NDEarphone ND-001 – The First Warm IEM I’ve Enjoyed

Disclaimer: ND-001 was sent to me by NDEarphone for the purpose of doing this review.

Personal preferences in audio gear will vary. This review is based on my own subjective experience.

If you prefer to watch a video review you can watch mine here

Pros –

  • Great Bass Quality With Good Note Weight
  • Grand Soundstage With Depth Width and Height
  • Smooth Listening Experience
  • Maintains Excellent Seperation On Busy Tracks

Cons –

  • Build Quality Doesn’t Feel The Most Durable
  • Cable Isn’t The Nicest
  • I Would Like More And Better Accessories
  • Lack Of Detail In The High End
  • Mids And Treble Might Not Be Energetic Enough For Some

Gaming:

Pros –

  • Great Stage And Imaging Offer Good Locational Sense And A Grand Experience
  • Low End Audio Cues Are Quite Apparent

Cons –

  • Finer Details In The High End Might Be Missed

Build, Fit & Accessories:

The ND-001 is priced at $55 and the one I recieved has a nice translucent shell and a silver and clear faceplate that I think looks beautiful. I appreciate being able to see inside and look at what is truly all there. That being said they do feel a little bit lightweight and maybe not the most durable. comfort is good for me without any issues after long listening sessions. These are standard 2 pin IEMs and most cables should be able to fit here.

The unboxing experience was fairly minimalistic. Giving me a “I wish there was more” feeling for this price point. The cable is okay, it is usable but it does have a bit of memory to it. You get one set of tips that are usable and a soft pouch. I would have really liked to see another style of ear tips included or more premium ones. I would have also liked to see a more proper case rather than the soft fabric bag especially with the shells feeling a less than durable.

Equipment Used:

  • FiiO Q11 on Android
  • FiiO K11 on Windows
  • MusicBee on Windows 11 with FiiO ASIO drivers for local FLAC and DSD files
  • Amazon Music Streaming
  • CX31993 Dongle on Android

Test Tracks used:

Sound Quality:

The ND-001 is a Hybrid driver setup utilizing 1DD and 4BA from my understanding the DD is for the low end, two BA are for mids and the last two for the highs.

Bass:

Bass is one of the highlights for me on this set. There is good note weight and I find bass guitars highlighted a bit. Although this is not a sub bass visceral slam focused bass but more of a mellow smooth mid bass that I find works quite nicely across the genres I listen to. I appreciate the bass being represented the way it is especially in my Jazz tracks.

Midrange:

Mids are nice and again quite smooth, most likely too smooth for those looking for energetic upper mids as these are more relaxed here. But honestly they sound great to me, they maintain cohesiveness on busy tracks but I quite like how the mids are represented on slower tracks. Lower mids I don’t find recessed and upper mids not overly energetic. Just a good smooth listen.

Vocals:

When I first listened to the ND-001 I was immediately expecting recessed male and female vocals because the warmth caught me off guard, but I was surprised to find one or my favorite male vocals representations at this price point so far. Female vocals can sound a tad…congested? At times due to the warmth but for most of my library they sound good as most of my female vocalists aren’t in the higher octaves.

Treble:

The ND-001 has a fairly relaxed treble with nothing jumping out at you in the higher end, for me I don’t find anything in this region piercing or near the point of sibilance. That being said I feel like you do lack a fair amount of detail here because of this, but when I’m in the mood for something warmer and not as piercing as some of my other sets this is a great comfort listen.

Technicalities:

I’m fairly impressed with the technicalities of the ND-001, it is one of the most well separated and presented warmer sets I have tried. The soundstage isn’t shoved right in your face but just infront of you giving you a good sense of depth and a more grand experience especially for live and older music I found. There is great width and depth on display here as well. The imaging is pretty impressive at this price and considering the warmth as well.

Gaming Performance:

Just like in music I was a bit leery of the warmer sound signature not translating that well in games but I quite liked this set for gaming, to the point I would almost say I would recommend them just for that. But the lack of accessories and the lightweight build leave me a bit hesitant on doing that. If you do like a warmer sound signature and enjoy these for music but also play games I would definitely give them a try. The soundstage they provide is very nice and the imaging is extremely good and they aren’t overly warm and ruin the experience in games, at least for me.

FPS Gaming:

I played Escape From Tarkov as my Competitive game of choice, this set although warm and missing some of the key little details I try to listen for did extremely well when it came to imaging and locating movements and sounds, the warmth did not cut out as much as I initially expected but there was a little bit on the top end details that I feel was lacking due to the warmer relaxed nature of this set. With that being said I did really get pulled into the few matches I played and it was still a quite immersive experience with this set.

Immersive Gaming:

Elden Ring was my pick for Immersive gaming, this set provided a great experience here. It really brought out the sound of the world and managed to draw me in quite well, calmer moments felt great and action packed moments felt intense and impactful. The ride through Liurnia of the Lakes an area full of mist actually felt eerie going through it with these on, I haven’t experienced that before and it was quite fun to experience something new.

Conclusion:

I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed the ND-001 this is the first warm IEM I can say I really enjoyed so far. This is a very capable set that I don’t have many issues with sound wise. My only worry is with the shell feeling so light it might possibly not survive an accidental drop or something. This set is definitely a good choice for people who are looking for a warmer and more relaxed tuning with great cohesiveness and a grand soundstage.

Thank you for reading this review. If you would like to purchase the ND-001 here are some links below.

Cheers!

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