[amrbadrawy]

N1 bass is muddy and the high are rough, it a fairly big downgrade from A3.

So apparently the N3 is out of my budget these days, so can i say that N1 will be upgrade over the A1 in terms of audio quality?

 

[Intensecure]

So apparently the N3 is out of my budget these days, so can i say that N1 will be upgrade over the A1 in terms of audio quality?

A1 or did you mean A3?

 

[amrbadrawy]

A1 or did you mean A3?

No the A1, i stopped using the A3 because they are so bulky and needs adjustment every 5 minutes, so right now i use the A1 with the SBH20 bluetooth dongle, But out of the box and after months i never felt there is anything special in the audio of A1, Not punchy Bass, Not the clearest vocals, not the purest highs, Nothing special just boring... So i was thinking about the N1 as a replacement for A1, What do you think?

 

[Intensecure]

Nothing special just boring.

OK, I understand what you mean. I'm listening to my A1 as I write this..and although I use the N3 mostly, I still use my A1 pretty much every day - out walking and stuff. To me they still sound good, certainly smoother and less extended than the N3, a bit less natural sounding, not "exciting" and maybe that gets boring but I prefer that to some other brands which have excess bass or hot treble trying to make up detail.
I only auditioned the N1, my impression was that they were more "powerful" and "richer" than the A1, but not nearly as clear as the N3.
Honestly, not sure they are enough of a step up from the A1 to be a definite upgrade, certainly not for me. (But I paid $190 for my N3, got very lucky so it was an easy choice )
Of course the N1 have detachable cables and are more comfortable, so that's an upgrade, but sound is more difficult to put a value on. Sorry this doesn't help so much...

 

[amrbadrawy]

OK, I understand what you mean. I'm listening to my A1 as I write this..and although I use the N3 mostly, I still use my A1 pretty much every day - out walking and stuff. To me they still sound good, certainly smoother and less extended than the N3, a bit less natural sounding, not "exciting" and maybe that gets boring but I prefer that to some other brands which have excess bass or hot treble trying to make up detail.
I only auditioned the N1, my impression was that they were more "powerful" and "richer" than the A1, but not nearly as clear as the N3.
Honestly, not sure they are enough of a step up from the A1 to be a definite upgrade, certainly not for me. (But I paid $190 for my N3, got very lucky so it was an easy choice )
Of course the N1 have detachable cables and are more comfortable, so that's an upgrade, but sound is more difficult to put a value on. Sorry this doesn't help so much...

The huge 100 Euro difference between N1 and N3 makes me so confused which to pick, I like Bass but no muddy bass, i'm not a bass head i don't listen to Rap and hip-hop but i like to hear the drums sounds as it's as if i'm attending in front line of a jazz concert,i also hate harsh terrible i prefer it be rolled off a little, As i understand the N3 sounds flat while N1 is Bassy and fun, is this right?

 

[Intensecure]

I don't have enough experience with the N1 to qualify that for you, sadly. My shop experience was of rich, bassy, heavy sound, whereas the N3 is clearer - much like the A3 in fact. I just can't use the word "flat" for something that has this graph, (I think this graph doesn't quite match my experience in the upper range though) it's clear and natural, but sparkly treble and huge subbass.

 

[amrbadrawy]

So if i like bassy earphones, clear mids and i don't like harsh highs, should i go for N1 instead of N3; Does the N1 has the same quality bass like A3? "according to the article on sony website the N1 is a replacement for A1/A2 and not the higher quality A3"

 

[amrbadrawy]

Heres a more detailed impressions of the N series

IMO they are a very unique breed of hybrids never seen before in the market. Usually hybrids use a dynamic for the bass and BA for mids and highs, so it would sound like a BA iem with dynamic bass. But these use the dynamic for the lows and mids, and BA for the highs, so its a dynamic iem with BA highs, which is quite unique. As a result, it sounds more natural and organic then your typical hybrid. They are quite a substantial improvement from the A series in terms of sound and comfort.

This is for N1
Sound signature - L shaped, which means a somewhat flat signature with largely boosted bass. Compared to A series, bass quantity is the same, but vocals are more prominent, highs are more rolled off.

Bass - Copious amounts of bass that is similar in quantity to the A series. Bass is powerful, having a visceral slam and impact. It is thick and tight at the same time, having good texture and speed. It does not bleed into the mids at all like the jvc woodies do. Vocals and be heard quite clearly. I'm amazed that this can be produced even with the decrease in driver size from 16 to 9mm. On the other hand, A3's bass is boomy with a slower decay.

Mids - The mids do not take a back seat despite the huge bass quantities, they are in the middle of the mix. This is opposed to A3 which is more v shaped and vocals can sound distant. The mids are less transparent compared to A3, instead they sound thicker and more flavorful. (to me it sounds better and more musical) They have a very natural and slightly warm feel to them with nice timbre, as they are produced by the dynamic driver as opposed to BA driver in typical hybrids. Vocals sound husky and organic and can be heard clearly at the front of the presentation (they are placed in front by a bit). Acoustics sound gorgeous, especially strings in orchestra, which sound majestic and rich. The level of detail is quite high, even higher than A3 in some parts. But A3s are more transparent and clear.

Highs - They are rolled off as compared to A3, which is good for people who don't like fatiguing highs.

Soundstage - Large. As large as the A3s. Positioning is very good, I can hear the strings in orchestra soaring above the vocals.

Instrument Separation - Good too. There is a sense of air even with thumping bass going on.

Level of comfort - Quite comfortable and easy to wear unlike the big ass A3. The detachable cable housing is very small for an in ear.

N3s vs N1
The difference is very small, like the difference between A3 and Z5. They are on the same tier, the onl-y difference is the dynamic driver and the diaphragm. N1 has more bass than N3 (N3 is still quite bassy). N3 has a little more micro detail. Im sure there are more differences, but i didnt pick them up in the short listening session.

Conclusion
These are a solid upgrade from the A series. N1 itself is cheaper than A2 but imo better than A3. They somehow managed to keep the huge bassy sound in a much more compact form. They are a very very uniquely natural sounding hybrid in a market full of metallic peaky twfk hybrids. The best hybrids in the 200-300 usd range ive heard so far, and I've heard most of them.

So if i like bassy earphones, clear mids and i don't like harsh highs, should i go for N1 instead of N3; Does the N1 has the same quality bass like A3? "according to the article on sony website the N1 is a replacement for A1/A2 and not the higher quality A3"

 

[amrbadrawy]

I don't have enough experience with the N1 to qualify that for you, sadly. My shop experience was of rich, bassy, heavy sound, whereas the N3 is clearer - much like the A3 in fact. I just can't use the word "flat" for something that has this graph, (I think this graph doesn't quite match my experience in the upper range though) it's clear and natural, but sparkly treble and huge subbass.

It's so hard to choose an earphone without listening to But your help is so much appreciated

 

[mer]

I a-b´ed n1 and n3 for an hour at the shop using EDM, metal and trip hop. What exactly do you need to know? I dont have the A1 or A3. I had the xb90ex. My impressions are a few pages back. The N1 has muddier mids, and less subbass, same highs. For sure the quality in sound difference is around 20% in objective terms so definitely the better value is N1, but for me N1 wasn´t that special and although I´m cheap I went for the N3 for the better mids and better subbass-kick. But for me this 20% sound quality in difference was a big difference, plus I´m a basshead and I can really appreciate this extra quality.

 

[amrbadrawy]

Yup i have read all the posts in the thread including yours I used to also own xb90ex, i liked xb90ex sub bass, but other wise the mids was okay nothing special if not bloated by the bass, but the highs was really not defined and rolled of to much extend, So if we put aside the meds and the highs when comparing the N1 and N3 do you describe the N1 bass as bloated and uncontrolled in general if you didn't listen to the N3?

 

[mer]

The first day in the shop I only listened to N1. I didn´t hear the N3, until the next day. But to answer your question,for sure no the N1 bass is not bloated or uncontrolled. It´s really good but for sure not as deep as the xb90ex or the N3. It felt very similar to N3, just the N1 didn´t hit as hard and didn´t go as low, felt like it was missing the 30'50hz compared to N3. If you don´t care about super subbass frequencies or listen to dnb or dub where low frequencies are very important, you would hardly notice the difference. The difference is not extreme but it´s there, same with the mids ... The dynamic driver in N3 is just better. From memory the xb90ex was the best for massive amounts of more bloated slow subbass with more slank but the n3 is clearer quicker and feels more solid,technically better. The N3 is an overall better phone.

To give you a better perspective, I think you would achieve the same bass with the N3 as N1 if you did something like -3db at 30hz and -1db at 50hz... maybe smaller db difference.... Something like that .... Now that you mention it thought I felt n1 was very slightly more bloated, the n3 felt a bit clearer but we are talking about small differences, I would never call the n1 bass bloated or uncontrolled.

You seem confused to think N1 has a different sound signature than N3, it doesn't. N3 is not really flat, yet sounds natural to my ears, if that makes sense ? I find what people describe as flat frequency earphones as dull and lifeless, that's not how I perceive sounds, I am a musician, I know, so if you are anything like me then these comments are valid hehe

 

[Mn80]

I was in the same boat 2 weeks ago. The N3 does cost a pretty penny, but thinking long term it is worth the investment.

In my opinion, if you are looking for an accurate, clean, powerful bass with good articulation, the N3 wins hands down. It may not have the initial perceived 'bass-slam' as the xb90ex, but that doesn't matter. Both have different bass curvatures. The sub-bass on the N3 extends way below what the xb90ex can do, as well because of this, it has a larger soundstage for the bass department. Larger overall soundstage in fact, because in comparison the xb90ex were fairly dark.

I feel the bass is very versatile with any type of music. It can be EQ'd to make it sound tight and accurate, or on the 'bloated and boomy' side for hip-hop tracks or home theater/gaming applications.

Then there's the quality of the bass. If compared to previous sony iems, while the rest are buttery smooth, it's distinction is like regular butter VS gourmet whipped butter.

 

[mer]

thats a good way of putting it, the soundstage of bass is much bigger and because its finer textured and quicker you can differentiate between bass sounds, its really good compared, i agree that it doesnt matter it doesnt have the bass slank of xb90 and this comes from extreme basshead.

 

[mer]

double post