Introduction

We have covered a lot of different audio brands operating out of China, with Shenzhen being a particular hotspot of activity owing to its manufacturing capabilities. These brands tend to start off as OEM/ODM offerings that then take on their own identity for local sales before aiming to go global, meeting varying degrees of success in this regard. iBasso Audio is also a Chinese brand but took a weird route in that it was more known outside China for a long time before it began sales in the domestic market. Indeed, the company started in 2006 and made a name for itself in the digital music player and portable DAC/amp market, having to resort to a sub-brand called Mini Audio to enter the Chinese market before going all in with “iBasso” in 2016. In the meantime, the global audiophile community came to acknowledge iBasso DAPs (digital audio players) as among the very best you could buy, these continue to be the company’s bread and butter.

It took me until late 2022 to even realize iBasso sold more than just audio players and portable DAC/amps. Sure, there were accessories including cables and adapters of various kinds, but knowing there were both IEMs and headphones under the iBasso brand was a revelation. Today we debut iBasso to the TechPowerUp review database and begin with coverage of its latest headphones called SR3. This is, as the name suggests, the successor to the iBasso SR1 and SR2 that came before. All three share being open-back, over-ear dynamic driver headphones but the new SR3 shifts gears thereafter with the use of a rarely implemented bio-cellulose diaphragm that has me quite excited. The company also teased the inclusion of two sets of ear pads and a new tuning altogether to where my interest was piqued. Thanks to iBasso for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp as we begin with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications