NiceHCK NX7 pro

NiceHCK is an online retail store that I sometimes purchase items from on Ali Express. They carry other brands, but occasionally release their own branded products at typically very competitive prices. I’ve had bought a few of their ear buds in the past that feel and sound better than their bargain basement pricing.

In this review, I will be reviewing their new in-ear monitor (IEM), the NX7 Pro, which was provided to me by Hifigo.com.

Accessories & Comfort

The NX7 Pro comes with a multitude of accessories in its package. There’s a small heather gray soft zippered case and within that is a series of tips, 2 additional sets faceplates and 2 additional sets of filters and a tool to remove and install the screws for the faceplates. The NX7 Pro can be modified to appear blue, red, or silver or any combinations of the colors provided. I chose to make mine blue and red. These specific color plates match the filters which add bass, add treble, or keep it in its default configuration.

In addition, the NX7 Pro comes with a choice of 2.5mm, 3.5mm or 4.4mm 2-pin style cables. I chose to get the 4.4mm version and it is made of a copper colored 16 core braid. The metal Y-splitter, chin strap, and connectors on it are very nice and the cable is really soft and easy to handle.

In terms of fit, I found the NX7 Pro to fit comfortably and easily. The plastic shell is a little on the cheap-looking side of things and contrast to the nice shiny metal faceplates, but they are lightweight and do their job.

Sound

The default tuning on the NX7 Pro is definitely a V-shape. It has a large emphasis in both the bass and treble regions, and are much more than I normally prefer. The midrange is still present and isn’t totally lost in the mix. In general, I find this tuning fun, but just a little unnatural, and it’s more to do the large lift in the upper frequencies than anything else.



The bass can be thunderous on this IEM. When I put on “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” from The Smashing Pumpkins, the kick drum and bass guitar power through and slam with authority. The snare drums hit natural timbre and the overall decay sounds on point and is controlled enough even through the busiest portions of the chorus, with other instruments not over shadowed by the bass and lower mid-range emphasis.

Massive Attack’s “Angel” thumps with raw power while sounding controlled throughout the track, even as other instruments come into play. Again, the bass does overpower a bit and takes a lot of the command, but for a song like this, it’s fun, and it’s welcomed.

Bouncing around a bit, to the treble region; the cymbals on “Angel” don’t sound as shrill and harsh as some other songs. They aren’t heavily focused either, and not as forward in the track as the pounding bass attack, so it works pretty well on the NX7 Pro.

On Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, the harmonics of the snare drum and the cymbals can become a little fatiguing with the treble region gain on the NX7 Pro as they sound very forward. Stevie Nick’s vocals are also forward, though I do not find them distorted or unnatural. The extra splash of the cymbals and hi-hats bother me a little bit, as well as the acoustic guitar strumming in my left ear during the bridge and chorus.

Beach House’s “Lemon Glow” sounds really fun on the NX7 Pro with a heavy bass and lower mid-range focus. The bass slams with authority, and Victoria LeGrand’s lower range vocals sound very full bodied and works well. Unfortunately, when her pitch raises, the NX7 Pro’s enhanced upper mid-range and treble and upper treble spikes add sibilance, shrill, and unnatural extension to her voice.

I found the NX7 Pro works well for music that stray away a bit from the upper frequency bands – rock music led by male vocals and dance music excelling in terms of a fun wow factor, and I surprisingly really enjoyed the elevated bass response for the most part. If you’ve read my reviews or know me any bit at all, you’ll know I tend to stray away from heavy bass headphones, but some things surprise me.

I think the NX7 Pro’s biggest flaw is it’s treble tuning. It’s just too bright. The filters don’t help this either unfortunately. The Red filter makes the upper mid-range and lower treble even more bright, while reducing bass a tad bit, and the blue filter makes the bass even more powerful. I preferred the default tuning.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The NiceHCK NX7 Pro is a bright, open, and airy sounding earphone that is designed for treble aficionados. The degree of brightness can be controlled by three included tuning filters.


INTRODUCTION

There has been a recent abundance of “Pro” earphone models in the budget sector flooding the market. “Pro” has been used traditionally in marketing lingo to address the professional user, as opposed to the “consumer”. 15 years ago, Apple distinguished both in their notebook lines, which I never quite understood. But in contrast to this historical industry standard, the recent over-use of “Pro” probably constitutes euphemisms for more or less dramatically updated versions of previous and frequently prematurely marketed models…in order not to disgruntle early adopters.

Fortunately, this is not the case with the NiceHCK NX7 Pro, as they constitute a much more comprehensive package than their older NX7 sibling, at a reasonable $20 more. Wether the NX7 Pro deserve the label “Pro” in terms of sound needs to be established in this note.


SPECIFICATIONS

Impedance: 58Ω
Driver Unit: 4BA + 2DD (Dual Carbon Nanotube Dynamic)+ Piezoelectric Ceramics Driver, hybrid 7 units each side.
Frequency: 20 – 25000 Hz
Cable Material: 16 cores pure copper
Cable Length: 1.2m ± 3 cm
Plug Type: 4 types gold plated
Connector: 0.78mm 2 pin
Replaceable Facepanels: silver/red/blue
Sensitivities: silver filter 107dB/mW red filter 108dB/mW blue filter 105dB/mW
Tested at: $99
Links: HiFiGo Aliexpress store or HiFiGo






PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The package contains a lot of goodies: a really nice and sturdy textile case, a high-quality copper cable, faceplates in three colours (silver, red, blue) incl. spare screws, and three different tuning filters (silver, blue, and red). The included eartips didn’t work for me so that I used SpinFit CP-145. Please note that this earphone may be tip dependent. Therefore treat my sound description with a grain of salt. Comfort, fit, and isolation are good. Haptic and build quality are the same as the original NX7. The NX7 Pro are driven well with my iphone SE and did not need amplification.


TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice

I did the 100 hour break-in as suggested by the manufacturer. Right off the bat, the NiceHCK NX7 Pro sounds much better (that is less treble forward/aggressive) than the original NX7 (with silver or blue tuning filters used). The upper midrange and the lower treble have been shaved off to varying degrees (silver and blue filters). What remains is that prominent 15 kHz peak that can be fatiguing for sensitive ears as it adds some scratchiness and graininess to the high notes. This means, treble is still very much forward: cymbals are sitting in the foreground, appear splashy and tizzy, and the upper treble spike contributes to a crystal-clear sound and the impression of better resolution than there is.

The blue filter creates the most balanced sound: it offers the least prominent upper midrange and therefore the least bright image, producing the richest vocals of the three filters. In fact, vocals are only slightly recessed, reasonably intimate, and only marginally breathy. Bass is actually solid, well measured, and well extended, but not boomy or overbearing. Well dosed. The aggressiveness of the original NiceHCK NX7 has been tamed quite well, although the overall sound remains brightish. This produces an open sound with a wide stage and good depth. The soundstage is more wide than deep.

The silver stock filter adds to the upper midrange (compared to the blue filter), which results in an additional component of sharpness in the vocals department. Voices are less scupltured, more excavated, breathier, more recessed, and more prone to sibilance compared to the blue filter. This opens up the soundstage but also flattens it in the third-dimension. Bass remains reasonably fast, textured, and measured but is perceived as less extended.

I taped off the nozzles by 80% with micropore tape to add fullness to the midrange but all it did was mute the sound somewhat. Yes, it removed the brightness from the upper midrange, didn’t touch the 15 kHz peak at all, and made the NiceHCK NX7 Pro difficult to drive. This fix didn’t work.

In summary, for the silver and blue filters, timbre is astonishingly natural, just a tad bright (depending on the filter). Dynamics are very good. The treble and upper midrange introduce good air, the sound is quite open. Resolution is very good with all filters.



We can omit the red filter, as it yields the identical frequency response and sound as the original NiceHCK NX7. The respective sound is too harsh for me in comparison to the other two filters.



The similarly priced Moondrop Starfield and KBEAR Diamond (both single DDs) are less bright and have narrower soundstages. Both sound smoother and have the more natural timbre, but they also have less bite. Check their respective reviews for details. The NiceHCK NX7 Pro remains its own unique beast in this class.


CONCLUDING REMARKS

Surprisingly enough, I actually quite like the sound of the NiceHCK NX7 Pro with the silver stock filters: the airiness and openness of the image is quite appealing to my brain…but unfortunately my eardrums start protesting after a while because of the treble. Trebleheads, if such exist, will be very happy with the stock filters. Treble-sensitive listeners who prefer the blue filters, experience a good sound quality in this price segment. The NiceHCK NX7 Pro’s biggest asset is their versatility: the owner can play with faceplates and tuning filters and create their own individual looks and sound combinations. It is a niche that will attract many fans, considering the popularity of the original NiceHCK NX7.

Keep on listening!



You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.


DISCLAIMER

The review unit was provided by HiFiGo and I thank them for that. Much of this review was written in Cairo, Egypt, where I enjoyed great hospitality. This review was originally posted at https://audioreviews.org.

Product Links: HiFiGo Aliexpress Store or HiFiGo

My generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.



You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.


FURTHER READING

NiceHCK NX7 Pro Photography

Loomis’ NiceHCK NX7 Review

Jürgen’s NiceHCK NX7 Review

Moondrop Starfield Review

Jürgen’s KBEAR Diamond Review

Loomis’ KBEAR Diamond Review

• Product type: In ear
• Frequency: 20-25000Hz
• Impedance: 58Ω
• Cable material: 16 cores pure copper
• Cable length: 1.2m±3cm
• Plug type: 3.5mm gold plated
• Connector: 0.78mm 2Pin
• Facepanel color: Silver/red/blue replaceable
• Sensitivity: Silvery filter 107dB/mW；red filter 108dB/mW；blue filter 105dB/mW
• Driver unit: 4BA+2DD(Dual Carbon Nanotube Dynamic)+Piezoelectric Ceramics Driver, hybrid 7 units each side

The set is relatively complete, I have rarely seen a brand offer so many things as a whole. It’s rather generous from NiceHCK who (it should be noted) doesn’t play the stingy card, far from it. However, it should be noted that even the manufacturer recommends using Spinfit tips for a better fit and therefore a better sound experience, which I did fairly quickly. So I opted for the classic Spinfit tips in size S for this test.
The cable is really soft and not very much microphonic.





Firstly, it is important to note that I do not have very much experience in IEMs. The only audiophile IEMs I have owned so far are the "FLC Technology FLC8" and sold a few years ago. I also owned in the past two pairs of lesser-known entry-level IEMs that anyway never have caught my attention (sonically speaking). On the one hand because I am more a lover of earbuds above all, but especially because for me the entry-level IEMs are rarely a success, until I finally fall on the NiceHCK DB3 recently, which have completely convinced and restored my general hope for this entry-level category.

For those interested, my little review on the DB3 is HERE.

From what I have read on the internet, the NiceHCK NX7 Pro is nothing but an improved version of the previous NiceHCK flagship, the NX7. The only two notable differences from the Pro version are the addition of a new copper cable with 16 cores (the NiceHCK cable “C-16-3” renamed for that occasion for the NX7 Pro), as well an addition (and this is the big step forward) of sound customization by a filter tuning system (a numbers of 3). Apart from that, physically the NX7 Pro look exactly like the non-Pro version, with the possibility of customizing the colors of the facades (3 colors available: blue, silver and red). I personally decided to set the L to blue and R to right for easy and fast sides recognition.





Note that I properly burned my pair for at least 150 hours before. NiceHCK recommends running in the pair up to 100 hours before they reach their full potential. I found that the sound of the NX7 did improve slightly over time.

The sound of the NX7 Pro is absolutely identical to the NX7 as long as you use a more basic cable and set up the red filter. Having never owned the NX7s, so I could get an idea of how they sounded. The sound is rather « V » marked, with treble that may tickle sometimes a little too much according to some tracks (this is one of the most complaints about the NX7). The shooting seems finally corrected on the NX7 Pro and thanks to this choice of filter, because the user can finally customize his style of music, depending on whether he is looking for more bass, or mid and / or treble.

Personally, I quickly opted for the neutral filter (silver) which gives, in my opinion, the best neutrality of the NX7 while retaining some truly amazing qualities in this price range.

I did not gave a try on the blue filter because known to give more bass and less let out the medium and treble. I find that this filter is not necessarily the best choice because the NX7 Pro already send a lot in the bass so there is no need for additional addition in this area.

The red filter however is in my opinion the second most interesting of the lot. The type of sound tends to become a rather marked "V", with treble that pricks too much for my ears. So certainly the details stand out much better, we gain in general clarity, the cymbals and guitars "plucs" are a real pleasure to ears, with a rare precision achieved in IEMs. They highlight the audio quality of the NX7 Pro in the area of precision. The only catch in my opinion is that the red filter at the time can give some semblance of sibilance on certain songs, it whistles a lot and it can really pierce the ears. Be careful, then.

The gray (silver) filter is for me the best possible choice on the NX7 Pro (and it is indeed not for nothing that they are originally fitted on the NX7 Pro). This filter has the particularity of making the type of signature more homogeneous (a less marked « V » effect therefore), and we clearly appreciate listening, a real pleasure. We keep a general clarity and treble relatively always as precise, without now attacking the ear (so no more sibilance to note). The correctness of the stamps is perfectly respected.

The sound space is relatively very wide and deep for IEMs (which however remains rare on this type of listening I would say, we are even I would dare say very close to earbuds).

The coherence of the whole is essential, as well as the energy and the dynamics. I find that they are rather transparent with very little coloring.

The mediums are a pure delight although sounding slightly hollow, they would gain to be really perfect if there was a little more presence in the low medium in order to add a little body and liveliness in this area (especially for vocals).

The subbass are relatively present and well put forward, and the impact on the mid-bass very well managed, the whole is (in my opinion) very well transcribed without any gene. We can still see that the NX7 Pro (or NiceHCK products?) Love this area very much because it is always put forward. However compared to the DB3, there is nothing to do because the bass was far too invasive for my taste to be appreciated, here on the NX7 Pro it is really excellent. We have a well-managed impact (maybe a little more in the lower mid-range), and we start tapping our feet very easily.

These IEMs are full of details of all kinds. I hear details never before heard, a real pleasure. This allows us to completely rediscover our favorite playlists.

In my opinion, these headphones are rather universal and we really appreciate any style of music with, especially anything that moves a lot (electronic music, etc.).



These NX7 pro is a real masterpiece from the manufacturer. NiceHCK has set the bar very high for a product in this price range. To try them is to adopt it. Relatively musical, with a slightly “V” sound, with solid bass, relatively well-managed medium hold and tasty treble, this is what awaits you with these IEMs that I highly recommend in your collection.

My only complaint is this slight hollow in the high-medium which could have added a little more body in the vocals, but it's really not much (and I quibble surely), because the pleasure of listening that they offer is absolutely wonderful. I think we are not far from the miracle in this price zone! congratulations to the NiceHCK team for the design of this product which really deserves special attention.

As always, thank you for reading my review, and happy listening !
Cheers'

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 ****, to my ears either. (In contrast to X6, I do love **** 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.