| | |  | Amplifier | Home » » NuForce NE-8 Stereo Earphones | | | | | | | Description: | | Uncompromising, hi-fidelity earphones deliver unparalleled accuracy, exceptional clarity, full-bodied bass, and a rich, enveloping sound. The in-ear, isolating ear-tips block out 90% of external sounds. A comfortable, ergonomic design, along with cable options, minimizes outside sounds. | | | Features: | |
• Uncompromising, hi-fidelity earphones deliver unparalleled accuracy, exceptional clarity, full-bodied bass, and a rich, enveloping sound
• The in-ear, isolating ear-tips block out 90% of external sounds. A comfortable, ergonomic design, along with cable options, minimizes outside sounds.
| | | Product Details: | | | Package Length:
| 5.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.7 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.7 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 13 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Compared to the Shure E2c's these ROCKDec 17, 2008
By Daniel A. Garces
The Nuforce NE-7s caught my attention while looking for a replacements for my dead E2cs, and decided to wait it out for the NE-8s, and order once they became available. At the time, both the E2c's and the NE-8's sold for close to $60 through amazon, and my budget was $75 max, nothing over that. The wait was worth it, and my NE-8s finally arrived today.
Straight out of the box, without any burn in at all, I noticed the bass was better than the E2c's, while maintaining good highs and mids. Tool's "Sober" sounded much deeper with the NE-8s than the E2c's. I threw on Caspian's (post-rock band) "Moksha" and "Brombie" and noticed a much wider soundstage instead of more a "closed-in" sound (the best way I can describe it) with the E2c's. These headphones sound AMAZING with post-rock, and are miles better than the Shures when in comes to rock in general, electronica, and trip-hop, although I wish they had a bit more punch in the bass.
I'd highly recommend the NE-8's over the Shure E2c's and even the SE210's (i tried my dad's pair for a bit, just to see), especially for those on a limited budget, or can't justify paying $400 for a pair of IEMs. The only advantage the Shures have is the 2 year warranty (which i needed, as mine broke every 5-6 months, and even worse in winter here in NY).
In case anyone was wondering I compared the two IEMs using an iPod Classic unamped. I know it's worse quality sounding umamped than the 5th gen, but I needed the space of the 160GB.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Great buyDec 17, 2008
By V. Kim
"new-fi"
The good:
+ Very good sound quality and projection (soundstage)
+ Especially in this price range, rivals similar in-ear phones at $150
+ Clear, gentle, detailed and filling vocals and trebles
+ Tight background bass, not exaggerated or booming or smeared
+ Comfortable around-the-ear, small flat profile
The bad:
- Required tweaking to get it "right" for individual setup (see below)
- Bass is not as "fun" as more expensive earphones (not enough amplitude to be "punchy")
So I needed some patience to get it to be impressive.
(1) Make sure you fit it well. It needs to "plug" the ear canal firmly. The tip must insert properly for a good seal. Once inserted, the rest of the frame must be adjusted meticulously to hold it like that, and not let it tilt over (breaking the seal) or sit uncomfortably against the cartilage. See my photo above to get an idea for how to orient the earphone inside the lobe shape.
(2) Depending on your source, equalizer (EQ) tweaking may be necessary to re-balance the bass. These phones are sensitive (12 ohms, compared to others such as 16 ohms) so it'll be driven easily by most audio players. But it might not supply enough power for the lower freqs. So in my case, I set the Cowon A2 EQ to 6, 1, -2, -2, -2 and raised the bass-boost to 5 or 6. You'd think this might exaggerate the sound and ruin everything, but surprisingly it worked pretty well to even out the delicate bass balance without clipping or smearing it.
Comparisons:
(1) Denon C700 (a lot more expensive than this, and NE8 fares well against it, even slightly better soundstage, but not as much "punch" in the low and mid-low range and not as fulfilling overall)
(2) Shure e2c (NE8 noticeably better in every way except isolation because e2c can really block outside noise really well)
(3) Sennheiser CX300 (sloppy bass and the dark sound is a joke, there's no contest here, NE8 is brighter, crisper, overall balanced, larger separation)
Bottomline: great value to cover 2x-3x the price range, comfortable satisfying listening for hours (pop, rock, vocals, classical, electronic, trance), a surprise item of Q4 2008.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
The best from NuForce for music loversFeb 07, 2009
By Andy S.
I thought it was a bit silly to buy another set of earphones, given that I already own the NuForce NE-7M, but since they were so affordable I figured I had nothing to lose. After a bit of playing around, turns out I made a good choice!
Initially I was not happy with them...I simply used the same size rubber tips that worked best for me on the NE-7M, and did not achieve satisfactory sound. It was very hollow and anemic. Instead of sending them back I tried the other tips, and was surprised to find that the "double" tips worked much better for these 'phones. The bass response came out in force, and the NE-8's created an even bigger soundstage than the NE-7M's. For music, the NE-8's are the better choice. Of course, you don't get the microphone that is on the NE-7M's, so if you need that you should go that route. They still sound fantastic, but when directly compared I liked the NE-8's more. I could easily live with either one. I compared them using the NuForce Icon Mobile, which lets you run two sets of headphones at once. The NE-8's include a more robust carrying case too.
There may be better cost-no-object options out there, but even when compared to other options that cost double, triple, even quadruple the cost of the NE-8's, I have not found anything better.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 I'm still trying to understand this earphone.Dec 22, 2009
By Randall C.
"omahapianist"
I have to tell you: I don't understand this particular earphone. Like many audiophiles, I've read a fair number of positive reviews about it and was very excited when I finally ordered and received them. To make a long story short, the NE-8's truly have a clear, detailed, and articulate sound, especially in the upper frequencies. The issue of bass - or a lack thereof - is not only a weakness of this product, but it's virtually non-existent in the important midrange area. Now, before I get into the details of my trials and errors, here's an excerpt from my review of the top-line Sennheiser MX-660 earbuds which I reviewed earlier:
"Back in the early days of portable audio, bass reproduction was, in a word, lacking. To compensate for this, manufacturers created earphones with various bass-enhancing circuitry which did nothing more than blow-up the lower midrange frequencies giving listeners a false sense of "bass". This was nothing more than sonic mud as it did nothing but smear mid-range detail with bloat and boom. Unfortunately, many listeners accepted this as true bass so when higher-quality earphones appeared on the market, some listeners became disenchanted with them claiming a "lack of bass". "
Perhaps the NE-8's are the true definition of a "lack of bass" not only in the lower frequencies, but to my ear, there isn't even an appreciable amount of upper bass frequencies that can give a nice heft to the midrange without turning into sonic mud. The first thing I tried to "fix" is getting the 'phones to fit into my ear canal. This was an issue that has been brought up in a few forums so I was prepared to take the time to make them work. I spent a good week fussing with them to get a good fit trying the different tips as well as getting the cord adjusted behind my ears properly. I finally did work that out but making minor adjustments every time I put them on was a pain. Get the adjustment off, and it could affect the sound quality.
Sonically, I didn't find much difference in the sound no matter what source I was plugged into. I used them in everything from my Zune to my smartphone to my laptop and even in my dedicated headphone amp (CI Audio VHP-1) and the headphone output on my Parasound HP-850 preamp. The music I used ranged from Beethoven to Metallica to Fusion Jazz in various formats from L.A.M.E. MP3's to 24/96 files. While the amps did yield a slight improvement in depth, the results were basically the same: Lack of musical bass and an absence of midrange "body". The highs were truly remarkable but it wasn't enough the make the music enjoyable for any length of time. The bass that was present was way back in the soundstage. It's almost as if it was added as an afterthought. Just for the heck of it, I ran the earphones through the equalizer on my J.River music software and gradually increase the 40Hz frequency in 1 db increments to see if there was some missing "omph" buried within. The short answer is no. Once I hit +3db, a little more bass did come through but was severely distorted. Obviously, bass was not much of a consideration in its' design which is too bad because it could have made this product much more balanced and enjoyable. I did the same test on my Sennheiser MX-660's and there was no distortion at +3db. All of that may mean nothing in particular but I find the Senn's much more balanced and musical.
At this point, I'm at a loss of words to describe the NE-8's especially in light of its' positive reviews. Like many audiophiles, I look for bass that is musical, yet dynamic. For my main headphone set-up, I use Grado's SR-325i. I also have the SR-125 and the iGrados as well so I'm well- acquainted with the marvelous sound of these cans. I did have to ask myself if I was expecting the NE-8's to have some of the characteristics of the Grados. Well, I was expecting them to have a nice balance like them which I know may not be a fair comparison but I don't think it's bad to want a pair of phones to have a good top-to-bottom balance. I will also admit that it could just be me. Perhaps I will re-visit the NE-8's at another time but for now, I'll leave this review as is for the readers to make up their own minds as to whether these are the right phones or not.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Nice sounding earphonesApr 27, 2009
By M. Baucom
I had (temporarily) lost my other earphones and was looking for a new pair. I wanted to step up in sound quality a little, but still stayunder $100. The NE-8's got great reviews from similarly priced earphones. I owned the Sennheiser CX300 before and the NE-8's are definitely on a different level. The sound is much clearer. I was actually surprised to hear some words in songs I never even heard before. The only downside I have with the sound is the bass is somewhat nonexistent. The CX300 had very muddy bass, but it was still something.
The most important thing with the NE-8's is a good fit with the ear tips. If you don't have a good fit, the sound sounds far away or not as rich as when there is a tighter fit.
I wish the cord was a little longer.
As I use these more and more, I appreciate them more and more. Definitely a good buy!
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
