INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 30, 2009) — Imagine yourself on a loud, crowded bus or a stuffy airplane full of chitchat and all you want to do is phase out the public and tune into your own private world. The new Image S2 in-ear headphones from Klipsch are designed to make that vision an affordable, comfortable and safe reality.

The Image S2, priced at $49.99, is the company’s most affordable pair of headphones to date, with the most expensive design being $349.99. But what’s cool is that the S2 uses the same proprietary oval ear tips as its pricier predecessors, continuing the company’s extreme comfort with superior noise isolation story.

“People have less discretionary income these days. Therefore, we felt it was necessary to develop reasonably priced, high-performance headphones that go above and beyond what you’d expect from the stock earbuds that come with your MP3 player,” said Don Inmon, Klipsch director of product development for personal audio.

Unlike circular-shaped designs that put stress on the pressure points inside the ear, Klipsch’s patent-pending oval ear tips naturally fit the contours of your ear canals, providing comfortable long-term wear. These ear tips also offer superior passive noise-cancellation, blocking out almost all ambient noise and providing excellent bass.

“Once you have the right fit and seal, these headphones are virtually impossible to feel—letting you listen longer and better,” said Mark Blanchard, senior acoustic design engineer for Klipsch and inventor of the company’s oval ear tips. “When we began studying three-dimensional ear impressions, it was discovered that nearly everyone has an oval-shaped ear canal. We couldn’t believe that no one else had yet considered the anatomical shape of the ear canal when designing in-ear headphones.”

Blanchard also mentioned that when you wear Klipsch headphones, you don’t need to turn up the volume as loud because a good seal dramatically reduces background noise—a feature that could definitely help preserve your hearing.

The Image S2 is a moving coil design with controlled damping, allowing it to deliver smooth, full-bodied sound that is similar to a balanced armature. From heart-pounding bass to spine-tingling guitar riffs, the S2 delivers strikingly realistic sound through the use of a customized 5.8 mm moving coil driver in each ear piece. According to Inmon, these drivers, which were optimized by the Klipsch engineering team, dig deep into the musical spectrum with a level of dynamic detail that many loudspeakers can’t produce.


“We’ve been in the audio business for over 60 years and are continuously finding ways to value engineer our products without compromising our audiophile heritage,” said Inmon. “And our S2 is no exception—it is a superior performer at an everyday price point.”

The Image S2 features a piano black finish and includes three different-sized oval ear tips (small, medium and large) and a cloth “Snap-tite” carrying pouch. It carries a two-year warranty and works with the iPod, iPhone and other portable devices that feature a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. It will be available for purchase at klipsch.com, Amazon and InMotion in August.