Ikko OH1 Review – Feelin’ Good

Pros — Impactful low-end; superb build; small & light earpieces; comfortable; great allrounder.

Cons — Recessed mids.

You find a series of previously published photos of the Ikko OH1 HERE.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An earphone with a warm, deep-low end oriented, refined, V-shaped sound with treble adjustable according to personal preference.

INTRODUCTION

Ikko is an interesting new Chinese audio company and the OH1 is their first earphone.

You find more information on Ikko Audio’s product page.

PHYSICAL THINGS

In the box are the earpieces, cable, two sets of eartips (narrow-/wide-bores), and a soft, velvety pouch for storage.

One of the most attractive features are the robust, beautifully CNC machined metal earpieces: they are light, ergonomically shaped, feel well between the fingers, and they fit well in my ears without sticking out. Comfortable. For unknown reasons, they feel so well that I love to handle and therefore use them. The braided cable works, it is not the sexiest (reminiscent of Knowledge Zenith cables), but it also not any worse than the one that comes with a Sennheiser at four times the price. A matter of taste.

Provided was a set of “balanced” tips (narrow bores) and one for “vocals” (wide bores). I found the main difference in the treble extension, and used the wide bores for testing as the narrow bores subdued/muffled the high notes quite a bit.

I used the iPhone SE and the included largest vocals (= wide-bore) eartips which yielded the more even, balanced sound for my ears.

TONALITY

JK’s tonal preference and testing practice

The IKKO OH’s sound settles on a warm and robust foundation, with a good extension into the the very-low end. The main slam comes from the very low end together with some rumble. The bass remains reasonably controlled down into the sub-bass and gets only slightly fuzzy towards the very low end, which emphasizes the rumble. Overall, the low end adds a comfortable temperature to the image, which is probably the OH1’s strongest point.

The lower midrange is pushed back somewhat by the bass. Both male and female voices are warm and organic, and by themselves clear but I wished they were a bit thicker/denser, smoother, and more detached from the bass. The combination of low-end and lower midrange works very well for rhythm sections such as in Metallica or Rammstein: the OH1 produce a solid, satisfying wall of sound. The upper midrange/lower treble, while detailed, can get a bit too forward at times. Cymbals in the 7 kHz area are defined nicely. Treble, though well resolving, is rolling off a bit early: good for sensitive ears.

Soundstage is average in width, and it has good height with some depth. Sense of space is good, too. The listener is always close to the stage.  Timbre is also good: although the OH1 is a 1+ 1 hybrid, it sounds more like a dynamic driver earphone. Instrument placement is excellent but resolution is only average (owing to the boosted sub-bass). 

SELECT COMPARISONS

The IKKO OH1 sport a fuller, warmer and more organic sound than the brighter, holographic, less bassy perceived Simgot EM2. They also have better timbre/natural sound for classical music. The OH1 are warmer, that is less neutral, than the Moondrop Kanas Pro, at least in the mids and treble. Midrange more refined in the MKP and same with treble.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

These earphones are for the road: they are light — and sturdy to throw in your backpack, comfortable, and the warm, robust low end helps blocking out ambient noise. Although they are not perfect in their technicalities (which earphone is?), they are fun to handle and to listen to. A well-rounded package.

DISCLAIMER

The pair of the OH1 was provided by Ikko for my independent review — and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer

About our measurements