Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
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. Then I raised the volume and all was good. Since the mids are recessed, although not immensely so, you can raise the volume without feeling If you want one of the most natural sounding IEMS, one of the most live sounding IEMs and one of the most detailed / clean IEMs in the sub 500 USD price range, then IKKO will totally deliver with their OH10, and should make you happy for a long time to come.
The Ibasso DX150 (AMP6) is known to have a natural sound signature with a warm tonality. Paired with the Gems, treble has a good extension, however, the lows are still lean for my taste. Recommended if you're looking for a very fun signature with monstrous bass and good technicalities. However, if midrange is equally as important, I suggest looking for something else. 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.
DACs: Audiobyte HydraVox + HydraZap, Matrix Audio Element X, Gustard X26 PRO, Gustard X16, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, xDuoo XA-10 The VG4 is fairly neutral slightly U shape sounding IEM, it has not far to neutral bass to lower midrange, slightly forward upper mids and bright yet well extended treble 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 I’ve already experienced Titanium coated dynamic drivers in IEMs and the same Knowless BA multiple times already and generally speaking, metal coated drivers are slightly more detailed and faster sounding, offering faster decays to regular cellulose or polymer drivers found in entry-level designs. OH10 were clean sounding for the most part, the upper region was clearly shining brighter with a higher focus on detail retrieval. Midrange also felt clean and undistorted, but less present in my tunes, as I needed more time to focus on those notes. The only part that felt less clean was the sub-bass, with the added punch and air down-low, it spilled over the lower midrange, making them less technical and transparent sounding. 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.
In real life he is Italian, in his mid fifties, works as a sales&marketing executive, and his other main technical competence is IT.As a basshead that prefers sensible subbass extension I bought these after researching intensely for 2 weeks and settling on these. 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
The 2-pin connector housings, Y-split and right-angled plug are all matching aluminium. The cable handles and drapes well with minimal microphonics. Overall, it’s a decent cable but is slightly underwhelming for an IEM in this price range. SoundAmong the 2 tips, I found the foam tips to be more comfortable. The foam tips have a laminated layer which adds to its durability. The foam’s ability to expand and compress also gave a better seal and fit. IEMs: 64Audio A18s, A12t, & N8, MMR Thummim, CA Andromeda 2020 & SuperMoon, ThieAudio Prestige, Monarch (OG) and Monarch Mk2, Subtonic Storm, AKG N5005, Oriolus Szalayi, SoftEars Twilight, Dunu EST 112, Penon Serial, Letshuoer EJ07M (Resin) and S12, Ikko OH10, Etymotic ER4XR & ER3XR, Technics EAH-TZ700, Fearless Audio Provence, Sony XBA-N3, TRI OG i3 & Meteor, HifiBoy OS V3, Tin OG P1 & T3+, Hidizs MD4, CCA C10, BQEYZ KC2, TRN M10, etc Does very well in the bass and technicalities department but not so much in the midrange and the treble. A special mention deserves Ikko OH10’s so uncommon weight. When I first took them in my hand I went “oh my… these will be unbearable”. But it ended up not to be so. Their shape helps incredibly well on that respect: their inverted-drop, almost triangular shape fits so well inside my concha that my outer ear sustains their weight in a totally surprising yet firmly comfortable way. 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.
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