* I heard that new batch of NE-700M will be arrived in the end of January,with improve sound and build quality.

I have been told by Darren that new batch of NE-700M has been arrived! Review unit might be arranged. 

I knew that Nuforce made good Dac and headphone amplifier, and I am indeed glad to have chance to hand on with one of their new IEM,Ne700 and share with you all today in Earmass.

Thanks to Darren from Conceptz Store(Melaka) to lend me this review unit of  this NE-700M. He is one of the man who believe we should let more people know about audiophiles.

Description and Specification

NE-700M features a Titanium coated driver,which should produce brilliant sound. I have good impression with the titanium driver before when I reviewed the Incase Sonic. What I am worried will be the harsh sound (especially high) that titanium driver always produce,luckily and gladly I can tell you there is no harsh sound from NE-700M. I copied its specification and features from the official website of Nuforce.

• Driver Size:8mm
• Impedance:16 Ohms
• Rated Power:20 to 20kHz
• Max. Input Power:10m W
• Sensitivity:105 dB+/-3d
• Plug:3.5mm
• Directivity:Omni-directional
• Max Input Sound Level:115db S.P.L
• Weight :15.4 grams
• Length:54 inches
• Warranty:1 Year.
• Microphone Sensitivity:-38dB +/-3dB
• Connector Specification:3.5mm 4-pole stereo/iPhone compatible plug

Features

• Machined aluminum chassis
• Titanium-coated 8mm drivers
• Full spectrum sound
• Exceptional soundstage and imaging

This should not be a hard to drive IEM given the spec.

Packaging and Accessories

NE700M comes with 4 pairs of earphone tips,a User Guide and a earphone small bag. The accessories included is quite typical and general for IEM in this price range.

Design,Build Quality and Mechanism

Design is quite good looking,with a nice and trendy ‘NU’ branding on the earphone housing.

*New batch  (Which is coming) has improved over the build quality. Kindly noted that the NE-700M reviewed here is old batch.

Build quality is bad. the most distracting and messy thing for me is the cable,which has some kind of ‘memory effect’,tangle easily and is not easy to bend (Not flexible). Besides, when I inserted the IEM into my ears I can hear clearly that there is a noise of the rubber material being pushed especially the right side of the IEM. None of this noise will be a issue after you put on the IEM,it happened when you are wearing the earphone.

I heard that Nuforce is now revised  the build quality,it is a good thing indeed. As me myself has found that this is a serious problem that Nuforce (Or any responsible manufacturer) should revised on. Mechanism wise,it has a cable slider and a Microphone,lack a shirt clip (which is very handy if can be included one) though,but no big deal.

Microphonic,Comfort and Noise Isolation

Microphonic is exist but nothing really distracting,it is better than the RHA MA350 that I just reviewed. Comfort and noise isolation is average and typical for an IEM, I have no issues on this.

Pairing and Ease of Drive

It paired quite well with the amp that I paired with it,and is relatively easy to drive. Amplifier is not really necessarily but a clean source (A good Dac) should be at least given. Except that you want tighter bass, add on a simple amp like Govibe Minibox or CmoyBB V2.03R,then you are ready to go. It made a good paired up with Hippo Cricri as well,as I can get a somehow neutral and good transparency combination. With Hippo Cricri bass boost on,sound get more excited as well.

Frankly speaking,I have paired it to the Yulong D100II as well,for me this made the best combination,significant lusher and more energy in it,but this is a budget earphone,so this review won’t be based on this headphone amp. Yulong D100II paired with Bravo Audio Rock is good pairing as well,the sound is more laid back and the bass is solid and hard.

Sound Quality

I have tested NE-700M with Govibe Minibox,JDS Labs Objective 2,Hippo Cricri,Stoner Audio UD100 DAC and Creative Balster Go!,all connected with Black Octagon Bos2.

High : NE-700M do not has anything related to a ‘harsh’ or ‘aggressive’ high(which titanium driver will easily fault),instead I think that its high is a little bit of ‘recessed’(not that pronounce) compared to the mids and low,and a little bit not enough for my taste.

Mids : Mids is clear and good,especially for the price,blessed with good amount of detailsalthough a little bit thin.

Low : NE-700M has good bass,and is quick and packs with punch,impact is good and quite tight,although lack some rumble and depth. One thing should be noted that it do not has overwhelmed bass that is distracting,it has good amount of bass but to be frank, lack the body and depth.

Sound Signature : It is quick,transparent and clear in presentation. Sound is straight forward,really,I have to use this world again to describe the sound,it is transparent and has good sense of clarity. I don’t think the bass of the NE-700M is strong enough to justify basshead out there,but its sound is actually quite balance only it don’t have so much high,and the mid is less pronounce than bass response (by very little)

Sound Stage : Typical for an IEM,short in width and depth,but I doubt that it will be important for those who will purchase NE-700M. Not as open sounding as some.

Instrument Separation : It is average,I can hear every instrument playing,but not with ultimate separation. But it is already good for the price tag.

Tested tracks are all in lossless format unless otherwise stated.

Mr.Worldwide – Pitbull feat Vein (Planet Pit)

This is a short song,and pack with some bass that I think is not really squeeze the most out of this song,it is not bass light,but I would prefer more bass when music call for it.

Angels – Robbie William (Greatest Hits of Millennium 90′)

Vocal sounded a bit too thin and soulless for my preference. But it has some kind of openness and transparency that I like.

Ballade Pour Adeline – Richard Clayderman  (Richard Clayderman)

This is a beutiful piano songs with romance melody,NE-700M play it with some weighty piano sound,which made the music flow quite nice.

Liberty – Steve Jai (Passion and Warfare)

Electronic guitar play with good sense of layer and texture,but lack the high of the cymbal that can make this really enjoyable to listen to.

Conclusion

Good : ‘Healthy’ bass response (Not lacking and not overdone although has some boost),Transparency and clarity,Price point,Good detail level.

Bad : Definitely build quality (Will be improve in latest batch),Treble and mid,No shirt clip.

While it is unfair for me to compare it with some audiophile grade IEM or headphone,I am actually like it,as it can easily served as ‘normal’ listener taste,all right,it is not bad for audiophile to serve as a portable earphone,but this should not the first choice if you are an audiophile,but this is a IEM for those who just start to appreciate good sound,and intended to venture into this audiophiles world. To be honest,if this can have a fuller mid,I will be very happy to get one for myself,it is just me whom are really obsessed with midrange performance,maybe not you.

Seriously speaking,NE&00 lack some of the ‘WOW’ factor that I would really like. But looking at the price point,I do think that it has done quite a good job on the sound quality for its price,and although I think it is not really playing any ‘wow’ sound for specific genre of song tracks,but it them all fairly and really no songs gone bad on them,in fact they are all quite enjoyable as long as you don’t care too much.

Sound wise,I don’t have much complain but for the build quality along, I have so much to complain on. Luckily,NuForce listened to customers’ heart and will improve on this sector in the coming batch. So now,promise me you will only buy the latest batch,then I can recommended this NE-700M to you.