Just got mine! I'm having problems with fit because I have very small ears. The strain reliefs at the earphone end are longer than they appear in the pictures so they stick out so far (from my very small ears) that the memory wire can't bend enough to support any of the weight.
I've experimented with the generous supply of tips and I can get some glorious sound with some of them - but those tips don't fit firmly enough to support the weight so I only get glimpses of the potential.
Currently I'm using the Comply like tips which came with them and which are a larger size than I normally use - but they seem to fit firmly enough to keep the 'phones in place. I normally use foams, but my feeling is that some of the other tips would sound better with these particular 'phones.
So, how do they sound (bearing in mind that I can't use the optimum tips, and that I'm far from being a good reviewer).
My first impression was that the sound was a bit under-whelming, and characterless (with the compromise tips - I got "better" sound with some tips which wouldn't support the weight). It wasn't disappointing, but not exciting either. However, 10 minutes after taking them out, I wanted more. The more I listened, the more I liked it, and the more I wanted. And, with the NSS switch on, absolutely no listening fatigue. This is why I put quotes around "better" above. I really can't find a better word to describe the sound than natural. Lear absolutely nailed natural - they aren't boring and characterless, they are natural. And addictive. The more I listen to them, the more I want to listen to them...
They remind me of my current favourite IEMs - the Flare R2As. With both sets of IEMs you get to hear the music, not the IEMs. There is a little less detail with these but not disappointingly so (I like detail
). With some tips, and with the NSS switch on, there was more bass than I like, but I'm definitely not a basshead so don't read too much into that. Also, I was holding them in place, which usually leads to a bit of a bass boost.
Also, and this may also be a symptom of my fit problems, I needed to turn the volume up quite a bit with these.
It's going to be interesting to get more impressions from those with normal ears and who can therefore get a good fit.
So, in summary, at worst, these are natural sounding 'phones with zero listening fatigue (a first, in my experience). But, I strongly suspect there is a lot more to come with a good fit. I'll definitely be very happy with them if I can resolve my fit issues, and, if the strain reliefs are shorter on the NSC-03, I'll almost certainly buy one. I might buy one anyway...