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

Product Information

pin 0.78mm detachable design,High purity OFC silver-plated cable, both high frequency extension and low frequency strength. 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 The treble was clean, clear and detailed, exhibiting good extension and being free from harshness or sibilance. It was a little brighter than neutral with an attractive airy quality and remained smooth even during energetic passages. Only occasionally on certain material there was a little extra brightness. 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.

OH10, to which IKKO gave the name “Obsidian”, was designed to further improve on OH1, so the two share some common things, but they also have certain differences.Traditionally-shaped round silicone tips, such as Spinfits, can be used on the Gems’ oval-shaped nozzles as long as they fit the 5.7mm diameter.

Now, who will not like this? I guess those who prefer a meatier bass response will not like OH1s, the bass on this little gem is lean, the dosage is just right and responds when it's called for. Nothing more, nothing less. Signature analysis​ Tonality General tonality is bright-neutral, timbre is dry-centric. The presentation is a mild reversed-L with rulerflat midbass, mids taking the lead role but without getting too “important”, supported but very nice, airy and quite detailed trebles. Coherence between the DD and BA drivers’ different nature is properly taken care of and the entire presentation is choesive and well merged. IKKO consistently creates high-quality and great-sounding IEMs at affordable prices. What’s not to like? The design of the Gems really stands out. From the previous iteration of the OH1, I liked the tight bass control, but wished for a bit more. Taut bass would be apt. The OH1S indeed gave me my wishes. While still tight in control, there is no bleed into the mids, but this does not mean a separation. All is tied together well, and there is very good separation of note. The thinness of sound, which came from the OH1 (not a bad thin sound) carries over, but with a bit more weight of each note. Distinct sounds emanate from within and placement of each instrument gives the illusion of spacing. Not the best, but not the worst. Switching to my Cayin N6ii E01, the sound jumped up quite a bit in quality. Source dependent, I would feed a good source into the OH1S to get the best out of it. Vocals come across as slightly lifted, especially male. Van Morrison’s strong vocal presence can be a bit biting on some IEM’s, but on the OH1S, the sound is succinct and detailed. Mids carry a bit less weight than the vocal presence does, making for a slight V-shape to me, what with the good but not painful treble extension. Nicely tuned, but not a “wow moment” of transformation. Sometimes (and in this case) that is a good thing. 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.

Packaging & Accessories

OH10 has crispier treble than OH1 and I would not classify it as harsh. I have TFZ Secret Garden HD in mind too. Cheers! 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. Mid Bass Fast, moderately punchy and very clean. Purposefully kept not loud, although much less so than the sub bass, OH1S midbass offers a very pleasant compromise for acoustic music genres. The W40 are U shape sounding IEM with fairly neutral timbre, it has tight and well controlled bass, with well balanced and slightly warm midrange, and fatiguing free treble.

The OH1s was tested with an Xduoo X20 DAP and a burn in period of 100 hours was allowed to settle down the components. A Huawei smartphone and a CD player were also used during the evaluation. The small foam tips were used which provided a comfortable fit and a good seal. Adequate volume was available from all sources but a higher quality resulted with increased power. Overall timbre is on the cold, metallic and thin side. Not the most natural midrange presentation but is decently acceptable for a V shaped signature.In short if you do not want to read the whole review: The sound on the Gems is an acquired taste! Once acquired, the taste is magnificent. The Gems come across as neutral, highly resolving and effervescent, in other words they are not a mellow set but are revealing, and distinctly lively. 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. They are medium to drive, any high quality DAP will do just fine, like the Shanling M3X, FiiO M11, or iBasso DX150. The comfort is not exactly perfect because they are a bit heavy, but the silicone ear guides do an excellent job at supporting that weight in such a way that you don’t really feel it.