Intro
NF Audio, also known as NingFan Acoustics is an earphone brand founded back in 2014 producing stage monitors and only started to produce consumer earphones from the year 2019 onwards with NM2 and 2020 NM2+, both which are highly favoured by reviewers. Today I have with me the NA3, which NF named them as Pixel Monster (Which represents the infinite possibility of the spiritual world in hope that everyone can feel the music and find simplicity and calmness within them). NA3 is a double cavity single dynamic driver iem.
Packaging
The packaging is fairly unique i would say, with pixelated monster as the box’s main cover,it’s minimal yet it offers a very pleasant unboxing experience. Inside the box you will have the IEM and the cable itself, two types of eartips, balanced and atmosphere (which I assume is boosting the soundstage), and also a white faux leather storage pouch.
Build/Comfort
The shell is made out of high strength polycarbonate, the whole iem itself feels very light and I totally don’t feel anything on my ears when I'm wearing them. Comfort wise it’s top notch.
Source
Macbook Air M2 -> NA3
Macbook Air M2 -> Kaei Hp100 -> NA3
Tempotec V6 -> NA3
iPhone 12 Mini Apple Music -> Dunu DTC 500 -> NA3
Sound Impression (Stock cable with JVC Spiral Dots)
My impression is based on a stock cable with JVC Spiral Dots eartips because they fit me better compared to the stock eartips.
NA3’s tuning is leaning towards neutral and slightly bright to my ears. It does exhibit a little bit of V shaped tuning as the vocal is slightly laid back and slightly energetic on the top end,but not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant. Timbre is fairly natural but there is a slight coolness in it. Good note weight overall and most importantly, no driver flex can be observed.
Bass
- Bass is fast and tight,very clean and it has no problem keeping up in tracks like Tears Don’t Fall - Bullet For My Valentine, People = crap - Slipknot, very good speed
- Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids
- Playing some Skrillex’s track, Bangarang, the sub bass does rumble when it is call for,but it does sound a little rolled off, but sufficient in terms of quantity accompanied with good quality
- Mid bass is punchy and with good control,never bloated
- Bass texture is average,can be better,average extension
Mids
- Vocal positioning is slightly laid back,not intimate nor forward to the point where you feel it's in your face
- Female vocal sounds a little thin and brittle,listening to Anita Mui’s Nu Er Hong,i would prefer if her vocal sounds a little fuller,but given that NA3 is marketed as in ear stage monitor,this could be the reason on why it is tuned this way
- Male vocal sounds a little fuller compared to female,but both are equally enjoyable
- Mids on NA3 is quite rich sounding, but the upper mids never once get too hot even when the volume is cranked up
Treble
- The treble on NA3 is generally non offensive, slightly emphasised by never harsh or sibilant
- Detail retrieval is good for the asking price but do not expect it to be detailed as a TOTL
- Being marketed as a monitoring iem, i’d expect the treble to be slightly lifted for monitoring purposes,indeed it is slightly lifted based on my observation, but it still has a good balance between monitoring and music listening
- Upper end sounds a little rolled off
Soundstage/Imaging
- Soundstage is average and nothing much to shout out about, average depth and width, a slightly out of head feel that doesn’t sound too in your head
- Imaging is quite good as it demonstrated good separation and layering in Slipknot’s People = crap, if you are listening to this track on an iem with bad imaging, the whole song will basically sound very muddy as there are a lot of things going on in this track
Driveability
- Very easy to drive, yet benefit from power and better source
- It can sound reasonably loud even straight from your 3.5mm jack from your phone, but of course once you feed it with better source and it will sing
Final Thoughts
So where does NA3 position itself in today’s fast moving ChiFi market that isn’t short of single dynamic driver’s iem? I would say that NA3 is an iem for someone who likes slight analytical tuning but also treble response that isn’t lifted too much, you get the best of both worlds? If you are sensitive to treble, then you might avoid this set as this is definitely not for you.
*As always,i would like to thank ShenZhen Audio for sending over this in exchange for my review. I am in no way under any influence nor receive any monetary compensation for this review.
Head over to the link below if you are interested in getting a pair of NA3
NF Audio NA3 ShenZhen Audio Store - Non affiliated
