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As a conclusion, I think the Ikko OH10 is still a very fun set with technicalities that are very competent for the price. Even if it is somewhat old, it is still not outdated in my opinion. Music transitions smoothly into the midrange, with no unnatural bumps or dips. Vocals and instruments take a more dominant position in the mix as they aren’t being upstaged by a boosted bass section. Things sound smooth, clear, and well defined, with a moderately intimate presentation. We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality are all revealed by those songs. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The midrange on the Gems are a gem. This is not intended to be a pun, the midrange is very rich. All instruments plying these frequencies are richly delivered.
The original Janus was and is an interesting tune. A bit smaller of sound stage, but offering good detail, it dovetails nicely into this segment. Good bass extension adds to its flavor of semi-tightly controlled mids, and a rolled treble that while not as smooth or rich as the Spring2 is nonetheless, a good listening experience. Take note, though. DDHiFi has retuned the Janus based upon our listening experience and offerings. Two very different critters. Of all the offerings here, the Janus E2020A is most like the Ikko, but with better bass, and a bit more veiled mids. Not bad mind you, but quite close. The midrange is where the fun starts to happen. Especially in the lower mids, there is some uplift that makes the sound warm-ish and musical. There’s a good amount of detail, a wide stage, and a really excellent instrument separation for the Obsidian. I would call the sound analytical for the most part, as in the middle of the midrange, there is a slight dip, and after it the upper midrange starts to rise again, and that keeps on going forward in the treble. Stringed instruments, trumpets, and classical instruments in general are presented so darn well, they are better than on most 500 USD IEMs. I don’t know how, but the size, distance to the listener, texture, realism is absolutely spot on for those instruments. I’ve been testing Obsidian with Dethklok and their entire album Doomstar Requiem. Obsidian actually renders finer details and micro-details in an excellent fashion, with the upper midrange being fun enough for the sound. Guitar solos are natural with good textures and a colorful , vivid presentation. In the lower layer you are presented with three segments containing a nice pouch for your IEMs which do not offer much protection and a generous selection of tips, some oval in shape. In the middle layer you have a little box which contain the rather good looking if a slight bit memory prone, with an MMCX removal tool. Overall, the frequency response of OH10 resembles quite a lot the Harman target curve that works phenomenal with fast and punchy music.The OH500 are mildly U shape IEM, it has deep and well controlled bass, with warm and full bodies midrange, and mildly and detail treble. The vast majority of my listening was done with my iPhone paired to the IKKO Zerda ITM01 portable DAC/ amp and my portable rig comprised of a Hidizs AP 80 Pro DAP and a Chord Mojo. The Gems plugged into the IKKO Zerda DAC/amp. All the elevated treble energy remains restrained and smooth, so the Gems shine without too much sizzle. Where to Buy Headphones: DCA Stealth, Expanse, and Aeon 2 Closed, ZMF Verite Closed (Desert Ironwood) and Atrium (Koa), Sennheiser HD800S & HD650 (Custom Cans Mod), AKG K1000, K872, K812, K702, Q701 (Bass Port Mod), K553MkII, K501, K451, K340, K240DF, M220 (Dampening Mod), Audeze MM-500, Drop+DCA Aeon Closed X & Aeon Open X, EMU Teak & Walnut, Hifiman HE6 (six screw w/ Grill Mod), HE5LE LFF Code X Mod, HE400i (2016 w/ Grill Mod), HE560 V1 & V4 (both w/ Grill Mods), HE5 (w/Grill Mod), OG HE400 (w/ Grill Mod), HE500 (w/ Grill Mod) & HE6SE (v1 w/ Grill Mod), Sundara Closed, Beyer T5 Gen 3, SJY Audio Starry Night, V-Moda M-80, M-100, & LP2, etc If driver flex is usually an issue for you, Obsidian is free of it, and that is true about hiss too, as it has zero hiss. Overall, the IEMs isolate fairly from the outside noise, but not quite as well as Etymotic or other smaller, deeper fitting IEMS. Speaking of fit, Obsidian, they are a shallower type of IEM.
Details Many, well distinct and pleasant – both on the highmids and trebles and on the bass. Definitely amongst the best parts of the product. Adopting SVAS Technology—IKKO in-ear monitor uses Separating Vector Acoustics System technology, the precisely designed cavity structure makes the sound volume, reflection and diffusion angles, and the unit performance is displayed to the greatest extent in a limited space. This seems to be the de rigor of the day, making the cavity acoustically similar to a listening room. Many manufacturers do this, and I approve of this methodology.Burn inFor my personal experience, burn-in is way more rarely required than what I read around on a daily basis. That said, this is one of those times when it is compulsory. When I first put OH1S into my ears I appreciated them nowhere near how I appreciated them after a) a couple of days of free burn-in and b) optimising the fit aspect (see below). Bass is not "amazing" its ok for what you expect.. You can feel that it is boosted, but it doesn't appear harsh or boomy. In my opinion it has a good level of bass, but it just isn't "special", its just higher. The bass is also significantly shadowed and muted by that sibilance at 3.6-3.7KHz, you will get way better and fuller sounding bass with the filter applied. for certain genres. Stage dimension is above average, except for depth which I feel is quite shallow. You can also see its extremely powerful, balls-to-the-wall sub-bass performance. It’s elevated by several dB and that adds weight, bass slam and bad attitude. Lower midrange is great, starting a gentle descent, rolling-off the upper midrange that makes it less impressive with female vocals. Treble is either linear or elevated, but never recessed. The most sensitive part is elevated by 5 dB and there is a bigger rise of ~10 dB somewhere between ~11 to 12 kHz after which it starts going down. The OH1S displayed an unusually transparent and detailed sound with excellent definition. The bass was firm, well-textured and deep, mids were neutral and expressive and treble was clean, bright and extended. There was a very large, airy and spacious soundstage and the profile was linear tending towards a mild W shape. Music was presented in an exciting fashion with superb dynamic range, fast transients and a lively immediacy. The timbre was very natural and there was an overall feeling of refinement and the coherence between the two drivers was seamless. I did find the OH1S unforgiving of poor recordings and that it performed at its best with high quality material. It was also very revealing of the source and I found the neutral profile of my Xduoo X20 a perfect match for the OH1S, preserving its inherent properties.
The OH10’s distinct looks may be divisive, but they certainly aren’t dull. The vent hole and lipped nozzle are clearly visible. In reality, OH10 are one of the most beautiful entry-level IEMs I’ve held in my hands. Their shells are carved on a CNC machine, they used pure copper and you can actually feel the added weight it brought to the table. OH10 are slightly heavier to usual aluminum or stainless-steel IEM bodies and that adds a feeling of a higher quality and confidence in a product. I’m a flashlight junkie and the best flashlights are using copper and I’m getting the same vibe from the beautiful OH10. The added mass, lowers the vibration of the shell at higher volume, seriously reducing the overall total harmonic distortion, for a clearer and more natural sound. Full-sized headphones: Hifiman Susvara, Hifiman HE1000SE, Audeze LCD-4, Erzetich Phobos, Erzetich Mania, Quad ERA-1, Fostex TH909, Kennerton Wodan, Kennerton Magni, Vali, M12S, Ollo S4X Reference I actually am going to add it to Audiophile-Heaven’s Hall Of Fame, and I can say that I am really into the sound, and I will be looking forward to hearing more IEMs from IKKO in the near future. They really do sound great and highly resolving. This makes the Gems sound like they belong in another, a much higher, price range. However, you need to get used to or get past the occasions when the highs sound can get spicy to acquire the taste for the Gems.Trebles are a tad airier on OH1S but note definition is more organic on A3000, whereby OH1S sometimes comes accoss a bit thin on some details. I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but its frequency response feels a lot like the Harman Curve, that so many IEM manufacturers are using nowadays as the gold standard when it comes to tuning. I beg to differ, Harman Curve is fun short term, several minutes later I start missing the upper midrange presence and the lost details that were sacrificed just to get this exact tuning. Nothing is wrong about it, normal people (read non-audiophiles) like it anyway. When I’m measuring IEMs and headphones, I will always move to the Benchmark HPA4, as I find it extremely linear and super honest sounding. Gustard X26 PRO will be the main converter for this job and the measurement rig used was the MiniDSP E.A.R.S. calibrated with IDF ( IEM Diffuse Field) compensation files. Do note that MiniDSP E.A.R.S. is not following any IEC standards, meaning that my readings can’t be used as reference measurements. I’m doing them just to get a general idea about their sound signature. I’ve measured them multiple times, as finding a perfect fit and a complete seal was quite a challenge.
Overall, the quality of OH1 is outstanding in and out, and it is far beyond from what one expects from a set with a medium price tag. Ikko designed an IEM with a rather uninspired name for the presentation, as Obsidian does not necessarily explain the whole story, and the price of 160 USD is way lower than the quality I am hearing from the OH10. The main comparisons will be with Optimisation Elements Tita, BQEYZ Spring 2, BGVP Art Magic VG4. Overall, I’ve recorded a super-fun and wildly engaging sound signature, they have one of the lowest THD I’ve recorded so far, a fast driver recovery, a clean spectrogram and a smooth waterfall. How is the tonality of the OH10? I own and loved the OH1 but always found its tonality to sound a little unnatural. Does the OH10 display the same characteristics? Also, the OH1 was already a bassy IEM. Sounds like the OH10 is even bassier? Do you find any bleeds into the mids? IKKO CTU01/Arc SPCOCC Material HiFi Audiophile in-Ear Monitor Cable/Earphone Cable for OH1,OH10,OH2,OH1S,OH7
IKKO OH10 Obsidian Comparisons
Fit is .. only okay for me. Had to use a tip with a hard stem like the AET07 to make them stay in my ears. Any other tip with softer stems would not work for me. The overall build is excellent, and although the Obsidian is a bit on the large side, they are really comfortable once I place them in my ears. I love the cable, which is both thin and well made. The ear guides seem a bit tight, but I can’t say I notice this while wearing the Obsidian. Thankfully, there are a few stand-out manufacturers with a focus more on quality than quantity. IKKO is one such company that has captured my attention. With only a few available IEM models, each IKKO release is something different. None are carbon copies of other IEMs, and all stand on their own with unique sound signatures and construction. Lift off the foam and you’ll discover an envelope containing the manual and a customer service card. Underneath are nine pairs of ear tips, another box containing the cable, and an unusual leatherette storage case. In the box
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