Nuforce NE800M

Really good and worth of their price.

Optoma Technology had recently acquired Nuforce, and since then the company had been fairly quiet in the portable audio world. With the releases of the flagship, Primo 8 ($500) and the Ne800 ($150) and the NE750s ($99) headlining their earphone selection.

The middle product, the NE800M utilize a body composed of a combination of a rigid carbon fibre shell with a solid brass nozzle housing a 8.6mm titanium coated driver inside. Let’s explore what resulted from this marriage between Nuforce and Optoma.

Disclaimer- I would like to thank Nuforce and Optoma Technology for providing a the NE800M for review. If you would rather watch this review in video form, please click the link below (Like, Comment, Subscribe and share)



Accessories:
They come with a nicely sewed soft leather pouch (aesthetically speaking is quite luxurious, however a bit lacking in terms of overall protection). They also come with 6 pairs of silicone eartips (2 identical pairs), and 2 pairs of Comply TX400 (in both medium and large), and a shirt clip. Altogether, it’s a solid package, that Nuforce & Optoma has put together.
*note*(I was not a fan of the silicone tips as they felt a bit hard) and opted to use the included Complys instead.
Overall: 7/10




Features:
They come equipped with a compact 1 button remote (below the left earpiece), that plays friendly with both iOS and Android Devices, providing functionality for play/pause/rewind/fast forward, call/ and Siri/S voice. The button has a sort of a rubbery feel with solid tactile feedback.
Overall: 8/10 (It’s a safe option to make a 1 button remote (which I prefer), but those that play with the volume may be disappointed).



Design:
The NE800Ms brings a nice modern twist to the traditional “tried and tested barrel design”, a concept that many manufactures put forth in years past. Nuforce went with a gold and black colour scheme with an almost holographic carbon fibre layout along the body and rear. The attention to detail is impeccable. The grey cable is also nicely coordinated giving the 800M completing the nice, industrial look.
Overall: 9/10





Build Quality:
Its nicely made as the housing (including the nozzle) is made of a combination of carbon fibre and brass, making them a bit weighty in the hand. However, I prefer this approach, the NE800M exudes a sense of solidity, without feeling cold. The 1 button remote very compact and easily accessible, found about 5-6 inches below the left earpiece (compatible with both Android and Apple devices).

The silicone double braided cable is well made to prevent premature tears or breakage, with a very low profile L shape jack that will sit flush against your smartphone and portable device. My primary issue with the cable is due to the lack of strain relief, making them more susceptible to bending when stuffing into the pocket, depending on where the headphone jack on your device, and how you put you put your device in your pocket.
See the picture below for reference.
Overall: 8/10



Comfort:
Despite their rather large housing, the NE800M does play fairly nice with my ears, I found comfortable (especially with the included comply tx 400 foam eartips) as they don’t sit very deeply. However, due to the larger housing, those with smaller outer ears may run into some edges on the front and rear of the housing.
Overall: 7.5/10





Isolation:
Slightly below average, as during my flight to Beijing, (with music playing at about 47% on my ipod touch 3^rd gen. I was quite aware of my surroundings. For daily usage, i think it will suffice, not enough for commuting though. I suspect that this is due to the numerous vents on the rear of the housing (the gold trim), in additional to the large vent near the nozzle. However, the strong bass helped to counter some of the background engine noises.
Overall: 6/10



Sound:
Equipped with a titanium-coated driver, further supplemented with stiff carbon fibres and a bass nozzle, results in big bold bass, with warm, musical midrange.
With the average consumer in mind, the NE800M has a bassy sound with a smooth treble (some would even call it slightly dark). They are easy on the ears regardless of the volume and the genre of music.

Sound familiar? Well the NE800s differentiates itself from the rest of the “bassy” pack with a fuller more forward midrange (just enough to increase vocal intelligibility but not enough to cause any harshness to your ears). It’s the well- tuned kind of bass, similar to my retired Monster Turbines, which I enjoyed & missed immensely, a luscious dark chocolate-of-a- sound, thick, chunky bass, with a warm midrange and laid-back treble.

The included comply T-400 with wax guard (which I used for the review) help tighten up the bass, and make the more midrange more liquid but takes some off top end extension.
Spinfit tips also pair well, taming the bass and giving the treble a bit of lift.

Bass:
Think ….deep, powerful, full bass. The bass suffers from a bit of bloat (with that mid bass hump), so this makes the NE800s less clean or tight, compared to for example, the Yamaha eph 100 (bassy nowhere as bassy as the NE800M though, at a similar price). However, in retrospect the tuning of the NE800M is less aggressive making them more forgiving for a wider variety of genres and demographic. The bass can be intrusive at times, but gives it bass drops more added weight. Its more fun, it provides more punch then the AD01 (another one of my bassy favorites).

Midrange:
The slightly forward midrange is a pleasure to listen to. Its intimate, and rich. Voices have a very nice natural tone, without shouting being shouty, or thin. The upper midrange does suffer from some veiling due to the warmth, but still retains enough energy, listening to Yiruma’s piano sonatas was easy on the ears without the fear of the piano keys sounding sharp.

Treble:
The treble extension has good extension with a “blunt” sort of quality. There’s a smoothness to the treble, that avoids any harshness or stridency ( I wouldn’t call them “sleepy” or boring either more like polite. I prefer this, treble presentation, and it has enough energy without being overly crisp. Normally I would prefer a brighter, “edgier” sound, but this tuning is safer and better for those that are either:
1) Those more sensitive to high hats and cymbals
2) Those that listen at higher volumes.
Thus, catering the NE800M to a wider demographic.

Soundstage:
The multivented design, helps in portraying depth and placement, with adequate separation. However, the soundstage can get a bit congested at times, as if the bass and the midrange are competing for space/attention.

Overall: 8/10 It separates from the rest of the pack by pushing the midrange slightly more forward instead of it getting buried underneath the bass that many of their competitors suffer from.

In conclusion:
The NE800Ms are a fun, attractive design that’s easy on the eyes as it is on the ears. It’s a bassy, well constructed earphone, coupled with a smartphone remote, appealing to the mobile listener.

They deserves a very Strong Recommendation!!
Overall: 53.5/70= 76%

Possible feedback:
Softer and more diverse selection of tips (instead of two identical sets of single flanges)
A more well rounded or smoother housing (the front near the nozzle and the rear)
Better strain relief (and a slightly raised L shape jack)

I’ve been a big fan of NuForce and its products for many years. I’ve owned several of their headphones, IEMs (in-ear monitors) and their well renowned u-Dac 3 portable headphone amplifier and DAC. So I was a bit dismayed when I learned that Optoma had purchased NuForce as I wasn’t sure what direction the new ownership would take this well respected audio company. Thankfully, NuForce is back and with a bang! It is releasing some great new products for the portable audio enthusiast.

I was recently contacted by NuForce to try out their new NE800M IEMs and I leapt at the opportunity to give them a try. I’ve always felt that NuForce’s products have offered outstanding value and often punched well above their price points to compete with much more expensive options. I was curious to see if the NE800Ms would continue in that tradition.

The IEMs arrived quickly and upon first inspection, their build quality reminded me of IEMs in the $300+ price range. The shells are manufactured with carbon-fiber (one of the highest strength to weight ratios of any known material and something usually used for considerably more expensive audio products) and the sound nozzle is machined from solid brass. The inherent damping properties of carbon fiber help to provide one of the most acoustically inert materials known. As a result, the NE800Ms are free from micro-dynamic vibrations that can increase sound distortions.

An added benefit of using carbon fiber is that the NE800Ms can last you a very long time and withstand even the most taxing daily use you can throw at them, while still remaining very light and comfortable. NuForce selected solid brass for the nozzle as it is often used for its balanced acoustical transmission and damping properties. I’ve played trumpet (also a solid brass instrument) for over 35 years and can definitely attest to this. Brass is also very difficult to corrode and should last you many years with absolutely no issues.

The NE800Ms utilize a single large 8.6mm titanium-coated diaphragm, a N45 neodymium magnet and an innovative lightweight copper-clad aluminum voice coil. This design; along with the acoustic enclose of the carbon-fiber body and solid brass nozzles, yields extremely low distortion product with a powerful sound and an extended frequency range. Throw in the handsome black/gold package they come in; their extreme light weight and comfort, my hopes were quite high for these new earphones!

For this review, I used several different sources to put the NE800Ms through their paces so to speak. I used everything I had on hand; from my pedestrian iPhone 6 to my high end Astell & Kern AK240SS DAP and finally to the ultra-high end Chord Hugo TT desktop amplifier/DAC.

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Right off the bat, I went with my iPhone 6. This is usually my first source when trying out portable earphones or headphones as I am of the opinion that portable listening devices need to sound close to their very best with a minimal setup to be truly useful as portable components. I was lucky with the fit as the pre-installed Comply foam eartips worked just perfectly with my ears and the comfort was very good, just as they were as advertised: light as a feather.

The noise isolation was above average. I would say that the much more expensive Shure SE535s ($499US) were one of the very best pair of IEMs I’ve used in terms of noise isolation, but the NE800Ms weren’t too far behind with the Comply eartips. I quickly selected a favourite recording of mine: Andrea Bocelli’s “Passione”.

As I’ve come to expect from NuForce, the sound quality was again excellent and competed with IEMs that I’ve heard costing 2-3x as much. Andrea’s voice was forceful and upfront. The male vocals as portrayed through the NE800Ms were simply magical. The passion of Andrea’s voice flowed through the NE800Ms and really impressed me.

The bass performance was definitely both powerful and visceral. I might classify the bass as a bit on the more “fun” side of things when compared to what I would deem as strictly neutral, but it was indeed very satisfying. It certainly wasn’t bloated, nor bled into the mid-frequencies like some IEMs can that are made for the “average consumer” in mind, but if you like some thunder down low with your music, the NE800Ms certainly will keep you happy.

The sound staging of the NE800Ms again, punched well above their weight class. I was expecting a more “closed-in” experience, but after about 75 hours of burn-in, they really opened up and sounded incredibly spacious; so much so, that I was shocked that they were only retailing for $149 on Amazon. This type of performance is usually reserved for the $300 and up crowd.

The treble was very nicely portrayed. Cymbals and flutes were never strident or etched and the overall presentation was incredibly musical. One small critique is that I would have liked a little bit more presence in this frequency range. I certainly am glad I’m not hearing any treble that comes off as grating, but a little more energy would help in the portrayal of both detail and continue to improve the sound staging even further in my opinion.

The overall enjoyment factor with “Passione” was truly outstanding. In fact, the NE800Ms have become my prime defacto pair of IEMs that I keep at my desk at work. They isolate out the daily grind of the workplace and sound just great straight out of my iPhone.

Next up I selected a DSD recording of “The Cole Porter Mix” by Patricia Barber and played it through my Astell & Kern AK240SS portable DAP. As soon as I plugged in the NE800Ms, I knew that I was no longer listening to 320kps music on my iPhone!  As enjoying as the NE800M IEMs were through my iPhone 6, they just really seemed to open up when using my AK240SS DAP and DSD quality music.

It seems like you can have your cake and eat it too with the NE800Ms. You get a pair of great sounding IEMs that sound incredibly well out of your smart phone, but will scale up as the upstream gear and music quality improves! The imaging was that much more holographic, the bass quality improved by a few notches and the detail retrieval hit on all cylinders. Again, I found myself surprised just how good these lower priced IEMs sounded. Some of the issues I had with the subdued treble presentation from my iPhone 6 were definitely allayed when switched over to this setup.

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Finally I moved over to the Chord Electronics Hugo TT desktop amplifier/DAC. My source music came from my iMac via USB and included 192kps PCM files, DSD audio and lossless music played over Tidal. Again, the NE800Ms continued to impress. I hate to bring up their price point, but the quality of construction and sound never ceased to impress me. I would definitely classify them as slightly bass tilted and treble subdued (with outstanding mid frequencies), but as soon as Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” kicked in, I really appreciated that extra “thump” down low. It was deep and visceral bass with incredible texture and detail. When I listened to “2112” by Rush, I completely was sucked into the recording and really enjoyed the presentation that the NE800Ms put forth!

So while the NE800Ms do improve with upstream gear and music, I didn’t feel that I was giving up too much when using MP3s played through my smart phone. They seem to work with all sources I used them with. Coming in at only 16 ohms impedance and 120S.P.L. any player you have can make them sound quite good and quite loud! But surprisingly, they have the ability to capture improvements in recordings, amplification and the sources you through at them — very transparent!

If you are in the market for a great pair of IEMs and don’t want to have to spend a fortune on them, I strongly recommend you give the NE800Ms a try. They definitely punch well above their $149 price point and compete with products costing 2X or more. While not “strictly neutral” sounding IEMs, they can still satisfy with a wide variety of musical genres. And if you’re into strong and visceral bass and don’t want to have to drop an arm and a leg, I strongly recommend you give them some serious consideration. I’m glad to see that Optoma’s purchase of NuForce has not changed the great products that have been previously released by NuForce. Highly recommended!