IKKO Breezy

Review Of The IKKO ITG01 'Breezy'​

Introduction​

The IKKO Company is a well establish Chinese company known for its infamous IKKO OH10, OH7,etc, IEMs. The company have already released more IEMs like OH1, OH1s, OH2 and the above two mentioned. Other than these IEMs, The company indulged itself more into other distinctive areas and produced a DAC/AMP lineup under which a USB hub cum DAC/AMP named ITX01, ITM01 and ITM05 which is a portable DAC/AMP comes under, Bluetooth Wireless set like IKKO IT01 'Breezy' and recently launched speakers. But in this review, I will be talking about IKKO ITG01 'Breezy'

Disclaimer​

*Thanks to HiFiGo team as this unit tour has been arranged by HiFiGo, lovely people. And as mentioned in all of my reviews, same goes with this one too and that is, each and every thoughts below mentioned are my personal own thoughts and they are not fiddled with any outside influences. The following link is where you can go and own one for yourself :-
https://hifigo.com/products/ikko-itgo1
*I will be referring these IEMs to as 'ITG01' for the rest of the review.
*This is my first bone conduction wireless set, I have never used any other bone conduction set. Hence my views on this will be purely on this ones own accolades.
*And at last I will only be reviewing the ITG01 on the basis of its performance, I do not care what package they come in or how they cosmetically look. Although detailed information will be provided.





Specification

ITG01 is an open design bone conducting Bluetooth wireless set which uses a Directional vocal technology+ Bone conduction technology. the company assures that this multi-technology support ensure the integrity of the sound. This . Directional sound generation technology, the diaphragm component collects high and low frequency sound waves and transmits them to the ear canal, obtain full audio performance. Other than this the set contains a in house made HT9722 professional Hi-Fi chip and also uses Bluetooth chip ATS3019 which provides Bluetooth 5.3 making it low in power consumption and a delay of only 0.01ms. The housing is made of CNC aluminum and are available in grey and white color. This set is IPX06 certified which means sweat and water resistant. The weight is only 36g. These provides a battery back up of 6.5 hours and they have microphone on both sides. The accessories that comes with these are a USB-C cable, storage bag and a charging dock which provides 4 more hours of use.

How do they perform technically and physically ?​

Being open design and ipx6 certified, have no issues like sweat popping out IEMs or earbuds especially TWS, so here, this is a win here for bone conduction. Other than this, this also helps in avoiding ear infection obviously. Through my testing I found that these are more sport oriented than home or office due to their build made. The whole body as mentioned before is made of aluminum and the band that goes around the back of your head is not retractable, so you cannot use it while resting your head anywhere or you will have to change the way you are wearing it and placing the drivers to another area away from your ear conchae. And due to the fact these have vents which provides most of the bass and mid range, interferes with the sound quality while adjusting the set. Other than this I was able to achieve around 5 hours at full volume and almost 9 using the charging dock. This piece needs 2-2.5 hours to charge full back up from 0-100%. I did encounter some pairing issues but that is justifiable as most TWS have the same problem which are expensive than these. But the lag is close to none except while gaming where there is a very little noticeable lag. Sometimes when I put these back to their charging dock and accidentally rock them, they instantly pair up and starts playing. Other than these issues, These are great.

Sound​

The sound of ITG01 is really what didn't expect. The sound is V-shaped tuned, very fun sounding set this is. The performance exceeded my expectations. Although there are some issues with the sound. Let's go further with this.

Tonality​

Like I said these are tuned towards being more fun sounding. The highs and lows are trying more and more to establish their presence. And knowing bone conduction set aren't known for their bass, these doesn't sound bass heavy. Their is a good sense of air in the treble due to being open ears. These sounds more like an earbud and less like a bone conducting one, even though the bone conduction works here flawlessly. the mid range is mellow, it not so forward in the mix. The mid range is tonally acceptable doesn't sound harsh sharp or metallic sounding but more natural, organic and non offensive. Coming back to the treble this is not extended much and same goes with the bass, bass extends not well and that is with obvious reasons. But yes when bass heavy songs comes the driver tickles the area they are set upon, mostly near my ear conchae. And the treble extension mostly subdues in itself and the treble becomes more darker. Their are areas in the upper mid range and treble where sound feels hollow or incomplete. But overall these are really great for the price.

Technical Performance​

Coming to the technical performance, yes their is a sense of stage, a sense of direction where I can pin point instruments where their sound is coming from, vocals aren't mashing up or clustering up in the mix. The resolution is just okay and speed for what these can do is adequate doesn't feel like anything is loose in the mix, provides a good response.

Conclusion​

To conclude this review, The ITG01 is a fun sounding bone conducting Bluetooth set. And I recommend to those audiophiles who plays sport or gym. And a genuine go for non audiophiles. For the sound and features these provides, working together effectively changed my perspective of being worthless to a go to wireless set.

Sources And Tracks Used​

Sources​

Apple iPhone XS Max
LG G8X
iPad (4th generation)
You Tube
Apple Music
Spotify

Tracks​

Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman
Earth, Wind & Fire - September
Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove
Boston - More Than A Feeling
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere(Remastered)
Toto - Africa
The Police - Every Breath You Take
George Benson - Affirmation
Daft Punk - Doin' It Right
Daft Punk - Derezzed
Daft Punk - Tron Legacy (End Titles)
GOJIRA - Amazonia
The Mars Volta - Inertiatic ESP
Fergie - Glamorous
50 Cent - In Da Club
Jay Z - Holy Grail
Christina Perri - Human
Erbes - Lies
Nitti Gritti - The Loud
Juelz - Inferno

INTRODUCTION:

IKKO, the brand based out of China is a well established brand among the audiophiles and the major hit for the brand is the OH10, the IEM that revolutionized the Bass frequency among the audiophiles. The brand has a very few catalogs of products but everything has a great amount of response among the consumers. The Ikko is known for their CRAFTSMANSHIP AND VALUE since from the materials they used to manufacture till the way they deliver the product everything feels premium and in that regards they have launched this innovative product into the market named Breezy IT01 and in this review let’s check out how innovative does this appears among the crowd.



SPECIFICATIONS:

>Latest Bluetooth V5.3 connectivity.
>Bone conduction sound driver.
>Directional sound transmission.
> IPX6 waterproof rating.
>Dual operating modes, Game & Music.
>Standby time: >30 Hours.
>Battery life: up to 6.5Hours.
>Charging time: ≤2H.
>Charging dock: 350mAh, adds up to 10 hours of battery life

DISCLAIMER:
This unit has been provided to me as a part of a review circle organised by the Team HiFiGo. The review is completely based on my observations with this product hence its neither influenced by the brand nor the team. The observations might differ from person to person since it depends on the source and pairings with this product.

If you are interested in purchasing this product then please go ahead with this unaffiliated link: Ikko Breezy ITG01
DESIGN:
The design is different out of all the products out there in the market. The ChiFi are usually known for their in-ears while Ikko released this product with an interesting design aspect. The zero isolation open back design looks interesting but when it comes to pure sound experience they definitely fall short.

The whole construction is made out of CNC aluminium. The headband is non adjustable which is a bummer while the earpieces are oval in shape with a single button on either side acting as a multifunction button. There is a light indicator on either side for indicating the status and the speaker grill is situated in the sides of the earpiece.

In the inner aspect of the earpiece is where the bone conduction system is incorporated which provides that nice tickle sensation to the ears. The rubberised material has been incorporated on the ear hook side for maximum comfort.



SOUND:

The sound profile of the Breezy is more on a natural side with neutral midrange, smoothed out treble section while the bass region has been accentuated a bit but not excessively. In simple terms we can conclude that it's more of a Balanced sound. As an initial thought I wondered how it's going to sound since they have zero isolation but surprisingly the sound out of these little open ear buds is above average. Things could have been better if some aspects had been improved and hope this would be done in the future models for the superior sound response. Let’s check out in detail about the sound in the following sections:

BASS:

Considering the design it adopts, I definitely thought that the bass is the first thing that this Breezy is going to get lost on the track but surprisingly the bass here is above average. Even though they don’t compete with that of the complete in ear design bass, still the response here is very good. That added Bone Conduction system tickles your ear ossicles whenever the bass drops get lower giving that nice satisfying subtle vibrations in the ears.

When coming to the frequency response, the sub bass here is pretty great when compared to the mid bass section. The sub bass reach is good providing some nice rumble even though they are not that bass head level since the design it adopts is the culprit here. The mid bass section is good too but it's more on the lighter side thus providing more details over the quantity. The slam and the attack gets missed out while the separation, clarity and control in the bass section is preserved.

Overall the bass here is good but it can be even better if the design has been improved. The headband here is non adjustable hence the earpiece area doesn't get settled comfortably in the desired position thus the sound response varies. In stock it has a cleaner, controlled, well separated bass response with adequate sub bass presence which is great considering its zero isolation design but it could have been better if the headband was adjustable which would definitely improve the overall sound out of it.

MID RANGE:

The mid range here is more on a neutral side with nice rich vocals and a laidback presentation since it's a part of open back design. The tonality in the Breezy is neutral with slight warmness to the package. The timbre of the instruments appears to be slightly brighter which gives the rich sensation overall.

The vocals are laid back hence the staging appears pretty big with a good amount of space for the overall presentation. Both the male and the female vocals have that rich tone making them appear more natural and engaging. The instruments in the background are replayed out very well with good separation and tone. The piano notes and the kick drums have a nice tone while the attack could have been better if the design has been improved which we discussed in the previous section.

The layering and imaging are pretty above average and since the staging is bigger they don’t have much difficulties to be faced in the technicalities. Overall the midrange is pretty great with neutral response, bigger staging, better separation and pleasing upper mid section. The lower mid section feels slightly on the thin side due to that relaxed mid bass response and that's the con in the mid range.



TREBLE:

Treble feels it has been tuned on the safer side with a very pleasing listen. The extension is good but definitely not the best when compared to that of the in ear designs. The detail retrieval from the treble section is above average and the overall presentation feels a bit brighter. The cymbal crashes and the trumpets do sound slightly brighter and it may be due to that zero isolation.

The separation and the clarity in the treble section is very good since the space and the air available here is on the bigger side. No sorts of noticeable congestion are seen around hence the overall presentation felt much grandeur. The tone in the treble section feels brighter thus giving that splash and shimmer on the top end. The sibilance is kept under control and even during the prolonged listening the treble never felt harsh or unlistenable.

Overall the treble section has been tuned pleasingly with above average detail presence, clarity rich and smoother presentation. The treble section is rich enough in terms of tone and engaging factor and if the fit was better the sound could have been even better.

TECHNICALITIES:

STAGING: It’s pretty big in the Breezy where both in terms of width and height they feel big enough. The whole presentation felt nice and big where the laidback presentation helped in the bigger stage presence. Due to this bigger staging the whole separation and clarity aspect felt much improved and better.

IMAGING AND LAYERING: These aspects do sound better in the Breezy. The instruments are placed at a precise position while even the transitioning from one instrument to the other felt pretty smooth. The complex tracks are replayed out well too without any noticeable constriction.

The detail retrieval and the track separation felt pretty neat and clean and above average considering the design aspect that it accommodated.



CHARGING AND BLUETOOTH:

The earphones are charged via a provided dock which will give the battery life of 6.5 hrs and along with the dock the usage hours gets improved to 10 hours.

The Bluetooth version they have used here is the 5.3 hence the connection speed and the stability pretty much feels improved over the previous versions.

It’s IPX6 water resistant hence it can easily survive from the water splashes and the sweats that you get out of your gym sessions.

There is no app for configuring the controls or adjusting the settings hence the stock option sound is the only way to use them.

The mics are pretty good enough indoors and do struggle a bit in the noisy surroundings and that's the case with most of the budget oriented Bluetooth earphones.

VERDICT:

Breezy ITG01, the latest offering from the house of IKKO is an innovative package overall implementing some futuristic tech options like the bone conduction along with a nice open back earphones with much versatility and practical usage.

The Breezy has a bone conduction coil along with the directional vocal technology hence the sound out of the Breezy feels open and provides a new experience if you are a regular in ear design user. The design is the striking aspect here where it's completely versatile in terms of usage. They adopt a nice earpiece design which never enters your ear canal rather it sits near the ear with a support of a metal headband. The head band is fixed though hence the fit is a major con here. The earpiece has a small opening for the speaker which delivers the sound and the bone conduction system is resided near the speaker giving a nice tickle to the ears.

The overall sound is neutral with more emphasis over the vocals. The bass here is weaker but considering the design it adopts they are above average with more quality over the quantity. The midrange adopts a neutral side. The tone appears slightly warmer with a nice pleasing upper mid section. The treble section felt smoother yet providing some good amount of details with a good amount of brilliance in the top end. The staging felt superior and thanks to that laidback presentation. Technical aspects like the imaging and the layering felt good too.

Overall the Breezy IT01 is a well thought product with good sound but could have executed better in terms of design. The headband especially is the major con for this product which is non adjustable hence its not a universal fit. Definitely this is a NEW THING TO EXPERIENCE out of all the crowded products out there and it would have made its spot clear if the execution was made correct.

Disclaimer : The unit was sent by Hifigo as a part of a review tour but all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can purchase it here.

Build and Fit
The build quality is surprisingly good, the units feel dense and solid in hand and overall feels quite premium. When it comes to "fit" well these don't fit by nature so there will be no issue regarding fit.



Utility
I have tested the mic quality for calls and it is serviceable. Battery life was decent and I got around 5h with regular usage. Unfortunately it doesn't support fast charging of any kind to my knowledge and it takes a couple of hours to charge completely. The biggest utilitarian advantage that this has shall be further expanded in the following section.



Sound
Now these do not sound as good as the other audiophile grade earphones in the market for sure, but it doesn't have to. It is designed mainly to provide music when doing activities while still being aware of your surroundings, and I find that quite useful. Jogging, cycling, walking on the roads etc. Since these do not seal, there should ideally be no bass present but that is where Ikko has implemented the bone conduction driver. And yes it kind of mitigates the lack of bass that would have otherwise be present (or absent ). But do not expect anything grand, it is what it is. Essentially the chassis vibrates itself "enhancing" the perception of bass. When it comes to sound, as you might have guessed it, is very spacious and open (due to the nature of where and how it sits). It has this uncanny feeling of blending music with the sounds in the environment, as if they are one entity. The similar feeling one would get from "earbuds". So when it comes to listening to music when walking on the streets, I can be alert as well as enjoy the music. No it doesn't give me the more precise and sophisticated performance an earphone can give me but then again, I am not listening for nuances when I am walking on the street.



Conclusion
It is a niche product with a specific use case but it will serve to that niche market. Those who want something decent for background music while still being alert of their surroundings, can take a look at this one.