This and That:
Plenty of accessories and a nice box that the IT03 arrives in.
Beautiful leather storage case that's however a bit small and not as convenient as traditional ones. Additionally, it is not fully sealed wherefore moisture and dust can enter easily.
Nice looking cable that is however a bit stiff for a cable with twisted conductors.
Sound:
Used with low impedance sources as well as the largest included semi-transparent silicone tips.
Tonality:
Fun w-shape with a "true" sub-bass emphasis, slight upper midrange boost and an emphasis on the upper treble.
Vocals are slightly on the leaner side although not too much to spoil the music. They're however ultimately definitely coloured, which doesn't sound "right" when watching films or TV.
It helps highlighting female vocals and creates an "airy" presentation. It's certainly not uncommon among Asian in-ears, however unlike some other models, the IT03 doesn't exaggerate the upper midrange lift (such as the Shozy x AAW Hibiki, Fidue A85 Virgo or TFZ Series 2) but keeps it still fairly mild. It's something that you still need to like though, and I do when I'm in for a more fun-oriented tuning for music listening.
The star of the show is definitely the bass, especially the sub-bass. Unlike many other in-ears that peak in the upper bass or midbass, the IT03's bass emphasis peaks at the beginning of the true sub-bass around 40 Hz or perhaps a bit below that. Avoiding unnecessary fundamental warmth and midrange bleed, it starts gradually climbing around 500 Hz with ca. 5 dB of emphasis (compared to an in-ear with a diffuse-field flat bass such as my Etymotic ER-4S/the ER4SR) in the upper bass around 100 Hz, and ca. 9 dB around 30 Hz in the true sub-bass.
So while the IT03 is by no means a bass-heavy in-ear, it's clearly a bass-oriented in-ear and a joy with sub-bass-oriented tracks and recordings, while there is no unnecessary thickening on tracks that don't extend as low.
The highs around 4 kHz take a step back and come back at 6 as well as 8 kHz, forming two mild peaks that are only slightly above neutral in level, although they clearly contribute to a brighter treble response.
Extension past 10 kHz is good.
Resolution:
To say it beforehand, the IT03 is definitely worth its price tag and plays pretty much in the same league as the older Oriveti Primacy ORIVETI PRIMACY and UPQ Q-music QE80 (which is an OEM of the Fidue A83), maybe a little above in some areas, while it doesn’t fully reach all qualities of some higher-priced hybrid in-ears like the DUNU DN-2002 or FLC Technology FLC8s.
The midrange and treble are pleasantly as well as adequately detailed and vocals sound realistic without smaller singers’ variations being subdued. Overall, the midrange does also sound pretty open and not congested, which is to a high degree thanks to the tuning.
Treble attacks aren’t decaying too quickly nor do they stay there for too long. Also with busier tracks, the highs remain well-separated and nicely controlled.
The lows sound a bit less resolving than the mids and treble – I have heard (more expensive) hybrid in-ears that have got a somewhat more detailed dynamic driver, however this is probably the only thing regarding detail retrieval where the IT03 is not “very good” but only “good” and also something I have heard from other in-ears at this price point, so it is nothing too unusual. What I really appreciate about the iBasso’s lows is that they definitely don’t need to hide from other really good hybrid in-ear when it comes to control and speed. In fact, the IT03's lows are very tight, fast and controlled for dynamic driver standards, and probably even among the best in this regard. So nope, this is definitely no typical slow, soft and mellow dynamic driver implementation, as the very opposite is the case.
Where the IT03 could be better is however coherency, as at least to me, it doesn't sound fully coherent. There are multi-driver and hybrid in-ears that fare a bit better in this regard.
Soundstage:
Soundstage is a little wider than average and has got a rather oval appearance with more width than depth. Instrument separation is surprisingly clean and precise and a bit above that of the QE80 and original Primacy while it is outperformed by the FLC8s which separates instruments even somewhat sharper.
Conclusion:
A fun in-ear. Not perfect and not the most refined but without any major flaws. Certainly a good product for the price.
Really good implementation of the bass emphasis with an addictive yet not overdone sub-bass. Tight and quick dynamic driver that however lacks some details compared to the mids and highs.