[phthora]

Hey guys, looking for some advice on a pair of IEMs. Budget is in the $100 range and was really looking at the IT01s. I plan on ordering an iBasso DX150 next week and am looking for a good pair of IEMs that are affordable to pair with the DAP. I plan on using these for listening to music on the go, as well as connecting to the DAP as a USB DAC for my PC and playing games with. The IT01s seem to have pretty good reviews and is right in my price range. One thing is I would like a pair of IEMs with a balanced cable, do these come with one or is there one that is affordable? When I googled it the first thing that came up was a $89 cable so I kind of stopped there. Would these be a good affordable fit for what I am looking for, or are there any other options that would be worth looking into? I also was reading a little about the Fiio f9 pro which is a little more but I saw comes with 2 cables and one is balanced. Both these and those seem to get different reviews but this would be my first "real" pair of IEMs and not too sure where to start.

Here is a balanced MMCX cable for $16:
https://penonaudio.com/mmcx-silver-plated-replacement-cable.html

It won't be the fanciest quality or the nicest looking, but it will get the job done.

You can also search on AliExpress, which has a ton of balanced cables at just about any price point. You can search for LZ or BGVP cables to get started. (I would be more specific than that, but there are a number of banned AE sellers and I don't want to bother looking them up.) NiceHCK is a legitimate and non-banned seller, however, that I have personally purchased from in the past and would recommend. As always with AE, do your homework on the seller, but it's not nearly as sketchy as some people make it out to be. Hope that helps!

 

[rayliam80]

Hey guys, looking for some advice on a pair of IEMs. Budget is in the $100 range and was really looking at the IT01s. I plan on ordering an iBasso DX150 next week and am looking for a good pair of IEMs that are affordable to pair with the DAP. I plan on using these for listening to music on the go, as well as connecting to the DAP as a USB DAC for my PC and playing games with. The IT01s seem to have pretty good reviews and is right in my price range. One thing is I would like a pair of IEMs with a balanced cable, do these come with one or is there one that is affordable? When I googled it the first thing that came up was a $89 cable so I kind of stopped there. Would these be a good affordable fit for what I am looking for, or are there any other options that would be worth looking into? I also was reading a little about the Fiio f9 pro which is a little more but I saw comes with 2 cables and one is balanced. Both these and those seem to get different reviews but this would be my first "real" pair of IEMs and not too sure where to start.

The stock cable is single ended (non-balanced) and if you want the balanced cable that Ibasso offers that looks and feels like the stock cable of the IT01, yeah it's gonna be $89. But either are both very good cables and a heck of a bargain when the IEM alone is $99 and you get a great single ended, premium cable included. The cable connection on the IT01 is standard MMCX so there are loads of after market cables available especially on Aliexpress, even Amazon and you can find balanced MMCX cables for much less than $89 easily. Venture Electronics (VE Monks) sell mmcx balanced cables in the $10 - $20 range. On Amazon you should be able to find offerings from Brainwavz or Fiio and others for balanced cables. I can't recommend one personally since all dac/amps are single ended.

 

[George Taylor]

Hey guys, looking for some advice on a pair of IEMs. Budget is in the $100 range and was really looking at the IT01s. I plan on ordering an iBasso DX150 next week and am looking for a good pair of IEMs that are affordable to pair with the DAP. I plan on using these for listening to music on the go, as well as connecting to the DAP as a USB DAC for my PC and playing games with. The IT01s seem to have pretty good reviews and is right in my price range. One thing is I would like a pair of IEMs with a balanced cable, do these come with one or is there one that is affordable? When I googled it the first thing that came up was a $89 cable so I kind of stopped there. Would these be a good affordable fit for what I am looking for, or are there any other options that would be worth looking into? I also was reading a little about the Fiio f9 pro which is a little more but I saw comes with 2 cables and one is balanced. Both these and those seem to get different reviews but this would be my first "real" pair of IEMs and not too sure where to start.

If you're dead serious about having to have a balanced cable, and do go the Fiio route, I'd recommend the F5 personally. And I have all 3, the IT01, F5 & F9 pro. I'm telling you this because I find the IT01 to suit me the best of the 3, but if I were to say which of the 2 Fiio units matches it the best I'd go with the F5. All 3 are quite nice, the F9 can be touchy as far as highs go. If you can get the IT01 with an affordable cable, go with it.

 

[emklap]

="* for extra improvements - removing grills helps a lot.

to CoiL: What impact has removing the grills? Can you tell what impact this will have on the sound signature? I have good results on other IEM's (improving the sound details and layering) and are tempted.

Can you also tell if this is reversible, can thr grills be put back in case one wants to?

 

[handwander]

Panda edition

 

[CoiL]

to CoiL: What impact has removing the grills? Can you tell what impact this will have on the sound signature? I have good results on other IEM's (improving the sound details and layering) and are tempted.

Can you also tell if this is reversible, can thr grills be put back in case one wants to?

Yes, if You remove grills carefully with needle, it is reversible mod.
IT01 grills have nylon mash under metal grills, so, theoretically It could improve tad with just removing nylons. Or, You could buy aftermarket grills with larger holes/mesh to improve sound.
Effect removing grills is pretty much as You described. Add wide bore tips and You get great result. For extra soundstage width improvement, replacing/removing backplates is needed.

 

[tripside]

Are these available anywhere else than penonaudio at similar prices and global shipping?

 

[emklap]

="CoiL, post: 14267518, member: 356211"]Yes, if You remove grills carefully with needle, it is reversible mod.
IT01 grills have nylon mash under metal grills, so, theoretically I could improve tad with just removing nylons. Or, You could buy aftermarket grills with larger holes/mesh to improve sound.
Effect removing grills is pretty much as You described. Add wide bore tips and You get great result. For extra soundstage width improvement, replacing/removing backplates is needed.

Thanks a lot, the nylon mash is not unusual. I will give it a try.

 

[emklap]

="emklap, post: 14267487, member: 393196"]to CoiL: What impact has removing the grills? Can you tell what impact this will have on the sound signature? I have good results on other IEM's (improving the sound details and layering) and are tempted.

Can you also tell if this is reversible, can thr grills be put back in case one wants to?

Done popped the grills off, one one side was glued in firmly and might not go back in. This reveals a clear tube into the EIM's.
First impression after only 1 minute of listening is better treble extension, more details in the highs. I like it .

 

[CoiL]

Done popped the grills off, one one side was glued in firmly and might not go back in. This reveals a clear tube into the EIM's.
First impression after only 1 minute of listening is better treble extension, more details in the highs. I like it .

Not only details in highs - imo, mids also got slightly clearer and detailed but retained natural warmth and tonality. What tips are You using?

Btw, laquer is dry and hopefully tomorrow will install them (not permanently yet cuz I want to test some more tweaks).

Edit: sorry for bad quality cheapo smartphone pic (looks a lot nicer in reality)

 

[chickenmcnug]

Done popped the grills off, one one side was glued in firmly and might not go back in. This reveals a clear tube into the EIM's.
First impression after only 1 minute of listening is better treble extension, more details in the highs. I like it .

How did you pop the grills off? I'm interested in doing this.

 

[emklap]

="CoiL, post: 14267643, member: 356211"]Not only details in highs - imo, mids also got slightly clearer and detailed but retained natural warmth and tonality. What tips are You using?

Yes, the mids have improved a bit as well. I use wide bore tips and I might possibly replace them with some wide-bore tips with a less shallow depth for deeper insertion.

Btw, laquer is dry and hopefully tomorrow will install them (not permanently yet cuz I want to test some more tweaks).

Looks nice, I wonder how they will sound.

 

[Hinomotocho]

I let these burn in for about 110 hours then used them with my Sony MUC-M12NB1 balanced cable from my ZX300. I had never bought these hoping to better my XBA-A3 which cost 3 times the price, they were a replacement for my tablet/movie earphones that broke, and a low cost chance to try a different style of fit (the XBA-A3/Z5 are a Frankenstein bolt looking awkward design that has me looking for something new). Balanced from my ZX300 they were pretty good but as I am used to my A3 with this set up it was more obvious where they couldn't compete and in comparison and had a slightly hollow sound, perhaps as the A3 have a wider soundstage, more detail and a more full sound (to my ears). I then switched back to the stock cable and just for a quick listen while doing the dishes, grabbed my Samsung S7 (USB Audio Player Pro - no tweaks). For some reason they sounded alot nicer, not wider but a more balanced sound ironically than balanced from my ZX300 (I understand that is not what balanced output means, but I was expecting the balanced cable/output to help them sound their best).

 

[emklap]

How did you pop the grills off? I'm interested in doing this.

I used a pin, inserted at the rim of the tip as show in the picture, between the outer ruim and the grills. I used one pin with a straight tip and one with a bent tip, making it a tiny hook.
If you don't want to keep the grills, you can always pears through the middle, the nozzle tube is ca 10mm deep (0.4 inch).

 

[kukkurovaca]

I used a pin, inserted at the rim of the tip as show in the picture, between the outer ruim and the grills. I used one pin with a straight tip and one with a bent tip, making it a tiny hook.
If you don't want to keep the grills, you can always pears through the middle, the nozzle tube is ca 10mm deep (0.4 inch).

This is good to know, since I dropped my IT01's on a hard floor a few days ago and later found that one of the screens was gone. : )

The IT01s were otherwise fine, and I hadn't noticed a difference in sound, but having the screen in only one would make my brain itch now that I've noticed it.