IKKO, the brand based out of China is a well established brand among the audiophiles and the major hit for the brand is the OH10, the IEM that revolutionized the Bass frequency among the audiophiles. The brand has a very few catalogs of products but everything has a great amount of response among the consumers.
The Ikko is known for their CRAFTSMANSHIP AND VALUE since from the materials they used to manufacture till the way they deliver the product everything feels premium and in that regards they have launched this innovative product into the market named Breezy IT01 and in this review let’s check out how innovative does this appears among the crowd.
SPECIFICATIONS:
>Latest Bluetooth V5.3 connectivity.
>Bone conduction sound driver.
>Directional sound transmission.
> IPX6 waterproof rating.
>Dual operating modes, Game & Music.
>Standby time: >30 Hours.
>Battery life: up to 6.5Hours.
>Charging time: ≤2H.
>Charging dock: 350mAh, adds up to 10 hours of battery life
Table of Contents
DESIGN:
The design is different out of all the products out there in the market. The ChiFi are usually known for their in-ears while Ikko released this product with an interesting design aspect. The zero isolation open back design looks interesting but when it comes to pure sound experience they definitely fall short.
The whole construction is made out of CNC aluminium. The headband is non adjustable which is a bummer while the earpieces are oval in shape with a single button on either side acting as a multifunction button. There is a light indicator on either side for indicating the status and the speaker grill is situated in the sides of the earpiece.
In the inner aspect of the earpiece is where the bone conduction system is incorporated which provides that nice tickle sensation to the ears. The rubberised material has been incorporated on the ear hook side for maximum comfort.
SOUND:
The sound profile of the Breezy is more on a natural side with neutral midrange, smoothed out treble section while the bass region has been accentuated a bit but not excessively. In simple terms we can conclude that it’s more of a Balanced sound. As an initial thought I wondered how it’s going to sound since they have zero isolation but surprisingly the sound out of these little open ear buds is above average. Things could have been better if some aspects had been improved and hope this would be done in the future models for the superior sound response. Let’s check out in detail about the sound in the following sections:
BASS:
Considering the design it adopts, I definitely thought that the bass is the first thing that this Breezy is going to get lost on the track but surprisingly the bass here is above average. Even though they don’t compete with that of the complete in ear design bass, still the response here is very good. That added Bone Conduction system tickles your ear ossicles whenever the bass drops get lower giving that nice satisfying subtle vibrations in the ears.
When coming to the frequency response, the sub bass here is pretty great when compared to the mid bass section. The sub bass reach is good providing some nice rumble even though they are not that bass head level since the design it adopts is the culprit here. The mid bass section is good too but it’s more on the lighter side thus providing more details over the quantity. The slam and the attack gets missed out while the separation, clarity and control in the bass section is preserved.
Overall the bass here is good but it can be even better if the design has been improved. The headband here is non adjustable hence the earpiece area doesn’t get settled comfortably in the desired position thus the sound response varies. In stock it has a cleaner, controlled, well separated bass response with adequate sub bass presence which is great considering its zero isolation design but it could have been better if the headband was adjustable which would definitely improve the overall sound out of it.
MID RANGE:
The mid range here is more on a neutral side with nice rich vocals and a laidback presentation since it’s a part of open back design. The tonality in the Breezy is neutral with slight warmness to the package. The timbre of the instruments appears to be slightly brighter which gives the rich sensation overall.
The vocals are laid back hence the staging appears pretty big with a good amount of space for the overall presentation. Both the male and the female vocals have that rich tone making them appear more natural and engaging. The instruments in the background are replayed out very well with good separation and tone. The piano notes and the kick drums have a nice tone while the attack could have been better if the design has been improved which we discussed in the previous section.
The layering and imaging are pretty above average and since the staging is bigger they don’t have much difficulties to be faced in the technicalities. Overall the midrange is pretty great with neutral response, bigger staging, better separation and pleasing upper mid section. The lower mid section feels slightly on the thin side due to that relaxed mid bass response and that’s the con in the mid range.
TREBLE:
Treble feels it has been tuned on the safer side with a very pleasing listen. The extension is good but definitely not the best when compared to that of the in ear designs. The detail retrieval from the treble section is above average and the overall presentation feels a bit brighter. The cymbal crashes and the trumpets do sound slightly brighter and it may be due to that zero isolation.
The separation and the clarity in the treble section is very good since the space and the air available here is on the bigger side. No sorts of noticeable congestion are seen around hence the overall presentation felt much grandeur. The tone in the treble section feels brighter thus giving that splash and shimmer on the top end. The sibilance is kept under control and even during the prolonged listening the treble never felt harsh or unlistenable.
Overall the treble section has been tuned pleasingly with above average detail presence, clarity rich and smoother presentation. The treble section is rich enough in terms of tone and engaging factor and if the fit was better the sound could have been even better.
TECHNICALITIES:
STAGING: It’s pretty big in the Breezy where both in terms of width and height they feel big enough. The whole presentation felt nice and big where the laidback presentation helped in the bigger stage presence. Due to this bigger staging the whole separation and clarity aspect felt much improved and better.
IMAGING AND LAYERING: These aspects do sound better in the Breezy. The instruments are placed at a precise position while even the transitioning from one instrument to the other felt pretty smooth. The complex tracks are replayed out well too without any noticeable constriction.
The detail retrieval and the track separation felt pretty neat and clean and above average considering the design aspect that it accommodated.
CHARGING AND BLUETOOTH:
The earphones are charged via a provided dock which will give the battery life of 6.5 hrs and along with the dock the usage hours gets improved to 10 hours.
The Bluetooth version they have used here is the 5.3 hence the connection speed and the stability pretty much feels improved over the previous versions.
It’s IPX6 water resistant hence it can easily survive from the water splashes and the sweats that you get out of your gym sessions.
There is no app for configuring the controls or adjusting the settings hence the stock option sound is the only way to use them.
The mics are pretty good enough indoors and do struggle a bit in the noisy surroundings and that’s the case with most of the budget oriented Bluetooth earphones.
VERDICT:
Breezy ITG01, the latest offering from the house of IKKO is an innovative package overall implementing some futuristic tech options like the bone conduction along with a nice open back earphones with much versatility and practical usage.
The Breezy has a bone conduction coil along with the directional vocal technology hence the sound out of the Breezy feels open and provides a new experience if you are a regular in ear design user. The design is the striking aspect here where it’s completely versatile in terms of usage. They adopt a nice earpiece design which never enters your ear canal rather it sits near the ear with a support of a metal headband. The head band is fixed though hence the fit is a major con here. The earpiece has a small opening for the speaker which delivers the sound and the bone conduction system is resided near the speaker giving a nice tickle to the ears.
The overall sound is neutral with more emphasis over the vocals. The bass here is weaker but considering the design it adopts they are above average with more quality over the quantity. The midrange adopts a neutral side. The tone appears slightly warmer with a nice pleasing upper mid section. The treble section felt smoother yet providing some good amount of details with a good amount of brilliance in the top end. The staging felt superior and thanks to that laidback presentation. Technical aspects like the imaging and the layering felt good too.
Overall the Breezy IT01 is a well thought product with good sound but could have executed better in terms of design. The headband especially is the major con for this product which is non adjustable hence its not a universal fit. Definitely this is a NEW THING TO EXPERIENCE out of all the crowded products out there and it would have made its spot clear if the execution was made correct.
PROS AND CONS:
Pros:
- Bone Conduction (Unique Tech)
- Neutral Midrange and Vocals
- Bigger Stage Presence
- Richer Treble
Cons:
- Weaker Bass
- Poor Fit
This Review is Written By KATHIRAVAN.C
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I’m Kathiravan from Tamilnadu. A budding audiophile here with high love towards music and audio equipment. My first experience of enjoying the hifi audio came when I started to use budget chi-fi gears and now it came all along the way of reviewing the gears with high end stuffs. I love reviewing audio products.
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Shubham
Shubham Garg (Editor Shubz.in) is an engineer with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering from AKTU, Uttar Pradesh. Being a mechanical engineer he has always loved to learn the inner working of various machines and consumer electronics. He regularly tests various audio, home appliances, and daily use products, to provide the best advice to readers. He is a wizard that can make your shopping easy, saving you time and stress of figuring out what to buy.
