[Martin79]

Oveľa lepšie ako môj starý XBA H3 a ie80. Much neutral.

 

[magisterarus]

That is strange indeed. I myself tend to believe that it is 32 ohm, these things can take a lot of amp/eq.

I submitted the question and photos to the Sony HK support, and this was their answer:

"With regards to your concern, we have received the reply from the revelant department. Please be infomed the correct impedance of the model in question should be 16ohms (correct info on the box). Sorry for the inconvenience caused and the relevant department will amend the contents on the Sony website soon".

I'm a little surprised by the use of the conditional, which still leaves some doubt... But this is Sony's opinion about it.

 

[Lohb]

16 or 32 ohm, they spring to life much better with a dedicated amp.

So are the N1 considered the 'fun tuning' and N3 more balanced from mid-bass to treble...but with a nudge in sub-bass on N3 over N1 ?

 

[Mn80]

I submitted the question and photos to the Sony HK support, and this was their answer:

"With regards to your concern, we have received the reply from the revelant department. Please be infomed the correct impedance of the model in question should be 16ohms (correct info on the box). Sorry for the inconvenience caused and the relevant department will amend the contents on the Sony website soon".

I'm a little surprised by the use of the conditional, which still leaves some doubt... But this is Sony's opinion about it.

I guess we have to take their word for it. Does someone here have an ohm-reader? Lol, Kidding of course.

 

[Mn80]

16 or 32 ohm, they spring to life much better with a dedicated amp.

So are the N1 considered the 'fun tuning' and N3 more balanced from mid-bass to treble...but with a nudge in sub-bass on N3 over N1 ?

I think that is fair to say. Although to be quite frank with you, the sub bass extension of the N3 when aggressively pushed almost has no limits, that is how tremendous it is. It's an unsuspecting sleeper.

 

[Intensecure]

the sub bass extension of the N3 when aggressively pushed almost has no limits, that is how tremendous it is. It's an unsuspecting sleeper.

Yup, totally agree.
No limits to the depth, and unlike some others, fully textured not just booming. Some dirty dub tunes and they pick up every hum and click on the bass strings, lovely stuff. EDM punches your eardrums hard.
Treble extension is excellent too, no sibilance but plenty of air and detail.
Yeah, I like them lots.

 

[Lohb]

Time to get saving for N3s then.
These N1s are so addictive anyway.

 

[Intensecure]

Time to get saving for N3s then.
These N1s are so addictive anyway.

Addictive is the right word, indeed.
Looking at your sources, they should sound excellent. I have much more humble stuff, and I don't feel any lack, mainly due to the quality of the IEMs themselves.

 

[w0lla]

I've been looking for something to replace my Westone 4R for some time now. Looking for a similar sounding IEM but more lively (more bass). Would these sonys be a good candidate?

source: mobile phone (currently a huawei P10)

 

[Wiz33]

I've been looking for something to replace my Westone 4R for some time now. Looking for a similar sounding IEM but more lively (more bass). Would these sonys be a good candidate?

source: mobile phone (currently a huawei P10)

It's a toss up. You're going from full BA to a hybrid. It all depends on what you like about the 4R, The N3 uses dynamic driver for bass and mid and only uses BA for the high. The dynamic driver will give a bit more warmth to vocals but may lack some of the sparkles in the higher mids compared to BA. Also, while the N3 bass will probably have more presence, BA bass unit does have faster response but the 9mm in the N3 does have faster response than the 12mm-16mm in the older A2-Z5 line (but doesn't go as deep).

 

[w0lla]

Thanks for the feedback,

So deeper/heavier bass is what I'm after. But sounds like it wouldn't be a night and day difference. Hmm..

 

[Wiz33]

Thanks for the feedback,

So deeper/heavier bass is what I'm after. But sounds like it wouldn't be a night and day difference. Hmm..

I think it will be noticeable, I have had pure BA IEM before (XBA-20/30). even at the same frequency, a Dynamic driver just move more air mass than a BA, that why I said that the N3 bass will have more presence.

If all you want is heavier and deeper bass, then a A3 or Z5 may be a better choice (BA for mid and high and dynamic driver for bass) if you can live with their bulk. It also depends on what kind of player you're using as the Z5 will definitely require more power than usually available from Smartphones.

 

[obsidyen]

I have got these babies a few hours ago and in terms of value for money, these IEMs are the best I've ever had. These are amazing! I am thinking of writing a detailed review after listening for a few weeks.

First Impressions:

- Incredible bass quality with just the right amount of quantity. The bass extension and texture of these remind me of Noble K10. It is incredibly deep and extended. That said, it has much better impact and slam than K10 as it should be. The LCP driver produces bass so effortlessly. In terms of bass, I don't think there is be a BA IEM, no matter how expensive it is, that could be better than these. I've had TOTLs like Noble K10 which I sold because I didn't think its bass was enough for me. It didn't feel like those big bass speakers in clubs. I've also listened to TOTLs like Earsonics S-EM9 and Westone W60. N3 beats them all in terms of bass quality/quantity. Yes, K10 has excellent quality but to me it couldn't replicate the feel of a big speaker system as BA drivers just cannot produce slam and impact like quality DD drivers. N3's driver is incredible in terms of bass quality/quantity. I also like the bass of these to the leaner bass of IE800 which I also owned at some point.

Sub-bass is slightly emphasized, mid-bass is completely linear. Thus, bass doesn't bleed into mids.

- Even though these are hybrids, midrange of N3 is produced by the LCP DD, not the BA. Thus, it's incredibly smooth and free from any BA harshness. Mids are very lush and romantic sounding. Vocals are simply magic.

- BA driver takes of the highs. It is a custom tuned Sony BA driver and it presents a detailed and airy treble while avoiding any harshness. Highs are silky smooth and works wonderfully with lows and mids to create a very coherent sound. I was initially not sure about buying N3. I had no chance to try it beforehand and I didn't find hybrids I've tried very coherent. They all had some kinds of weird sound signature. Not N3, it has a very coherent sound.

I am now very curious about upgrade cables. Has anyone tried MUC-M12SM2? Does it make the sound better?

If you want a sensibly priced, musical IEM that is also very detailed and technical, get these definitely! I can't believe people pay thousands of dollars for boutique brands but overlook Sony IEMs just because Sony is a big corporation.

 

[w0lla]

So these would be purely for mobile use (Huawei P10), not keen on carrying an external amp (tried that). best would be to find a spot to try these,or order online with a return policy.

 

[obsidyen]

Honestly these sound amazing with just iPhone 6s. Not really hard to drive. I find it sounds better on MacBook Pro 2016 but iPhone6s is enough to drive these as well. I have no knowledge about headphone output of Huawei, sadly.