Over the past several years I've had the pleasure of beta testing numerous Nuforce products before they were released, as they like to get outside opinions from audiophiles and gear-heads to make sure they are meeting the needs of their target audience (and to make improvements if neccessary and/or possible within the design limitations). In most cases I have witnessed some very noticeable improvements with each new version prior to release (especially with the UF-30 and HDP).
So, this time I have a preproduction set of Primo 8 on loan here, which has the same internal components, cable, and same sound as the finalized version. While I have not listened to any very early alpha versions, I have spent the past few weeks with several late prototypes leading up to this final version, and Nuforce has made subtle improvements in rapid succession in response to beta and internal testing. Multi-driver BA IEM design is very complicated, and how the drivers work together and where they cross-over can affect the sound a lot. So, tuning them in small increments can be very difficult, yet they've managed to make them better where they needed to improve without hurting the sound in other areas.
There are not many of these final working samples out there right now, but they are close to a doing a pilot production batch for distributors to promote before mass production starts. Until then, I have to say that if you are planning to spend $400-500 on a high-end universal fit IEM in the next couple of months that you probably want to hold off on buying another brand until either we get some reviews posted, or until you have a chance to try out the Primo 8 for yourself at an audio show or head-fi meet.
I have to say that the Primo 8 are pretty life-like sounding, making them a true audiophile universal fit IEM and a clear step up from what Nuforce has done in the past with their budget "best bang for the buck" portable earphones.
I am going to be posting more about the Primo 8 in the next few days. If I don't post everything in this thread I will post a link here to a new thread in the portable headphone and IEM forum. I'm leaning towards creating a new thread where more people will see it. Stay tuned.
