NMD Audio Mars IEM Cable – Copper Dream Web
NMD Audio Mars is a $249 USD Cable for IEMs, made from copper, with an intricate inner design, and the focus of our review today. Given the sparse offer of cables in this affordable price range, we will focus on how Mars changes the sound of IEMs and how it interacts with each IEM we have tried it with.
Introduction
NMD Audio is a new company in our review roster and this is our first review exploring one of their products, but Mars already managed to impress me with the construction quality and support coming from the company. You can expect an excellent service from NMD Audio, and they are quickly becoming official sellers / representatives for other companies, so you will likely soon be able to purchase more from them. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and YouTube Channel. Huge Thanks to NMD Audio for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Focused and dynamic sound, excellent build quality, heavy weight, resulting in a snug fit with most IEMS, flexible design that dampens microphonic noise, and fully configurable and customizable at the moment of purchase. Good price for the performance.
Cons – Intimate soundstage.
Product Link
Official Website – https://nmdaudio.com/products/mars
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
NMD Audio Mars is a cable for IEMs and In-Ear Monitors / Earphones made with an internal construction including wires with OxyGen Free Copper, with Gold Plating, Pure Silver and a Copper Silver Alloy with Silver Plating, along with a Copper with Silver Plating Wire. The external wire is made of Furukawa high-Purity Copper which is OCC. The structure is Litz Type 6, and the cable has 4 Strands, with 167 Cores per strand, for a grand total of 668 cores.
The accessory case is made of a special aluminum alloy, with the default length of the cable being 1.2 meters, but optionally you can contact NMD Audio and request a different length. The cable can come with jacks of all the popular types including 2.5mm balanced, 3.5mm balanced and 4.4mm balanced jacks. Those jacks are made of OFC Copper with Gold Plating.
NMD Audio products have a 1-Year warranty, and they come with the accessories you see in the review, and in the photos on the NMD Audio website. You can customize the cable for other connects than the 2-Pin we have selected for the review, and it takes the company 1-3 business days to create and ship the cable your way.
Subjectively, this is a thick, and heavy cable, but it converts microphonic noise to a deep rumble that is far less distracting than the scratchy sound you get with thin and light cables brushing against your clothes and face. It has a solid and reliable construction, and being so heavy, it creates a snug and comfy fit for my ears, allowing the IEMs I tested with it to sit deeper inside of my ears.
For this review, I have paired the NMD Audio Mars with a long list of IEMs. I can confirm that the 2-Pin connectors are standard and will work with all the 2-Pin based IEMS on the market. The list of IEMs I tested with the mars includes ZiiGaat Cincotres, Soundz Blade V2, 7Hz Aurora, FIR Audio e12 Electron, Simogt EA1000 Fermat, Spirit Torino Twin Pulse Beryllium, and Soundz Avant. Pairing is great and the cable has a general signature that works well with everything out there, both sources and IEMS. Regardless whether you would attribute this to higher conduction, or other factors, NMD Audio Mars seems to increase the SPL and efficiency of the IEMS it is paired with, basically the THD gets louder with less volume, and I hear a higher volume at the same level on the source compared to most default cables, as well as alternatives in the price range.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – NMD Mods Mars is a focused sounding cable with strong dynamics, strong instrument separation, strong layering, it makes the bass fuller and more lush, midrange smoother and less textured, a bit more laid back and relaxed, and the treble a bit smoother and more relaxed / laid back. The tuning works well with all music and all IEMS I paired the Mars with, for most of them the result is a more relaxed and laid back midrange, a fuller bass, a smoother treble, and better focus, stronger dynamics, result in a more obvious and audible detail / clarity.
Bass – Starting with a strong bottom end, the cable emphasizes the bass, gives music a bolder low-end, more depth and a lush bass. The bass speed tends to be natural, not ultra fast with a lot of texture, nor is it too slow and sloppy. This middle-ground is perfect as it is versatile and will sound perfectly natural with all music, without getting boring or fatiguing. Bass reaches 20 Hz easily, and it keeps the presence starting with the sub-bass without rolling off in any way, and NMD Mars seems to emphasize the sub-bass extension with most IEMs, including Soundz Avant and Siumgot EA1000 Fermat.
Midrange – The midrange is lush, slightly dark and full, with a musical and heavy presentation, focused staging and strong dynamics. This kind of sound will make most music detailed and clear, as stronger dynamics will separate instruments more and give each instrument a more defined presentation. Voices are strongly separated from the instrumental, imaging is really good, while layering is natural, as Mars tends to blend the layers a bit, creating a more open – free field soundstage. Female voices are sweet and slightly emotional, while male voices are deep and extra-thick. Warmth is a central point of this cable, and the complex array of materials used seem to help create a
Treble – If you like a smoother treble, you will like the Mars Cable, it is smooth, relaxed and still detailed and airy. It basically enhances the midrange and the bass, while smoothing out the treble, so pairing with most IEMs the pairing is free of fatigue and harshness. Guitar sounds have little reflections in the treble, but they have a strong weight and each instrument has a heavy weight, each piano key hits with the weight of a real hammer, this presentation keeps focus strong for all music styles, and if you can imagine a warm and thick sounding treble, this is how Mars presents it.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – Textures are natural, as the impulse response is not changed heavily. You can expect a natural texture, with harsher instruments keeping their edge, while smoother instruments are lush and lean. Dynamics are changed in particular, and NMD Mars enhances the dynamic range greatly, giving music a strong contrast between the quiet and loud parts of each song, this in turn creating a far more obvious detail level, and creating a satisfying presentation for each instrument.
Soundstage – Soundstage is natural, focused. I can more easily point to where each instrument is playing, imaging is top notch, but soundstage size is deep and not very wide, so you can easily tell how far an instrument is playing from you, while music is not projected scattered away from you. NMD Mars has a uniquely strong instrument separation and clarity to its sound, resulting in the smooth and separated sound it bears.
Value and Conclusion
When reviewing cables, we often run into the price being a bit high for the product itself, as most folks don’t want to invest a big chunk of the budget they have for this hobby in the cable, but NMD Audio Mars has a fairly affordable price, and can provide a tangible upgrade for a high-end IEM, allowing for better comfort, improved microphonics, or rather lower to no microphonics, and a deep, satisfying, focused and dynamic sound.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a better, thicker and more reliable cable for your IEMs, with an intricate inner design, and with a beautiful look on the outside, NMD Audio Mods Mars is an excellent cable for all IEMS I paired with it, and the price is very good for the performance it offers.
Product Link
Official Website – https://nmdaudio.com/products/mars
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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