Ikko OH-10: Hammered Beauty

IKKO Audio is a Chinese earphone manufacturer who aims to provide high fidelity music for music lovers in a way that integrates with the current digital era and provide a natural, comfortable experience. Ikko is one of the fastest growing brands in IEM market. OH10 aka Obsidian is a shiny new addition in their collection.

At a first glance, OH10 looks like a beautiful IEM with unique design and sturdy retro look. The earpieces itself feel well build and slightly heavy yet fits so comfortably. These have a titanium-coated copper alloy housing with faceplate that has a smoothly hammered look and glossy finish. The overall design has a premium feel to it.

OH10 comes in a nice packaging. The outside cardboard sleeve is adorned with Ikko brand logo and its waifu character sets the tone of this product. Inside the sleeve is a stylish looking black box where all the items ornately arranged. The rather interesting item inside this box is a tiny broach which has Ikko symbol protruding from it. Box also packs a beautiful vintage style leather pouch with a string to tie it close.

Disclaimer:
I have received Ikko OH10 as part of review circle sent from Hifinage (India) in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with IEMs of similar hardware configurations and price range. One can purchase the same from the following link.

Sources:
For this review the unit has been paired to A&K SE100 (ES9038 Pro), Fiio Q5 (AK4490), LG V30+ and Vivo X50pro. No additional amplification is required by this IEM.

Pros: 1. Engaging Sound Signature
2. Textured and detailed Bass
3. Airy treble response
4. Above average Detail Retrieval
5. Excellent build quality and fit

Cons: 1. Slightly thin/cold Mids
2. Stock cable does not do justice to the product.

Highs:
The upper frequency spectrum of OH10 is purely emphasized on quality rather than quantity. Lower treble is prominent but starts to roll off to the peak making it quite detailed and non-fatiguing as compared to other treble oriented IEMs out there. The overall presentation feels full of air and sparkle. All instruments like violins, cymbals, high notes of piano and trumpets sounds crisp and finely resolved. It’s quite engaging, and for the price point of view it offers quite nice attack and energy. Timber of electric guitars are just fantastic.

While playing Rain by Simply Three, the violins sounded very clean, although loses the texture and layering at some levels but overall presentation came out to be very good.

Mids:
The mid spectrum also has a hint of openness and clarity but also is the weakest point of OH10. The mids can be at one hand quite analytical and precise but at same time feels bit cold and lifeless. The upper and lower mids are quite good and complements the treble and bass regions. The tonality is quite nice, especially for pianos, guitars and is quite lively.

Lower mids feels but recessed resulting in cold male vocals as compared to female ones, female vocals on other hand sounds fuller than male vocals; but the overall texture and detailing is very fine and precise. Same has been observed while listening to "Lava Song by Peter and Evynne Hollens" and "Ring my bells by Enrique Iglesias" having a very fine detailing yet kind of cold presentation in vocals.

But on the other hand, its quite good for listening to classical orchestra. I enjoyed listening to masterpieces of Mozart and Beethoven on it while working.

Lows:
The OH10 offers a well emphasized bass that very well compliments the extended treble. The sub-bass has nice rumble to it, and it follows mid bass and evenly decays off to mids. The overall control and texture are very good. A little bass bleed to mids can be observed. The layering is bass region is good, I have enjoyed some of my favorite bass emphasized songs over it like "KVSH - Tokyo Drift", although the texture was kind of smooth but has nice attach and weight to it.

Detailing/Imaging/Soundstage:
The soundstage of OH-10 is nice and wide and large enough to enjoy any orchestral music. The height and depth felt just average. The imaging on other hand is quite good, with nice separation and air between the instruments. Layering on the other hand is kind of volume driven as with bit high volumes the bass and treble starts to overtake the entire presentation. The detailing and sound resolution is very good as per price point of view.

Final Verdict:
The Ikko OH-10 is a beautiful and rugged yet premium looking IEM with an engaging sound signature. I personally liked the fit of this earpieces; and if one is into the V-shaped sound then this is quite a no brainier at its price point of view. The treble and bass are quite resolving and complements each other. The soundstage and technicalities are quite good and perfect for enjoying orchestral pieces. So in a nutshell, it’s a fun sounding IEM with good timber but yet quite coherent and controlled tuning; if one is a bass head then it will definitely make you feel smile straight out of the box.

Comparisons (OH-10 vs OH-01)
The OH-10 I would say is entirely different IEM w.r.t OH-1. The OH-10 is entirely a V-Shaped signature and bit aggressive and energetic the OH-1 is slightly mid-centric with sort of laid-back signature. Although look wise both of them look similar, OH-10 gives impression on of glossy metallic finish and is heavier as compared to matte finish of OH-1.