The discovery thread!

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

NX8 been on the burner. Some pluses and minuses so far. They kind of remind me of the tuning balance of the Himalayas and just like the Himalayas they have the same exact short tubby nozzles. The build is using hollowed plastic but at least it's not the old NX7 cheap build. I think NiceHCK could have done better here. Its not a bad looking set but it doesn't exactly pop out as a premium build. Looks are kinda meh if I am to be honest. NiceHCK seems to be selling a lot of these on their site with a fairly high level of satisfaction. It's certainly a capable set for the asking price but I prefer the Himalaya overall for a bit more.

I have also been burning in Simgots ET142 and inspiration hit me. What if I used one of the ET142 nozzles on the NX8 like I did for the Himalayas.?

Simgots nozzles left, NiceHCKs right.

As you can see the Simgot nozzles are more proper on the NX8. As per sound, I am getting a better sense of stage vs the stock nozzles. The stage on the NX8 is more moderate in expansion, its not the narrow stage of the NX7s but I wouldn't call it exactly wide for IEMs, more average than anything however the sound does have some good height and depth. Using the Simgot nozzles, sound gets even better sense of space and stage gets a touch wider in the process. For folks that have the NX8 I highly encourage you guys to try out any of the Simgot nozzles on it. Makes a difference in how the IEM fits and how it sounds for the better.

Coming from more expansive experiences of BC driver IEMs going back to non BC driven IEMs, it makes you appreciate what BC drivers do for your sound. So far the NX8 is not a bad set but it's not exactly a world beater either. Its growing on me, especially using the Simgot nozzles. Give it a shot if you have a Simgot nozzle handy.

I'm perfectly happy sticking with my NX7 MK III (bad QC has left them as the last NX7 standing). This one provides DUAL CNT bass drivers, which the NX8 does not have, the stage isn't that bad, and the bass is FUN and BIG, but still resolute, just like I like it.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I'm perfectly happy sticking with my NX7 MK III (bad QC has left them as the last NX7 standing). This one provides DUAL CNT bass drivers, which the NX8 does not have, the stage isn't that bad, and the bass is FUN and BIG, but still resolute, just like I like it.

Not sure what you have against this NX8 IEM. I have an agree-to-disagree situation with my good friend @Yifang about how good this IEM is (I think it’s good-ish, Yif thinks this is one of best things under 1 grand AUD), but I also strongly disagree that it is mediocre. Unless NX7 III dual DD can match the dual DD woofer of P7, it’s unlikely a match for the bass of NX8.

So yeah, I think it’s a bit weaker than the rest of the “hyped” line up of late 2024, but it belongs in the rank.

That said, I daily drive Cantor and P7

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

The DUNU S&S tips that came with the Brain Dance as some of the best tips I've put in my ears. They have the bass lifting ability of the greys, the midrange cleaning ability of the greys, while allowing the treble to breath and be controlled, much like the greys, but not rolling it off. The silicone is a bit tackier than the greys, so they really provide the seal not present with the greys. It might also answer why they sound different than the greys. I have the one set of XL that came with the Brain Dance. DUNU isn't offering it for sale yet. Really a bummer, that there's are essentially $500.00 tips at the moment. They will rotate in an out of my rotation as I see fit, until DUNU starts selling them in bulk? Just like my one set of NF Audio Bass tips.

They currently sit on my NiceHCK NX7 Mk III, and along with this amazing stock cable (don't remember which IEM it came from?), they really help make this old IEM shine. The M1P helps as well (well, that is if daps matter, or cables, or tranducers, or tips, or....????).

@DUNU-Topsound, are you going to sell the clear tips anytime soon?

 

[Ozboyblu]

Playlists

I love them.

Creating playlists on these little DAP’s has been a pet peeve for me. (ie Hiby R1 and Hiby R3 II gen 2 )

Manually adding tracks from the DAP - SD Card, in the right order , that I listen to my music is not only time consuming, it’s just NOT fun.


I’ve Modified m3u Playlist file - Using “ Find & Replace “ to quickly recreate playlists from other DAP’s before. (Provided the file structure is the same and music files exist on the SD Card)


But I thought I should post this in case anyone has come across this below.


I noticed that the format for the file structure in the .m3u Playlist file is different from my other HiBy DAPS. (The dreaded back slash and forward slash in the file path was the issue )

Each line in the .m3u file would show the file path (either relative or absolute ) but for some reason the format would have a back slash (/) or forward slash (\) between the directory path depending on which DAP I use.

By editing in a text editor on my MacBook the .m3u file - Using The feature “ Find and Replace” has been an amazing time saver. ( “Find & Replace” is found under the Edit menu )

2 Important Things here :

The file structure of my SD Card in my DAP’s always match’s my master library. ( ie Audirvāna )

But the directory Path in the (playlist .mu3 file) will differ at the beginning compared to the SD Card (ie D:\ on hard drive and a:\ on SD Card )

So adapting the Playlist to match what the DAP wants to see to read the Flac file is as simple as finding and replacing the beginning of the file path used on Audirvāna to match the SD Card file path the DAP wants to see.

Top : Find & Replace

Bottom Left : Before - Find

Bottom Right : After - Replace



The Takeaway here is that . Find what needs to be replaced with .

example lines in the .m3u File might have :

a:\Album name\song title.Flac


d:\Album name\song title.Flac


In this case I would find “d:“ and replace with “a:” Hit the “Replace All button “

( magically every line in the m3u file has been modified. in this case all 43 lines )

Just save the .m3u file and load it on the SD Card in the playlist _data folder. Do a Scan on the DAP. Then from the DAP, Load the playlist.


I can also modify my playlists created in Audirvāna ( Saved as a relative playlist ) Provided the file structure is matched to the SD Card in the DAP. I can very quickly modify the file path from Audirvāna to match the format expected by the Hiby DAP.


I have a rough time explaining myself. I hope this makes sense and it helps someone.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Not sure what you have against this NX8 IEM. I have an agree-to-disagree situation with my good friend @Yifang about how good this IEM is (I think it’s good-ish, Yif thinks this is one of best things under 1 grand AUD), but I also strongly disagree that it is mediocre. Unless NX7 III dual DD can match the dual DD woofer of P7, it’s unlikely a match for the bass of NX8.

So yeah, I think it’s a bit weaker than the rest of the “hyped” line up of late 2024, but it belongs in the rank.

That said, I daily drive Cantor and P7

It's not that I have anything "against it". It's that I was truly hoping, as the owner of all of the previous iterations, that this one, for almost DOUBLE the price of the previous NX series, would have been the direct and positive upgrade to all of them. But instead, and this is from an amalgam of reviews and impressions, and there plenty of them, and I hold @Dsnuts' review to higher weighting, because he's the guy who got me to PTT on the OG NX7, and I took it from there, but instead, we got something that's just average sauce, with average stage, and the biggest issue with the previous NX were the more intimate stage. They couldn't upgrade that at least?! Oh and if you must know, that CNT bass driver is FANTASTIC. Some of the best bass response of any IEM I have owned, and let's not drag the P7 bass into this. IMHO, it's the weakest area of the P7. Lacks punch and impact, as mentioned in my review. The DUAL CNT of the NX7 lacks neither of those qualities. So it's not that I have anything against the NX8, it's more of a disappointment that for double the cost, the NX8 isn't a dramatic upgrade to even the NX7 MK IV, which I was already lukewarm to. Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Playlists



I love them.

Creating playlists on these little DAP’s has been a pet peeve for me. (ie Hiby R1 and Hiby R3 II gen 2 )

Manually adding tracks from the DAP - SD Card, in the right order , that I listen to my music is not only time consuming, it’s just NOT fun.


I’ve Modified m3u Playlist file - Using “ Find & Replace “ to quickly recreate playlists from other DAP’s before. (Provided the file structure is the same and music files exist on the SD Card)


But I thought I should post this in case anyone has come across this below.


I noticed that the format for the file structure in the .m3u Playlist file is different from my other HiBy DAPS. (The dreaded back slash and forward slash in the file path was the issue )

Each line in the .m3u file would show the file path (either relative or absolute ) but for some reason the format would have a back slash (/) or forward slash (\) between the directory path depending on which DAP I use.

By editing in a text editor on my MacBook the .m3u file - Using The feature “ Find and Replace” has been an amazing time saver. ( “Find & Replace” is found under the Edit menu )

2 Important Things here :

The file structure of my SD Card in my DAP’s always match’s my master library. ( ie Audirvāna )

But the directory Path in the (playlist .mu3 file) will differ at the beginning compared to the SD Card (ie D:\ on hard drive and a:\ on SD Card )

So adapting the Playlist to match what the DAP wants to see to read the Flac file is as simple as finding and replacing the beginning of the file path used on Audirvāna to match the SD Card file path the DAP wants to see.


Top : Find & Replace

Bottom Left : Before - Find

Bottom Right : After - Replace



The Takeaway here is that . Find what needs to be replaced with .

example lines in the .m3u File might have :

a:\Album name\song title.Flac


d:\Album name\song title.Flac


In this case I would find “d:“ and replace with “a:” Hit the “Replace All button “

( magically every line in the m3u file has been modified. in this case all 43 lines )

Just save the .m3u file and load it on the SD Card in the playlist _data folder. Do a Scan on the DAP. Then from the DAP, Load the playlist.


I can also modify my playlists created in Audirvāna ( Saved as a relative playlist ) Provided the file structure is matched to the SD Card in the DAP. I can very quickly modify the file path from Audirvāna to match the format expected by the Hiby DAP.


I have a rough time explaining myself. I hope this makes sense and it helps someone.

I love my set too!! But upon your mention, I tried the Licky Orange tips on the Dain Brance, and nope, didn't feel they were an ideal fit sonically for this IEM. I did have both DUNU S&S and NF Audio Bass tips on them, but the Spinfit CP`100+ are synergy sister tips for the BD. Looking forward to my pure copper MMCX cable to land to slap that on the BD.

 

[o0genesis0o]

It's not that I have anything "against it". It's that I was truly hoping, as the owner of all of the previous iterations, that this one, for almost DOUBLE the price of the previous NX series, would have been the direct and positive upgrade to all of them. But instead, and this is from an amalgam of reviews and impressions, and there plenty of them, and I hold @Dsnuts' review to higher weighting, because he's the guy who got me to PTT on the OG NX7, and I took it from there, but instead, we got something that's just average sauce, with average stage, and the biggest issue with the previous NX were the more intimate stage. They couldn't upgrade that at least?! Oh and if you must know, that CNT bass driver is FANTASTIC. Some of the best bass response of any IEM I have owned, and let's not drag the P7 bass into this. IMHO, it's the weakest area of the P7. Lacks punch and impact, as mentioned in my review. The DUAL CNT of the NX7 lacks neither of those qualities. So it's not that I have anything against the NX8, it's more of a disappointment that for double the cost, the NX8 isn't a dramatic upgrade to even the NX7 MK IV, which I was already lukewarm to. Sorry, just my opinion.

have to agree to disagree on the bass of P7. It's fantastic. Elastic, controlled, and texture.

 

[MakeItWain]

The DUNU S&S tips that came with the Brain Dance as some of the best tips I've put in my ears. They have the bass lifting ability of the greys, the midrange cleaning ability of the greys, while allowing the treble to breath and be controlled, much like the greys, but not rolling it off. The silicone is a bit tackier than the greys, so they really provide the seal not present with the greys. It might also answer why they sound different than the greys. I have the one set of XL that came with the Brain Dance. DUNU isn't offering it for sale yet. Really a bummer, that there's are essentially $500.00 tips at the moment. They will rotate in an out of my rotation as I see fit, until DUNU starts selling them in bulk? Just like my one set of NF Audio Bass tips.

They currently sit on my NiceHCK NX7 Mk III, and along with this amazing stock cable (don't remember which IEM it came from?), they really help make this old IEM shine. The M1P helps as well (well, that is if daps matter, or cables, or tranducers, or tips, or....????).

@DUNU-Topsound, are you going to sell the clear tips anytime soon?

They're sold on ShenzhenAudio but they're deformed a bit both in the Dunu and when I bought them standalone.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

have to agree to disagree on the bass of P7. It's fantastic. Elastic, controlled, and texture.

Of course! Won't argue there. Elastic. Incisive. Controlled. Textured. Lacks punch and impact. It's just doesn't have a lot of mid bass energy (as an owner of the Explorer, you'd know this, as these are qualities the Explorer possesses). But it still has those qualities you mentioned. For sure!

 

[anli]

I have thought I heard sonic differences between amplifiers until actually comparing blind. It is an odd sensation trying to assess something while having no idea what you are listening with.

Of course you are completely welcome to say my hearing is obviously no good if I don’t hear differences but until you have actually proven that you can genuinely HEAR differences rather than simply PERCEIVE differences in sighted comparison you don’t have a frame of reference to judge my findings and resultant opinion.

I guess someones just are afraid to loose their beliefs, and it is the reason to avoid ABX-ing. Also, never met cable listeners among ABX participants.

The thing is our beliefs are both our castle and our prison.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

They're sold on ShenzhenAudio but they're deformed a bit both in the Dunu and when I bought them standalone.

They are still a little deformed on mine too, but mostly near the stem umbrella, so it doesn't cause too many issues with seal, but yeah, all of mine were deformed in some capacity.

 

[gadgetgod]

Guys anyone here has any experience with the FiiO FT5? I am thinking to venture again into the headphone game and confused which way to go.

 

[gadgetgod]

Of course! Won't argue there. Elastic. Incisive. Controlled. Textured. Lacks punch and impact. It's just doesn't have a lot of mid bass energy (as an owner of the Explorer, you'd know this, as these are qualities the Explorer possesses). But it still has those qualities you mentioned. For sure!

I would agree to this as well, the bass quality is top-notch but I feel it lacks the impact and mid-bass energy. But overall sub-bass makes it up for me personally.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Bass is a tricky beast to describe, I think Across 4 aspects that I assess IEM, bass / dynamic is always the icky part that I'm never satisfied, methodology wise. Bass "texture" is another difficult thing to describe and compare.

To me, if an IEM can mimic a fraction of rumble of real cellos and doublebass, it's good bass. Or if I can conjure the image of the vibration of the drum head, it's good bass.

Anyhow, for my library, P7 is plenty punchy. Going above that is going into niche bassy tuning like the NX8, Hidizs ST2, going all the way up to FatFREQ. More thump thump boom boom for sure, but no longer balanced with the rest of the mix and starting to lose the composure and control.

 

[Dsnuts]

It's not that I have anything "against it". It's that I was truly hoping, as the owner of all of the previous iterations, that this one, for almost DOUBLE the price of the previous NX series, would have been the direct and positive upgrade to all of them. But instead, and this is from an amalgam of reviews and impressions, and there plenty of them, and I hold @Dsnuts' review to higher weighting, because he's the guy who got me to PTT on the OG NX7, and I took it from there, but instead, we got something that's just average sauce, with average stage, and the biggest issue with the previous NX were the more intimate stage. They couldn't upgrade that at least?! Oh and if you must know, that CNT bass driver is FANTASTIC. Some of the best bass response of any IEM I have owned, and let's not drag the P7 bass into this. IMHO, it's the weakest area of the P7. Lacks punch and impact, as mentioned in my review. The DUAL CNT of the NX7 lacks neither of those qualities. So it's not that I have anything against the NX8, it's more of a disappointment that for double the cost, the NX8 isn't a dramatic upgrade to even the NX7 MK IV, which I was already lukewarm to. Sorry, just my opinion.

The NX8 has more substantial mid range and its treble is decent for using PZTs. Bass is good in general but nothing special. It's not that the NX8 is a bad set, it's a solid set for the money NiceHCK is asking for it but when you already own a H60 and numerous other sets that are punching their weight at a higher tier of sound, with a wider stage presentation I might add, the NX8 is not as shinny as it could be. It's Got some good qualities to the sound that I would consider an upgrade on the NX7 sound performance, especially its mids. However sound nowadays has leaped in performance from when the NX7s came into existence and with competition coming from every maker in the IEM game to count. Everyone is making higher quality sounding sets. I think if the NX8 came out a year or so back it would have gotten a bit more press perhaps, but by today's standards. It is about what you would expect at the price. Which is not a bad thing. They have a smallish medium compact shell and are comfy and has a well balanced sound that will make them versatile. Its full bodied mids presentation is what sets the NX8 apart, again they remind me of the mids from the Himalayas.

The new Simgot ET142 is using PZT piezos for upper trebles as well and while I can understand why IEM makers are using this particular driver, it is the cheap mans EST. Its not exactly what a well implemented EST driver does. On one hand piezos does a decent job with upper trebles and its nuances but they lack the rangy tonal character and air of ESTs sounding decidedly thinner and splashy at times. I don't find Piezos to be better than a well implemented treble BA is what they should have gone with, just my opinion. I suppose you have to have 3 types of different drivers to call your IEM a tribrid.