NiceHCK MMCX Bluetooth Cable HB1

I have been using HB1 for a few months now, and have got the opportunity to use it with quite a few IEMs including Shure SE535 Ltd., Magaosi K3 Pro, Magaosi X3, MEE Pinnacle P1.

Disclaimer: I must note that aliexpress seller NiceHCK had given me a slight discount, and requested to write a review. However, I have given my honest review below and never promised any favourable reviews to the seller

Brief Details:

This cable comes with MMCX connection option only, and boasts BT 4.1 and Apt X supports (it uses Qualcomm CSR8645 chipset). It has a remote with volume up/down, with the power on/off button. The buttons serve multiple purposes depending on the length/count of clicks.

When turning on, and holding it goes into pairing mode. When double clicking the power button twice, it calls the last dialled number. Holding the volume up/down button seems to increase/decrease the volume on my One Plus 5 phone, while clicking them goes to next/previous music, which took a bit of time getting used to. Unfortunately, there is no way to trigger google assistant or any custom action with the buttons, and also no way to make it read the contact name instead of just the phone number, when I get a call.



Build Quality:

What has been most impressive about this cable, has been how it has held up over the months. The cable itself seems to be of very good quality (and not very flimsy, as some other bluetooth cables which I have tried in the past month such as TRN). Instead of neck band like design, it opts for a magnetic connection behind the neck, with the remote controls near the chest. This seems to hold up well, while travelling or in gym. The connectors are very good, and fits the mmcx based IEMs, from any directions, unlike many cables which require alignment before fitting the IEM to the cable.

Bluetooth Connection & Battery Life:

The connection works well within 10 m (when used in office, where it is open space), but at home, with obstacles, I find it starts breaking in 3 m itself. So, the overall connection strength is decent.

The average battery life comes to around 3.5-4.5 hours, and I found that the battery life is affected depending on the sensitivity of the IEM (with MEE Pinnacle P1 – since it required higher volumes), and also the distance from your Bluetooth transmitter ( I was playing from my phone mostly). But, it is worsened by the fact that you have no way to know about the battery remaining, either directly or through the phone .

Sound Quality:

As mentioned earlier, I have had the pleasure to use this cable with multiple IEMs - including Shure SE535 Ltd., Magaosi K3 Pro, Magaosi X3, MEE Pinnacle P1. However most of the time, I have been using it with Shure SE535 Ltd. Edition IEMs. What was very surprising to me initially was how good it sounded wireless, compared to wired powered directly from my phone.


Even though SE535’s are very sensitive, I found that with CS8645, the DSP was better than the one on my One Plu5 (I have also compared it with Samsung S7 Edge exynos, which was also inferior to this). With a hard to power MEE Pinnacle P1, I found that it was definitely much better than OP5 (where it sounded very bland), but it was only on my portable DAC/AMP – LHL Geekout V2+, I was really able to enjoy P1s.

What generally improved from my OP5 phone to this cable, is mostly the soundstage and bass impact. Due to this, I make a point to try any new IEM I get with this (or equivalent CS8645 enabled cables).



Verdict:

It is a great pairing with relatively easy to drive IEM’s like SE535, Magaosi K3 Pro, Magaosi X3, in terms of sound quality, especially when on the go. A good bluetooth cable, that frequently goes at discounts now (30 USD instead of 50 USD; which makes sense considering the competition) that you can consider, provided you are fine with the battery life stated.

Here goes. This is my first review on Head-fi. 
 
I have been playing around with the HB1 for about a week,
 
Specs : MMCX Connector, Bluetooth 4.1 (CSR8645), APT-X, DSP, 80mAh Battery,
 
Built Quality/Comfort : The built quality is really good, it looks much more expensive than it really is. the design is new, I haven't really seen this anywhere else. Having purchased these as a low cost alternate to the westone mmcx bluetooth cable, I was pleasantly surprised. The Behind-Neck magnetic connection is a really good idea, It ensures that the weight of the battery and the bluetooth chip is exerted on the neck (where it is negligible) and not on the IEM's themselves which keeps them securely in place so they don't fall out. The cable has an Over-Ear guide rubber at its ends which is pretty comfortable and keeps in place even during jogging etc. overall the quality of the materials used is not cheap feeling or cheap looking whatsoever. and looks pretty good in person. 
 
Bluetooth : Bluetooth Pairing was very easy, no glitches, I was set up in under 3 minutes. Long click to enter pairing mode, Choose HB1 from mobile/dap and you're all set. Range could be Better. No track skipping or loss of sound while within 8-10 feet. EDIT: recalculated the range, unobstructed it is easily over 26 feet that is where the skipping starts. earlier calculation had a wall in b/w. 
 
Sound Quality : For this review, I used Shure SE-215 With this cable.  
 
This pairing was really good. it made the 215's sound very good, with amazing separation/clarity and excellent bass response. Very good soundstage and great imaging (due to the DSP perhaps?). in fact it was better than powering them out of the Shanling M1 DAP, and better than directly out of an iPhone 7, But nowhere near as good as powering out of my Chord Mojo of course. Volume levels are quite loud, lots of headroom. There was no discernible quality loss over APT-X (using Shanling as a source). I have permanently relegated the shure to this Bluetooth cable. it really is an excellent pairing. There was no information provided on the website about the actual power output of this cable. but its certainly sufficient. 
 
Battery Life/ Durability : On first usage after a full charge this lasted me around 4 hours. but it did charge up really quick (in around 30 mins). it seems pretty durable but having used them only for 1 week I cannot really attest to its longevity. 
 
Conclusion: for less power-hungry IEM's, for Dynamic IEM's and Perhaps for MMCX Headphones around 30-50ohm. This is a really good option. you'd be hard pressed to find something in this price range that can outperform this cable. But Don't expect it to power more hungrier IEM's which require a dedicated DAC/Amp in the first place. For use with Shure SE-215 I can totally recommend this cable as they have really good synergy.
 
 
Disclaimer : I wrote this review upon request of the seller, who had offered me a slight discount on this cable, but not on account of writing a review. he requested me to write a review on head-fi if possible after the purchase. To which I obliged and I made it clear that it will be unbiased. I have no affiliation with the seller. And I stumbled upon this product while browsing aliexpress for a good bluetooth mmcx cable.