Klipsch Image S4i review

Klipsch's Image S4i earphones have primarily been designed for use with either an iPhone 3GS or iPod shuffle with VoiceOver.

Although they'll work with any audio device with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the S4is have a couple of features that are only supported by these two devices. The first of these is a built-in mic that's attached to the earphone yoke. This can be used with any iPhone and supports the 3GS' Voice Control feature. The S4i also comes with a trio of remote control buttons. The centre one can be used to accept, reject and end calls, and works on any iPhone. It can also pause music on the device. And it controls the shuffle's VoiceOver feature.

However, the other two buttons, which control volume, only work with the 3GS. The pause and volume controls also work on any iPod shuffle that has the VoiceOver feature.

Any pair of earphones, regardless of additional features, is only as good as its audio quality and the comfort of the earpieces, and the S4i scores very highly here. We found them easy to fit and extremely comfortable to wear for long periods. Like all in-ear canal type headphones, they need a bit of adjusting to get the optimum audio output, but this only takes a few seconds.

Audio quality is as good as anything we've heard from this type of earphone. When correctly fitted, bass is deep and warm, treble is crisp and mid-range has enough bite to keep the whole output balanced. There's lots of presence and character, and whether we listened to Holst's The Planets, Grizzly Bear's Veckatimist or Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan's In Session, the effect was the same. The music had depth and fidelity that drew us in, excluded background noise and made us feel more of a participant than a listener.

At £90, the Klipsch Image S4i is far from cheap and may be overkill for the shuffle, but if you want a great headset for an iPhone 3GS, look no further.