I seem to have been living under a rock and missed when namesake of the MT100 was oustedSlater may have to refresh me
Needed something slower to decompress after watching the Bahrain F1 earlier, after watching Roman slam that barrier and surviving I’m for sure a firm believer in the Halo in these F1 cars today
Speaking of a nice budget iem I’ve been jamming to some Mighty Diamonds with KBE’s mighty Diamonds on the new Quedelix while watching some BTC
Guess I’ll just keep listening to them both
So I had to give the SMABAT NCO a few days before I gave my impressions as it didn't really wow me straight away. To get the bad out of the way... the cable is not good. It looks decent enough but there's a ton of cable noise coming from it. They aren't really designed to be worn over-ear and their tiny size doesn't do well with a heavier cable... I felt a lot of tug from the weight, not helped by the giant plastic cable splitter. It also has a plastic feel, not far off the cheap generic KZ cables. It looks very similar to the one that came with the Heart Mirror, but there's a different texture to that one and much more give.
They are TINY. Much smaller than the pictures show. That's not a bad thing though, I really like the build and size. Very comfortable. One big issue though is the lack of a lip on the nozzle. Being small the nozzle is also really slim, luckily the tips that came with it are decent. I managed to get a Spinfits on them but one came loose in my ear and the tweezers had to come out. The Final e3000 tips though work really well with them and have more grip.
SOUND - These are a very pleasant listen and I say that as a huge positive. Very musical and just damn right enjoyable with anything you hit them with. Initially, I found the bass a bit dry which reminded me of the Soundmagic e50 and a certain brand I can't mention or you'll just see a bunch of asterisks (Y V2). This seemed to hinder some male voices, making them sound a bit recessed, but once you get used to them tho there it becomes less of an issue and actually works well within the sound signature and the balance. They have a very good amount of detail, maybe close to the HZSOUND Heart Mirror. The HM tho is a bit clearer due to being more extended up top and brighter, the NCO tho better down low. They both perform equally as good tho IMO (I'd maybe give the Heart the nod tho, especially as it's become one of my favourite IEMs). Bass on the NCO is punchy and has great resolution, nice depth... not super low, but it has just the right weight, no bloat whatsoever. Kinda like the e3000. MIDS tiny bit recessed as I said but mostly with some male vocals (at times), but good micro detail, good separation. Treble is just right, nice snap to drums. Cymbals could be clearer tho but they do shine. Soundstage pops with great stereo imaging and a nice holographic soundstage. It's not super wide, but it's very open sounding. Reminds me of the Beyerdynamic Byron.
These do not play well with low-quality overly compressed files or badly mixed music. Using them on YT where you can find a lot of low bitrate mp3s they can sound rough. Not the fault of the NCO obviously.
I really wish I could find my Soundmagic e50 as they really remind me of them (based on memory so I could be totally off).
Conclusion - I can see me using these a lot, especially on the go. Pair nice with my FIIO M6 which is flat and balanced and adds some nice air into the sound of the NCO and boosts the upper mids a tad. Hit them with some power they become fuller and take on some weight without exaggerating the sound. I'll most likely change the cable tho to something lighter and looser. Another great sub £50 earphone to be added to the growing list.
(SMABAT cable on the RIGHT)
(NO LIP ON NOZZLE)
(TINY)
I still have both as well.Because they are all ablaze over in the Chinese thread about comparing the **** MT100 and the LZ A7 (The **** is nice but it's in no way an LZ A7) and I like **** heck I think these babies right here are a steal and balanced they can flat out scare some $50 to $75 offerings
Try this one on the NCO for a nice bit of sub bass:So I had to give the SMABAT NCO a few days before I gave my impressions as it didn't really wow me straight away. To get the bad out of the way... the cable is not good. It looks decent enough but there's a ton of cable noise coming from it. They aren't really designed to be worn over-ear and their tiny size doesn't do well with a heavier cable... I felt a lot of tug from the weight, not helped by the giant plastic cable splitter. It also has a plastic feel, not far off the cheap generic KZ cables. It looks very similar to the one that came with the Heart Mirror, but there's a different texture to that one and much more give.
They are TINY. Much smaller than the pictures show. That's not a bad thing though, I really like the build and size. Very comfortable. One big issue though is the lack of a lip on the nozzle. Being small the nozzle is also really slim, luckily the tips that came with it are decent. I managed to get a Spinfits on them but one came loose in my ear and the tweezers had to come out. The Final e3000 tips though work really well with them and have more grip.
SOUND - These are a very pleasant listen and I say that as a huge positive. Very musical and just damn right enjoyable with anything you hit them with. Initially, I found the bass a bit dry which reminded me of the Soundmagic e50 and a certain brand I can't mention or you'll just see a bunch of asterisks (Y V2). This seemed to hinder some male voices, making them sound a bit recessed, but once you get used to them tho there it becomes less of an issue and actually works well within the sound signature and the balance. They have a very good amount of detail, maybe close to the HZSOUND Heart Mirror. The HM tho is a bit clearer due to being more extended up top and brighter, the NCO tho better down low. They both perform equally as good tho IMO (I'd maybe give the Heart the nod tho, especially as it's become one of my favourite IEMs). Bass on the NCO is punchy and has great resolution, nice depth... not super low, but it has just the right weight, no bloat whatsoever. Kinda like the e3000. MIDS tiny bit recessed as I said but mostly with some male vocals (at times), but good micro detail, good separation. Treble is just right, nice snap to drums. Cymbals could be clearer tho but they do shine. Soundstage pops with great stereo imaging and a nice holographic soundstage. It's not super wide, but it's very open sounding. Reminds me of the Beyerdynamic Byron.
These do not play well with low-quality overly compressed files or badly mixed music. Using them on YT where you can find a lot of low bitrate mp3s they can sound rough. Not the fault of the NCO obviously.
I really wish I could find my Soundmagic e50 as they really remind me of them (based on memory so I could be totally off).
Conclusion - I can see me using these a lot, especially on the go. Pair nice with my FIIO M6 which is flat and balanced and adds some nice air into the sound of the NCO and boosts the upper mids a tad. Hit them with some power they become fuller and take on some weight without exaggerating the sound. I'll most likely change the cable tho to something lighter and looser. Another great sub £50 earphone to be added to the growing list.
(SMABAT cable on the RIGHT)
(NO LIP ON NOZZLE)
(TINY)
I agree about the cable, I changed it for the silver plated one which came with the M1 Pro and there is a little more sparkle and air which balances out the bass very nicely.So I had to give the SMABAT NCO a few days before I gave my impressions as it didn't really wow me straight away. To get the bad out of the way... the cable is not good. It looks decent enough but there's a ton of cable noise coming from it. They aren't really designed to be worn over-ear and their tiny size doesn't do well with a heavier cable... I felt a lot of tug from the weight, not helped by the giant plastic cable splitter. It also has a plastic feel, not far off the cheap generic KZ cables. It looks very similar to the one that came with the Heart Mirror, but there's a different texture to that one and much more give.
They are TINY. Much smaller than the pictures show. That's not a bad thing though, I really like the build and size. Very comfortable. One big issue though is the lack of a lip on the nozzle. Being small the nozzle is also really slim, luckily the tips that came with it are decent. I managed to get a Spinfits on them but one came loose in my ear and the tweezers had to come out. The Final e3000 tips though work really well with them and have more grip.
SOUND - These are a very pleasant listen and I say that as a huge positive. Very musical and just damn right enjoyable with anything you hit them with. Initially, I found the bass a bit dry which reminded me of the Soundmagic e50 and a certain brand I can't mention or you'll just see a bunch of asterisks (Y V2). This seemed to hinder some male voices, making them sound a bit recessed, but once you get used to them tho there it becomes less of an issue and actually works well within the sound signature and the balance. They have a very good amount of detail, maybe close to the HZSOUND Heart Mirror. The HM tho is a bit clearer due to being more extended up top and brighter, the NCO tho better down low. They both perform equally as good tho IMO (I'd maybe give the Heart the nod tho, especially as it's become one of my favourite IEMs). Bass on the NCO is punchy and has great resolution, nice depth... not super low, but it has just the right weight, no bloat whatsoever. Kinda like the e3000. MIDS tiny bit recessed as I said but mostly with some male vocals (at times), but good micro detail, good separation. Treble is just right, nice snap to drums. Cymbals could be clearer tho but they do shine. Soundstage pops with great stereo imaging and a nice holographic soundstage. It's not super wide, but it's very open sounding. Reminds me of the Beyerdynamic Byron.
These do not play well with low-quality overly compressed files or badly mixed music. Using them on YT where you can find a lot of low bitrate mp3s they can sound rough. Not the fault of the NCO obviously.
I really wish I could find my Soundmagic e50 as they really remind me of them (based on memory so I could be totally off).
Conclusion - I can see me using these a lot, especially on the go. Pair nice with my FIIO M6 which is flat and balanced and adds some nice air into the sound of the NCO and boosts the upper mids a tad. Hit them with some power they become fuller and take on some weight without exaggerating the sound. I'll most likely change the cable tho to something lighter and looser. Another great sub £50 earphone to be added to the growing list.
(SMABAT cable on the RIGHT)
(NO LIP ON NOZZLE)
(TINY)
Soooo tempting. That’s an incredibly good price, by far the best I’ve seen. I’ve just purchased too many IEMs recently, and I probably won’t listen to new Etys.
