kboe
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2008
- Posts
- 1,948
- Likes
- 24
HISTORY
I got these little gems a few days ago and have enjoyed my time with them. I got away from IEMs almost two years ago because of comfort issues. You see, I have small, for lack of a term I'm not familiar with, earholes. So the Shure IEMs I had been using before were a little to big for my ear canals, theres the term I was looking for. Even with the smaller tips Shure provided, I would get irritated after about 30 minutes to an hour, and I enjoy my music to much to be limited to such short sessions. So out went the IEM and in came the full size cans. But recently I’ve wanted to reconnect with my music on a portable level. Traveling to and from class had grown strangely silent, and massed strings form Mahler began to call to me. So online I went and surfed. Well kowabunga dudes and dudets, I found something. The NuForce NE-6 fit my bill perfectly. They were cheap, small and could run off my ipod for going ampless, (I no longer have my BitHead). A day later, UPS dropped of a small package and like a kid on Christmas morning I tore it open with no regard to what was inside.
PROLOGUE
The NE-6s come with a small pouch that has two little elastic plastic strips sown in that form a tight seal on the opening of that pouch to keep it closed. Squeezing the edges of the pouch opens them up allowing you to store your IEM. This I prefer to the hard shelled clam style zip up cases the Shures used. They NE-6s themselves are remarkably small compared to my past IEM, (Shure SE110, 210, e4cs and 530s), and much lighter too, which I suppose contributes to their improved comfort. These things are so small and light weight that I use the double flanged Christmas tree style tips, something that I tried with the Shure models and revolted against immediately. On comfort they pass with flying colors, I can listen for 3-4 hours with no problems like irritation or being left with that rubbed raw ear feeling. Ouch!
On build quality I will only say I expect these to last a year, maybe more, but at these prices I don’t expect beyerdynamic longevity of 15-25 years or more. The Shures were built mildly better and the cables a bit thicker and tougher, but again this contributes to the engrossed size of the Shure models. Now least some of you think I needlessly bash Shure, think again. We're talking my ears, not yours, and not anyone else's. So always keep that in mind when I reference comfort issues. I also believe the Shures, at least their upper models, the 530s and 420s to be excellent top tier IEM as far as sound goes. So I popped these in my ears and spun up familiar tunes form my aiff loaded iPod and hit play.
SOUND
The sound of these is... is... almost tube like. The mids are flushed out and the lows punch with authority and proper grip. Listening to some of my favorites like Dvoraks Cello Concerto in B minor, the strings and brass form a lovely union of midrange goodness. Nothing is left out of the emotional department. Of course a good performance and recording by Deutsche Grammaphon helps. The highs are slightly rolled of, just like the Shure 530s, but because the midrange plumpness extends quite high, I almost don’t miss the upper extremes. This is something that bothered me with my 530s, but the voluptuous of the NE-6s midrange make that a second rate concern in my book.
I remember a fellow headfi’ers signature that read something like, “a beginner audiophile craves bass, an experienced one craves treble, and a veteran craves midrange”. Poorly regurgitated, but you get the point. The bass however packs low end punch and staying power. This helps to fill out the space below the fantastic midrange and brings balance to the tonal presentation. If the bass were anymore forward, powerful, or gruntish, we’d have what would be a bass heavy presentation with no treble to balance things out. But the NE-6s midrange is the star, the treble only goes as high as it needs in order to compliment the midrange and no higher. The bass similarly only builds up the lower octaves enough to bolster the midrange, and not overpower it like in the Denon models. If you don’t get it by this point, MIDRANGE!
EPILOGUE
These will travel with me everywhere now, I have an iPod and a Sansa Clip that will comprise my mobile listening. No amp for now. Though I have heard good things about amping the NE-6s, I’ll hold off for a time. Aside form costing more, and weighing more, an amp may alter this midrage orgy I have going on in my ear canals, and that’s how I like it. Now if you’ll excuse me, Dvoraks waiting.
Kevin
