IKKO OH10 Review (2) – On Our Wall Of Excellence
Pros — Organic sound + great imaging = universal sonic appel.
Cons — V-shape; heavy earpieces, shoddy cable.
In this Article
Executive Summary
| The Ikko OH10 is one of the few iems that make V-shape palatable, as you get compensated for by great imaging. A gourmet burger in the restaurant of fine Audio… |
Introduction
The OH10 “Obsidian” has been hanging on our Wall of Excellence for a while, mainly triggered by Alberto, who had written a glowing review. He characterizes the OH10 sensibly and exhaustively so that there is not much room for things to add.
I have tested the OH10 for 1/2 year with endless source combinations.
IKKO is a company that has excelled through excellent builds and a rather small quality rooster of iems (and lately other products), each of which has had a rather long shelf live. The company obviously designs sustainable quality, which is not easy to find in the Shenzhen environment.
The OKKO OH1, their first offering, may have been a bit bright for my taste, but it stuck out from the field because of its sturdy metal build and the unusual shape of their earpieces. It was recently superseded by the smaller OH1S, which is highly underrated because of anti-hype by the usual YouTube screamers. The OH10 was introduced between the two models. It has been on the market for a while, and it is still as relevant as on its first day.
Specifications
| Drivers: 10mm polymer composite titanium-plated diaphragm dynamic driver + Knowles 33518 unit |
| Impedance: 18 Ω |
| Sensitivity: 106 dB/mW |
| Frequency Range: 20-40,000 Hz |
| Cable/Connector: 2-pin, 0.78 mm |
| Tested at: $199 |
| Product page/Purchase Link: Ikko Audio |
Physical Things and Usability
Please relieve me for once from describing the photo showing the content. Yes, the cable is crap and I use Final E tips.
The metal earpieces are super heavy and relatively big – and probably more suited for home use, but their haptic is great. The nozzles are long enough. Fit is good, comfort depends on how much I move, and isolation is average.
Tonality and Technicalities
| Equipment used: iPhone SE (first gen.), MacBook Air + ifi Audio nano iDSD Black Label with IEMatch, Hidizs S9 Pro/Apogee Groove/AudioQuest Dragonfly Red/Earstudio HUD100 w. JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, Astell & Kern PEE51; grey stock tips, IKKO I-Planet foam tips. 75 hours of break-in. |
I was for the longest time in the belief the OH10 featured a crisp single dynamic driver…but it is rather a 1+1 (dynamic driver and balanced armature driver) constellation…which speaks for its cohesion. Both drivers obviously harmonize well with each other.
To give you the helicopter perspective: the OH10 excels by its fantastic bass slam and its excellent imaging. The price paid is recessed vocals and treble extension.
OK, ’nuff said already. Now you know what Alberto and I think of the OH10.
Co-blogger Kazi gave his snappy account on Facebook:
- Unique shell design and very dense shell material.
- Too heavy for some, myself included. I find them to weigh down on my ears after a while.
- Isolation is lacking.
- Sub-bass is excellent. Punchy, agile, with good amount of rumble.
- Mid-bass is slightly thinner than expected but got good texture.
- Vocals are recessed. Not gonna set the world alight with midrange performance.
- Upper-midrange can feel peaky at times. I found them to be too up-front on some hard rock tracks.
- Treble is inoffensive, decent amount of sparkle but lacks the extension and air of upper-tier stuff.
- Good staging, not as wide or deep as E5000 but fairly balanced across all three axes.
- Imaging is decent, did not stand out to be as much as, say, the Falcon Pro.
IKKO OH10 Compared
People keep asking for comparisons with the IKKO OH1S “Gems”, which is redundant as both sound totally different. The OH1S is more forward and brighter, and one cannot replace the other. That’s why companies run different models simultaneously…duh!
More interesting appears to be a comparison between the OH10 and the Unique Melody 3DT with its three dynamic drivers. As you can see, both have largely overlapping frequency responses. But I have to disappoint you again as both iems sound completely different. The UM 3DT is much more analytical and less engaging than the OH10.
But what this tells us the limitations of frequency response graphs for characterizing the sound of iems.
Concluding Remarks
The IKKO OH10 gives $$$ conscious audio enthusiasts access to premium quality at a mid-tear price. With its excellent imaging, it plays in the league with the big, expensive boys…not on top, but well above the bottom.
What you sacrifice is comfort through the large and heavy earpieces and some vocals intimacy through the V-shape. But the OH10 does full justice to high-quality sources way above a phone.
It is for good reason a standard staple on our Wall of Excellence…and will remain there for a long time…and im my collection. Kudos to IKKO for demonstrating sustainability in the short-lived world of Shenzhen consumerism.
Until next time…keep on listening!
Disclaimer
The Ikko Gems OH1S were provided by Ikko for my review and I thank them for that. I also thank Alberto and Kazi for discussion.
Get the Ikko Gems OH1s from ikkoaudio.com
Gallery
How do these compare to the Shozy Form 1.4? Are they similar enough to have just one of the two?
Difficult to impossible to answer. But one is definitely a sidegrade to the other.