[battosai]

All right all right, you guys convinced me. Pulled the trigger for the grey it01s on Penon Audio. Hopefully it will be my one and only audio purchase of 2019 (2018 has been brutal for my small wallet!). I should be set when I finally receive my DM6 in the next days.

 

[emklap]

IT01S should maybe have bold text under cover when You open it saying: "Please! I beg You! Burn me IN at least 200h before sending me back!", LOL.

Or they should be burned in by Ibasso before packing. That would give a more realistic impression out of the box.

 

[perfecious]

How about "burning it in" at the factory, passing the 200 hour mark, slap a test result, and then push it out for sale? If "burn in" is so important, it should be done at the factory, otherwise it sounds like an excuse for buyer's remorse situation. Just my 2 cents.

 

[jamato8]

How about "burning it in" at the factory, passing the 200 hour mark, slap a test result, and then push it out for sale? If "burn in" is so important, it should be done at the factory, otherwise it sounds like an excuse for buyer's remorse situation. Just my 2 cents.

I can't imagine that. The time required, the number of stations for this and then there are other products, would be nice but totally impractical.

I will say that the IT01s do go through a process but it is all worth it. They really open up and reach to very high levels. I would bet some of the best DD on the market. Yep, that good. I have over 300 hours on mine now. Detail comes in more and more and was never bad. So very comfortable for me also. Like nothing in my ears. Good stuff!

 

[emklap]

How about "burning it in" at the factory, passing the 200 hour mark, slap a test result, and then push it out for sale? If "burn in" is so important, it should be done at the factory, otherwise it sounds like an excuse for buyer's remorse situation. Just my 2 cents.

Same idea, same time

 

[josesol07]

All right all right, you guys convinced me. Pulled the trigger for the grey it01s on Penon Audio. Hopefully it will be my one and only audio purchase of 2019 (2018 has been brutal for my small wallet!). I should be set when I finally receive my DM6 in the next days.

looking forward to hear your impressions on DM6 vs. It01s

 

[Lurker0]

If "burn in" is so important, it should be done at the factory,

Do you know any car manufacturer who performs engine break-in at the factory?

 

[davidmolliere]

I can't imagine that. The time required, the number of stations for this and then there are other products, would be nice but totally impractical. I will say that the IT01s do go through a process but it is all worth it. They really open up and reach to very high levels. I would bet some of the best DD on the market. Yep, that good. I have over 300 hours on mine now. Detail comes in more and more and was never bad. So very comfortable for me also. Like nothing in my ears. Good stuff!

Can’t wait to get there, and I am glad I am not the only one thinking this little gem is punching well above its price!

 

[perfecious]

Do you know any car manufacturer who performs engine break-in at the factory?

No, but we aren't talking about engines (some people and their analogies...). And by the way, there are manufacturers in the audio world, especially for some speakers and studio monitors, that actually DO "burn-in" their products, at full volume, for a set amount of time (so having that for IEMs is not an unreasonable request, ESPECIALLY if it's supposed to make the product perform as intended). It's more of a quality assurance, but it's still a thing. Some stiff membrane surrounds do loosen up from "burn-in", causing "slightly" faster response and deeper bass (more performance), but that's it. It's not gonna change the frequency response/tuning. And for IEM's with their little drivers is simply "debatable" if burn-in is actually a thing, which I implied in a very subtle way. Everything else, to me, is simply buyer's remorse at worst, and "mental burn-in" (getting used to not very pleasing/natural signature) at best.

 

[jamato8]

No, but we aren't talking about engines (some people and their analogies...). And by the way, there are manufacturers in the audio world, especially for some speakers and studio monitors, that actually DO "burn-in" their products, at full volume, for a set amount of time (so having that for IEMs is not an unreasonable request, ESPECIALLY if it's supposed to make the product perform as intended). It's more of a quality assurance, but it's still a thing. Some stiff membrane surrounds do loosen up from "burn-in", causing "slightly" faster response and deeper bass (more performance), but that's it. It's not gonna change the frequency response/tuning. And for IEM's with their little drivers is simply "debatable" if burn-in is actually a thing, which I implied in a very subtle way. Everything else, to me, is simply buyer's remorse at worst, and "mental burn-in" (getting used to not very pleasing/natural signature) at best.

Still a big difference. Speakers aren't normally produced by the hundreds or more and if they are, I really doubt they have 100's of speakers all running. Just not practical. I have bought expensive IEMs and know they were not run in, tested yes but not run in. And I didn't expect the manufacture to do that, totally impractical. That is why you do life tests on a certain number and also the process of R&D. I have been to a manufactures site in China, and it had a special room for running in test models for days but only for 10 or so for life test and burn in process and changes.

 

[davidmolliere]

It’s an old debate between burn in believers and non believers...

I definitely agree that there is brain burn in to a signature, but changes like these ones is not in the brain especially when you check them at intervals with the burn in occurring while not listening. And buyer’s remorse is a well known argument... it could work when you’re talking a 1/2/3K$ IEM (as well as confirmation bias) but here it’s non existent for me. I liked them instantly when I got them, but they did get much better and will get better with burn in.

Most of my experience is that it doesn’t affect the frequency range aside from the bass response (mainly better control with burn in) and the treble response (smoother) but there is something about the diamond like coating (a very rigid surface) that defy the usual rules. The Vega made me a believer, the IT01S just as much.

Note that I am much less of an all or nothing guy here, some headphones and IEMs I have owned were hardly affected by burn in. This one does and big time. Trust your ears...

 

[meringo]

It’s an old debate between burn in believers and non believers...

I definitely agree that there is brain burn in to a signature, but changes like these ones is not in the brain especially when you check them at intervals with the burn in occurring while not listening. And buyer’s remorse is a well known argument... it could work when you’re talking a 1/2/3K$ IEM (as well as confirmation bias) but here it’s non existent for me. I liked them instantly when I got them, but they did get much better and will get better with burn in.

Most of my experience is that it doesn’t affect the frequency range aside from the bass response (mainly better control with burn in) and the treble response (smoother) but there is something about the diamond like coating (a very rigid surface) that defy the usual rules. The Vega made me a believer, the IT01S just as much.

Note that I am much less of an all or nothing guy here, some headphones and IEMs I have owned were hardly affected by burn in. This one does and big time. Trust your ears...

I agree and should also note the following: I've never experienced burn-in with BA drivers... seems like it's a DD thing, at least in my experience.

 

[davidmolliere]

I agree and should also note the following: I've never experienced burn-in with BA drivers... seems like it's a DD thing, at least in my experience.

Absolutely, BA don’t need burn in and don’t change, some say the crossovers burn in can affect the sound marginally... if you go there, I didn’t believe in amp/dac burn in until the Sony DAPs and their capacitors the sound did change significantly... same way I know burning in my newly acquired idsd micro BL with the OS-CON capacitors will benefit to the SQ.

 

[perfecious]

Still a big difference. Speakers aren't normally produced by the hundreds or more and if they are, I really doubt they have 100's of speakers all running. Just not practical. I have bought expensive IEMs and know they were not run in, tested yes but not run in. And I didn't expect the manufacture to do that, totally impractical. That is why you do life tests on a certain number and also the process of R&D. I have been to a manufactures site in China, and it had a special room for running in test models for days but only for 10 or so for life test and burn in process and changes.

You might doubt some things, but for some manufacturers they are common. And, just as a small correction, the speaker market is dare I say much bigger than the Head gear market. As an example, here is a quote from from the manufacturer of one of the most famous budged monitors:

Before being approved for production, 3 Series monitors must first pass JBL’s strenuous Power Test. Each model is required to perform flawlessly at maximum volume for an unheard-of 100 hours—without failure. As a result, you can depend on 305P MkII monitors to deliver consistently excellent sound reproduction for years to come.

(DISCLAMER: this is in no way advertising, it's simply a quote)

As for arguing whether burn-in is real for IEMs, I've already said it's debatable, especially to what degree it changes the sound. But I will stand behind my words 100% when I say, that burn-in will NOT change a problematic tuning/signature, which is sadly something that 90% of the people are using to excuse tuning problems.

 

[jamato8]

You might doubt some things, but for some manufacturers they are common. And, just as a small correction, the speaker market is dare I say much bigger than the Head gear market. As an example, here is a quote from from the manufacturer of one of the most famous budged monitors:

Key words: "Before being approved for production,"

And for pre production monitors or most things, this is hardly unheard of.

Most manufactures do this life test. This is totally different, "before production" than burning in every single monitor that is to be sold. I have some expensive speakers but they weren't burn't in before I got them. They were tested but still needed to be run in. The same with many amps etc. Cary Audio, in their manual as many do, states that 100 hours are needed for the burn in process. And on it goes.