Review of Audio Technica ATH-IM01, ATH-IM02, ATH-IM03, ATH-IM04, ATH-IM50, & ATH-IM70
Feb 14, 2014 at 9:50 PM Post #17 of 3,060
Seems to me that the ATH-IM01 didn't receive much love... 
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But I gotta say, the ATH-IM03 and ATH-IM01 would be the best easy going BA IEMs for almost any kind of music.
 
Due to budget constraints, I got myself the ATH-IM01.
If you guys can fork out more moolah, I would seriously suggest you guys to go for the ATH-IM03.
 
Feb 14, 2014 at 10:08 PM Post #18 of 3,060
That is a fabulous review.. Thank you for putting in so much effort. It is a pity that you didn't have the Fitear F111 on hand for your BA comparisons. I have that model and am looking for something with a similar signature, a fraction more bass and general improvements in all other areas. Are any of the BAs a step up from F111 ?   Given the pricing i would be surprised.... but i like surprises. 
 
Feb 14, 2014 at 10:41 PM Post #19 of 3,060
Thanks everyone!  It's a pleasure to review great products!
I've been AT fans for many years, though also often disappointed by their IEMs. But this time AT done it right, and I'm so glad they did 
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IM50 and IM70 for their sound quality and build quality, to me simply a no brainer... those 2 are really giant killers.
 
Quote:
  Wow, you really went to town with that review - excellent work! I'm surprised you describe the 50 as bassier than the 70; so far I've heard the opposite. I have the 50s and really enjoy them, except that they can be a bit uncomfortable at times.

 
Wow interesting! What player you use for IM50?  After doing this review, I'm not so surprised with different opinion 
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  i wonder which will fit the music i listen to.. Justin Timberlake type or avenged sevefold
 

 
I don't have the album, but for pop vocal, IM50 & IM70 would be my choice.
 
Quote:
  Really impressed with your work! Almost nobody discusses output impedance and it's quite relevant to how our gear sounds. But why do some of the earphones sound good regardless of source? Doesn't this defy the rule of damping factor (e.g. IM50 and 70 have 10 ohms Input Z, yet 4 of 9 players/amps you tested have Output Z greater than 1.25, which would have damping factor <8)
Also surprised that you found the IM50 and 70 neutral (as you said in one of your opening paragraphs, "I consider all of them, even with their own unique sound characteristic, more or less sound fairly neutral."). Did you not think they were very bassy? And re: IM50 vs IM70, did you find the bass and treble more disconnected from each other?

 
Sorry for the confusion, maybe I have a rather wide tolerant for what I consider as neutral sounding. IM50 & IM70, have good level of bass, and not very bassy (especially for bass head) if we have adapted / used to, with their sound signature. And their bass, to me integrates quite well with the rest of the spectrum, I don't feel the bass is disconnected.  Maybe on TDK IE800, I felt the low bass a bit disconnected, but not on IM50 & IM70.  Anyway, the dual symphonic drive are not 2 ways driver, they are still 1 way. Both works together for the whole frequency spectrum. The dual design is to improve overall handling power to move the air, to reduce distortion.
 
If we use to hear clear analytical sounding earphone, and suddenly change to IM50 for example, for a moment we will feel IM50 is very bassy. What I've learnt so far, is our brain adapting with the sound signature we use often.  For example, I use Beyerdynamic T1 often, one of my favorite.  Last year, when I bought Yamaha EPH-100, and started to like it, especially with the kind of Stockfisch recordings, after a few days with EPH-100, and I go back to T1, I felt T1 was too bright for me... I felt very strange. Then I learnt that our brain keep adapting to the earphone and headphone that we use often. When I get used to T1 again, I felt EPH-100 sounds a bit too dark.
 
Regarding output impedance, let me share my experienced with the very high output impedance of Hifimediy UAE23 USB DAC:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/678798/hifimediy-sabre-usb-dac-uae23-and-audioquest-dragonfly-brief-comparison
UAE23 with around 200 ohms output impedance was sounds ok with many dynamic drivers. And I didn't have much problem with their dynamic which supposed to be poor due to the low damping factor caused by high Out Z. Until I tried them with BA earphones... I can say all BA driver earphones sounds terrible on UAE23. What I'm trying to say is, maybe our ears are much more sensitive to tonal balance rather than damping factor. I know that UAE23 was not very punchy, but I've enjoyed them for quite a while with my JVC HA-FXD80 (dynamic), until I bought Dragonfly.  Knowing their 200 ohms Out Z, it is strange enough how they sounds pretty good with the dynamic driver.
 
As why some earphones sound good regardless the source / amp, my guess is because they have a more linear impedance over the whole frequency spectrum.
 
But as why IM01 sounds best with rather high impedance AK100 (20 ohms), that also puzzles me... 
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Feb 14, 2014 at 11:02 PM Post #20 of 3,060

  Seems to me that the ATH-IM01 didn't receive much love... 
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But I gotta say, the ATH-IM03 and ATH-IM01 would be the best easy going BA IEMs for almost any kind of music.
 
Due to budget constraints, I got myself the ATH-IM01.
If you guys can fork out more moolah, I would seriously suggest you guys to go for the ATH-IM03.

 
Agree!
IM01 is a great single driver BA. With AK100 for example, it sounds better than IM02 on AK100. But with my Fiio X3 for example, IM02 is just awesome!
I agree, most musical and easy to drive would be IM03 if you have the budget.
 
Quote:
  That is a fabulous review.. Thank you for putting in so much effort. It is a pity that you didn't have the Fitear F111 on hand for your BA comparisons. I have that model and am looking for something with a similar signature, a fraction more bass and general improvements in all other areas. Are any of the BAs a step up from F111 ?   Given the pricing i would be surprised.... but i like surprises. 

 
Thanks!
I can only comment from what I remember.  FYI, I'm a great fan of Fitear 334 and Fitear 335, unfortunately I don't have the budget for them.
I suggest you try IM03. I think it's a great improvement over F111.
 
Had sometime with 334, 335 (universal), and HM-901... Oh my... they are sooo goood! 
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Feb 14, 2014 at 11:21 PM Post #21 of 3,060
Yes, I agree that the bass on the IM50 is well done, and integrates well with the rest of the frequencies, but that does not mean it is neutral.
I do understand where you're coming from when you describe one earphone as brighter/darker than another, but again, this is simply a relative comparison. And yes, I do know that we can become used to sound signatures, particularly if we are A/B-ing between earphones with very different ones. 
I guess I will have to respectfully disagree with you that the IM50 and 70 are neutral. In fact, I would contend that the IM01 is also not neutral, but is quite warm sounding, relative to earphones that are generally agreed upon to have more neutral sound signatures, such as DT880, JH13, and UM1. In no case would this make the new ATH line poor value--they are very good value, except perhaps the 01, since it is very close in price to other single BA monitors (e.g. UM1). It's certainly a good time to be into earphones.
 
Feb 14, 2014 at 11:22 PM Post #22 of 3,060

I can only comment from what I remember.  FYI, I'm a great fan of Fitear 334 and Fitear 335, unfortunately I don't have the budget for them.
I suggest you try IM03. I think it's a great improvement over F111.
 
Had sometime with 334, 335 (universal), and HM-901... Oh my... they are sooo goood! 
ksc75smile.gif

 
 
 

 
Thanks for the response. Greatly appreciated.
 
Feb 14, 2014 at 11:23 PM Post #23 of 3,060
I'm presently using Yamaha EPH-100 with RSA Shadow and an iPod. I had the FXD80 and returned them. I had the Shure SE215 and found them too congested and muddled. Pairing with the RSA Shadow listening to everything but country, with a healthy dose of pop, chillstep and EDM, which is best?
 
Feb 15, 2014 at 12:36 AM Post #25 of 3,060
Thanks for summarizing the new Audio-Technica® ATH-IM series earsets.  I'd tend toward the ATH-IM02 for on-stage use with a Shure® PSM700 wireless in-ear monitor system for a live gig, as I am after analytical performance.  But, yikes on toast, is Hifimediy® expecting us to use piezos?  The UAE23 looks hard-pressed to drive even those seriously high-Z headphones used with the tube radios of yesteryear; if, in fact, Zs = 203 Ω, even the beyerdynamic® DT-100 (Zo = 610 Ω) might not be loud enough.
 
Feb 15, 2014 at 1:00 AM Post #27 of 3,060
Thanks for the awesome review! But when I tried the IM03 and IM04 series I heard a very distinct peak around may be 7 to 8Khz, making them sound very sibilant. No one else seems to hear it. Now I am beginning to wonder whether I was missing something. I used the X3 as a source by the way.
 
Yes IM02 is the best value and infact I liked it way more than the rest of the IM series. Fantastic IEMs.
 
Feb 15, 2014 at 2:09 AM Post #29 of 3,060
Wow! I love this review! Thank you for a very informative write-up. 
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