (though these aren’t noise cancelling headphones), which are useful and enhance the overall sound quality. As with many earphones, the bass is somewhat lacking compared to a bigger headphone set, however this is a common trade-off (size v power) and can be forgiven. In the case you were looking for headphones with that extra bass kick, these aren’t the headphones you are looking for. However, Sound quality is on par with most Klipsch in ear headphones – that is to say Above average, but not amazing. Comfort Generally speaking, the Klipsch earphones are practical and fit well – particularly with the second type of securing function/technique (as mentioned above). This is certainly an improvement on the usual harsh/hard headphones that provide little by way of comfort. They sit in your ears comfortably and you can wear them for hours. The only issue the control pad seems to drag the headphones down a bit when you’re moving about and that can be a little annoying to users. Value The overall quality of the headphones appears to justify the higher than usual retail price (retail for these headphones in Australia are $149.95) for these earphones (relative to those in their class). One of the main reasons we have come to this conclusion is due to the feel of the material and the resilience of the chords (generally speaking – we note that they may still deteriorate with regular use). Compared with other, more expensive sports earphones, these earphones appear to fit well within their own comfort zone and if the highest quality and sound earpiece is expected by a user – then the user should look to spend a lot more money to achieve this goal (whilst keeping the design practical for physical activities). If you’re planning on getting a pair – We hope you enjoy using them on your next adventure!
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