Nice, spacious carrying case. High quality.
Brown-ish black, semi-translucent shells. I like the design.
Nice, subtle red side indicator.
Good build quality.
In my opinion, the nozzles could be a bit longer and/or the ear tips a little larger. I can still achieve a good seal with my IM03, however not as easily as with my other in-ears. And the comfort isn't remarkable, despite my large ears.
Nice, subtle red side indicator.
Good build quality.
In my opinion, the nozzles could be a bit longer and/or the ear tips a little larger. I can still achieve a good seal with my IM03, however not as easily as with my other in-ears. And the comfort isn't remarkable, despite my large ears.
Three Balanced Armature drivers per side; three ways. Single-bore nozzle with white Etymotic damper.
2-pin connectors, but not traditional ones (the plugs are on the ear pieces and the sockets are on the cable).
Very flexible, supple cable with chin-slider. Doesn't look as premium though with its two strands as other in-ears' twisted conductor industry-standard cables (however, Audio Technica's cable solution makes the y-splitter nicely slim in profile and eliminates solder points).
Very flexible, supple cable with chin-slider. Doesn't look as premium though with its two strands as other in-ears' twisted conductor industry-standard cables (however, Audio Technica's cable solution makes the y-splitter nicely slim in profile and eliminates solder points).
Sound:
Low impedance sources, largest included silicone tips.
Tonality:
Bassy to v-shaped; basically a more refined, more naturally tuned (less metallic, less splashy) version of my Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10.
Energetic, robust, full, punchy midbas with some lower fundamental range warmth. Sub-bass quantity just very slightly behind the midbass - it's still a subwoofer-like bass experience with an energetic sub-bass, though.
Ca. 9 dB midbass elevation compared to diffuse-field flatness (ca. 8 dB in the true sub-bass). Therefore just a little bassier and fuller than my Triple.F10 10, with otherwise very similar bass and lower midrange raise characteristics.
Midrange just slightly on the warmer side. Not artificial or woolly; natural timbre. Upper mids/presence range a bit relaxed compared to a flatter in-ear such as my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors or Etymotic ER-4S and therefore not as direct, but also not as shy as my Campfire Audio Andromeda is in this area.
Voices are somewhat behind the lows and highs in the mix, but don't appear as distanced as on the Triple.Fi 10.
Middle treble somewhat in the background, too (about at the same level at the upper mids), and smooth and even.
Peak in the area between 8 to 10 kHz, but it crosses the neutrality line just by a little. Only places a slight emphasis on cymbals without adding sharpness or metallicness to them. Doesn't make them appear splashy at all - therefore clearly milder and more realistic than my Triple.Fi 10 in this area.
Decent extension past 10 kHz (super treble about at the same level as the middle treble).
- - -
So yeah, bassy to v-shaped with generally good timbre and evenness.
Energetic, robust, full, punchy midbas with some lower fundamental range warmth. Sub-bass quantity just very slightly behind the midbass - it's still a subwoofer-like bass experience with an energetic sub-bass, though.
Ca. 9 dB midbass elevation compared to diffuse-field flatness (ca. 8 dB in the true sub-bass). Therefore just a little bassier and fuller than my Triple.F10 10, with otherwise very similar bass and lower midrange raise characteristics.
Midrange just slightly on the warmer side. Not artificial or woolly; natural timbre. Upper mids/presence range a bit relaxed compared to a flatter in-ear such as my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors or Etymotic ER-4S and therefore not as direct, but also not as shy as my Campfire Audio Andromeda is in this area.
Voices are somewhat behind the lows and highs in the mix, but don't appear as distanced as on the Triple.Fi 10.
Middle treble somewhat in the background, too (about at the same level at the upper mids), and smooth and even.
Peak in the area between 8 to 10 kHz, but it crosses the neutrality line just by a little. Only places a slight emphasis on cymbals without adding sharpness or metallicness to them. Doesn't make them appear splashy at all - therefore clearly milder and more realistic than my Triple.Fi 10 in this area.
Decent extension past 10 kHz (super treble about at the same level as the middle treble).
- - -
So yeah, bassy to v-shaped with generally good timbre and evenness.
Resolution:
(Very) high. Above my Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 (the additional acoustic way for the midrange on my IM-03 definitely shows its superiority, as the midrange resolution, speech intelligibility as well as midrange and treble separation are ahead despite a largely comparable tuning), more or less in the same performance tier as my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors (probably a bit below). My Campfire Audio Andromeda is however a step above.
Detailed, well-separated midrange.
Good treble separation. Just a little below that of the very best in-ears (in a higher price range).
Very high bass control and definition. While the attack is tight and fast, the decay is a bit on the slower side, but far from being soft. This combination of a tight attack and somewhat slower decay is what gives the IM03's lows a highly pleasant, energetic character, while maintaining great control.
Detailed, well-separated midrange.
Good treble separation. Just a little below that of the very best in-ears (in a higher price range).
Very high bass control and definition. While the attack is tight and fast, the decay is a bit on the slower side, but far from being soft. This combination of a tight attack and somewhat slower decay is what gives the IM03's lows a highly pleasant, energetic character, while maintaining great control.
Soundstage:
Spacious, three-dimensional, fairly large. Ultimately not as wide and deep, open, as my Campfire Audio Andromeda's soundstage, but still slightly wider than the base between my ears.
Overall somewhat more oval than circular (more width than depth).
Mostly precise imaging.
Overall somewhat more oval than circular (more width than depth).
Mostly precise imaging.
Conclusion:
A more naturally tuned and technically more refined alternative to the popular Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10.
Good stuff, but the comfort isn't the highest, and the nozzle length and tip selection could be improved as well.
Good stuff, but the comfort isn't the highest, and the nozzle length and tip selection could be improved as well.