NMD Audio SAKURA cable
- Added by mars chan
- Create date
Disclaimer
Please note that I am not an audiophile, and this review does not delve into the technical aspects of the cables. My impressions are based on my personal preferences, and others may have different experiences with this product. I also have a very limited experience with audio products so please take this review with a grain of salt.
The NMD Cables Nova, Mist, Sakura, and Dusk were lent to me as part of a review tour in the Philippines.
Package Inclusions
- The cable itself
- A cable strap
- A round storage case
- A pouch
- An aluminum calling card
- A storage box
General Usage Impressions
- All the cables feel weighty and heavy. Since my IEMs are all lightweight, all of the cables feel like they are pulling them out from my ears if they were not sealed well.
- I like the red and blue strips on the connectors to denote right or left. Very easy to tell which side goes where at a glance.
- The storage case weighs ~52g with an internal diameter of about 7.3cm.
- It seems to be a little small for some of the cables, especially the Mist, since it’s pretty thick.
Cable Strap
- The cable strap is made out of washable kraft paper. I’m not familiar with this material, but I’ve read online that some companies make bags out of this material and it’s safe to machine wash and iron or steam. Not sure if that will fix the creases that were already on them.
Nova - 161 USD / https://nmdaudio.com/products/nova
- Wire Number: 4 Strands, 21 AWG
- Material: OCC Silver x 1 (Centre) / Silver-Plated OCC Copper x 2 / OCC Copper x 4
- Structure: Coaxial Litz Type 2
- 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: Gold-plated Tellurium Copper / Rhodium Plated Tellurium Copper
- 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 5u Gold-plated Tellurium Copper
- Length: 1.2 m
- The Nova cable weighs ~31.6g.
- Since the cables are pretty thick and don’t bend easily, the earhooks are loose and are not “locked in” behind my ears, which can be annoying at times.
- Coming from a budget 3.5mm cable, the Moondrop May that I used sounded a tad bit warm, but with the Nova, it not only brightened the vocals, but also boosted the bass! I was pleasantly surprised by the big difference. I like how these are tuned the best!
Mist - 471 USD / https://nmdaudio.com/products/mist
- Wire Number: 4 strands, 20.5 AWG
- Material: Copper & Rare-Earth Element Alloy (Core) / 7N OCC Copper (Shielding Layer)
- Structure: Coaxial Litz Type 2 wIth Shielding Layer
- Connector: Gold-plated OFC / Silver-plated OFC
- Termination: 10u Gold-Plated OFC
- Length: 1.2 m
- The Mist cable weighs ~41.7g.
- The earhooks for the Mist are better locked behind my ears compared to the Nova. I think it’s because of how heavy the cables are.
- Coming from the Nova, the sound these cable changed were the lows to mids. It’s warm, but not as warm as the Nova. The soundstage seems to also have changed, but I can’t put my finger on how.
Sakura - 619 USD / https://nmdaudio.com/products/sakura
- Wire Number: 4 Strands, 24 AWG
- Material: Cryogenic Treated 5N OCC Silver
- Structure: 3 Different Wire Gauges / 4-layer Golden Ratio Structure / Clockwise and Anticlockwise Twisted Layer
- Connector: Silver-Plated OFC / Gold-Plated OFC
- Termination: 10u Gold-Plated OFC
- Length: 1.2 m
- The Sakura cable weighs ~36g.
- Similar to the Mist, the earhooks are better locked behind my ears and don’t slip out if I tilt my head to the sides.
- I also noticed that the soundstage is wider, bass is deeper than the budget 3.5mm cable. The tuning is very neutral and I think will not be fatiguing for long listening sessions.
Dusk - 743 USD / https://nmdaudio.com/products/dusk
- Wire Number: 4 strands, 19 AWG
- Material: Cryogenic Treated & Graphene Coated Copper / Silver /Platinum Alloy
- Structure: Air-Tube Core / Crossed Overlapping Stranded Design
- Connector: Silver-Plated OFC / Gold-Plated OFC
- Termination: 10u Gold-Plated OFC
- Length: 1.2 m
- The Dusk cable weighs ~44.6g.
- Same as the Mist and Sakura, the Dusk also are better locked behind my ears due to the wire weight. Unfortunately, being the heaviest of the bunch this one fatigued me the fastest.
- It sounds almost similar to the Sakura, but has more bass
Final Thoughts
I honestly don’t have any IEMs worthy of these cables, as I only have the Moondrop May and Truthear Hola, both under $70. But since I recently borrowed a Moondrop May, I was able to do an A/B test between the cables
I always thought that cables won’t make much of a difference, as long as they’re all made the same way. NMD Cables proved me wrong by actually making cables that DID make a difference that a casual like me can hear!
And while the price isn’t for everyone, I think these cables are a worthy upgrade down the line for those who are passionate about high fidelity music.
.
First of all, I'd like to thank NMD Audio for sending me these four amazing cables for a review.
.
These cables will be sent to other reviewers after my review, in the review tour, and then returned to NMD Audio after the tour is done.
.
NMD AUDIO is a new brand specializing in IEM cables, and in my own perception of them, their goal is to make cables that really make a difference in sound through researching and employing different conductors, and weaving patterns.
.
Personally, Regarding the sound, the differences are tiny and might not be audible to some. I cannot claim that what I am hearing is 100 percent certain; it could just be my imagination, but for the sake of reviewing cables, I will go with both my hearing and feelings about the sound, however, the difference in sound are audible to me nonetheless. I compare them with cables that I've been listening to for a long time with IEMs and sources I am very familiar with, but these are very subjective, so you may take this with a grain of salt.
.
I own many IEM cables and have detected minute differences in some of them. I also made my own IEM cables for personal use that look and sound very good. The looks of the cable are very important to me, by the way. I also incorporated inexpensive cables for comparison to make this review more relatable to most people.
.
These cables come with their own beautiful box, a round metal carrying case, a metal NMD audio calling card, a soft cloth carrying pouch, and a leather cable holder.
.
The Cables:
.
Please note that the prices here are different from my first impressions post, because NMD Audio decided to reduce the price officially to make them more competitive in the market.
.
NOVA (copper-colored) belongs to their Newbie series and costs $161 USD.
.
MIST (silver-colored) belongs to their moderate series and costs $471 USD.
.
SAKURA (pink-colored) belongs to their premium series and costs $619 USD.
.
DUSK (black-colored) belongs to their deluxe series and costs 743 USD.
.
.
NMD Audio NOVA:
.
The NOVA is made with conductors consisting of silver, copper, and silver-plated OCC copper. It has four cores with 1.5mm thick for each wire and feels soft but not the most compliant among these four cables in this review.
.
This is the most organic or natural-sounding cable among the four. The first thing I noticed was the improvement in soundstage and the smoothening, but not rolling off of those slight grit in the treble that were caused by the recording or the sources, making my musical experience more concentrated on enjoyment of the details and not the details of the details, like looking through a microscope.
.
When used with the NF Acous NA2+ with its stock atmospheric eartips, there is a noticeable improvement in the soundstage, particularly the improved cleanliness of the soundfield and the darkening of the background.
.
When used with the DITA AUDIO Project M with stock tips, the pairing is perfect; this is among the best cables I've used it with so far. It enhanced the subbass and midbass slam and also made the details, including the vocal details, come forward slightly, making them sound more focused and clearer. I also noticed the increase in coherence between the drivers, which improves the overall sound of the Project M compared to the stock cable.
.
When using the Hidizs MP145 with Epro EP00 tips, I haven't noticed a notable improvement in the soundstage; however, I noticed right away the improvement in the bass textures and control in the midbass when compared to the stock cable.
.
When using the Lethsuoer Audio S15, I heard no improvements, except that the treble became mellower.
.
When using the SIMGOT EA1000 and Epro EP00 eartips, the sound is similar with the stock cable, except that I notice a thicker note weight and a smoother upper treble.
.
There was no audible difference with the NF Acous RA15 and the Xenns Mangird Top compared to their stock cable.
.
Compared to the NMD AUDIO MIST, the NOVA has slightly less upper treble but seems to have deeper soundstage, while the MIST sounds more accurate and analytical overall. Both sound equally musical and enjoyable.
.
Compared to the NMD AUDIO SAKURA, the SAKURA has higher resolution and is much more analytical. I also hear some enhancement in the lower treble region with the SAKURA, which pushes the details forward, while the NOVA sounds more organic and less illuminated in the treble.
.
Compared to the NMD Audio DUSK, both are very good when it comes to soundstage, but the DUSK is better; it's the first thing I noticed between the two. Tonally, the DUSK is slightly brighter and more neutral, while the NOVA is warmer and more relaxed. I hear slightly more details with the DUSK.
.
Compared to the Faaeal Hibiscus cable, a budget 10 dollar cable, they have a similar configuration of four cores and 1.5mm thick wires, but the NOVA feels thicker, firmer, more substantial, and feels like it has more actual metal conductors inside the wires. In terms of sound, using the DITA AUDIO project M, the NOVA sounds more U-shaped tonally. I hear a slight improvement on treble resolution, subbass palpability, and bass texture; these were the first things I noticed. There might be other differences, but they might be too small for me to detect. Let me remind you that the differences are really small and might not count as improvements to some people.
.
.
NMD Audio MIST:
.
The MIST is made with a rare-earth copper alloy, a single-crystal copper shielding layer wire conductor, and is a four-wire braid with a 1.9mm thickness for each wire. Upon close look, this is the thickest cable in this comparison and also the weightiest, but I don't mind the weight. I noticed the braiding of the wire strands is unusual; it utilizes a criss-cross braiding pattern that must be the shield of the wire.
.
This is very neutral sounding with a slight enhancement in the upper treble; it sounds analytical yet very musical at the same time, and thus, my favorite when it comes to enhancing the upper treble extension among the four; there is no warming up of the sound; it's just straight and ruler-flat subjective frequency response according to my hearing; the soundstage is accurate, and so is the imaging; there is no obvious enhancement in any part of the spectrum; it's just very transparent sounding.
.
When used with the NF Acous NA2+ with its stock atmospheric eartips, compared to the stock cable, the bass became even more analytical, as I can hear more texture and the impact seems to stornger. I also sense an increase in the upper treble extension, but only very slightly; it doesn't seem to improve on the soundstage, like the NOVA and the DUSK do.
.
When used with the DITA AUDIO Project M with the glow in the dark Final Audio stock tips, I can definitely perceive the increase in airiness compared to the stock cable. The stock cable has a good treble sound, but the MIST is even better by a small margin; it also sounds a little smoother. However, it is not all good news. I sense some slight reduction of instrument note weight; this must be the result of the enhanced upper treble, and for that, I don't think the MIST to be my favorite for Project M.
.
When used with the HIdizs MP145 with Epro EP00 tips, the slight enhancement of the upper treble is very welcome, and the tightening of the bass response too. I don't hear a notable increase in soundstage size, but I definitely sense the increase in airiness of the highs; it now sounds more open compared to the stock cable. The MIST has very good synergy with the MP145.
.
When used with the Lethsuoer Audio S15 with the stock eartips, compared to the stock cable, the sound is very close, except that the MIST is smoother in the upper treble and has a slightly more bass presence, but they are really close; the soundstage size remains the same, or at least I cannot hear the difference with the S15.
.
When used with the SIMGOT EA1000 with Epro EP00 tips, the MIST seems to be a perfect match with the EA1000; it enhances every characteristic of the EA1000; the slight veiling of the low treble in the EA1000 with the stock cable seems to be gone with the MIST and is now cleared sounding; the bass presence and impact seem stronger; the upper treble seems louder. In reality, this is a really ridiculous match because the MIST is about twice as expensive as the EA1000, just a thought.
.
When used with NF Acous RA15 with the stock M42 eartips and gold nozzles, this is the least expensive IEM in this review, by the way. At around 89 dollars, I honestly don't hear any difference except for the tighter bass; this could easily be caused by a decrease in resistance due to the much thicker wires used in the MIST, but other than that, I don't hear any magic or special synergy. It seems to me the RA15 is not sensitive enough for cable rolling.
.
When used with the Xenns Mangird Top with the Epro EP00 eartips, an excellent match, it counters the Top's darkish tonality very well, the treble is now more open, and the bass is slightly reduced relative to the treble, but now much tighter and more textured compared to the stock cable, and as a result, the bass is now faster and more coherent with the rest of the music. This is the best cable I've tried with the Xenns Mangird Top so far.
.
Compared to the NOVA cable, the mist is apparently more illuminated in the upper treble with tighter bass and more analytical sound; in reality, the MIST is more neutral and accurate sounding than the slightly warmer NOVA.
.
Comparing the SAKURA, the MIST has a flatter subjective frequency response than the SAKURA, which has a slight V-shaped sound signature compared to the MIST. The Sakura is slightly more detailed in its delivery than the MIST and therefore sounds slightly more aggressive than the MIST, but not in a bad way.
.
Compared to the DUSK, if the MIST is neutral and analytical, the DUSK is neutral and organic; they both have a flat perceived frequency response, but the DUSK has lesser upper treble, has a slightly better instrument note weight, and has slightly warmer vocals. The DUSK is also more versatile in pairings.
.
Compared to the Letshuoer Audio Chimera cable, they both have very similar sound profiles, but the Letshuoer Chimera cable is more versatile when it comes to pairings. The MIST takes the upper treble enhancement to the next level, which is not always a good thing in my case, by the way, because I only have mid-fi IEMs and the treble is not the most refined, and when matched with the MIST, thet don't always sound good; perhaps when used on top-of-the-line IEMs, the MIST could really shine.
.
.
NMD AUDIO SAKURA:
.
The Sakura is the best-looking of the four, my favorite, aesthetically speaking. It is made with 5N single-crystal silver conductor wires, which measure 1.8 mm in thickness for each wire. It feels lighter than it looks and is soft and compliant when handled.
.
The sound is on the analytical side, yet very musical and engaging; it has some enhancement in the treble between 3 KHz and 8 KHz, which pushes the details forward and helps IEMs that sound dark to sound brighter and more vivid; and, fortunatly, the midbass is also enhanced in energy level, making the sound between the bass and the treble very balanced.
.
This has excellent vocal rendition with the proper matching; the upper treble is not elevated at all, making the vocals sound very natural, smooth, and slightly more soothing to the ears compared to the others.
.
When used with the NF Acous NA2+ with its stock atmospheric eartips, the NA2+ has an elevated lower treble, and the SAKURA seems to exacerbate that. By adding more energy in that region, I don't recommend the SAKURA with the NA2+.
.
When used with the DITA AUDIO Project M with the glow in the dark Final Audio stock tips, the increase in energy in the treble that was caused by the SAKURA made the sound of the Project M more detailed, or at least the details were brought closer, making the perception of details to be more apparent. The imaging seems to be improved too, but in my long listening with this combo, I felt that the sound is more analytical than I like, though, and I'm pretty sure many people would love this type of sound.
.
When used with the Lethsuoer Audio S15 with the stock eartips, I like this combo a lot. The slight W-shape sound signature of the S15 combined with the slight V-shape sound of the Sakura made the overall sound more even and neutral. There seems to be an added energy compared to the stock cable. I never heard the S15 sound this good. The vocals became more transparent, and I hear more details on the instruments. I can hear an added energy to the snare drums' snapping sound. The bass guitar is also more layered and textured. There are more improvements that are difficult to describe compared to the stock cable, but please understand that the differences are really small and might not be audible to most people, so again, take this with a grain of salt. But if I had been given a choice between the Sakura and the stock cable, assuming they cost the same and were equally attractive-looking, I would definitely choose the sound of the Sakura over the stock cable. I guess the Letshuoer S15 is cable sensitive, as I noticed it didn't sound very good with some of my cables; it needs careful pairing to sound its best, but i digress.
.
When used with the SIMGOT EA1000 with Epro EP00 tips, the first thing I noticed was that the sound of the EA1000 became drier. I don't think they are a good pairing. I also notice a slight pushing forward of the details, which is very welcome, but the overall tonality became slightly leaner, and the slight loss of warmth was the deciding factor for me to decide that I don't like this combination.
.
When used with the Hidizs MP145 with Epro EP00 tips, the sound profile of the Sakura really complements the sound of the MP145, making midrange and treble snappier and the bass tighter. There is a slight loss of warmth, but I like the effect of the Sakura on the sound of the MP145, because I find it too warm and too distant sounding for my taste sometimes, with othere cables.
.
When used with NF Acous RA15 with the stock M42 eartips and gold nozzles, the RA15 seems like the least cable-sensitive IEM in this review. I noticed a very slight but negligible increase in clarity from bass to treble compared to the stock cable, but at the expense of it sounding more dry, the RA15 is already slightly on the dry side to begin with, so making it more so is not likable to me.
.
When used with the Xenns Mangird Top with the Epro EP00 eartips; it is not a very good pairing. The sound of the Xenns Mangird Top is on the warm side with very powerful bass with the stock cable or my other cables, but this time, the sound in the upper midrange became more forward; the overall sound became more analytical and slightly more metallic in the treble. In reality, the differences are really small, and what I said about the sound would seem like an exaggeration, but I can hear them, and I don't like this combination.
.
Compared to the NMD Audio NOVA, using the DITA Audio Project M, the NOVA clearly sounds more relaxed, less analytical, and more natural or organic. But when using the Letshuoer S15 to compare the two, the Sakura sounds better; I hear more details, a more open sound field, and better overall sound, while the S15 with the NOVA sounds congested and slightly closed in in comparison.
.
Compared to the NMD Audio MIST, using the DITA Audio Project M, the Project M with the MIST has better upper treble extension and less upper midrange elevation when compared with the Sakura-Project M combo. When using the Lethuoer S15, the MIST and S15 combo sound good, but the Sakura and the S15 combo sound special.
.
Compared to the DUSK cable, the DUSK seems to be more neutral than the SAKURA on every IEM I used them with, it also has bigger soundstage, while the SAKURA is more picky with its partner and generally sounds slightly V-shaped, or at least based on what I perceived.
.
A final note about the SAKURA: I have a gut feeling that I'm not maximizing the potential of the SAKURA, as my IEMs are only limited to mid-fi level, I don't have the top of the line IEMs that could really bring out the sound of the SAKURA to it's highest potential. I believe it would really sing with some high-end IEMs that I don't have.
.
.
NMD Audio DUSK:
.
The DUSK; I like the looks of it so much. It has a mix of silver, copper, platinum alloy, and graphene for its conductor, which measures 1.7 mm thick for each wire and is braided in four to form this cable. It also has an unusual criss-cross wire strand braiding that can be seen through the wires' semi-transparent skin.
.
The DUSK has the biggest soundstage of the four; it sounds tonally neutral; it is very well balanced between analytical and organic kinds of sound. It has nice vocal performance, bass texture and articulation, treble air, details and micro detail, etc. The DUSK is very even in it's qualities; this has it all. It is not the best in a single thing, except the soundstage size presentation; in other words, a jack of all trades but master of almost everything and exceptional in soundstage. This is a fantastic-sounding cable.
.
The soundstage of the DUSK is wide, deep, high, and spherical in shape, more so when compared to the others, including some cables that I already own. Though I cannot say that the DUSK has the biggest soundstage of all the cables I've tried, because there is no way for me to know that for sure; I'm just going from my recent memory.
.
When it comes to IEM pairings, the DUSK is not picky at all; it sounds very neutral, transparent, and excellent with all IEM I use it with, like an ideal cable should.
.
By this time, I don't think I have to add the comparison of the DUSK to the other three, because I think I have already done enough comparisons. But just to give you a short summary, I find the DUSK to be the best sounding cable of the four, and let me remind you again that the differences are small.
.
.
Pros:
.
They make differences in sound to me, however subtle they may be.
They all sound good.
They look very good.
They feel very good.
They have excellent material quality based on looks and touch.
They have excellent packaging.
The box is very nice.
.
Cons:
.
Not for budget-minded people.
I wish the carrying case were able to fit a dongle DAC and the IEMs with the cable.
.
.
Other equipment used in this review:
.
Fiio M15s DAP (source)
Ibasso DC Elite dongle DAC (source)
Boaleco PX2 tube headamp with Burson Audio V7-Vivid opamaps (amplifier)
Shanling M3X DAP (source)
Letshuoer DT03 dongle DAC (source)
Kiwi Ears Allegro dongle DAC (source)
NF Acous NA2+ (IEM)
Hidizs MP145 (IEM)
Simgot EA1000 (IEM)
Letshuoer Audio S15 (IEM)
DITA Audio Project M (IEM)
NF-Acous RA15 (IEM)
Xenns Mangird Top (IEM)
Faaeal Hibiscus cable (cable)
Letshuoer Chimera cable (cable)
.
.
Conclusion and recommendations:
.
I'm fully aware that these are expensive cables, and not for everybody. My current personal philosophy when it comes to cables is; only buy what you can afford. There really is nothing wrong with inexpensive cables (unless defective or poorly made).
.
On one hand, you don't need to buy any of the cables in this review, especially if you don't care about the subtle difference in sound these cables make. On the other hand, if money is no object to you, I very highly recommend the DUSK, for me this is a must try or must buy cable if you are in that price range, it is the best sounding cable I've heard so far, it is very transparent and colorless in sound, it has big soundstage, and has a perfect balance between analytical sound and organic or natural sound, this is the ideal cable in my opinion, soundwise.
.
On a personal level, I can't afford to buy the DUSK, so for me, the best value cable would be the NOVA, it sound on the same level, if not better, based on my memory, to other cables I've heard and reviewed at this price range. In careful and in casual listening, there are noticeable differences in sound from my other less expensive cables, in some cases, improvements, especially the soundstage. I believe the NOVA is a good buy even at this price.
.
Once again, thank you, NMD Audio, for letting me review these cables. It's a good experience for me to be able to listen to cables that are out of my price range and hear the differences they make.
.
Sorry for the long review, but thank you for reading.
.
Happy listening! Cheers!
