Reviews by ppmanu
I already have a pair of DUNU 3001 non PRO in-ear monitors (IEMs) and they were used for comparison purposes with these TRI I3 IEMs. It is also important to understand that these earphones are totally different in construction to conventional earphones.
The TRI I3 have 3 different drivers one is a dynamic driver, that is doing the lower frequency, then whe have one balanced armature that is responsible of the highs and then we have the planar (they do the mids) wich is a thin membrane suspended in a strong magnetic field. The membrane is imprinted with a weave of wiring through which the audio signal passes and which causes the membrane to vibrate in the magnetic field. This "planar" technology produces a very clean full-frequency sound virtually free of resonances. Also the planar does require a burn-in time during which the membrane develops its flexibility, something which I have yet to complete , so the sound is great but it could get better which is amazing.
Unboxing
So now onto the unboxing of the TRI I3. The I3's arrived well packaged in a large black box with thin foam in the top and think foam in the base which contained the IEMs and a very attractive style case with a catch. There were two sockets in the foam designed to hold the earphones the I3's were actually not loose in the box . During the transport there was no indication that it caused any damage to the I3's.
The case contained an unbalanced audio cable with 3.5mm plug and a variety of silicone and foam tips for the I3's. The IEMs came ready fitted with medium silicone tips which were very comfortable but which resulted in very little bass, so I would say that the silicone tips are close to useless if you want a full-frequency sound. As a consequence I immediately replaced the silicone tips by the smaller of the foam tips and the difference was immediately obvious.
Wiring and physical fit
The I3's come with MMCX connectors meaning that the cable and earphones are separate. You can choose a better cable or swap between different types of cables eg between balanced and unbalanced (i have a balanced cable with 16 cores and that was the one i choose to use). In this respect they are similar to the DUNU 3001 non PRO with which i use a balanced cable. The provided braided cable is OK but it's a shame the braiding on the lower part of the cable is rather loose and that the cable is a bit stiffer than I would have liked. I've got use to slinky cables that immediately go straight when released. This is an aesthetic issue rather than a sonic one. I prefer **** cables (also available via Amazon) which are relatively cheap but of very good quality. I used both the provided cable and a black unbalanced **** cable with the I3's with no noticeable sonic difference. The attached photos show the I3's with the provided cable.
I found the in-ear fit with the provided foam tips very good but others may prefer to upgrade to high-performance foam tips that may provide an even better seal. The provided cable is designed for over-ear use with a stiff loop at the end to fit over the ear. And this is where I found the fit of the cable/IEM combination rather strange. Fitting the red cable connector to the right earpiece the IEM sat comfortably in my right ear but the cable connector stuck out meaning the cable wasn't sitting very comfortably around the top of my ear - see the picture where the triangle of the I3's is very visible. When I switched the red cable connector to the left earpiece it fitted far better in my right ear, almost invisibly in fact , and the cable lay very comfortably around my ear. So while your taste may be different, I decided that the earphones needed to be swapped over for over-ear cable use.
It's worth noting that the earphones are relatively heavy and solid-feeling. I put this down to the powerful magnets needed for these planar hybrid devices, but it in no way made them any less comfortable in-ear. The difference in weight is not noticeable once you are wearing them.
Sound quality
I've only been using the I3's for 7 days but the sound quality is excellent in conjunction with my IBASSO DX120 audio player. Despite the need to burn them in, they nevertheless sound extremely smooth across a range of music with no sign of sibilance which can arise with some IEMs. While I am really bad in analysing sound quality to the depths that some reviewers are able to, a key measure for me is long-term comfort ie, are they earphones that I could listen to indefinitely with no ear fatigue and the answer is an unqualified "Yes"! The flat frequency response may not suit everyone, especially "bass-heads". My DUNU 3001 non PRO seem to have a slightly greater bass sound and potentially a little more extended - but a small element of bass boost in the I3's may be the cause of it sounding more extended.
The one downside of these IEMs is sound level. I had no problem in driving them from my IBASSO DX120 DAP which I have hacked to remove the sound limiter. Even so, whereas I listen at a level of around 67-70 out of 120 with the IBASSO DX120, I was up at 100-107 with the I3's. Equally I could use them with my OnePlus 8 PRO using a BGVP T01 DAC usb-c but at close to maximum volume. So you do need to make sure you have enough power to drive the I3's.
Final comments
The I3's are brilliant IEMs at a ridiculously low price. They took a considerable time to arrive but I believe that is in part because demand is greatly exceeding supply and they are, of course, coming from China. The delay was fine for me as I was away on holiday over the summer and they were waiting for me on my return. The I3's are comfortable to use both physically and sonically but you may want to look elsewhere (or use a graphic equaliser) if you want more pronounced bass. Given the use of MMCX connectors you can choose your own cable including using a balanced cable if you have a DAP with a balanced output. The only real downside is the lower sensitivity, so you will need to make sure you have a powerful enough output on your preferred music players to drive them to their full potential. That said, it hasn't proved a problem for me and I warmly recommend these in-ear monitors.
The TRI I3 have 3 different drivers one is a dynamic driver, that is doing the lower frequency, then whe have one balanced armature that is responsible of the highs and then we have the planar (they do the mids) wich is a thin membrane suspended in a strong magnetic field. The membrane is imprinted with a weave of wiring through which the audio signal passes and which causes the membrane to vibrate in the magnetic field. This "planar" technology produces a very clean full-frequency sound virtually free of resonances. Also the planar does require a burn-in time during which the membrane develops its flexibility, something which I have yet to complete , so the sound is great but it could get better which is amazing.
Unboxing
So now onto the unboxing of the TRI I3. The I3's arrived well packaged in a large black box with thin foam in the top and think foam in the base which contained the IEMs and a very attractive style case with a catch. There were two sockets in the foam designed to hold the earphones the I3's were actually not loose in the box . During the transport there was no indication that it caused any damage to the I3's.
The case contained an unbalanced audio cable with 3.5mm plug and a variety of silicone and foam tips for the I3's. The IEMs came ready fitted with medium silicone tips which were very comfortable but which resulted in very little bass, so I would say that the silicone tips are close to useless if you want a full-frequency sound. As a consequence I immediately replaced the silicone tips by the smaller of the foam tips and the difference was immediately obvious.
Wiring and physical fit
The I3's come with MMCX connectors meaning that the cable and earphones are separate. You can choose a better cable or swap between different types of cables eg between balanced and unbalanced (i have a balanced cable with 16 cores and that was the one i choose to use). In this respect they are similar to the DUNU 3001 non PRO with which i use a balanced cable. The provided braided cable is OK but it's a shame the braiding on the lower part of the cable is rather loose and that the cable is a bit stiffer than I would have liked. I've got use to slinky cables that immediately go straight when released. This is an aesthetic issue rather than a sonic one. I prefer **** cables (also available via Amazon) which are relatively cheap but of very good quality. I used both the provided cable and a black unbalanced **** cable with the I3's with no noticeable sonic difference. The attached photos show the I3's with the provided cable.
I found the in-ear fit with the provided foam tips very good but others may prefer to upgrade to high-performance foam tips that may provide an even better seal. The provided cable is designed for over-ear use with a stiff loop at the end to fit over the ear. And this is where I found the fit of the cable/IEM combination rather strange. Fitting the red cable connector to the right earpiece the IEM sat comfortably in my right ear but the cable connector stuck out meaning the cable wasn't sitting very comfortably around the top of my ear - see the picture where the triangle of the I3's is very visible. When I switched the red cable connector to the left earpiece it fitted far better in my right ear, almost invisibly in fact , and the cable lay very comfortably around my ear. So while your taste may be different, I decided that the earphones needed to be swapped over for over-ear cable use.
It's worth noting that the earphones are relatively heavy and solid-feeling. I put this down to the powerful magnets needed for these planar hybrid devices, but it in no way made them any less comfortable in-ear. The difference in weight is not noticeable once you are wearing them.
Sound quality
I've only been using the I3's for 7 days but the sound quality is excellent in conjunction with my IBASSO DX120 audio player. Despite the need to burn them in, they nevertheless sound extremely smooth across a range of music with no sign of sibilance which can arise with some IEMs. While I am really bad in analysing sound quality to the depths that some reviewers are able to, a key measure for me is long-term comfort ie, are they earphones that I could listen to indefinitely with no ear fatigue and the answer is an unqualified "Yes"! The flat frequency response may not suit everyone, especially "bass-heads". My DUNU 3001 non PRO seem to have a slightly greater bass sound and potentially a little more extended - but a small element of bass boost in the I3's may be the cause of it sounding more extended.
The one downside of these IEMs is sound level. I had no problem in driving them from my IBASSO DX120 DAP which I have hacked to remove the sound limiter. Even so, whereas I listen at a level of around 67-70 out of 120 with the IBASSO DX120, I was up at 100-107 with the I3's. Equally I could use them with my OnePlus 8 PRO using a BGVP T01 DAC usb-c but at close to maximum volume. So you do need to make sure you have enough power to drive the I3's.
Final comments
The I3's are brilliant IEMs at a ridiculously low price. They took a considerable time to arrive but I believe that is in part because demand is greatly exceeding supply and they are, of course, coming from China. The delay was fine for me as I was away on holiday over the summer and they were waiting for me on my return. The I3's are comfortable to use both physically and sonically but you may want to look elsewhere (or use a graphic equaliser) if you want more pronounced bass. Given the use of MMCX connectors you can choose your own cable including using a balanced cable if you have a DAP with a balanced output. The only real downside is the lower sensitivity, so you will need to make sure you have a powerful enough output on your preferred music players to drive them to their full potential. That said, it hasn't proved a problem for me and I warmly recommend these in-ear monitors.
