Specifications:
Driver: 1 x Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 32 ohms
Frequency response: 10 - 40,000 Hz
Sensitivity: 92 dB
Connector: MMCX
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated to Advanced in any way and do not benefit monetarily or in any other form for writing this review. This unit was lent to me by Zeppelin & Co. and I am simply giving my honest review of the product!
Thank You so much to the wonderful folks at Zeppelin & Co. for coordinating and setting me up to make this review a possibility. Links to their Facebook page will be available below, so do check them out!
Review by: "Charlie" from The Little Audiophile
Advanced Sound GT3 Retail Price (at time of writing): S$298 (US$218)
TLA Score
Physical Attributes
Comfort: 7/10
Durability: 9/10
Ease of Wearing: 9/10
Noise Isolation: 8/10
Microphonics: 9/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Sonic Attributes
Bass: 7/10
Mids: 5/10
Trebles: 6/10
Sound Stage: 6/10
Separation & Imaging: 7/10
Source Matchability: 6/10
ADVANCED, or Adv, in short, is a new name in the audio industry. Initially founded as a Kickstarter campaign in 2015, ADVANCED has now grown into a reputable company, producing many excellent budget-friendly earphones such as the Adv S2000 and the GT4, to mid-fi IEMs such as the GT3 which we would be reviewing today.
Much like the iBasso IT03, I wasn't impressed by the GT3's performance at the initial listen. But after some tinkering with my source and giving it some extra "juice", oh boy, how much my opinions have changed.
THE BOX
I love Adv's approach when it comes to packaging. It does not try to "overpromote" the product or try to sell itself. Instead, it gives you all the information you would want when looking for a new pair of IEMs.
On the front, you'd find the usual photograph of the product with a minimalist type of facade. On the right, you'll find the company's slogan and philosophy. On the left, you'll get a comprehensive exploded view of the GT3's internals. On the back, you'll see a frequency response graph, packaging information, and product specifications.
Slide off the white sleeve and you it would expose the black magnetic-flip box. Open that up too and you will be greeted by a plethora of accessories (and I mean PLETHORA), along with the GT3 itself, with the cable detached.
Inside, you will find, yes, the GT3 itself with the reference filter attached, along with two extra pairs of tuning filters. In the carrying case, you will find 3 pairs of foam tips, 3 pairs of silicone tips, 3 pairs of bi-flange silicone tips, 2 cables, a magnetic clip, and 3 user guides in 3 different languages. Wow ADVANCED, wow.
BUILD AND DESIGN
Housing
Steel. Stainless Steel. We are all too familiar with this material, aren't we? The GT3's housing is practically unbreakable in your day to day use. Must I say more?
The interchangeable nozzles are made of metal too. Though I cannot confirm if it is stainless steel too as it does feel less dense of a material. I may be wrong here, but nonetheless, the nozzle is also very well built. One potential concern I would foresee is that the nozzles are screwed on, which means it is threaded. In a case where your threads do get damaged or misaligned, it could result in you not being able to attach or detach the nozzle.
The connector employed is the MMCX connector. This connector on the GT3 is particularly sturdy as it is shrouded in a thick hard-plastic and is not highly prone to denting or damage if handled normally. The cables lock in with a satisfying click and there is no wobble or jiggle when in the socket.
Overall, I'd say the durability of this product is nothing short of top notch!
Cable
As mentioned, the Adv GT3 comes with 2 provided cables. A 1.5 m SPC braided-cable and a 1.2 m "mobile" SPC cable with in-line controls and microphone.
Let's start with the 1.2 m mobile cable first.
1.2 m Mobile Cable
This cable looks... rugged and a little confused, to say the least. I have not seen a cable from any other manufacturer that has incorporated more variation of materials in a cable that this one. The 3.5 m jack is gold-plated and is housed in a black (rubber) and silver (metal) coloured shroud. Upwards the cable is sleeved up to the Y-split, in which the Y-split is again, black and silver. Upwards some more, the split cables are rubberized, which finally ends in the non-memory wire ear hooks, which are black again. It is just a horrible looking cable IMO.
On calls, the in-line microphone is decently clear and articulate. The receiver would have no problems with the intelligibility of your spoken words. There is a chin cinch on the cable, but it is just so ridiculously tiny that I suspect it might just break off over time.
The 1.2 m length is slightly shorter than average. I have made a similar complaint about the Audio Technica's ATH-LS50iS's cable which is similar in length. I am 1.85 m tall and this length is just "sufficient" for me.
Overall, this cable is decently built, though, I would not be too confident about the rubber cable region above the Y split. I personally do not dig this cable though, purely because of the aesthetics and the slightly shorter length.
1.5 m SPC braided cable
Amen ADVANCED has included a what I'd call "primary cable". This is godsent. The 3.5 mm jack is still gold-plated, but now, the shroud and Y-split are all black and the cables are all silver. It really helps with the overall fluidity of the design language.
This cable is also very decently built. It reminds me a lot of the ALO cable that came with the Campfire Audio Orion that I just reviewed recently, except that this cable is a little thicker and is, unfortunately, not a litz cable. Strain relief is adequate and the cable does not tangle easily.
At 1.5 m, this cable length is perfect and I can achieve very good mobility and range of motion. I believe this is the GT3's "audiophile" cable and therefore I would use this cable throughout the course of the review.
COMFORT
Comfort wise, the GT3 is fine. Personally, it takes some fiddling around to get a "balanced" seal on my left and right ear, and when you do, the ear tips actually sit relatively deep in your inner ear. The seal is by no means of the "airy" type and noise isolation is superb. I was using the single-flanged silicone ear tips by the way.
I did find some slight discomfort or soreness on the front of my outer ear after about an hour of listening. Changing over to the double-flanged ear tips did alleviate some of the discomforts but at the cost of sound quality. I chose sound quality over comfort here.
You might not have an issue with the comfort though and it could just be me.
This IEM would be suitable for people with smaller ears as the size housing is not substantial by any means and would not obstruct the insertion of the nozzle into the ears. Personally, the Campfire Comet and Atlas do not fit me well. I have to manually put down on the left housing just to get a good seal. This is not a problem with the GT3.
Overall, I am pleased with the comfort and fit or the GT3.
SOUND QUALITY
Note: Sound Quality was tested on my Astell&Kern AK Jr with a Fiio Q1MkII slaved as an amplifier. The 1.5 m SPC braided-cable was used, with the "Reference" filter attached.
The "driver war" seems to be in full swing in recent years, with companies trying to cram more and more drivers into their IEMs while inevitably cranking up the retail price. But the folks at ADVANCED knows better. The GT3 sports a single "lightweight" dynamic driver at its core.
To some of you, the GT3 might come across as an everyday carry IEM. An easy to drive, run of the mill earphone. WRONG! This little bugger needs power. If you try running this thing off the phone, I can almost assure you that you are not getting the most out of this IEM. In fact, even ADVANCED themselves claimed that the GT3 scales well on their product website.
So, how do they actually sound, with proper amplification?
Honestly and anti-climactically, I was a little disappointed. Here's why.
Soundstage, Separation and Imaging
The soundstage on the GT3 is wider than it is deep. There is a good sense of stereo width, but when it comes to depth, the soundstage does not stretch out very far, which when combined, results in a somewhat unnatural effect.
Separation, however, is superb for the price. Instruments and vocals do not feel congested or compressed together, which in my opinion, aids the IEM in appearing or sounding more detailed and spatial.
Sound Signature
The GT3 goes for a V-shaped sound signature with an unmistakable focus on trebles as opposed to the bass response. This IEM is extremely detailed for the price. The plucking of the acoustic guitar on Nils Lofgren's "Some Must Dream" has this sparkly effect which in my experience can only be achieved by a sufficiently detailed IEM.
However, the trebles sound disassociated with the rest of the frequencies for some reason. I believe it is because of the thin sounding mids, in which the vocals lack weight but still manages to be articulate. Pair this with an aggressive treble response resulted in a somewhat unnatural vocal or mid profile IMO. The same can be said for both male and female vocals.
Bass
The bass on the GT3 is very pleasant. Sub-bass extension is decent but remains unintrusive. The overall bass response is weighty but not particularly impactful, which might not satisfy the true and true bassheads.
There is a similar emphasis on sub-bass and mid-bass quantity and the decay in both the sub and mid-bass is very quick, especially for a dynamic driver. As such, bass sounds well controlled and very snappy. This bass profile also means that the mids or vocals are by no means muddy.
Mids
Mids... oh dear. Mids, as mentioned are thin and lack the weight needed to make vocals sound organic. The articulate vocals paired with the lack of weight gives a somewhat telephonic effect on the vocals. Mids can easily come off as unengaging or boring because of this effect
Sibilance is another problem with the GT3 in the upper registers of the mid-range. This easily translates to a fatiguing IEM over extended listening sessions. The upper mids feel disconnected from the treble region, as the trebles are just incredibly bright.
Trebles
The treble region is a hit-or-miss question. To start, the trebles carry impressive clarity, definition and speed which is honestly quite uncommon in a single-dynamic driver setup. It reminds me a little bit of the classic cheap chi-fi tuning where manufacturers boost the trebles up just to make the IEM appear detailed. The GT3 is indeed something like this, but it is more refined and more properly implemented, which IMO really works in its own favour.
However, there are some peaks in the lower-trebles which could come off as unnatural or intrusive to some. Another thing is that the trebles are so jacked up in terms of detail and quantity that is does not gel with the other frequencies and feels almost like the mids and bass are trailing behind or playing catchup with the mids. With the black filters installed, the overall frequency does seem to be more balanced and less "disassociated", but not to a very large degree.
CONCLUSION
The GT3 is marketed as an "extreme resolution" IEM as ADVANCED claims, and yes, I do agree with this claim. But again, it almost feels like the company overlooked the factor of the overall listening experience and coherency of the sound signature. I would recommend this IEM to someone who already has, or is considering to get an amplifier, has a competent source and is looking for an analytical sounding IEM.
For the casual lister, the IEM is a little too bright for my taste, though yet again, price wise, I'd say for S$298, the clarity and detail you are getting are phenomenal and I have not heard any other IEM in this price range which is able to replicate or perform as well as the GT3 does.
Again, for the money, you are also getting something virtually indestructible. The overall finish is phenomenal and would last you years.
Lastly, I should really say that as far as I do not especially dig the sound signature of this IEM and I might come off as putting this product in a negative light, I believe that given a chance, you should try out these pair of IEMs and see if they suit your preference or needs.
Thank you Zeppelin & Co. for arranging for a review unit, and thank you all for dropping by. The Little Audiophile out, see you in the next one!
Do check out our WordPress site at https://thelittleaudiophile.wordpress.com/ for more reviews!
Zeppelin & Co. Facebook Page: Click Here