[jamato8]

Truly a shock that a $259 pair of IEM's come with such bad tips that slip right off the nozzles, and such an extremely low quality cable (in physical & longevity terms). There's electrical tape holding the Y together and this cheap little piece above it that seems like it would break with any movement. Absolutely disappointing and frankly embarrassing. I've had $27 chi-fi come with better tips and cables.

Bass on the IT03's is fairly neutral, but it's not this "loud fast crisp" bass -- it's just...neutral and balanced, so I see why someone may think it's not really there. It was different than I had expected. Soundstage is less than impressive and narrow.

Fit is just ok but YMMV. Being a female I might have smaller ears or something. I can't find any tips that fit well over time and can endure me walking around.

I have compared the cable to some expensive stuff and it holds up well. Not sure what you mean about electrical tape. I guess you didn't get the original cables. Also, once run in for a while, on mine at least, the bass is fast and solid. Maybe you got some counterfeit IT03, using the wrong tips or something but that doesn't describe what I hear and as far as holding up, mine have traveled with me to a number of places around the world and taken a lot of abuse. The tips will come off at times. I took a piece of sandpaper and took the shine off of the nozzle where the tip makes contact, problem solved for me.

Tips make a lot of difference. The sound signature holds up well against my JH 13pro freq phase customs. If the wrong tip fit, the sound won't be enjoyable, IMO.

 

[Dark Helmet]

Truly a shock that a $259 pair of IEM's come with such bad tips that slip right off the nozzles, and such an extremely low quality cable (in physical & longevity terms). There's electrical tape holding the Y together and this cheap little piece above it that seems like it would break with any movement. Absolutely disappointing and frankly embarrassing. I've had $27 chi-fi come with better tips and cables.

Bass on the IT03's is fairly neutral, but it's not this "loud fast crisp" bass -- it's just...neutral and balanced, so I see why someone may think it's not really there. It was different than I had expected. Soundstage is less than impressive and narrow.

Fit is just ok but YMMV. Being a female I might have smaller ears or something. I can't find any tips that fit well over time and can endure me walking around.

Well said, though I did not really have any issues with the tips, I did not care for the sound signature at all.

 

[khighly]

I have compared the cable to some expensive stuff and it holds up well. Not sure what you mean about electrical tape. I guess you didn't get the original cables. Also, once run in for a while, on mine at lease, the bass is fast and solid. Maybe you got some counterfeit IT03, using the wrong tips or something but that doesn't describe what I hear and as far as holding up, mine have traveled with me to a number of places around the world and taken a lot of abuse. The tips will come off at times. I took a piece of sandpaper and took the shine off of the nozzle where the tip makes contact, problem solved for me.

This cable, you can clearly see the single piece of electrical tape or heat shrink with the plastic piece above. I ordered directly from Amazon, not through a third party seller, so I doubt I got counterfeits. Yes I know the tips are mismatched in this image -- a tip came off in my ear earlier and I didn't have any others except a random comply in my bag.

 

[jamato8]

This cable, you can clearly see the single piece of electrical tape or heat shrink with the plastic piece above. I ordered directly from Amazon, not through a third party seller, so I doubt I got counterfeits. Yes I know the tips are mismatched in this image -- a tip came off in my ear earlier and I didn't have any others except a random comply in my bag.

That is heat shrink. I have cables that cost 700 dollars that have that.

 

[khighly]

That is heat shrink. I have cables that cost 700 dollars that have that.

Sure, every cable might have some internally -- most of the electronics I build do as well, but just sitting there bare like that? No. This cable couldn't have cost more than $3 in parts. There's an MMCX cable on amazon right now for $7.99 that is better quality. Truly embarrassing move from iBasso.

 

[jamato8]

Sure, every cable might have some internally -- most of the electronics I build do as well, but just sitting there bare like that? No. This cable couldn't have cost more than $3 in parts. There's an MMCX cable on amazon right now for $7.99 that is better quality. Truly embarrassing move from iBasso.

Yes, heat shrink on the outside, I have seen on expensive cables as well. And it isn't just the external looks of the cable, it is the wire that is actually used. Soundwise, I hear good things from the stock cable. Dielectric and wire used make a big difference, as I am sure you know. Sure you can get cables for 1 dollars or one that from the outside might cost many times that. I remember when Monster Cable first came out and everyone was amazed that this big speaker cable but that didn't mean a thing as it was junk.

 

[khighly]

Yes, heat shrink on the outside, I have seen on expensive cables as well. And it isn't just the external looks of the cable, it is the wire that is actually used. Soundwise, I hear good things from the stock cable. Dielectric and wire used make a big difference, as I am sure you know. Sure you can get cables for 1 dollars or one that from the outside might cost many times that. I remember when Monster Cable first came out and everyone was amazed that this big speaker cable but that didn't mean a thing as it was junk.

Ok, so, when I look at headphone cables, I first look at quality externally and how long it'll last while standing up to abuse and everyday elements I find in my life. This is #1. I personally do not care about sound quality on cables as I personally believe cables do not make a difference in sound -- especially with distances these short and for usage cases like personal IEM's carrying not more than a few hundred mW of power. I would absolutely never buy a $700 cable, and for that price I would expect 100 feet of triple braided Times Microwave LMR400 wrapped in a nice sleeve with gold plated connectors on both ends, because no other cable would be worth spending $700 on, material & labor wise unless it was pure gold.

Also, are you honestly telling me this subpar low quality cable is anywhere near acceptable for $259? What Kool-aid do I have to drink to believe this nonsense?

 

[twister6]

Sure, every cable might have some internally -- most of the electronics I build do as well, but just sitting there bare like that? No. This cable couldn't have cost more than $3 in parts. There's an MMCX cable on amazon right now for $7.99 that is better quality. Truly embarrassing move from iBasso.

Using heatshrink is a very common technique to build y-splitter in balanced cables where you don't combine the common ground wire. You braid it from the headphone plug up to a splitter, and use heatshrink to split the braiding into Left/Right sides going to the connectors. Here is PWA 1960 4wire/8conductor pure copper cable that cost almost $2,000:



The wire in a stock IT03 cable is OFC, nothing fancy. But it's a high purity copper wire. iBasso had a dozen of different cables to choose from, and that made the final cut, specifically to compliment sound sig of IT03.

Here is a problem with today's market. You have a FLOOD of dirt cheap chi-fi products that look good, but designed with the cheapest material and poor quality. As a result, quite often, people make a decision based on the looks rather than components and the quality.

I see in your signature KZ ZS5. I'm not even going to argue how they copied Andromeda design, that's an old news. But do you know these IEMs are a scam? They are sold as 4-drivers, while only 2 drivers are wired in and working: https://medium.com/resonance-review...s-two-working-drivers-its-a-scam-6cc9d1c6a9fb - but they look nice and shiny, great look'a'like of another respected design.

My point, don't judge a book by its cover. The issue with a bass and a sound you are describing is due to a seal problem. Bad seal - mediocre bass. You might have to tip roll using other eartips. It's a very subjective thing, relative to your ear anatomy. In most of the pairs of IEMs I reviewed and continue using, I toss aside stock eartips. IT03 and IT01 are the only few with stock eartips that actually work well with my ears. Go figure

 

[silverfishla]

Interesting. IT03 are my favorite IEMs out of the semi-expensive ones that I own (the others being the Fidue A83 and the Sony Z5). They fit me like a glove, like they were made for me. Lucky, I guess. For me, none of the tips that Ibasso provided sounded good to me, and there were alot.
The cable though, sounded great with ITO3. I upgraded to the CB12, and that one sounded even better, so I DO believe cables make a difference for whatever reasons. I personally don't think the stock cable is cheap, but it is basic in it's construction and appearance. Stuff like that does matter when you are spending a lot of dough on gear. The IT01 has a far better looking cable than the IT03 and is half the price. Not sure of it's performance since I haven't heard it. So there's that, I guess everyone's got their own experiences. @Dark Helmet , I can't believe you didn't like those!

 

[Dark Helmet]

Interesting. IT03 are my favorite IEMs out of the semi-expensive ones that I own (the others being the Fidue A83 and the Sony Z5). They fit me like a glove, like they were made for me. Lucky, I guess. For me, none of the tips that Ibasso provided sounded good to me, and there were alot.
The cable though, sounded great with ITO3. I upgraded to the CB12, and that one sounded even better, so I DO believe cables make a difference for whatever reasons. I personally don't think the stock cable is cheap, but it is basic in it's construction and appearance. Stuff like that does matter when you are spending a lot of dough on gear. The IT01 has a far better looking cable than the IT03 and is half the price. Not sure of it's performance since I haven't heard it. So there's that, I guess everyone's got their own experiences. @Dark Helmet , I can't believe you didn't like those!

I wanted to like them. I rolled tips and used my go to tips which work on every other IEM I have, and they did nothing to improve the sound. I found my A83's to be much tighter with better mid bass and punch than the IT03, just overall better. I love the A83 with my C10 into the ALO RX it's absolutely fantastic, however, with every other options I had available to me the, A83 didn't work.

 

[Dark Helmet]

@silverfishla Try the A83 with a wide bore tip (I have some Generic medium tips that work fantastic).

 

[khighly]

Using heatshrink is a very common technique to build y-splitter in balanced cables where you don't combine the common ground wire. You braid it from the headphone plug up to a splitter, and use heatshrink to split the braiding into Left/Right sides going to the connectors. Here is PWA 1960 4wire/8conductor pure copper cable that cost almost $2,000:



The wire in a stock IT03 cable is OFC, nothing fancy. But it's a high purity copper wire. iBasso had a dozen of different cables to choose from, and that made the final cut, specifically to compliment sound sig of IT03.

Here is a problem with today's market. You have a FLOOD of dirt cheap chi-fi products that look good, but designed with the cheapest material and poor quality. As a result, quite often, people make a decision based on the looks rather than components and the quality.

I see in your signature KZ ZS5. I'm not even going to argue how they copied Andromeda design, that's an old news. But do you know these IEMs are a scam? They are sold as 4-drivers, while only 2 drivers are wired in and working: https://medium.com/resonance-review...s-two-working-drivers-its-a-scam-6cc9d1c6a9fb - but they look nice and shiny, great look'a'like of another respected design.

My point, don't judge a book by its cover. The issue with a bass and a sound you are describing is due to a seal problem. Bad seal - mediocre bass. You might have to tip roll using other eartips. It's a very subjective thing, relative to your ear anatomy. In most of the pairs of IEMs I reviewed and continue using, I toss aside stock eartips. IT03 and IT01 are the only few with stock eartips that actually work well with my ears. Go figure

So now that I actually have the ZS5's and the IT03's, the ZS5's perform better than the IT03's in many aspects, including having a larger soundstage and more controlled upper mids. They're different sound signatures (ZS5's are warmer), but the IT03's are in no way $210 better than the ZS5's in any regard. There's also zero actual proof that the ZS5's only had two working drivers, and the two bits of "evidence" were likely planted by a salty CA who realized their IEM's aren't all that hot when you can get a respectable sound signature and soundstage out of a $27 IEM. ZS5's come with better tips and a better cable. I'm not here to argue cable pseudoscience with you, I'm here to argue about it's external build quality. I also have no seal problems at all -- I know how to wear IEM's; I'm not a beginner here.

I've seen people comparing the IT03's to some $1100 CA's and it's just embarrassing.

Have you ever listened to the ZS5's?

 

[khighly]

And make no mistake. I want to like these. I like how they look, I like the build quality of the IEM's themselves is great, and I like the isolation...they just don't perform that well over a $45 Chi-Fi IEM, and the IT03's heavily disappoint in terms of accessories.

 

[twister6]

So now that I actually have the ZS5's and the IT03's, the ZS5's perform better than the IT03's in many aspects, including having a larger soundstage and more controlled upper mids. They're different sound signatures (ZS5's are warmer), but the IT03's are in no way $210 better than the ZS5's in any regard. There's also zero actual proof that the ZS5's only had two working drivers, and the two bits of "evidence" were likely planted by a salty CA who realized their IEM's aren't all that hot when you can get a respectable sound signature and soundstage out of a $27 IEM. ZS5's come with better tips and a better cable. I'm not here to argue cable pseudoscience with you, I'm here to argue about it's external build quality. I also have no seal problems at all -- I know how to wear IEM's; I'm not a beginner here.

I've seen people comparing the IT03's to some $1100 CA's and it's just embarrassing.

Have you ever listened to the ZS5's?

This is really off-topic to continue a discussion about another IEM/IEMs in the thread dedicated to IT03. I have reviewed and praised a lot of KZ iems in the past, prior to their ZS releases which I personally don't care about. I only brought up KZ topic relative to my reply where some things look "nice" on outside...

I get it, you don't like how IT03 looks and sounds, and think ZS5 sounds better at a fraction of a price, and that's fine. You made your point. People can agree or disagree with it. Let's move on

 

[silverfishla]

And make no mistake. I want to like these. I like how they look, I like the build quality of the IEM's themselves is great, and I like the isolation...they just don't perform that well over a $45 Chi-Fi IEM, and the IT03's heavily disappoint in terms of accessories.

Did you run them for very long? I found that the sound really went through a journey. Got really closed in sounding at the 20hr mark. Channels got all imbalanced around that time too. After about 75 hours, everything was right with the world. Odd but true.