2017 New NICEHCK DIY MX500 PK1 Earbud Review
About Me
I will keep the intro short to keep it real. I am not a paid
reviewer as I don’t get paid or any shit like that. I am not a professional
reviewer so don’t expect fancy graph or any technical analysis at all. Hmmm
then what the hell am I going to write? Well… I am going to give my own
personal opinion on the earbud and hopefully it helps others in choosing their
right earbud. My impression of the bud could be not accurate because everybody
hears thing differently. If you are old and have tinnitus, don’t expect
everyone to hear the same thing as you. I am a treble sensitive guy, so any
sibilance earphone, iem or headphone will go straight to the cold storage box.
BTW I am a gamer too despite my lousy skill.
The Butt
I have to admit the main reason I get this earbud from NICEHCK is
because of the rave review it is getting on forums and facebook. Most of the
people vouch for this. Of course they are negative feedbacks but most of the
feedback is positive. Being a curious guy, I jump the gun and order one from
AE. And don’t screw me for mentioning the word NICEHCK. I have to because there
are many DIY MX500 variant out there. Each variant of build will have an impact
on the sound. Ok enough of the logical explanation on why I am getting the
earbud. The reality of it is I am impulsive buyer who keeps on buying new
earbuds/iem and I am a sucker for all white theme of this earbud 😊
Specification:
1. Product Name: NICEHCK DIY MX500/PK1 Earbud In Ear Earphone Earbud
2. Model: DIY MX500 / PK1
3. Type: In-ear earbud
4. Impedance: 16Ω
5. Earphone sensitivity: 106dB/mW
6. Frequency range: 22-22000Hz
7. Interface: 3.5mm
8. Cable Length: 1.2m±5cm
9. Weight: 15g
10.Color: Black, Blue, Transparent
11.Whether with mic: No
12.Earphone plug type: L Tpye
13.Earphone category: HIFI, Monitor
14.Drive unit: Dynamic unit drive
Build
The NICEHCK DIY MX500 PKI Earbud build quality is good, simple but
elegant. I bought the clear shell model because I like transparent shell. The
Shell is identical to the one used in Monk SPC version. The cable unlike the
other variant is not braided. It looks like SPC type and it
is prone to microphonic. It is ok for me because I usually use earbud in quiet
environment with little to no movement at all. The 3.5mm plug is made of metal
and it looks good. It ain’t Oyaide but it looks good enough for this price
point.
Overall, I like the build of this all white SPC
transparent Shell variant of the DIY MX500.
First Blood
Right out of the box, this guy nail it! I usually
test most of my earbud with Gundam! I mean Hiroyuki Sawano Gundam OST. Gundam
Unicorn soundtrack especially 1ST MOV:BANSHEE is very busy with lots
of instrument playing behind it. Is a god damn huge orchestra. Most of the bad
earphone, iem or even headphone would fail this test. I tried with Monster Beats
headphone before and omg wtf and the sound is congested, narrow and it feels like
everything is mesh up into a fark up sound. All I hear is noise not music. Good
music means I can hear every independent instruments, decent soundstage, good
mid/vocal and enough bass/sub bass when the music demands it. So this lil
earbud pass the first test.
Ok sorry I lied :P I don’t know about others
but good music to me does not mean accurate sound or anything like that. Music
mean a lot to me. Every time I suffer hardship, joy, success, failure,
depression or any other events in my life, I will turn to music. Each specific
music would remind me of a certain events in my life. In short, music bring
backs memory. It is hard to explain but the same song played from different
player or earbud will send different emotion to me if I listen to it. The sound
I am looking for is not neutral, analytical nor accurate but more towards warm
sound signature. Neutral with a hint of warm (slightly V shape) would be ideal.
This earbud falls into this criteria. It don’t have a huge soundstage like Wong’s
Blur earbud nor does it have super fine details like Beyerdynamic T1 mk2 / T90
but it is engaging enough to bring back memories to me.
This little guy has a soul!
Torture Chamber
In this review, I decided to pair it with AK
Kann and the new Sony A45. Why not other DAP like Onkyo DP-X1 , Opus #1 which
is still in my dry box? Well because new gadget always get all the attention.
AK KANN and Sony A45 is the 2 new DAP which I have bought recently.
AK KANN is really a good all-rounder. Support micro
SD and SD card, powerful amp but …it is freaking huge. Which is why I get the
Sony A45. I don’t intend to bring the KANN when I am on the go. Eg jogging,
going out for any active activities where I know I will not be doing any
critical listening. Sorry I lie again. The real reason is because Sony is
giving a good bundle promotion when you buy the new Sony WI-1000x noise
cancelling hyrid IEM! Damn it why am I confessing to the entire world.
Something is not right with me today.
Treble
No sibilance. Which is good news to me. I
really really really hate sibilance sound. When pair with AK KANN I don’t expect
harsh treble or anything like that. KANN is warm, therefore any treble happy
earbud you pair with it will be tame. But don’t let this statement confuse you.
The treble is smooth with enough extension.
Sony A45 is definitely a brighter player
compare to KANN. But still you don’t get sibilance sound with you pair it with
MX500.
This is all I ask for in treble. My requirement
is bloody low right? One important thing to note is if you are the kind of
person who like the “s” sound in every vocal track and love those bright treble
then this earbud is not the bud for you.
Mid
Sony A45, the mid is definitely the forward
type. It kind of give you the on stage feel.
(Aimer – Egao) Forward mid and engaging sound,
you can hear the separate musical instrument, decent soundstage.
(Emi Fujita – Imagine) sound similar. Imagine
all the people, living for good music…
On my AK KANN it sounds similar too. Definitely
the forward mid type. Just to be sure I tried another song Rick Astley – When I
Fall in Love. Damn it bring backs memory.
Bass
This earbud gives you enough bass but it is not
a bass-head earbud. To be honest due to the design of earbud I don’t expect any
miracle here. But this earbud is performing way beyond my expectation.
It does not matter if I pair this with A45 or
KANN, the result is similar. The bass is control, sufficient not bleeding into
the mid region. Bass do roll off significantly. If you are a headbanger, you
are better off with Monster Beats.
(Linkin Park - Numb) Yes you hear bass on this
earbud but it is not the thumping type. It ain’t weak but just nice.
(Madonna – Erotica) I don’t expect the same amount of bass
compare to my JVC FX850 but like I say it is enough. Control bass it is….. (
imagine this words coming out from Master Yoda)
GG
Wait, that’s all? No more analysis on the sound
from MX500? Yes no more. I just point out the stuff which I think is important
and I don’t intend to go and google all the nice bombastic jargon and put in
this review to make it look professional but confusing at the same time.
To be honest , at the given price point, there
is not much to complaint really. You get smooth treble, forward mid, decent
bass and soundstage. Build quality is excellent too. It is good for various
genre of sound due to the neutral warm or V-shape sound signature. Will I recommend
it to others? Yes definitely.
Comments