[Sp12er3]

Thanks for that info.. Will be waiting for demo unit to come to local Jaben Store
Because really IM50/70 is quite popular here.

 

[Brcinskij]

DAP + IEM Dilema:
 
Thank you guys again for your suggestions and guidance, I have finally decided which player to buy for ATH-IM03.
 
And the winner is: AK70
 
So I hope that I will be happy with this combo: AK70 + ATH-IM03...
 
Have a nice evening guys.

 

[FYLegend]

Still nobody has made a Bluetooth cable for IM connector? There's quite a few MMCX bluetooth cables now.
 
I stumbled across a few sites with IM to MMCX cable adapters, but they will increase the overall length of your cable (and probably render any ear-guides in your MMCX cable to be unhelpful. It seems there is a shorter adapter that was sold on Aleado Yahoo auctions in Japan but not anymore.

 

[BergOnMyMind]

Been listening to the IM50 on my Fiio X3 for a few days. The bass thumps quite nicely without bleeding into the mids. I'd love to hear how the IM70 sounds too.

 

[ozkan]

Been listening to the IM50 on my Fiio X3 for a few days. The bass thumps quite nicely without bleeding into the mids. I'd love to hear how the IM70 sounds too.

Simply better with less midbass.

 

[Invalid]

Can anyone compare the im02 to the W30?

 

[BergOnMyMind]

I managed to snag the IM50 for $50 AUD. Do you think you could give a rough guess how much better the IM70 are better in money terms?

 

[Lionlian]

Side grade or a little bit improvement?

 

[Lionlian]

LS50 is already out at cdjapan man you lost it hahaha.

 

[4mie]

LS50 is already out at cdjapan man you lost it hahaha.

but they arent even released yet

 

[ozkan]

I managed to snag the IM50 for $50 AUD. Do you think you could give a rough guess how much better the IM70 are better in money terms?

Much better my friend.

 

[Lionlian]

I'm going to buy dragonfly red, just for the sake to pairing with my IM04 and IM02.
 
Does anyone try them with dragonfly red yet?

 

[Lionlian]

My problem right now is I have to decide which one between IM02/04 to use AT-HDC5 and reference gold cable, I'm afraid of detaching too much will cost a long-run problem.
 
while AT-HDC5 sound more bright and more wide, reference gold cable just made female vocal sound more shine.
 
(and I never know before that gold is boost in vocal especially female while copper boost in bass and silver boost in treble, interesting? )

 

[taxidrivr]

are the im02's still a good buy under 200 USD? they were recc'd to me on a reddit post for IEM's that suit shoegaze and trip-hop. reading that they benefit from being amped which I don't initially anticipate doing but possibly down the road. 

 

[Niranjan]

In-Depth Review



 



(Some pictures are courtesy of Audio Technica)



 



 



ATH-IM01: The Purist. It’s not that I've tried so many single BA driver IEM before, but from memory, IM01 might be one of the best sounding single BA driver IEM I ever tried, and it competes well with other single BA driver IEM that cost more. It has natural and flat tonal balance, fairly rich & open sounding, with good level of detail.
Although IM01 doesn't have the low bass and upper treble extension of the higher models, it always sounds rich, musical and enjoyable. I don’t really feel IM01 is bass anemic, bass is quite sufficient. But IM01 bass will sounds anemic if compared to IM50 bass. Low bass extension is present, but not as powerful as IM02. And though not as transparent and airy as IM02, with AK100, I never felt IM01 is lacking in treble. Clarity and detail are good (especially on AK100). Not as revealing as IM02, IM01 is more forgiving with less than good recording. Dynamic is pretty good, but not as realistic as IM02. On AK100, Imaging is very good. Good depth and spaciousness. Imaging is even pretty close with IM03, when IM01 is paired with AK100. But IM01 doesn't perform that good on other players / amp, less open and spacious.





I had a chance to listen to Fitear 111 a few months ago, using my Fiio X3. It’s only a brief listening, no extensive testing on Fitear 111, and I couldn't do AB testing with IM01. From memory, I have a better impression with IM01.



 



IM01 is one of the best choices for long hours listening. Magically very good sounding with Astell&Kern AK100.



 









Output Impedance recommendation: Around 20 ohms.

For IM01, so far no other player sounds better than Astell&Kern AK100. It seems like IM01 is made for AK100 (20 ohm Out Z). Treble a bit too soft, and lack of transparency with very low Out Z amp. IM01 also doesn't pair well with DACport (10 ohms), sounds kind of hollow, lacking of bass and midrange body. Surprisingly quite ok with Fiio X3, but doesn't have the transparency, dynamic, spaciousness, and richness as when paired with AK100 (20 ohms).



IM01 on AK100 sounds better than IM02 on AK100. But on other players with low Out Z, IM02 is superior. For AK100 users, if IM03 is way out of your budget, IM01 should be on your list. It just sounds much better on AK100 than any other players I tried.



 



 



ATH-IM02: The Realist. One of the most detailed and revealing IEM I ever heard. The level of detail and transparency of IM02 is quite breath-taking, very realistic. When paired with a matching amp, IM02 sounds way beyond its price tag. Very open, transparent, and extremely detailed with spacious imaging. Instruments separation is very clear and focused, with clear space in between them. Tonal balance is natural with matching amp. Bass is on the level of natural bass, not for bass head, but bass sounds rich and detailed. Midrange & treble are also sound rich, with plenty of treble sparkle. IM02 is very revealing; it reveals recording quality really well. It is not friendly with 'not so good recording', but with excellent recording IM02 is very rewarding.



 









I vote IM02 as the best value earphone from the BA driver models. But not without warning, as IM02 is also the pickiest in pairing with the right amplifier. It is generally sounds best with very low output impedance amplifier (< 1 ohm).



 









IM02 has a unique characteristic, which the sound signature varies significantly by the increase of headphone amplifier output impedance. The higher the Out Z, the brighter the sound of IM02. I found this characteristic when tested IM02 with Hifimediy UAE23 (USB DAC). I and my friend were shocked when IM02 sounded so horribly bright and metallic on UAE23. After I did some observation, I suspected that output impedance is the culprit of the horrible metallic sound. So, I measured the output impedance of UAE23, and I got a second shock, to find out that UAE23 has >200 ohms of output impedance.



 



Then I tested IM02 with various players and amplifiers, with various output impedance (listed above), and the result is quite consistent.  With all the low impedance players and amplifiers (< 1 ohm), IM02 sound signature is nicely balanced from bass to treble.  The treble is very good, clear & transparent, natural and very balance with the mids and bass, no hint of excessive brightness with low Out Z amps. The treble is still at an acceptable level with 5 ohms output impedance of Mytek 192-DSD headphone output. It is started to sound rather bright with DACport (10 ohm). With AK100 it is definitely too bright for me. And this was quite surprising as I never knew AK100 for being a bright player. Comparing AK100 and Fiio X3 to check how much brighter IM02 on AK100, I had to increase the treble on Fiio X3 by 4 stops to match the brightness of IM02 on AK100. 4 stops increase of treble on Fiio X3 is quite a lot!



 









Output Impedance recommendation: As low as possible (below 1 ohm). 

With high Out Z, Treble can be too bright and harsh. IM02 is not for AK100 with 20 ohm output impedance, treble is too bright. IM02 sounds pretty good and natural on iPod (5 ohms). Fiio X3, Dragonfly, Yulong DA8, and Violectric V200 all sound excellent with IM02. In the test, it sounds best with Dragonfly (v1.0c) & Yulong DA8 headphone output. IM02 is truly a good all-rounder when paired right.



 










ATH-IM03: The Musical. Natural, Smooth, open & transparent. A very musical sounding IEM. As open and transparent as IM02, and more friendly to players, amplifiers, & various recording quality. IM03 maybe has the most natural tonal balance in the IM series. Tonal balance is more natural than IM02. Smoother than IM02, IM03 is also the most musical sounding IEM in the BA series. Even though IM03 has very good detail, IM03 is not as revealing as IM02. But with IM03 music sound much easier on the ears. IM03 is a good all-rounder, from pop, vocal, jazz, to classical. But not for bass heavy material such as house music. Bass is about as good as IM02. Main difference with IM02 is on the midrange area. IM02 tonal balance has slight emphasize on midrange that makes midrange sounds fuller, where IM03 has a more natural level, flatter midrange. Midrange is more laid back on IM03 when compared with IM02, but not recessed, just on the right level, very balanced with the rest of the spectrum.



 









IM03 is a great transparent IEM. Maybe some might imagine that IM03 would sound bright, in fact it is quite natural, with nice silky and transparent treble that extends smoothly, especially with matching player / amp. IM03 may starts to sound rather bright with some players / amps that have Out Z lower than 1 ohm, but not always.



 









Another good news is, although Out Z still affecting the sound signature, IM03 doesn't change sound characteristic as much as IM02 with the change of amp Out Z. The increase of Out Z will smoother and soften the treble, but not drastically, and in a nice way (up to 20 ohm). IM03 sounds good with almost all the players and amps I have for testing, from low impedance amps to rather high Out Z, AK100.



 



For those who like smooth, warmer sound, may pair IM03 with AK100. On AK100, IM03 mids to upper mids is rather more dominant and forward sounding then the rest of the spectrum. Vocal is smoother, warmer, more forward and intimate. Less transparent, but sibilant free, while overall is still quite clear and natural. While for those who prefers more transparency & treble sparkle, may try IM03 with lower Out Z amps. On Fiio X3, Dragonfly & Violectric V200 treble sometime may sounds a bit peaky with mild sibilant on vocal. IM03 tends to be more analytical with low Out Z players. Some low impedance amp in the test that sounds very good with IM03 is Yulong DA8 headphone output & Hifiman HM-901. I had a brief chance to test IM03 on Hifiman HM-901 with Minibox Amplifier Module, around 0.56 ohms Out Z, which also sounds excellent on IM03. Sound a bit brighter than with DACport, but still very2 good. One of the best pairing for IM03 is with Centrance DACport (10 ohm), best synergy of clarity and smoothness. So either Centrance DACport or HM-901 would be my player of choice for IM03.



 



With DACport, IM03 can handle bright recording really well, something that really amazed me. How an open and transparent sounding IEM such as IM03 can handles bright recording quite well when paired with DACport. This is simply a good example of how a proper pairing is crucial.



 



IM03 is quite player friendly, and not difficult to drive. iPod Classic 6th Gen 80GB, with only around 30 mW per channel, and around 5 ohms Out Z, could drive IM03 nicely.



 



Output Impedance recommendation: 1-20 ohms. 

IM03 is less affected to variation of Out Z, than IM02. For IM03 Lower Out Z increases the treble and transparency, and might cause rather thin sounding midrange and some mild sibilant on bright recording. IM03 sounds excellent on Centrance DACport with around 10 ohms Out Z, good mix of smoothness and transparency. But IM03 also sound excellent with some lower Out Z player / amp, such as Yulong DA8 headphone output, and Hifiman HM-901 with Minibox Amplifier Module.



 



 



ATH-IM04: The Romantic. The King of Pop, the most romantic sounding IEM in the group. IM04 is not about detail and transparency, but intimacy, warmness, & smoothness. Overall tonal balance is very natural, very good balance from bass to treble. Bass more or less the same as IM03, but IM04 is not as detailed and transparent as the lower models. For those looking for warm and intimate sounding BA IEM, IM04 is the one. Vocal is might be the strength of IM04. The warm and smooth sound signature of IM04 ensures fatigue free long hours music listening.



 









Some IEMs / Headphones best when played soft, some better when played loud. ATH IM04 is better when played loud. IM04 is the hardest to drive among other new IM series in this review. It requires higher voltage and power to sound best. IM04 sounds smoother and darker compared with IM01, IM02, and IM03. Although it doesn't sound muddy, IM04 is less transparent and less detailed compared with IM02 & IM03. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean that IM04 is lacking in detail, it's just because IM02 & IM03 have a very high level of detail and transparency. Less detailed is not always a bad thing, as with some bright recording and system, when the IM02 & IM03 started to sound rather harsh and fatiguing, IM04 is a better choice. IM04 is an IEM that can be used for hours without causing ears fatigue.



 



In my opinion, IM04 and IM03 are complementing each other for users with different sound preferences. Not like IM01 to IM03, where IM03 can be considered an upgrade to IM02, and IM02 an upgrade to IM01, IM03 and IM04 have different sound signature.  Those who prefer clarity and transparency suits better with IM03, while those who prefer smoother and a bit darker sound signature might find IM04 a better choice. Vocal recording and modern Electronic music like Dubstep, might sounds better on IM04.



 



Tonal balance wise, IM04 sounds natural, slightly dark, and it has nice wide frequency coverage from low bass to upper treble, smooth with very good balance, without any emphasize on any frequency region, and no annoying frequency irregularity. I think Audio Technica has done a very good job to blend the color of sound of all the 4 drivers nicely. The sound signature of the 4 drivers blend really well, I didn't notice differences in the sound signature between the drivers, they match each other quite well.



 



Although the sound signature of the 4 drivers match really well, I started to hear some phase incoherence on IM04, that I didn't really notice on IM03 and IM02. Well, this is quite normal with multi-drivers BA IEM, and multi-ways speaker as well. The crossover circuit that splits the frequency spectrum to each driver will cause some phase distortion between the frequency regions. Crossover circuit is always one of the biggest challenges in designing multi-ways speaker.  The more 'ways', usually the more obvious the phase incoherence distortion will be. The phase incoherence is resulting in less transparent sound, and less focus on instruments separation. But I would say the phase incoherence distortion in IM04 is mild, in fact, it creates a smoother and warmer sound signature that complements the other models in the IM series.



 



I prefer to pair the sweet, smooth, and warm IM04 with DAC+Amp that has good dynamic and transparency. On my setup, Dragonfly (v1.0c, 0.4 ohm output impedance) pairs quite well with IM04, sounds more transparent than DACport (10 ohm output impedance). Generally it is better to avoid pairing multi-drivers BA IEM with high output impedance amp, as the tonal balance might vary significantly. But of course that is not always the case, there are some multi-ways BA IEMs that quite friendly with Out Z variation as well. Playing the IM04 using my smart phone (Samsung Galaxy S2, with 50 ohms Out Z) really doesn't do justice, as general smart phones don't have the capability to drive IM04 to the optimum level. Generally IM04 is not as easy to drive as IM03. High end player / amp with very low Out Z is recommended.



 



IM04 is not so suitable with classical, and has better chemistry with closed miked recordings of modern genres. Listening Stockfisch recordings on IM04 through Yulong DA8 headphone output is simply a sheer enjoyment.



 









Output Impedance recommendation: As low as possible (below 1 ohm).

IM04 has better detail and openness with low Out Z amp. The increase of Out Z increases the warmness, and reduce the detail and openness. For example, it sounds very warm on AK100, yet still quite enjoyable, and with pretty good bass. Personally I prefer to pair IM04 with low impedance player / amp, such as the Dragonfly, Yulong DA8, and Violectric V200. In my opinion, IM04 sounds best with Yulong DA8 headphone output.



 



 



 



ATH-IM50 & ATH-IM70:



There are more similarities than differences between the two. As mentioned in the summary, the simplest way to describe the differences between IM50 and IM70 is, IM50 is like IM70 with an additional subwoofer. The bass difference is not too much, but well perceived.



 



Both have natural tonal balance with emphasize on bass. Bass is big and quite realistic on both, IM50 has bigger bas, and IM70 has tighter bass. On the midrange, IM50 vocal sounds fuller, and IM70 vocal slightly leaner but clearer.



 



I often recommend ATH-M50, the famous full size headphone from Audio Technica to my friends, and most of them very happy with the sound. Sometime they ask me if there is any earphone that has sound signature close to ATH-M50, for smaller setup & daily commute. Before I knew IM50 and IM70, my answer would be simply: “not really”. But now I’m happy that I can say: “Yes, there is!”



 



It is amazing that Audio Technica could pack most of the goodness of the bigger M50, the famous ‘M50 house sound’ into smaller packages of IM50 and IM70. Listening to IM50, IM70, and the full size M50, although they are not totally sound the same, but I imagine they seem to have been designed & tuned by the same company / engineer. They have the same house sound, organic, full sounding bass and midrange, good clarity, & smooth treble. Excellent on vocal, and a good all-rounder.



 



Comparing the 3, IM70 sound signature is closer to M50 than the IM50. Again, not about which one is better. Their sound quality, in my opinion, are about in the same category. M50 slightly has better clarity, and IM50 has slightly fuller bass. For vocal, I tend to like IM50 more. But it is all depending on the combination of player and recording. I simply like all of them, and could happily live with any of them.



 



The dynamic dual symphonic-driver is amplifier friendly, and not really affected by high Out Z. So I think it is not necessary to give recommendation of amp output impedance for IM50 and IM70. They sound good on all the players, DACs, and amplifiers I used in the test. Also sound good with smart phones, although not as good as the dedicated players and DACs. Generally I set the volume lower when listening to IM50 and IM70, they are quite efficient.



 



Even though IM50 and IM70 have a lot of similarities, I will try to describe in more detail the difference between the two.



 



 



ATH-IM50: The Gentle Giant. IM50 sounds BIG. It has the biggest most awesome bass in the IM series. Bass level is almost on the max of my tolerance level of good bass. Definitely a must try for bass head. Electronic and House music sound absolutely awesome on IM50, big and full of bass presence. But for IM50, big bass is not necessarily in the expense of clarity as what I often experience with other IEMs tuned for big bass. IM50 surprisingly still has pretty good clarity! Beside big bass, mids are smooth, full sounding with pretty good clarity, so vocal is full & sweet, not muddy. Treble is smooth and extended. Imaging although not as spacious as the BA drivers, but not congested either. Instruments separation is quite clear and focused. In the test almost all players and amps sounds good with IM50. Blessed with the goodness of the ATH-M50 house sound, IM50 handles bright pop recording extremely well. 



 












The IM50 I bought, out of the box, sounds fairly identical with the demo unit that I guess already used for many hours. So burn-in is not necessary for IM50 to sounds good.



 



 



ATH-IM70: The Gentleman. IM70 sounds like a refined model of IM50. Bass is tighter, less boomy, with better overall clarity & transparency. If IM50 is excellent for bass head and house music, IM70 might be a better all-rounder that also equipped with tight and good quality bass.



 











At last, thanks for reading the rather long review! 

And once again kudos to Audio Technica for the new IM series!