Product Description

Soak up the sound with Custom-1. These high-performance, yet affordable, earphones make it possible to achieve that "front row, center stage" feeling anywhere and everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27356 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Klipsch
• Model: 1007714
• Released on: 2007-11-06
• Dimensions: .30" h x .30" w x 1.30" l, .52 pounds

Manufacturer's Description

Custom-1

An Intro to Great Sound

A great entry-level solution for users who are concerned about great sound and great comfort. Delivering a "front row, center stage" listening experience at an affordable price, Custom-1 earphones employs exclusive KG332 balanced armatures for deeper bass, a more robust midrange, and clearer high notes.

• Applies over 60 years of audio expertise.

• Exclusive KG332 balanced armatures.

• Patent-pending Ear Gels accurately fit inside the human ear canal for amazing comfort and excellent noise isolation.

• Patent-pending earphone nozzles prevent tips from becoming lodged in the user's ear.

• Flexible ear wire system mold precisely around ear for a perfect external fit.

• Adaptable ear wires let users experience full or partial noise isolation—a great safety feature for on-the-go users.

• Reliable strain relief at every cable connection point to avoid wire damage.

• Cloth cable with Wireguard: cloth weave over PVC jacketed signal cables prevent cables from becoming exposed.

Great Sound
Wherever you go, Custom-1 lets stunningly precise audio go with you. Exclusive KG332 balanced armatures generate deeper bass, a more robust midrange, and clearer high notes for that true-to-life listening experience only Klipsch can deliver. And if you find yourself not completely blown away by Custom-1’s performance, you probably don’t have the right fit or seal. So be sure to try out various ear tip sizes.  

Great Comfort
Featuring a black soft-feel paint finish with off-white lettering on its earbuds, Custom-1 earphones utilize dark gray patent-pending Contour Ear Gels that are anatomically designed to accurately fit inside the human ear canal. These soft, oval silicon tips reduce ear fatigue as well as provide an amazing seal for excellent noise isolation and bass response.

Because ear canal measurements vary, Custom-1 comes with five different washable ear gel sizes: small, medium, and large single flange designs as well as small and large double flange designs. Such variety allows these earphones to fit more of the population than the competition.

For perfect exterior comfort, flexible ear wires bend over and around the ears so they can be customized to each user. And not only do these adaptable wires provide optimal comfort, they also let users experience full or partial noise isolation—a great safety feature for on-the-go users. Just pull the ear gels out of the ear canals and adjust the wires to firmly position the earphone nozzles over the canals.

Great Durability
Klipsch has gone to great lengths to ensure the long-lasting durability of Custom-1 earphones, up to and including its 50-inch-long cables. Put through extensive “real world” testing, these headphones feature appropriate strain relief at every cable connection point to help prevent wire damage. Plus, underneath the cable’s black cloth weaving, a special PVC Wireguard jacket prevents the wires from becoming exposed and frayed.

Added Frills
Great iPod headphones, Custom-1 also works with the iPhone and virtually any device with a headphone jack. These headphones come with a compact high-quality vinyl carrying case, five sets of ear gels, and an ear tip cleaning tool. 

Customer Reviews

Very good quality headphones... but
Ok... I've owned these headphones for over 6 months now. After reading some of the negative comments and poor ratings I've seen, I thought I would give my 2 cents worth.

Firstly, these headphones are ridiculously comfortable when you wear them correctly (I can't emphasise this enough). It took me nearly 3 months to master how to wear these things, but if it's any consolation it really was worth the wait. When you've found the correct plugs to wear and you've managed to form the over the ear wire correctly, you won't even be able to notice you're wearing them.

I go running with these and they have never fallen out of my ear.

The main thing you probably want to know, do they sound good?

Providing you have found the correct ear plugs and formed the wire correctly, then yes they are absolutely exceptional. They give a very natural sound with no boosting to anything. The bass is very clear and leaves a nice warm reverb. The mids are clear and, especially, if you use MP3's over 192Kbps you'll hear things that you hadn't heard before. The treble is crisp and detailed.

If you are looking for a sound that is either bassy or trebley then these phones are really not for you. They offer a very balanced and neutral sound. You will also need a 192Kbps+ MP3s and a good music source to do them any justice as they are very unforgiving on poor sound sources.

On a negative though, I cannot stress how badly these headphones will sound if you wear the wrong plugs and have the wire set incorrectly. I was extremely frustrated when I first bought these as I had read many reviews promising fantastic sound, but I could never seem to find it. Having patience is really worth it though. You will not be disappointed.

If you have bought these or are thinking about buying them, I would recommend you visit the Klipsch forum and read the questions that are asked. This will give you some great ideas on how to get these to fit you properly.

Outstanding sound and comfort for the price
I received my Klipsch Custom-1 in ear phones today and am genuinely impressed by their quality for the price.

These came ridiculously overpacked - a big box from amazon, then no less than three boxes from Klipsch before you can actually hold them in your hands! They certainly look good, the carry case is a reasonable size (I wondered if I would use the larger one with my 30GB iPod but I think it would have been too bulky). I really like the soft touch fabric cable which is supple and looks sturdy, although only time will tell on this one.

They were the easiest and most comfortable in ear phones to put on by miles, possibly at the expense of some of the passive sound attenuation. But I was aware that especially on my right, there was a rather loose fit, and I might not hear bass. And sure enough, on my first listening (using the aforementioned iPod on shuffle), there was very little bass. (A word of warning here - make sure the volume on your device is turned right down, these can get VERY loud.) No problem, I put on the larger earpieces, which fit perfectly, and now.... Wow lovely warm bass, and punching mid range. Perhaps not the high-end cymbal shimmer that I like, but they easily get to uncomfortable volume levels without discernible distortion (to me!) across any of the frequencies.

Over the next hour or so they are never anything less than perfectly comfortable - I wouldn't know they were there if it wasn't for the music. The sound is quite amazing, and more than adequate for a `non-audiophile' like me. I can appreciate that there is a little lack of clarity when things get busy with harder rock songs - something I guess some of these more expensive earphones might address, but I just can't justify spending £150+ on earphones. However, the bass is never less than punchy, and it's difficult to believe that other earphones might make acoustic or lighter rock songs sound a lot better. I was really impressed by the clarity and perceived sound stage when listening to classical music - not that I listen to this particular genre very much. These earphones are probably best suited to music more like RHCP and Jamiroquai which were not dominated by mid range, and allowed the vocals and lighter guitars to be perfectly complimented by fantastic rhythm sections. Things get a little less clear with more distorted guitar oriented music like QOTSA, but I am unsure if that is the earphones themselves, or the more lo-fi recordings that they seem to favour, as this seemed to be much less of a problem with the Foos or Tool. Danny Carey's (of Tool) drums sound even more amazing than ever, but those drummers who are less tom oriented in their setup, like Matt Cameron, seem to benefit less.

Next I tested them out for a run with my iPod shuffle. Things definitely sound a little worse on the smallest iPod, which I assume has something to do with the amp Apple use. But the sound is still immeasurably better than any of the earphones you could buy for £20, even using a `proper' iPod. The cord does make a little noise as it rubs on clothing etc, but its not noticeable once music is playing. Over a 5 mile run, the phones never move even slightly, and the sound attenuation is fantastic, if a little dangerous - you really need to keep a look out for traffic! My only slight concern is getting sweat on the fabric cord...

Final test is using them with my Roland V drums... snare sound great, toms surprisingly good (an area that similar priced Shure's struggled with), but predictably the cymbals and hihats are less good. They do also struggle a bit with the attack of the kick drum when I strike it hard, but it's better than any other earphones I have tried. But a lightly struck kick drum sounds absolutely lovely and warm, reminds me of my acoustic kick drum without any muffling. I wouldn't normally use earphones for this purpose, rather headphones, but it's a pretty impressive performance from speakers so tiny!

Overall - a 9.5/10. They're not absolutely perfect, but then I guess that is why you can spend silly amounts of money on earphones if you are that way inclined. But for the money, I am genuinely amazed with the sound quality, comfort and versatility of these. Highly recommended.

Great value
Soniclly superb. Brought these to replace my BOSE inner-ear headphones, as I managed to break those. The Klipsch Custom 1's are as good if not better. But you need to make sure you put the correct 'bud' on them. As they can then sound a bit tinny. I listen mainly to heavy metal, or goth rock. And the Klipsch handles everything with aplomb. The fit in your ears is very comfortable, and good for wearing for long periods of time. There's plenty of cable, so having your i-pod in your trouser pocket is no problem. Decent carry case, and plenty of spare ear buds, and if you register your headphones at klipsch.com they'll send you 2 sets of extra ear buds free. Overall well worth the money (£17.99 - at the time)