Change The Face, Change The Sound – NF Acous NE4 Evolution HiFi IEMs Review
Nf Acous Ne4 Evolution or NF Audio NE4 is a $649 USD pair of IEMS or In-EAR Monitors that won the 2022 VGP Award, and which are a Professional Universal Ba IEM. Those come with three faceplayes that are swappable or interchangeable, and which will change the sound. Today we will review the NE4 and review them, comparing them with other IEMs we have recently reviewed, including YanYin Carmen (849 USD), FiiO FH19 (599 USD) and Campfire Bonneville (1399 USD)
Introduction
NF Audio rebranded to NF Acous, but they generally make entry-level IEMs and Earphones, so it is strange to see a new high-end product from them. Well, relatively speaking we consider it to be new because I should have posted this review in 2023, as Ne4 has clearly been on the market since 2022, yet today we will see if it is still relevant and what it actually sounds like. 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 NF Acous for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Hultiple sonic profiles with a fun idea on how to change the current one, Excellent Comfort, Super build quality, Beautiful design with an excellent construction quality, The ability to be both very bassy but also lean, excellent technical performance for the price.
Cons – Cable quality is subpar, heavy shells, Only SE Cable, Just one of the faceplates will eventually be useful, so the whole system is great only until you find the one you like the most.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4jBSGI1
Build Quality / Aesthetics
NE4 is one of the more solid looking IEMS out there, with high-end engravings on the metallic shell, and what is considered to be Countless Sound styles by the creators. To be fair, it does have 4 faceplates launched to date, and those are some easy to replace electrical crossovers that use a single screw to be set in place, with 3 coming in the package, and if the company continues the series, with hopefully more faceplates and more tunings on the way.
At the heart, NE4 uses 4 Knowles Balanced armatures to create the sound, a 22955 + 29689 + 31736 (composite driver). The shell is made via a 5-Axis CNC processing using both aviation aluminium and stainless steel, achieving what the company considers to be a good balance between weight and strength.
The package of the NE4 is one of the best looking boxes I have ever seen for a pair of IEMS, but while most products have a bit too much marketing and information, I feel like Ne4 has secrets that we will have to get to know without a thick marketing campaign. Technically, the IEMS have a cable with a 5N Silver Coated OFC construction, they have a distortion lower than 1%, and a passive noise isolation of around -25dB.
With three faceplates, we get three levels of impedance and SPL, with the red one having an impedance of 6 OHMs and a SPL of 104dB, the Black one having a SPL of 108dB and an impedance of 10 OHMs, and the Blue Faceplate has a SPL of 110 dB and an impedance of 22 OHMs.
We also get to know what each faceplate theoretically does from certain store websites, and Blue is the brightest sounding one, Black is right in the middle, and red has the most bass. I also have a fourth transparent faceplate that came with them, but I cannot find any store selling it or more information about it available online.
Fit / Subjective Usage
With heavy IEMs comes heavy responsibilities, and NE4 is one of the heavier IEMS out there, although they do have a very comfortable fit, ergonomic, with a shallow insertion. To reduce the variables in this review, I have replaced the original eartips with ddHiFi ST-35, as the original ones are not of a great quality for comfort. Sonically, the default eartips are pretty great, but for me in particular comfort is more important as I do listen for long periods of time.
We find a very thin, lightweight cable that does not conduct microphonic noise, and which looks pretty, but which is extremely easy to tangle and has a memory effect, and which has really springy ear guides that reduce the comfort, being too tightly coiled around the ear and causing minor pain with long periods of wear. To be honest, I could complete the entire review just using the default cable, but I eventually resorted to using ddHiFi BC130 Nyx PRO, NMD Audio Mars, Luminox Audi Sapphirus, and ddHiFi M120B for this review. M120B also has a DAC inside, so while I used it, my smartphone the Red Magic 10 PRO has been the music source, while for the other cables we’ve ran them through our default list of sources.
The only sad part for NFocus Ne4 is that it is an excellent IEM held back by the accessory list, and this is not an IEM I would take at the gym, as not only does it not have an IP or Ingress Protection Rating, but it also has multiple mechanics that would allow sweat to come inside of the IEMs.
I am getting that promised high passive noise isolation, and the wearing comfort is pretty great, with no driver flex and no void. If you have the heart to order the NE4 then upgrade the cable, and upgrade the eartips, you will have an outstanding experience with them, but otherwise, the default cable is just 3.5mm and we have only basic sets of eartips.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test how easy or hard to drive the NE4 is, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Shanling M1 Plus, FiiO BTR17, Creative Sound Blaster G8, Lotoo PAW GT2, iBasso DX340, and Dethonray Listening M1. With all of those sources, I am hearing almost no background noise, it is incredibly quiet, especially when I assumed that it would have a lot of hissing, based on the rather low impedance quoted on most websites. NE4 is quite sensitive to the source, and will change the sonic signature with the source, but the effect is much smaller than when replacing the faceplates, which have a very distinct sound each.
Overall Signature – To avoid writing 4 reviews, we will explore each faceplate and the kind of sound it provides. The resolution, revealing ability is consistent across all faceplates, and Ne4 is a very detailed sounding IEM with a wide soundstage, a quick impulse response, excellent clarity and strong instrument separation, and a natural size for the soundstage.
Red Faceplate – Pop – Max Bass – This is the bassiest that NE4 can get, it gives the low-end a healthy ~20 dB of boost over the main midrange range, with an audible increase in the upper midrange, compared to the lower midrange. As there is a distinct recess in the lower midrange, compared to the upper midrange, this Pop face will emphasize female voices, pop music and generally emotional music considerably more than serious sounding music or than happy music. You can even hear bass guitars in songs that shouldn’t have them, you get a clean, very well defined bass sound, with a heavy, but clean low-end presentation. Treble extends the same with all the faceplayes, and this one has a sharp, crisp treble that has a strong extension up to 12 kHz, after which it rolls off.
Black Faceplate – Reference – Most Balanced Sound – It gets quite a bit more balanced with the Black faceplate, the bass is lower in amount, and the treble is stronger with a much better perceived extension, up to 14 kHz, and less roll off. This faceplate has a slight forward projection to the whole midrange, including a bit more lower midrange relative to the upper midrange, so it works really well for rock, metal, punk, pop, EDM, and most music styles, as long as you prefer a slightly colder, more neutral approach to sound. The bass extension is excellent, and it still has quite a bit of strength and power. This would be how I believe the NE4 was tuned, as every other filter seems to either add or distort this signature to some degree.
Blue Faceplate – Transparent – Bright and Sharp – This blue faceplate makes the sound extremely bright, it increases the midrange relative to the bass a lot, with about 10 dB, and the treble is also enhanced. The treble extension can be heard up to 15 kHz, but all sound lacks body and it is too bright for my personal taste. The detail and clarity is also lower than with either of the Black or Red Faceplates as bass and body is needed to create actual music. I would say that this faceplate makes the soundstage wider and more holographic, but as it lacks body and bass, and looks linear on a graph up to 1 kHz, it is a coloration of the Black Faceplate.
Transparent Plastic Faceplate – Explore – Wide With Bass – This has likely the best sonic tuning for NE4, it offers a wide, holographic sound that’s extended well in all planes, with a bigger like the black faceplate, but with a much airier sound. The downside is that it has a higher THD and distortion, and cannot handle loud volumes as well. The resolution is slightly improved, but it feels like it also has some kind of crossfeed turned on as instruments mush together more, while every other faceplate has much better instrument separation and definition. Overall, it is great for atmospheric music, classical and large orchestras. The increased bass compared to blue makes it enjoyable with most music.
Sonic Conclusion – Most people will enjoy either black or red the most, the other two being a bit too bright for my liking. Red compromises a bit too much on the treble extension and resolution, but has far more bass, while black has the right amount of everything, best resolution and most pleasing sound. Those are not faceplates you change based on color preference but sound. Also, they do have both a sonic effect, through the electronic contacts, but also through an acoustic isolation, as the sound is not right if you don’t screw them all the way in. While interesting for an experiment, the sound with the black filter is actually comparable to even more expensive IEMs like Soundz Blade V2, and NE4 sounds really good, evben better than Sennheiser Ie900 in resolution and clarity.
Comparisons
NF Acous Ne4 vs Campfire Bonneville (649 USD vs 1399 USD) – Bonneville has a thicker cable, and comes with a balanced 4.4mm cable, but it does not come with a sturdy transport case, yet neither does NE4. Both IEMs have a good passive noise isolation, and Bonneville has a deep fit, with a slightly worse comfort, as the shallow fit of ne4 is more comfortable in the long run. The sound of the Bonneville is very similar to the red filter of NE4, both IEMs have a similar level of clarity and resolution, which is interesting to consider as NE4 is less than half the price of the bonneville, although the signature of bonneville can be more natural.
NF Acous Ne4 vs Yanyin Carmen (649 USD vs 849 USD) – Carmen comes with a thicker, heavier but more resilient cable that is 4.4mm balanced. Carmen leaks less, isolates even more from the outside noise, and it is easier to drive, although it is more sensitive to the source quality and signature. Sonically, Ne4 has a much better resolution, detail revealing ability and a much cleaner, more crisp sound. The sound of Carmen is much heavier, has far more bass, but the treble and even upper midrange rolls-off really fast, in a sound that has a very limited treble and resolution, compared to NE4 which is more transparent.
NF Acous Ne4 vs FiiO FH19 (649 USD vs 599 USD) – The comfort of FH19 is slightly better as they are a bit lighter and have a deeper fit that is more consistent across different users. The cable FH19 comes with is of a much better quality, balanced, and the transport case is also better on FH19. Sonically, FH19 can reveal the hissing and background noise more easily, Ne4 has a lower leakage and isolates better from the outside noise, being easier to drive and less sensitive to the source signature.
The thick and heavy presentation of FH19 is great, but NE4 has a higher resolution, technically revealing more detail and creating a more impressive sound with a wider soundstage and a more crisp midrange. FH19 does have a fuller bass with a more extended treble, being much better for bass-heavy music.
Value and Conclusion
NF Acous created a compelling IEM in the NE4, it has excellent build quality, and for the money, it is generally better than the market when it comes to the technical performance. This being said, the cable is only single ended, the transport case has poor quality and low resistance to wear and mine got destroyed from just being in my backpack for a couple of days, and the whole faceplate idea works well only until you find the one you like, after which the other ones will just chill in a bag not to be touched again.
At the end of the day, NF Acous Ne4 is a revolutionary product, it has its shortcomings, but if you want to experiment, and get an IEM that manages to impress even when compared to the market, in the technical aspects of the sound, NF acous Ne4 is a fully recommended earphone today on Audiophile-Heaven.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4jBSGI1
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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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