Ikko OH10 in-Ear Monitor, Detachable Design in-Ear Headphone/Earphone,10mm Dynamic Drive + Knowles 33518 Balanced Drive Dual Hybrid

Product Information

Moving the focus from the low-end to the treble regions is what differentiates the sound signatures between the Obsidian and the Gems. What’s remarkable is how well IKKO sustained the regions that were not the primary focus. With the Obsidian, the tamer treble maintains enough presence to ensure clarity, and with the Gems, the low-end magnitude is sufficient to balance out the far more resolving and open upper registers.

I already wrote that OH1 and OH10 have the same sound signature; but what about their differences? Let me start by saying that whatever differences exist they are small. One’s first impression is that OH10’s presentation compared to that of OH1 is more polished and slightly more accurate and correct. Paying a little more attention, you realize that the sound of OH10 is more full-bodied, what we use to call “meatier”, better defined, and a little more cleaner and transparent. Furthermore, both OH1 and OH10 have a very big soundstage, both in width and depth, a very nice image, great dynamics and excellent separation; I really cannot detect any difference between the two in these departments. In a way, you can say that OH1 is intended for a quality everyday listening, while OH10 is intended for a dedicated high quality listening. First things first…if you are looking for a bloated bass…OH10 is not for you. What you get is very good sub-bass, excellent mid-bass. The rumble is present, the decay is fast. However, the slams are not as expected. They fall apart when driven with higher volumes The OH10 avoid the upper midrange nasal tonality that seems to plague some IEMs and are very pleasant to listen to. The mids are a touch on the thin side when judged with a critical ear, but overall tonality is decent. These IEMs aren’t mid-focused tuned, but what’s there is acceptable. Treble

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Build: Made out of copper (copper cavity) and is too heavy for its own good...(more on that a bit later). It is vented and has a lip nozzle (although the nozzle is quite short, so some tips might not fit and will fall off easy). 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 Sure, the cable may require some untangling when removing it from a case, but after a few moments, that’s sorted, and you can forget that it’s there (as it should be). Mids: Hiroyuki Sawano – OldToday (01:25-01:52), Instrument and vocal tonality/timbre are more natural on the OH10. But sounds cleaner, more detailed and less harsh on the Tape. A bit more forward vocal on the OH10 though. Build: Full copper structure is supremely sturdy and heavy at the same time. While worrysome at first impact, housings effectively uncommon weight (32g without cable) is much less annoying that one might fear, possibly due to the prefect fitting, which makes them properly seat and be sustained by external ear constructs.

Mid-bass: Metallica – fight fire with fire (01:11-01:52), quite clean due to the speed and tightness and with decent texture. The (02:55-03:01) section with the chopper is hearable, but not very clean. Apart from that, OH10 appeared clearer and more detailed to the Meze RAI Solo, to the Moondrop Starfield and I really don’t have much to complain about them in here. If you keep your volume lower or equal to 90 dB, you’ll be controlling the whole bass region a lot better, resulting a clearer and less distorted output from the OH10. Yes, I’ve heard subtleties and a lot of nuances in my tunes, those were well preserved, with clean leading edges and contours, I’ve spotted mastering errors and others sounds that shouldn’t be there. OH10 scaled better with a higher quality source, the higher I went, a higher number of details started appearing on my radar. OH10 appeared even clearer to all wireless earbuds and IEMs that I’ve tested so far, including expensive Sennheiser, Apple and Sony units by a long shot.Bass: Djuro – Drop that bass (01:15-01:30), extends a bit lower on the N3 but with similar rumble. Punch quantity is a bit higher on the N3, but is looser, more textured and with similar speed. But still cleaner on the N3 Does very well in the bass and technicalities department but not so much in the midrange and the treble. Headphone Amps: Benchmark HPA4, SparkoS Labs Aries, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, Musician Andromeda, Burson Soloist 3X, Gustard H16, SMSL SP400 Based on a wide range of ergonomic design principles and simulation of wear test data, IKKO designs a high-quality product appearance and experience. IKKO’s ultimate pursuit of products is reflected in its requirements for all details…

While flailing about for proper alliterative text, I typed “ the rumble down under.” This led me to Google it to see if this is an actual saying. It turns out that this turn of phrase was the name of a great video game level that I haven’t played for a decade or so. I hereby commit to adding this saying to the current common vernacular.I am genuinely disappointed in the sibilance in the treble. All high tones, but especially percussion and drums has this sSsSsSs-sound to them and they sound tonally off.. Its like someone attempted to make crisp hihats, but failed. Sub-bass: Djuro – Drop that bass (01:15-01:30), extends very low and rumbles a lot (a bit too much actually). Punch quantity is very high as well but isn’t very clean due to it having too much rumble and speed and tightness are decent. There are a few outstanding performers within the first couple of price tiers and very many average ones. Like A WHOLE LOT of them, with new mediocre options appearing weekly in an unending flow. Frankly, it’s hard to get too excited anymore about cheap but flawed models, although some folks seem to have inexhaustible enthusiasm for them. Technicalities: Shiro Sagisu – Hundred years war (02:24-02:57), soundstage is wider and deeper on the OH10. Imaging, instrument separation and details are better on the Tape. Timbre and coherency are better on the OH10. Some will lament the move from 2-pin to MMCX connectors, but I find these particular ones to be of high quality and to firmly snap in and out. I really like the upgrade cable included with the Gems.