::The Review::
The Audio Technica IM03 was my first multi-driver earphone. The Klipsch X7i delivered a satisfying sound, but I sought a less microphonic cable arrangement. Behind-the-ear wrap seemed likely to solve this. Plus, I admit to some curiosity as to the sonic benefit three Balanced Armatures might deliver.
I first bought the IM03 almost a year ago, now. Two months shy, actually. I say “first bought” because I returned the first pair. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me slow this down and tell you a story…
When the IM03 arrived, it was marvelous to behold. While significantly bigger than the Klipsch, it fit flush with my ear. I fretted over tips for a time. This was unsurprising. I considered myself a veteran of tip rolling, since I did much of that with both the Klipsch R6m and X7i. The stock tips for the IM03 were down-right painful, and did not seal well. If I remember correctly, I had prepared for this and ordered the Sony Hybrid tips at the same time as the ATH. They arrived a day or two later, since Amazon didn’t stock them.
The Hybrids made the IM03 quite comfortable. As comfortable as the cable would allow (We’ll get to that later). By this time I was already using the Dragonfly DAC with my Galaxy S4. With proper amplification and a capable DAC, the sound quality of this earphone overwhelmed me. The layering and depth is outstanding, the timbre wholly superior to the X7i. Perhaps the IM03 has a little less detail, or maybe it just seems that way because it’s so much warmer and bassier. Audio Technica is the first headphone that gave me an understanding of what “air” meant in audio. The IM03 has a great sense of it, despite all the warmth and bass. I call them my Live Headphones, because they make you feel like you’re hearing the music live in concert. The tuning is spot on for this.
All was not perfect in the Garden of Auditory Bliss, however. A snake did lurk, with a protracted Sssss. The IM03 produces sibilance on some music. Most of my library was free of this hateful noise, yet albums with a natural brightness to them (Art Pop, Master of Puppets, etc…) distorted into an unlistenable mess. Vocals, Cymbals, all turned grotesque at a certain pitch.
It took weeks for this annoyance to become a source of depression for me, which climaxed when I bought my first DAP, the FiiO X3ii. On this machine, the IM03 sounds like the lusty cries of a deranged moose… underwater, and half drowned. By that I mean it sounds really, really bad. The Klipsch X7i works beautifully with the X3, but not my favorite earphones? What the F?! This, on top of that god-awful sibilance? No. Just… no. I loved these IEMs, but now I also hated them a little.
A whole day before the cutoff date, I decided to return the IM03 to Amazon, ordering a used set of IM04s to replace it.
This solved one of my problems. The IM04 sounds fantastic on the X3ii. Also, most of the sibilance was gone. But not all. Not yet. A few days into owning the IM04, I ordered a box of JVC Spiral Dots, because when you’re knee-deep in the IEM game you’re always buying new tips with which to experiment. It’s a mini-game one must play or lose the war-proper.
JVC’s Spiral Dots changed everything for me. I continue to use them with all my upgrades, including my top of the line earphone, the JH Audio Angie. That pesky sibilance fled like vermin escaping the fumes of an overly zealous pest-control specialist. Spiral Dots seal better, and stay secured in-ear. The wide bore opens up the sound in a remarkable way, expanding the soundstage and breathing air into the recording.
The following month is a tumultuous affair, in which I upgrade DAPs to the FiiO X5 Classic, discover the X5>IM04 pairing too dark, leading to a return of the IM04, yet again, just before cutoff date, culminating in Pinky surviving two Amazon Assassins sent to neutralize an especially troublesome customer. For an in-depth look at this weird ride, read my X3 and X5 reviews.
My heart could not deny the IM03 possessed the perfect tonal signature. It was warm and bass-y like the 04, but there was enough treble to infuse the sound with air and space. I missed it something awful. With the Spiral Dots in my arsenal, I thought just maybe I could tame these magnificent IEMs.
So I reordered the IM03, this time opting for a used pair. Perhaps the very ones I returned. Wouldn’t that be cool?
All my hopes and dreams came true. The 03 made a tremendous pairing with the X5 Classic, and the JVC tips smoothed out those dangerous frequencies. This system is special to me. Even though I’ve moved on to bigger and more expensive things, I can’t imagine selling the X5>IM03 package. If a wrathful rhino ruined my AK120ii>Angie pairing, I would still have a miraculous system on the go. What a ******* shame they don’t see more use. I ought to be punished. Allow me to disrobe.
You may have misgivings over whether or not the IM03 will synergize with your audio source. And you should. It’s not that they are obsessively picky. They aren’t. But when they find a source they dislike, these in-ears can sound vile. As I understand it, the issue lies with the output impedance of the device you’re plugging into. You want nice low impedance. If it’s too high, the IEMs sound dark, mucky and an all-around mess.
However, you needn’t fear too much. Of all the devices I’ve tried, very few had a problem. The X5 Classic works perfectly. The X7 sounds every bit the upgrade you’d expect. The Cayin N5 was a marriage made in heaven. The AudioQuest Dragonfly was how I first fell in love with the IM03 in the beginning. Nothing I’ve yet tested quite reveals their potential like the Astell&Kern AK120ii. Even the Shanling M2, with its relatively high output impedance, rendered a splendid melody. Angie didn’t fare so well, but Audio Technica did.
Only a few instances and pairings failed to please me. My old desktop amp, the Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1 Plus was altogether too much for these IEMs. Yet my current desktop unit, the Audio-GD NFB-28, is apparently civilized enough for the 03.
One other area of concern with sourcing the IM03 is amperage. They don’t need much power to get loud, but they have been known to sound dull when driven by smartphones. I’ve tested this myself. From my Galaxy S6 they lose a lot of the dynamics that give them so much of their personality. From a DAP, really any dedicated source device, they have enough power to sound full and alive. By no means do you need a secondary amp to power these, not if you’ve got even a lower-midrange player.
I have nothing against memory wire, but its implementation here is horrendous. It’s too thick, too heavy, and that bulb at the end causes more problems than it solves. It’s uncomfortable and awkward. I fought with it for two months, trying to figure the trick to it. Finally I just bought a cheap replacement cable from China, which was a disgrace to the IM03. I could hear them weeping, alone and disused. So recently I built my own Silver Plated OCC Litz for my dear backup IEMs.
Yes, I’ve moved on to top-tier headphones. And yes, they are indeed better than the IM03. But let me tell you, each and every time I put them back in, I do not pine for the nicer earphones. The sound from the IM03 is so RIGHT my whole body relaxes into it and I want to just listen for hours. For me, there is a kind of perfection in them. They remain to this day the incorruptible paradigm of the signature I look for in audio equipment.
-~::
Pinky_Powers::~-
were the comply foam