NiceHCK NX7 pro

NX7 pro captivated me sufficiently to spend some time to put together this review.

I bought NX7 pro for ~$95 (2.5 balanced) and offer my unsolicited & unbiased subjective opinion.

My universe of IEMs is under $150 (and at the moment, instead of "moving up", rapidly improving ChiFi moves my way).
My current quest was for more treble-rich IEMs, given treble limitations of C16 and AS12 and looking for more than C12.

Packaging/accessories
A very nice black box with all the colours of prints and images. It conveniently opens on a side and locks neatly by rare earth magnets (environment aside...). A very competent detailed description on the back (blowing blobs out of Blons) including some features, as the material of the shell, which is an environmentally friendly polycarbonate, a step above more common acrylic resin.
Nice zippered case. A set of three sound filters useful for those in a quest for their preferred sound signature or some acceptable solution right out of the box. A set of interchangeable face plates and a screwdriver (a nice touch and a good leverage to convince the family - acquiring some good tools for future home improvements). Attachment of the face plates by three tiny screws going into a plastic shell is a bit of over-engineering, in my opinion. Snap-in plates would be much simpler to hold them in place and safer from screwing mishaps (even harder polycarbonate will not withstand multiple changes given the tiny thread).
Supplied tips include standard three pairs and additional double-flange and spinfit-like(?) pairs. None of them actually worked for me, since I usually use larger 13.5-14 mm tips. To include such a pair would be very useful to make sure of the universal fit for everyone without anything extra - that seems to be a worthy goal of this set.
A 16-core cable with a choice of connectors is a nice option, while charging noticeably more for balanced options may be a bit pinchy. Compared to similar 16-core cables, I could not perceive any sonic difference with this copper-coloured one. Aesthetically, multicoloured blue cables feel sounding better to me Anyhow, since I would not choose a copper-coloured cable myself, it happened to be a nice complimentary addition to my cable collection.

Build and Design.
Very nice, top implementation (I first wrote top "ChiFi", but then it is just the top, as in recent KZ and CCA). No visible gaps, neatly organized internals. I like aluminum the most as a plate material compared to stainless steel and zinc alloys - it is light, takes nice finish, remains unstained.

Fit.
Light compact shells in a shape similar to KZ ZS10 pro and CCA 12, while feeling a bit smaller.
The fit is very nice for me, just had to use larger tips than supplied
Being smaller and lighter, NX7 feels a bit less securely held in place in a short run, but easier in a long run compared to C12.
Possibly the best fit that I've experienced so far.

Equipment used
Pioneer XDP-30R with a 2.5 balanced connection, which is a fairly neutral source. I used large-bore generic tips similar to spiral dots. I strongly feel that the large tip opening does not restrict sound in any way, which work the best in a long run, at least for me.

Burn-in
50+ hours. I was checking periodically while conditioning the drivers with the very best of Bach and Beethoven. It actually happened to be the longest time when I could perceive some noticeable difference between 10 and 20 hours, (I have a mixed opinion about burn-in, but I am not writing a PhD thesis to prove or disprove anything) so I gave 50+ hrs recommended in the instructions. Actually, most of my impressions after 75 hours.

Filters used
At first, I've naturally tried silver stock filters and found them reasonably OK but somewhat congested, restricting the sound, I switched to the red one, which finally fulfilled my treble quest (!!!). I found the sound signature, which is a bit too much in the treble, (with very decent lows and OK-ish mids). In some music that is not treble-intense it feels perfectly OK. For more treble-rich (e.g. percussion, violins) music, I can listen from few minutes to half an hour. My optimum filters may be ~2/3 of the way from silver to red, I will be happy to explore this with some foam in the red filters, as advised by HeadFi gurus. So for the owners of the original NX7 - foam modding behind the mesh may be all you need. I did not have any temptation to try the blue ones. I will likely convert them to empty shells to use with some foam down the road.

Sound
Starting on a high note (or notes), the treble is very rich and sparkly given the mighty efforts of seven piezo layers and four tiny BAs. Finally, I had a chance to experience the 10-20 kHz (or closer to 8-16 kHz) range. It is about air, sparkles, presence, very nice. At the same time, it does not add a whole world of difference, especially with the most of classical music, so I am still OK to enjoy my AS10
Happily, I did not find much of overtone distortion (as some reviewers of NX7 tried to allude). A lot of violin music is sensitive to it, and using some "prominent" IEMs, like TRN X6 in particularly, feel quite unnatural.
No spacial incoherence, as in DT6, to my ears either. (In contrast to X6, I do love DT6 in all its pecularities).
The treble definitely feel the best, most prominent part of the NX7 design.

Lows feature a very nice extension to sub-bass. Recordings of organ music that should reach 16 Hz feel very rumbly (not that I claim that this range fully reproduced and perceived, but some heavy impression is there).
In addition to the range, I really like the dynamic driver is quite fast, close in some aspects to BA bass (that I seem to prefer). Plus some fluidity. Not intrusive mid-bass, that coupled to fairly recessed mids, yields quite cold analytical signature that I personally came to like in NX7 pro.
Very good competent bass overall, in my opinion.

Mids. Well, not much to say. The DD is responsible for this range, in addition to its main prominent duty with the lows. So mids feel quite recessed, definitely not to the point of any glaring deficiency, but not much to write about.

Now, my imaginary dream budget IEM would include the treble part from NX7, with the lows and low mids from C16, perhaps with the upper mids from C12

Suggestions to improve
1) Supplying a larger pair of tips (> 13 mm) would be very helpful and costing only few cents.
2) Snap-in face plates may be easier and more trouble-free.
3) (More of a wishful thinking): Adding few mid BAs can deliver a very competent IEM.

Summary
Very nice versatile package overall: functionally (choice of a good cable, sound filters) and aesthetically (face plates).
Great lows and highs. Mids feel a bit recessed. Very competent and competitive under $100, in my opinion.
Solid 4.5 (or 4.5+) stars from me.

NiceHCK NX7 pro


So now a days when you got a hit on your hands it simply isn’t good enough. There has to be a new version of it in the remake a mark II or a pro. There is the version 2.0 of everything that is good usually spurring on further development. The one negative is that hey! I just bought those! Effect. Hey look at it this way if there wasn’t a sequel there would never been an Empire Stikes back, Rambo 2, or Godfather 2 right?


In this case we have a newer version of NiceHCKs best selling earphone the NX7. Now in the 2.0 version called the NX7 Pros. Fundamental design of the NX7 pros remain the same. Same drivers the same housing and tuning. However NiceHCK pulled a surprise in that they went above what most consider OK for a revision and threw in some substantial extras. Because an official sound revision and maybe a slight tweak in the looks of the phone is usually what one gets when we are dealing with revisions. The Pro provides 3 different sound profiles in the form of nozzle filters, 3 faceplates to change up the looks and a tool to change them. Finally an optimized pure copper cable that actually enhances the stock sound profile of the NX7.





I would like to thank NiceHCK for the review sample of the NX7 pro. The NX7 pro was provided for the purpose of review. Are the new pro version worth the money to upgrade from the previous standard NX7? I will say a resounding yes but for guys that don’t mind a bit of modding don’t really have to get a pro version. Will get into that later.

Specs:
1. Brand and model: NICEHCK NX7 Pro in ear earphone

2. Product type: In ear

3. Frequency: 20-25000Hz

4. Impedance: 58Ω

5. Cable material: 16 cores pure copper

6. Cable length: 1.2m±3cm

7. Plug type: 3.5mm gold plated

8. Connector: 0.78mm 2Pin

9. Facepanel color: Silver/red/blue replaceable

10.Sensitivity: Silvery filter 107dB/mW;red filter 108dB/mW;blue filter 105dB/mW

11.Driver unit: 4BA+2DD(Dual Carbon Nanotube Dynamic)+Piezoelectric Ceramics Driver, hybrid 7 units each side.



So the package of the NX7 pros actually is much better vs the standard NX7. It comes with a nice Case, some extra tips that was not included on the standard version as well as these crucial elements. 3 colors of plates. Easy to screw on the back of the phones and take out. Giving the owner of the NX7 pros an option that most earphones don’t. Red/Blue/Silver. All 3 colors looks nice upon the all clear housing and does look more premium over the darker plates and housing of the original.


Then there is the C-16-3 pure copper 16 core cable that was purposefully provided on the Pro. If your of the belief that cables don’t do much for sound. Here is where you can test it if you own the original stock cables or if you own the cable that came with the NiceHCK DB3. It is the same cable. First listen to a few tunes using the stock cable and then put the Pro cable on your favorite tracks and play again.


My A/B testing vs the original cables was easy to hear the differences. For me there was no question which cable provided a complimentary take on the NX7. I am certain NiceHCK agreed with that so they did the right thing and just included the cable with the Pro. Considering this cable at RP is $38ish that is a nice bonus. You can also choose which termination you would like in the cable as well when ordering. Single or 3 types of balanced outs.



Then there is the 3 sound filters which are the same colors that are the plates. Out of the box the NX7 pro is outfitted with the silver plate the silver filter and in a separate bag has a blue and a red filter. These 3 filters all have an effect of the sound balancing of the NX7 pro. First lets get into the sound foundation of the NX7 pro


The NX7 was tuned for enthusiasts that want their music with detail and imaging as a foundation for your sound. I would put the original NX7 in the analytical category of sound but has some outstanding technicalities for a budget level iem. The resolving foundation of the sound profile is a good one due to the well balanced and energetic detailed nature of the sound. Piezo tweeter does the super highs. 4BAs taking care of highs and the dual carbon nanotube dynamics doing bass to mids duties. With the new filters it gives 3 different takes on the NX7 sound.


Red: stock NX7 sound. If your of the type that loves your detail imaging and likes your guitars crunchy and vocals to soar with an abundance of energy and detail, this filter will not hide a single aspect of your tune. Especially in the upper mids/ treble region. If detail is your jam this filter is an easy choice. Before you say this filter is a bit too much for you. Keep em around for several reasons. NX7 stock sound on a warmer source synergizes extremely well. Not so much a brighter sounding source. Then there is the fact that there is no filter in the nozzle. You can try all sorts of sound dampening material underneath the red nozzle to tweak the sound of the Pro version to your liking. The stock sound in balanced can and does sound amazing with the right source combination. My initial review of them can be read here.


Silver: Lessens the upper mids to treble- upper treble area giving the NX7 pro sound a more balanced tuning of the 3 filters. While not as sparkly, detailed and energetic as the red filtered pro sound. This filter has the region fall more in line with the rest of the tuning giving the Pro version a new more even profile. This little fine tuning is the middle porridge of the 3 filters and gives a good sense of the detailed nature of the NX7 but now has better coherency in the upper treble region vs the stock NX7. They call this the balanced filter for a reason. This filter I feel has the best refined sound of the 3 filters and was put on the stock configuration for a reason.


Blue: Lowers the upper mid to upper treble even further. This filter is for folks that want more lower mids and bass emphasis due to the now much lower presence in the upper regions. This filter provides the warmest and smoothest of the 3 filtered sounds. Bass and mids for the most part are not changed but due to the much less emphasis on the detail region of sound it will sound almost dull in comparison to the other 2 filters. But for treble sensitive guys this might be the ticket for you. Bass perception is that it is more forward in this tuning but really it has about the same emphasis as the other 2 filters. Great for modern music that uses much bass.


Speaking of the bass end. I have become a huge fan of the quality of the bass on the NX7 earphones and the clean fluid mids presentation. I wouldn't have changed a thing about the bass on the NX7 and so they left good enough alone here which is a good thing. I think between the 3 filters, you will find one that you can immediately enjoy. Which is the whole idea of the filter system. Considering the improvements physically and sonically compared to the original NX7. I feel the price is more than justified. If anything it is an excellent deal. Sonically it is one of the more versatile sound signatures. The base sound of the NX7 has not really changed but with the filter system it now has even greater flexibility for fine tuning the sound to your liking.



In the end . Sure it is a bit of a jerk move to suddenly come out with a much improved version of the original NX7 a few months after release. But hey at least we didn’t have to wait till next year for the improvements. If your really jaded about the whole thing, no real need to get the Pro. Tinker with cables/ tips and mod the thing and you will get a good idea what the pros are like. However if you were a fan of the NX7 in any way or form. New pro version is compelling.



Bonus: So for the stock NX7 owners. I did a head to head testing against my own stock NX7and I can confirm the earphones vs the Red filter on the pro is exactly the same. In order to get a similar sound to the Pro version. You need to do 2 simple mods. One is to get yourself a nice copper variety of cable. The C-16-3 cable from NiceHCK can be bought on sale during black Friday so a good opportunity to save a bit. Then there is the sound. There is an easy mod you can do to lessen the upper emphasis on the NX7 using micropore tape to mask a bit of the nozzle. Thanks goes out to Otto motor for showing this little handy mod. Through trial and error you can get it to sound identical to the silver or the blue filter on the pro version. Throwing on a bit of micropore tape on the nozzle end and using a cable is not much in the scheme of things. If your happy with the sound it has then none of this really matters. As always happy listening.