[daboscovellen]

Edit: sorry, realized I'm not supposed to post about for-sale stuff here. Instead, I'll offer my general impression of the IT03 after some testing. 
 
Great fit. Good soundstage and detail. Awesome bass thump and texture. Nicely balanced frequency response. Some sibilance sometimes but nothing crazy. Didn't love the timbre of drums and guitars compared (unfairly) to more expensive phones (CA Nova, ATH E70). Very good for the price, with an exciting sound. But perhaps not quite the giant-killers some folks here have made them out to be. If they made a version of these tuned to sound a little more 'organic', I would definitely pay more than they currently charge.  

 

[tienbasse]

TG334 are rare and are often a "last stop" IEM. Not sure you'll find many people who can compare the two. I've heard both, but it's been over a year since I've heard TG334. From memory TG334 are more mid-centric than IT03.

Tried custom and universal TG334 recently.
 
Universal are quite bass heavy, due to the weird monotube nozzle (I like bass, but with this monotube, the crossover is all messed up).
Custom TG334 are more mid-centric and detailed, and they have the amazing quality to sound very natural, not analytical at all. Bass is still very present.
 
Quite an upgrade from IT03 in my opinion.

 

[jamato8]

 
Tried custom and universal TG334 recently.
 
Universal are quite bass heavy, due to the weird monotube nozzle (I like bass, but with this monotube, the crossover is all messed up).
Custom TG334 are more mid-centric and detailed, and they have the amazing quality to sound very natural, not analytical at all. Bass is still very present.
 
Quite an upgrade from IT03 in my opinion.

You tried a custom or have a custom? 

 

[yellowbirdfly]

I have tried the IT03 not too long ago and have been a new owner of TG334 since last week. I thought that they are completely different beasts with vastly different sound sigs. Without directly A/B'ing, here's a rough comparison based off my memory:

- Both have emphasised bass, but the focus of IT03 is on sub-bass while TG334 focuses on mid-bass. TG334's bass feels slower overall.
- TG334 have a richer, thicker and more intimate mids while IT03's mids are leaner and closer to analytical. TG334 tilts towards heavier lower mids while IT03 accentuates the upper mids.
- IT03 has an extended and more present highs than TG334. Both are equally smooth and presents little to no sibilance.
- IT03 has wider soundstage and more air, while TG334 is more intimate but with better depth and layering.
- IT03 has more apparent clarity and detail, but TG334 has better inner resolution capable of revealing the subtle details and texture of instruments with ease. A decidedly higher-end sound on the 334.

IMO, the IT03's technical performance gets close to the TG334 but not quite there. Though at $259, it sure is a heck of a bargain for getting a near-TOTL quality sound!

 

[burrrcub]

Mine came in today and out the box it's already missing a piece lol.  Anyways, first impression is the sound is really hollow, anyone else feel this way?  The vocals are forward and shallow while the background sounds are recessed.  Playing through foobar and dacmini.
 

 

[jamato8]

  Mine came in today and out the box it's already missing a piece lol.  Anyways, first impression is the sound is really hollow, anyone else feel this way?  The vocals are forward and shallow while the background sounds are recessed.  Playing through foobar and dacmini.
 
 

Per what has been said many times here, they need time to burn in. I don't remember mine sound hollow but it could have been the tips I use. But they need around 150 hours for the dynamic drivers to burn in and for everything else to settle. I would contact Paul on here about the missing tip. 

 

[ustinj]

  Mine came in today and out the box it's already missing a piece lol.  Anyways, first impression is the sound is really hollow, anyone else feel this way?  The vocals are forward and shallow while the background sounds are recessed.  Playing through foobar and dacmini.
 

I felt this way too, but only had ~50 hrs "burn-in" (not a huge believer); vocals felt a little "bathroom-ish", bass was fantastic, and highs were a tad bit sharp. 

 

[burrrcub]

"Bathroomish" is the better way of describing it yes.  I'm letting it play through the night and hopefully it'll sound better tomorrow.

 

[omastic]

  "Bathroomish" is the better way of describing it yes.  I'm letting it play through the night and hopefully it'll sound better tomorrow.

This is quite strange as I heard a relatively fresh pair of IT03 and there was nothing bathroomish about its sound. Something like this would have been very obvious to my ears. I suggest you drop Paul from iBasso a word about your findings, as I suspect your unit could be faulty. 
 
Also, have you checked whether all the connections are OK? A loose contact somewhere could potentially introduce artifacts in the form of "echoes".

 

[daboscovellen]

I felt this way too, but only had ~50 hrs "burn-in" (not a huge believer); vocals felt a little "bathroom-ish", bass was fantastic, and highs were a tad bit sharp. 

+1

 

[burrrcub]

I changed tips and the bathroomish sound sorta went away but it's still too early to judge honestly.  I could also have a faulty stock cable that was cutting in and out.  I'm using my shure cable right now and it's excellent.  

 

[ustinj]

Also, one of the things to make clear about the sound of the IT03, being a hybrid, is that it doesn't sound very coherent between the bass and mids. I usually can't pick apart these small details but it sort of jumped out at me -- I could definitely tell that the bass was from a dynamic driver, while the mids/treble felt separated, coming from balanced armatures. The bass is very visceral, rumbling, and has that 'moving-air' feel characteristic of dynamic drivers; while the mids/treble had that fast, slightly grainy texture of BAs. That being said, the bass on the IT03 is really amazing.
 
edit; Tips might be a source of the bathroom-ish sound. I was using the stock tips that came attached, and I also tried Mee Pinnacle tips. @omastic Not sure what you mean by checking the contacts, but I did switch between 3 different cables (both P1 cables, and stock). It's fine though, it seems many are enjoying their IT03s and that's good to hear; just expressing my personal (short) experience with it.
 
Oh yeah, not 100% sure where the correlation is but I also picked up a set of Andromedas (the IT03 has been compared to the Andromeda a few times in the start of the thread) as of recent. I'm blown away! 

 

[burrrcub]

  Also, one of the things to make clear about the sound of the IT03, being a hybrid, is that it doesn't sound very coherent between the bass and mids. I usually can't pick apart these small details but it sort of jumped out at me -- I could definitely tell that the bass was from a dynamic driver, while the mids/treble felt separated, coming from balanced armatures. The bass is very visceral, rumbling, and has that 'moving-air' feel characteristic of dynamic drivers; while the mids/treble had that fast, slightly grainy texture of BAs. That being said, the bass on the IT03 is really amazing.
 
edit; Tips might be a source of the bathroom-ish sound. I was using the stock tips that came attached, and I also tried Mee Pinnacle tips. @omastic Not sure what you mean by checking the contacts, but I did switch between 3 different cables (both P1 cables, and stock). It's fine though, it seems many are enjoying their IT03s and that's good to hear; just expressing my personal (short) experience with it.
 
Oh yeah, not 100% sure where the correlation is but I also picked up a set of Andromedas (the IT03 has been compared to the Andromeda a few times in the start of the thread) as of recent. I'm blown away! 

 
I regretted selling my Novas so I started reading about the Andromedas and it lead me here.  Andromeda is still on the "to-buy" list after new road bike.

 

[daboscovellen]

I have not heard the Andromedas but I thought the Novas were already significantly better than the IT03, despite slightly anemic bass and less etched highs. On that basis I think claims of the IT03 matching the Andromeda are hype.

They are a good deal for the price. While they have fantastic bass and good balance and extension, and are great for a lot of hip hop and electronica, in reproduction of real instruments they do not compete with CA phones twice their price, let alone 4x. That is not a knock on them at all, just a reality check.

 

[jamato8]

I have not heard the Andromedas but I thought the Novas were already significantly better than the IT03, despite slightly anemic bass and less etched highs. On that basis I think claims of the IT03 matching the Andromeda are clearly hype, and one of the people hyping has a pattern of strong judgments without substantiation.

They are a good deal for the price. While they have fantastic bass and good balance and extension, and are great for a lot of hip hop and electronica, in reproduction of real instruments they do not compete with CA phones twice their price, let alone 4x. That is not a knock on them at all, just a reality check.

I have found the IT03 to do a good job with classical and that is some hard stuff to get right. Timbre has to be on and then the separation and layering are important to me, and I get this. Comparing to the JH13 Pro freq phase customs I have, the IT03 have better bass and after being burned in, it all becomes very coherent. So I do not agree with you that they do not produce real instruments well. I find they do and I listen to a lot of well recorded classical, orchestral and small ensembles to solo violins etc. I do think you need a good low output impedance amp or whatever source you are using to feed them. Otherwise the frequencies are messed up, which would be expected if there isn't a good difference between the output impedance and the impedance of what is being driven.