Opera Factory OM1

Disclaimer:  NiceHCK provided the Opera Factory OM1 as a substantial discount for the purpose of this review.    I have no financial interest in Opera Factory or NiceHCK and thoughts below are entirely my own.

Unboxing / Packaging: 

The OM1 ships in a round cardboard container with very western style graphics.   All the pertinent information is either on the side or bottom of the package in a very retail oriented way.  I must say the packing is rather unique and interesting although the font and style of the package looks more like something that would be used to advertise a monster truck rally than to sell an earphone.

The top extends for about an inch  on the sides and slides upwards to reveal the earpieces sitting in a central foam plug.  Beneath the foam is a compartment for the cable.  The entire plastic insert then is removed from the cardboard to reveal the manual and the 3 sizes of silicone tips provided.

Build:  

Build quality is reasonable if a bit quirky.  The shells are clear on the inside with Red and Green faceplates.  Interestingly, the red  faceplate is the left earpiece which seems counterintuitive.  Also worth noting the red dot on the cable does indicate right so their color scheme is not even consistent within itself.  The other thing that is noticeable is the glue holding the faceplate to the shell is fairly visible at the junction and is obviously heavier in some areas than others.   The brass stud in the corner just barely penetrates the faceplate as is seen in the right most photo below.  I do like the way the cable is fit to the earpieces.  The bi-pin connector on the shell is raised about 1.5mm and a corresponding recess on the cable gives these a very firm connection and seems less likely to bend or break than some of the surface mount designs.

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Internals:

The driver is a single dynamic driver of approximately 15mm with a 16Ω impedance and a sensitivity of 110dB.  These are plenty easy to drive from a phone and benefit little from additional amping.

Cable:

The cable is well made with a 90° jack at the end.  The splitter could use a bit better strain relief (as shown), but the earpiece end is well thought out with a proper strain relief, pre-formed earhooks ,and a brass weight to help offset any cable movement.   The cable does seem a bit tangle prone and the color choice is a bit loud for my personal preference but overall it is one of the better features of the OM1.

Sound:

All of my listening notes are done with the provided Large tips installed.

Bass:

Huge mid-bass with very substantial bloom and mud.   Sub-bass suffers from some of the same but is not as forward or as emphasized as the mid-bass.

Mids: 

Mids?  where?  Who said there were mids?  Honestly the OM1 is a V and even setting my eq to be a ^ shape did little to change that.   Mids are just flat tuned out of the signature for all realistic intents.

Treble: 

The lower treble is again pushed well forward and does give the vocals a very in your face feeling.  Unfortunately that also brings a rather strident tonality with it and prevents these from being pleasureable even for casual listening.

Soundstage / Imaging:

Congested, muddy, clausterphobic

Thoughts / Conclusion:

There are much better ways to spend $30 in my estimation.   If you know someone that is in love with first generation Beats products and wants and in-ear version of it, this is the earphone for them.  Otherwise these are best reserved for the tone deaf or deceased.   Some have found that opening the vent or poking a pinhole through the paper filter in the vent helps even out the bass,  for those into DIY, this may improve the OM1.

Opera Factory OM1

5

Packaging

6.0/10

Build Quality

5.0/10

Accessories

5.0/10

Sound Quality

3.8/10