[mellowjamie]

Hi all,

Any iBasso IT01 owners changed the cable? I know it's meant to be a universal MMCX cable, but I have heard that it's not quite universal. Getting hold of the CB12 appears to be problematic in the UK - has anyone used a different cable with an IT01? I need a 2.5mm balanced cable for them.

Cheers

 

[Amberlamps]

Hi all,

Any iBasso IT01 owners changed the cable? I know it's meant to be a universal MMCX cable, but I have heard that it's not quite universal. Getting hold of the CB12 appears to be problematic in the UK - has anyone used a different cable with an IT01? I need a 2.5mm balanced cable for them.

Cheers

Does penon not have the cb12, or ibasso themselves ?

All the different mmcx cables I have plugged into my it01’s have fit perfectly, no probs at all.

I bought three it01 cables and tins earlier this year from ibasso, they are unused as they were meant for spares. if you want another cable and tin, I can sell one set for the same price I paid for them from ibasso. Oh, shipping is not included though.

If anyone in the uk is interested, just send me a message.

 

[mellowjamie]

Hi Amberlamps,

Cheers for the reply - your help is appreciated, mate.

Didn't even realise Penon would ship to UK, which they apparently do.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi all,

Any iBasso IT01 owners changed the cable? I know it's meant to be a universal MMCX cable, but I have heard that it's not quite universal. Getting hold of the CB12 appears to be problematic in the UK - has anyone used a different cable with an IT01? I need a 2.5mm balanced cable for them.

Cheers

Hi @mellowjamie,

As @Amberlamps stated, Penon can cover you, especially their dedicated cable store if you're after trying other cables not the CB 12 though that is a good choice regardless.

I have cable rolled the IT 01 with several cables.

Just to give you an idea, I like the following in no particular order :

Penon GS 849 (current pairing)
Penon OS 849
Null Audio Lune Cable
VE Junkosha Silver 8 Wire
VE Black Litz 8 Wire
VE SPC

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Amberlamps]

Hi @mellowjamie,

As @Amberlamps stated, Penon can cover you, especially their dedicated cable store if you're after trying other cables not the CB 12 though that is a good choice regardless.

I have cable rolled the IT 01 with several cables.

Just to give you an idea, I like the following in no particular order :

Penon GS 849 (current pairing)
Penon OS 849
Null Audio Lune Cable
VE Junkosha Silver 8 Wire
VE Black Litz 8 Wire
VE SPC

Hope you have a great day !

How is the GS849 ?

I have looked and looked at it many times but never pulled the trigger. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it compared to the silver OS849. So how does it compare ?

I have the OS849 and I like it, but for me personally, I think it’s too thick as a daily driver, the OC819, although it is still 8 cores, it is thinner and softer than the OS849 and is much more suited to listening whilst on the go.

I like the OC819, very nice and cheap, I grabbed 4 of them, 2 mmcx and 2 0.78mm 2 pin, they will come in handy for something and are worth every penny.

 

[mellowjamie]

Hi @mellowjamie,

As @Amberlamps stated, Penon can cover you, especially their dedicated cable store if you're after trying other cables not the CB 12 though that is a good choice regardless.

I have cable rolled the IT 01 with several cables.

Just to give you an idea, I like the following in no particular order :

Penon GS 849 (current pairing)
Penon OS 849
Null Audio Lune Cable
VE Junkosha Silver 8 Wire
VE Black Litz 8 Wire
VE SPC

Hope you have a great day !

Thanks, PaganDL. Appreciate this.

How have you found the IT01? I pulled the trigger today on a pair (I was waiting for Black Friday for a deal). It was a toss up between the IT01, the Fiio FH1 and the Westone UM1. From what I've read (and I know it's all subjective) the IT01 sounded like the most appropriate for my needs (even thought the FH1 comes with a balanced cable already).

 

[PaganDL]

No problem, @mellowjamie.

Happy to help.

IT 01 is exceptional value for what it is & really performs above its price range & any expectations though I had none when getting it a while back.
It is my most used IEM on weekly rotation with it's bigger brother IT 04 which shares the same Dynamic Driver with slightly different, more 'polished' tuning though once again, this is highly subjective & personal.

Just curious, where was your Black Friday Deal, Amazon ?

Honestly, balanced cables are overrated though they have their uses & 'fun' to a certain extent but that's just my personal & subjective opinion.

Hope you enjoy your IT 01, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Also, what are you pairing it with, IT 01 shines with just about everything though good synergy is everything.
Be interested to see how you find it, don't forget to do 'burn in', iBasso recommends minimum 100 hours, I suggest just use it as much as possible, no need for 'dedicated burn in'.

Hope you have a great day !

How is the GS849 ?

I have looked and looked at it many times but never pulled the trigger. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it compared to the silver OS849. So how does it compare ?

I have the OS849 and I like it, but for me personally, I think it’s too thick as a daily driver, the OC819, although it is still 8 cores, it is thinner and softer than the OS849 and is much more suited to listening whilst on the go.

I like the OC819, very nice and cheap, I grabbed 4 of them, 2 mmcx and 2 0.78mm 2 pin, they will come in handy for something and are worth every penny.

Hi @Amberlamps,

Just briefly, for this sort of thing & some head gear, I sometimes get the lower priced model first then decide from there but there are a few exceptions.
Especially in head gear where the lower priced models might not suit but I digress...

Personally & subjectively, though there is more 'Reference Style' tuning to the OS 849, you did hit the nail on the head where comfort is concerned.
For me, seeing if there are appealing tuning changes to an aftermarket cable over stock is one thing, slightly more important is comfort as if it's not comfortable, no matter how good something may be, then it will be a problem in the long run.
For this reason, being uncomfortable was the primary reason I decided to try the GS 849 & see if there were any further tuning changes.

I have explained this in both IT 01 & IT 04 threads prior though it will be a few pages back by now but happy to do so again...

Remember, this is just my humbly subjective & personal opinion so your mileage will vary.
GS 849 has more 'tone' control over the IT 01 than the OS 849 making it more 'natural', smooth & a touch warm over the 'reference' almost drier, nice crisp but by no means, boring sound, I mentioned before when also compared to the Stock Cable.
To me, this means GS 849 makes the IT 01 still have good clarity but potentially 'less shouty in your face' compared to the Stock Cable when you have tracks with loud sound levels (not necessarily volume) & tightens the good, natural bass response IT 01 has.
The 'shouty in your face' is not a bad thing just can get a bit much sometimes for reasons listed regarding sound levels above.
Perosnally, the smooth & natural with that warmth are more feelings to me I experience over the actual sound texture so once again, your own experience may vary if you ever decide on the GS 849.
As stated, so it comes down to preference, in terms of enjoyment, longer listening & comfort, GS 849 is my go to for reasons outlined.

Obviously you like OC 819, have never tried so I can't comment or will I ever get this one but four ?
My max on any cable unless it has a different connecter is 2 but to each their own, not judging, just observing, .

Hope they serve you well.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Amberlamps]

No problem, @mellowjamie.

Happy to help.

IT 01 is exceptional value for what it is & really performs above its price range & any expectations though I had none when getting it a while back.
It is my most used IEM on weekly rotation with it's bigger brother IT 04 which shares the same Dynamic Driver with slightly different, more 'polished' tuning though once again, this is highly subjective & personal.

Just curious, where was your Black Friday Deal, Amazon ?

Honestly, balanced cables are overrated though they have their uses & 'fun' to a certain extent but that's just my personal & subjective opinion.

Hope you enjoy your IT 01, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Also, what are you pairing it with, IT 01 shines with just about everything though good synergy is everything.
Be interested to see how you find it, don't forget to do 'burn in', iBasso recommends minimum 100 hours, I suggest just use it as much as possible, no need for 'dedicated burn in'.

Hope you have a great day !






Hi @Amberlamps,

Just briefly, for this sort of thing & some head gear, I sometimes get the lower priced model first then decide from there but there are a few exceptions.
Especially in head gear where the lower priced models might not suit but I digress...

Personally & subjectively, though there is more 'Reference Style' tuning to the OS 849, you did hit the nail on the head where comfort is concerned.
For me, seeing if there are appealing tuning changes to an aftermarket cable over stock is one thing, slightly more important is comfort as if it's not comfortable, no matter how good something may be, then it will be a problem in the long run.
For this reason, being uncomfortable was the primary reason I decided to try the GS 849 & see if there were any further tuning changes.

I have explained this in both IT 01 & IT 04 threads prior though it will be a few pages back by now but happy to do so again...

Remember, this is just my humbly subjective & personal opinion so your mileage will vary.
GS 849 has more 'tone' control over the IT 01 than the OS 849 making it more 'natural', smooth & a touch warm over the 'reference' almost drier, nice crisp but by no means, boring sound, I mentioned before when also compared to the Stock Cable.
To me, this means GS 849 makes the IT 01 still have good clarity but potentially 'less shouty in your face' compared to the Stock Cable when you have tracks with loud sound levels (not necessarily volume) & tightens the good, natural bass response IT 01 has.
The 'shouty in your face' is not a bad thing just can get a bit much sometimes for reasons listed regarding sound levels above.
Perosnally, the smooth & natural with that warmth are more feelings to me I experience over the actual sound texture so once again, your own experience may vary if you ever decide on the GS 849.
As stated, so it comes down to preference, in terms of enjoyment, longer listening & comfort, GS 849 is my go to for reasons outlined.

Obviously you like OC 819, have never tried so I can't comment or will I ever get this one but four ?
My max on any cable unless it has a different connecter is 2 but to each their own, not judging, just observing, .

Hope they serve you well.

Hope you have a great day !

Cool, cool,

I hadn’t seen your previous post about the penon cables.

As mentioned I have the os849 and I find it be a nice cable, just not an everyday use one due to it’s thickness. I use it on my ibasso iT03 normally but it has also been used on my other iems.

I like my cables and I’m forever buying iems and cables, swapping etc, but the 4 oc819 cables I have, 2 are mmcx and 2 are 2 pin 0.78mm, and I find them be the perfect cable for wearing outside or at work etc. I also had to use some to replace busted cables. I only bought 3 of them, I got the 4th free.

Penon also sell a OS819, avoid it unless you just want to cut the connectors off them to use on a home made cable, as the connectors are nice. The OS819 does not compare to the OC819, as it’s 4 core not 8.

Iem cables are like crack to me, but I mainly buy them for the looks rather than sq changes, and that was one of the reasons I bought 3 os819s in various formats, as it looks MUCH nicer in real life compared to the photo on penons site.

Cables will always come in handy for me, example, my sennheiser hd800s cable just split, and it was the only thing that I don’t have a replacement cable for. Ok it does have an xlr spare cable, but I dont use xlr

 

[mellowjamie]

Hi @PaganDL

Thanks for the reply.

Definitely seems to be a common theme that you get a lot for your money with the IT01 and being a Yorkshire man I like a bargain!

I've had a mixed experience of IEMs / in ears. The problem is it's much more difficult to try them compared to on ears and over ears. I had some Fidue A73 and the sibilance gave me fatigue, I've tried the RHA 750 and found the sound signature far to mid centric and a bit boring, I had a couple of pairs of Rockjaw and both of them had really weird tuning (the Arcana v2 were far too bright and the Hydra v2 sounded congested in the mid bass area), I had the Sony 650 and they were excellent but the cable isn't removable. So my daily cans are some B&O H6. I know a lot of hifi enthusiasts might turn their nose up at B&O but I spent months looking for a pair of headphones (including driving down to the Hifi Lounge in Bedfordshire). Tried everything - left no stone unturned (Audeze, Hifiman, Sennheiser, Beyer, Mr Speakers, and Stax). In the end it was the Hifiman Edition X with a Questyle amp I was most happy with and was ready to buy them when the money had to go elsewhere! So with the budget cut I started looking again but I was always going to struggle to find a £300 headphone as good as a £1000 open back planar. had pretty much given up and only tried the B&O because I walked past the B&O shop one day - I was blown away by the B&O H6. What Hifi (who I am convinced give better reviews to stuff Richer Sounds sell) reckoned the Sennheiser Momentum is better - but every Momentum I've listened to has been dreadful in my opinion - a proper consumer product. Anyway, I work in software design and I regularly have to get up and walk around to talk to devs (or they come over to me) so the over ears aren't practical. They're also for home for my turntable set up which has a Graham Sell phono stage and Graham Slee headphone amp, so I wanted some IEMs for work.

The Black Friday deal was AdvancedMP3 - bought stuff from them before, the've always been reliable. It was them or FiiO FH1 or Westone UM1.

Source wise, similar story. Had an iBasso DX50 which I loved and regret selling. Then I had a Fiio X5ii, which I also loved. Now I have a Pioneer XDP-30R (which isn't a Pioneer at all, its a rebadged Onkyo), which I was dubious about before buying but on paper it seemed impressive (twin Sabre ES9018C2M and twin ESS9601K amps) and gets good reviews. It's definitely on the next level compared to the FiiO, far more balanced sound signature, much more revealing. The FiiO did suffer with sibilance with almost every earphone I used, but I am overly sensitive - however I don't get that with the Pioneer. I completely disagree with WhatHifi's review of it, and I don't know why they are comparing it to the A&K AK70 which is £150 more. The reason for the balanced cable is that the Pioneer has that twin architecture and I'd love to hear what difference it makes if any.

Regarding burn in - I know some people don't believe in it but I most certainly do. Everything I've owned has sound different after several days use.

Really looking forward to the IT01. I am hoping that because it has a single dynamic driver and not a balanced armature set up that the treble won't be fatiguing. I'll let you know when it arrives and I've had a chance to burn it in.

 

[Sergio Tavares]

Hi,

I am on the edge of buying a IT01 to me and, as someone already mentioned, it's a common theme that they give you a lot for the money they cost. One of the things that are most appraised on them is the original cable, of excellent level for the budget IEM's they are. I wonder what would be the reason to go to an aftermarket cable - I know they can improve SQ, but is it THAT significantly in a 90 Euros IEM?

Also, what are the differences between the packed cable and the CB12 from iBasso?

Thank you in advance

 

[Makahl]

I've bought this cable after seeing this picture on reddit:

There's a 2.5mm option available too.

 

[Sergio Tavares]

And did you feel any improvement whatsoever on the SQ of your IEM's?

 

[mellowjamie]

Hi,

I am on the edge of buying a IT01 to me and, as someone already mentioned, it's a common theme that they give you a lot for the money they cost. One of the things that are most appraised on them is the original cable, of excellent level for the budget IEM's they are. I wonder what would be the reason to go to an aftermarket cable - I know they can improve SQ, but is it THAT significantly in a 90 Euros IEM?

Also, what are the differences between the packed cable and the CB12 from iBasso?

Thank you in advance

The included cable is definitely one of the reasons the IT01 seems to be getting plaudits and to me it shows that they’ve thought about the whole package.

The reason for upgrading is I want a 2.5mm TRRS balanced cable for my DAP because it’s got a balanced output. That’s also one of the reasons I am going for an earphone with removable cables.

I have no idea how much of a difference it will actually make but that’s half the fun of this hobby init!

 

[blakey72]

Just a quick question. Would these be any good with female vocals? Jazz like Cassandra Wilson, Dianna Krall etc.

 

[PaganDL]

Just a quick question. Would these be any good with female vocals? Jazz like Cassandra Wilson, Dianna Krall etc.

Hi @blakey72,

Quick answer... yes.

Female vocals are really good, nice clear presence & representation.
If you want exceptional, subjectively & personally, try pairing IT 01 with the Penon GS 849.
Otherwise, IT 04 with either Stock CB 12 or CB 13.

Hope you have a great day !