Yeah they are definitely a different sound signature. Price is a tad high however you can get a full set at linsoul for cheaper than a pair of one size of crystals
Let me ask you this - I have the crystals, and I think they’re quite nice - have you tried the crystals and if so, how do the compare to the vivids?
I’ve never heard of the crystals but I have always stayed away because I use different tip sizes depending on the IEM and didn’t want to drop that kind of dough on one size.
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Vivids are slightly more straight where the crystal are more rounded. Crystal is sticky while vivid is just good grade silicone 
Vivid are wider or about the same. I use them to mmk2 and meateor. Crystal work great for me with Vulkan, DM etc.
Yes, in a way. They have fundamental differences tho
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Yes, bass boosted neutral followed by warm balanced (forward mids).
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Dude, trust me - I feel you. They are stupid expensive and I don’t ever see my self dropping that kind of dough on tips anytime soon. Ahh I have to admit though, they work sooooo freaking well for the Dark Magicians, definitely the best sounding tip for that specific pairing.
I remember reading you used the Vivids on the MMKII which caught my attention - even though I’ve had them for a solid 10 months now, I still see my self tip rolling almost constantly…. I may give the Vivids a shot if they get the honorary Robot stamp of approval.
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Thought it was time to share my thoughts on a old one. I am also out of money and running of stuff to review LOL.
I have owned the Obsidian the longest in my IEM journey.
IKKO Obsidian OH10 - A Value Classic
Pros:
- Shell is special. FULL STOP The
Copper alloy shell is damn heavy
like two meteorites! This does
something to the Bass in a very
nice way!
- Excellent Isolation and fit for me.
- Very good cohesion with the DD &
BA and I get no BA tambour with
OH10
- L&R are clearly marked with Right
having a Red 0.78 receptacle that
just slightly elevated. Nice touch
and rare in the sea of IEM’s
- Holographic Sound stage, Very
good Width just on the outside of
my ears, Nice depth & Great
Height. Stage is a mix of very
Stereo mix
separation & wide open concert
hall
makes it fun and non fatiguing
defiantly the stage of the OH10
gets
strong marks here for the
Obsidian.
- Micro Dynamics is nicely portrayed
on the OH10 and it replays with
tons of emotion to make the OH10
super fun.
- Bass and sub bass (see point #1)
are one reason the Obsidian is
special. Wicked low sub bass like
very low and with that copper shell
man it does something special.
Very fast punchy bass only slight
bleed but still pulls off some great
note weight and hits with authority.
- Rock / Jazz OMG YES!
- Mids are silky smooth and I think
has to do more with the tonality
and character of the DD doing the
heavy lifting here. Male and
especially female vocals sound
natural not warm not forward just
well done.
- Highs are not sibilant though the
Obsidian does push my boundaries
as I am treble sensitive and find
myself turning up the volume more
than wanting to turn it down! I think
for me that speaks volumes.
- Can be bought when on sale at
some crazy good deals some people
were reporting at $100 or less!
Cons:
- Ok this IEM is OLD if it was a dog it
would be 14 years old in the world
and sea of new releases and product
development. I think it was $349
when it came out.
- Cable is 3 years old trending
garbage a afterthought to actually
throw a cheap cable in. Who cares
cables are cheap.
- Took a while to get used of the
weight for me and I almost gave up
until I started tip rolling then
fantastic.
- Still expensive not on sale
Now let’s get into it a bit deeper.
Completely Subjective Audio Review - IKKO Obsidian OH10
Hello all: I hope my subjective audio impressions help you determine if this IEM might be for you.
I share my impressions as I hear them with my ears.
As all our ears are different shapes & sizes so what I hear as bright or bass heavy -you might hear as dull and Vise-Versa; just something to be mindful of.
What makes my ears happy as a sound signature is slightly more aggressive U shape. I love my Bass Sub and Mid Bass love it all actually; and in large quantity. With the Bass I prefer a faster decay the faster the better as to not bleed into the mids., I am treble sensitive and prefer a darker warmer replay with good extension and a more relaxed high end with enough sparkly details for fun.
I prefer the fast speedy bass of the Beryllium Coated Driver of my Xenns Mangird UP and KiwiEars Cadenza. Of course there are exceptions in the market - as I also find the bass of the Bio Diaphragm used in the Yanyin Canon special - has some special sauce like a 8" subwoofer that feels like a 12" Has the slam and some serious sub bass! And the super cool Copper Alloy Shell IKKO Obsidian OH10 does some magic to the bass.
My music Library is widely varied from; Poncho Sanchez, BB King, Jimmy Smith, Metallica, Great White, Cowboy Junkies, Pink Floyd, Adelle, Melisa Ethridge, Hania Rani, Vivaldi, Fleetwood Mac, Five for Fighting, Manskin, Poncho Sanchez, Jimmy Smith, Chopin, The Crystal Method just to name a few.
That dripple being said:
And as such here is my take on the: IKKO Obsidian OH10
Sources: E1DA SG3 (ES9038), Shanling UP5 (ES912), TEMPOTEC Serenade X (ES9219) Geshelli JNOG J2 with AKM4493 chip. iBasso DX160 (Cirrus Logic CS43198)
DAP/TRASPORT: From Lenovo Laptop with Amazon Unlimited ULTRA HD, iBasso DX160 ,Samsung S22 Ultra with DSD Files.
Amps: LoxjiP20 tube amp and Topping A90D
Tips Used for Best Result for me and completely subjective: Short Wide Bore are my go to and I wanted to bring forth as much vocals as possible with maximizing stage. On the Canon I have the KBEAR 07 Yellow L tips.
Cable after rolling I used is the KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene I got on sale for $30. I could NOT hear a difference with the other cables I have but did not try a pure silver one as I didn’t want to emphasise the highs.
COMPARISIONS:
YANYIN CANON
The OH10 looks like it shough have the more energy up top but it does not present itself this way. Kind of like the highs on the Xenns Up don’t look they would be present in the mix either but they certainly are.
Stage on the Obsidian is better for my preference not as wide but vocals are more forward in front of you and less in the middle of your head vs the Canon. I find the OH10 so much smoother in vocals as they are a tad recessed and my personal preference.
Bass is more thumpy with the Canon but after that the OH10 again shines with a special sauce that the Canon does not pull off for me as much as the Obsidian. Sub Bass the Obsidian devastates the Canon in quality and quality.
Overall I would have to say the OH10 bass is cleaner with less bleed and hits harder.
LETSHOUER EJ07M Resin Custom Tuned w +3db Sub Boost.
Not a quite a fair comparison with the price and driver count.
That being said how does the OH10 stack up?
Very well actually , Vocals are very clean and clear on the OH10 , The EJ’s still play a bit warmer in the vocals, and Instruments is spot on both . The stage is as wide on the Obsidian’s but not as 3D as the EJ’s but again look at the cost and driver difference. Sonion in the LetShuoer baby!
Bass between my boosted re-tuned EJ07M are damn close but the award still goes to the OH10 hands down I know its that shell at play again.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think the OH10 still is talked about a lot and recommended by so many different people you know something is special if it can stand the test of time for more than 8 months . I believe the OH10 came out in 2019 JUST WOW!
Give this IEM some serious burn in please it does make a difference in the Obsidians overall tonality and bass.
Still expensive when not on sale- but shows how this classic IEM holds its value like a Toyota. I bought mine used 2 years ago for $150 and as I have said before the IKKO Obsidian OH10 is one IEM - I WILL NEVER SELL.
Cheers TheDeafMonk.
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Do you have snow in Portugal? So not only great beaches, sun all year long dosing you Vit D3, pleasant temperatures, but also snow for skiing? Nice!
This is from my last week’s trip to Czech. My daughter have seen the heavy snow for the first time, first snowman was created. She loved it! <3 I loved my free time with Serratus and Mest with M0 Pro in its new case and balanced adapter
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Well, kind of. Just in a mountain 
nothing like eastern europe! You guys have way more.
We had a cold storm for the past 2 weeks and this trip was actually my xmas gift for the pregnant hero!
You have ski lanes on the top, but we are not doing that 
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Love the second-to-last picture. Those times when it’s the middle of the night but everything is illuminated in those warm colors. I haven’t really experienced anything like it. It’s like a moment having a Borealis opened up for you!
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Haha, that is what you mean by snow in Portugal 
We got into skid couple of times by car, few times we could not reach the end of the road on top as I (responsible head of the family) forgot my tire snow chains and we needed to go all the way around the mountain taking 10x the time. This is eastern Europe winter and to be honest this year it is more of a joke than real one 
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No, you can ski etc but just on top of one mountain. We do not have 1 meter of snow or something like that
I also got a “joke” one when I lived in warsaw. Saw snow only once there
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Here is beautiful! If you come someday to an audiophile party, I will walk you through the beauties of the country! 
PS : The photos are not mine, but I have been to these heavenly places!
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To be fair, my camera app (GCam) has very heavy image processing algorithm and it was not that spectacularly bright IRL. But it was beautiful nevertheless
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Alrighty folks! @nymz being the man said that I can gift the AKG N500 to an active member of the community ideally it’ll be someone in the UK. Any recommendations? Nominees?
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Not fishing but how do they perform.? I have some sony tws buds and they are quite poor very low volume and shocking battery life
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Gators 
Gators everywhere including the beach possibly. Counted 106 of them on a 14 mile bike ride the other day. Any wild guesses to where I live?
Ironically the last time I saw snow was when I lived in Las Vegas and brought my dog up to Mt. Henderson. Wasn’t much compared to what I grew up with in Vermont and Upstate New York. Went sledding, had a bonfire and drank hot cocoa. Was surprised by the fact that Las Vegas has a ski resort only 30 minutes from it.
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Has to be Florida!
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