[TenMoonsNorth]

Anyone in EU/UK wanting to sell their IM-02/IM-03?

 

[MartinDF]

  Hey guys,

I recently bought a ATH-IM02, and I'm really impressed by it's sound quality, however I realized that the IEM pretty much only sounds good on mobile phones.. I have tried it on my laptop, Nexus 7 2012, PC, and a audio interface rated 32 ohms and it sounded very weak on them.

I tried the IEM on a LG Optimus 2x, HTC One M7, LG G2 and Galaxy Note 2, and it sounded good on all of those mobile phones. 

Is this because of the higher output impedance of those mentioned players? Is there anything I can do to solve this problem?

 

Use an amp.  

 

[skyflux]

  Use an amp.  

 
Ahh... Well I'm actually on budget mode now.. But would a cheap amp like FiiO E6 do the job?

 

 

[MartinDF]

   
Ahh... Well I'm actually on budget mode now.. But would a cheap amp like FiiO E6 do the job?

 

I have an E5 and just tried it; it does help a lot.

EDIT: It actually helps with soundstage and bass on my Nexus 5 too. If you have an android phone, download viper4android and enable viper bass, and set as parameters: natural bass;80Hz;11.0dB. The sound is pretty great.

 

[AUserName501]

 
This video shows the balanced armatures and dynamic drivers in much more detail.

 

[skyflux]

  I have an E5 and just tried it; it does help a lot.

EDIT: It actually helps with soundstage and bass on my Nexus 5 too. If you have an android phone, download viper4android and enable viper bass, and set as parameters: natural bass;80Hz;11.0dB. The sound is pretty great.

 
That's helpful, because I think my laptop and my Nexus 7 have about 100 ohms of output impedance, I was thinking an E6 with it's <1 ohms of output impedance would solve my problem, seeing as OP recommend using low output impedance players with the ATH IM02.

 

[twister6]

I just got confirmation from Audio Technica US, they are indeed have a listing on Amazon US selling ATH-IM03 and IM02 from an official authorized US source, fulfilled by Amazon and shipped from US location: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHIM03-Balanced-In-Ear-Headphones/dp/B00FWGU0OI and http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATHIM02-Balanced-Headphones/dp/B00FWGU0ES/
 
Those Amazon listings have dozens of sellers from Japan, so you have to be very careful which one you click.  As you know, though it will be a little bit cheaper to get IM03 or IM02 from Japan, AT US will not service them under warranty   Plus, you know how much hassle it is to deal with returns if you get a defective product with a seller being over-seas.

 

[AUserName501]

  I just got confirmation from Audio Technica US, they are indeed have a listing on Amazon US selling ATH-IM03 and IM02 from an official authorized US source, fulfilled by Amazon and shipped from US location: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHIM03-Balanced-In-Ear-Headphones/dp/B00FWGU0OI and http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATHIM02-Balanced-Headphones/dp/B00FWGU0ES/
 
Those Amazon listings have dozens of sellers from Japan, so you have to be very careful which one you click.  As you know, though it will be a little bit cheaper to get IM03 or IM02 from Japan, AT US will not service them under warranty   Plus, you know how much hassle it is to deal with returns if you get a defective product with a seller being over-seas.

 
An additional $177 for one additional balanced armature speaker in the IM-03 compared to the IM-02.

 

[twister6]

   
An additional $177 for one additional balanced armature speaker in the IM-03 compared to the IM-02.

That's a price to pay to go from analytical dual driver tuning to musical/balanced w/bass triple driver tuning   Oh yeah, and you get a bigger case

 

[AUserName501]

 
That's a price to pay to go from analytical dual driver tuning to musical/balanced w/bass triple driver tuning   Oh yeah, and you get a bigger case

 
How would you describe the difference in frequency response between the IM-02 and IM-03. I'm not interested in vague words such as musical but useful information gained from sine wave sweeps such as "area between 6-10Khz is elevated on the IM-02 versus IM-03".

 

[uncletim]

Liking the IM03. Was not able to get a seal with UE900 tips. Best so far are unknown tips penonaudio included when I bought some Pistons. Red and black.

Why is the case so large? Looking for something a bit smaller for travel. A bit larger would fit the dx90 also.

 

[twister6]

Liking the IM03. Was not able to get a seal with UE900 tips. Best so far are unknown tips penonaudio included when I bought some Pistons. Red and black.

Why is the case so large? Looking for something a bit smaller for travel. A bit larger would fit the dx90 also.

 
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Star-Rectangle-Bluetooth-Enclosure/dp/B00GOLVYWM/ - that's a case I use with my IM03.  Takes about 3-4 days to air out the smell, then you are good to go!  It's very similar in shape to IM02 case.

 

[twister6]

   
How would you describe the difference in frequency response between the IM-02 and IM-03. I'm not interested in vague words such as musical but useful information gained from sine wave sweeps such as "area between 6-10Khz is elevated on the IM-02 versus IM-03".

Sorry, I'm not on audiophile level to analyze frequency response curves.  I probably find FR curves helpful afterwards to explain what I'm hearing, but I trust my ears and their "response" to sound   When I say IM02 analytical, they are bright, detailed, with neutral bass (great quality but not quantity).  Also, depending on a source, it can get a bit harsh in upper mids/treble.  IM03 are tuned to a more balanced warmer signature with a great sub-bass and some mid-bass hump, though not as aggressive/fast.  They have good separation/layering, detailed and smooth, upper mids have some warmth but they are very clear (love the vocals delivery), decent treble extension, and also above average soundstage.  Switching to silver plated OFC cable on IM03 will make them brighter and more detailed (I guess less veiled in comparison to original OFC cable).  As you can see, I'm a bit biased toward IM03, though I had IM02 for a week and switched to IM03 because I was missing my bass.

 

[OlyPanda]

Would you say you were buying a different sound, rather than upgrading, when considering the IM range? This seems to apply to this series more than any other I've heard of. I'm not trying to criticise your analysis, I'm genuinely curious..

 

[twister6]

Would you say you were buying a different sound, rather than upgrading, when considering the IM range? This seems to apply to this series more than any other I've heard of. I'm not trying to criticise your analysis, I'm genuinely curious..

 
It was definitely an upgrade to a different sound signature rather than to an improved sound quality.  Just because one has 2 BA drivers vs the other one with 3 BA drivers, it doesn't make one inferior to the other.  You will find a similar case when you look at other brands, like Westone or Shure.  I also have W40 and UE900, and each one has a different sound signature/tuning, where I personally prefer IM30 triple BA over W40 and UE900 quad BA.  One thing that makes IM stand out for me above W40 and UE900 is how natural/organic upper mids sound, especially when it comes to vocals.