NuForce - NE-7M - Earphones

by NuForce

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• ASIN: B001BL8BO4
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 23, 2008

Product Description

The NuForce NE-7M headset offers exemplary clarity and excellent bass response. And it has a built-in microphone. You'll love its performance with smart phones and portable audio devices. The NE-7M is ideal for use with smart phones. Comfortable, sound-isolating ear-tips reduce noise, thus minimizing distortion. This design makes it easier for you to hear your callers, who will hear you with equal clarity thanks to the efficient built-in microphone. The microphone transmits every word you speak without you having to position it close to your mouth. Three pairs of ear-tips in small, medium, and large sizes ensure a great fit with every ear. The handy carrying case makes it convenient to store your NE-6. A call-answering button makes operation especially convenient.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sounding IEM easily worth 3 times the price, March 25, 2009

By 

Michael.S - See all my reviews

This review is from: NuForce - NE-7M - Earphones (Electronics)

I have owned many pairs of IEM's in search of something I really like. In my search I owned:
JVC HA-FX66 - $40MSRP
JBL Reference 220 - $80MSRP
Bose In Ear - $129MSRP
Sennheiser CX 300 - $70MSRP
Panasonic RP-HJE550 - $99MSRP

The NE-7M has about 3/4 of the bass of the Bose but tighter and less bloated. Better mid tones than all of the above phones, and clearer non-sibilent highs than the above phones. It's signature is full with only a very mild weakness in the mids (compared to MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE IEM's). If you like more bass than "neutral" sounding phones it is simply one of the best deals on the market.

The cabling and the phones are also of excellent build quality with minimal microphonics in the cable (none from the cable being rubbed), if you loop the cable over your ear you will eliminate the little bit of microphonics that do exist. I also find the cable light and with just enough stiffness to help make them less tangling.

These phones are also very easily driven by Ipods and small devices. I am using a 2nd Gen Ipod Touch and have never cranked the volume over 1/2 way and usually listen between 1/4 to 1/3 volume and still have nice bass response.

49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Try 'em before you buy 'em, April 4, 2009

By 

megabigeye (Slummerville) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NuForce - NE-7M - Earphones (Electronics)

I don't really want to give these 'phones such a low rating since there are some things about them that I really love, but, given my personal experience, I also can't bring myself to give them anything higher. It's unfortunate.
I got these for my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago because her Shure E2cs' wire is cracked and she wanted something with a mic to use with her iPhone. I had read lots of very positive reviews on other sites that claimed the NE-7Ms were superior to other IEMs (in-ear monitors, aka earphones) two or three times the cost.

But the problems have been many. First off, the fit is odd, both for me and my girlfriend. The phones stick out oddly far for a pair of IEMs, especially compared to the E2cs and my NuForce NE-8s (which, by the by, I love). This wouldn't be so bad except that 1) the weight of the cord makes it feel as though the phones are going to fall out (even though they never have), and 2) they can't be looped over the ears; which brings me to my next point...
Microphonics. You know that rubbing, rustling noise you hear with IEMs when you rub or bump the cord? It's especially present using the stock silicone tips, distractingly so. I know some people say you can loop the cord over your ears to reduce microphonics to great effect, but I couldn't keep the darn cables over my ears since they (the IEMs, not my ears) stick out so far. Aargh! Switching to the foam tips from the E2cs solved the problem to some degree, but it's still there. There are relatively inexpensive wire guides available from Phonak Audéo that would probably solve the problem completely... But having to buy accessories to make these work properly defeats the purpose of buying budget earphones. I could end up spending an extra $25!
I also don't care for the stock tips. It's not the sound quality or noise isolation that I mind, but, as mentioned, the microphonics are horrible with them and for some reason they make a distracting rustling noise in my ears. Sort of a mix between a rustle and a squishing sound. Odd because using the same tips on my NE-8s does not produce the same effect. It may have something to do with the barrel shape of the driver casing. The problem was reduced with the silicone Shure tips, and eliminated with the Shure foam tips.
One of the previous reviewers mentioned that there seems to be less sound coming through the left channel than the right. My girlfriend and I have had a similar experience. For me it's only noticeable if I'm really listening for it or if I'm listening for hours on end, but for my girlfriend the imbalance is very distracting. I think that it might be a combination of a fit issue and because that's the side that the mic is on. Again, the problem was lessened for me when I used the foam tips.
The same reviewer also mentioned that there is a lot of static interference. I haven't experienced this personally, but my girlfriend has and says it's very distracting. It's probably due to the dry and cold, but that makes them unusable for five months here in Boston and longer elsewhere. I have never had this problem with the NE-8s and she's never had it with the E2cs.

On to the pros...
These things sound pretty amazing. I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I'll try my best. Compared to the E2cs and the NE-8s, the bass on the NE-7Ms is nothing short of astounding, especially with the foam tips. They sound like I have a nicely tuned subwoofer in my head. Seriously. Nice quantity, but also very controlled. Listening to electronic or hip hop is really, really fun. I also own a set of Sony MDR-V300s (What?! Why?!) and I would say that bass quantity on the NE-7Ms is less than the V300s, but also much, much less boomy and overbearing. Once upon a time I also had the Sony MDR-EX71SLs, and from memory I would say that the NE-7Ms have similar bass quantity, but again are less boomy and overbearing.
I agree with other reviewers that the mids are less present than with the Shures or with the NE-8s, but not really distractingly so. I wouldn't say that they're lacking in mids, per se.
I would also say that the highs are comparable to the Shures, but less detailed and present than the NE-8s. This combined with the mids makes me prefer the NE-8s, but only by a small margin and only for certain music. I definitely prefer the NE-7Ms to the E2cs.
They're also more efficient than the NE-8s and are easily driven by my 5th gen iPod, which is very nice.
The mic seems to be of good quality, too, and my girlfriend sounds better talking into the NE-7Ms than she does straight into her iPhone!
The construction also seems very good. The driver casing is made of bronze-colored metal and I would imagine that it would last a long time. The wires are thinner than on the E2cs, but are more pliable and seem less likely to crack over time.

In short, I have a hard time either recommending the NE-7Ms or steering people clear of them. I realize that our experience with these 'phones is highly personal, but there are a lot of problems we've come across. On the other hand the sound quality on these is second to none within the price range. There are probably very few IEMs out there worth more bang for the buck... if you can get them to work. If not, what's the point?

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, November 13, 2008

By 

Andy S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: NuForce - NE-7M - Earphones (Electronics)

In need of earphones for the few occasions when my regular computer-based speaker system would prove too loud, I looked around for a while but could not find anything that would fit my needs and my budget...I really liked the offerings available from Shure but they simply cost too much for the amount I would be using them. As a secondary concern, I wanted something with a microphone, as I plan on purchasing an iPhone (or another smartphone, if somebody can come up with something better) in the very near future. Shure offers this as well, but as an add-on (even more money). Enter...NuForce!

I was already very, very happy with my NuForce Icon, paired with the NuForce S-1 Speaker, so taking a chance with NuForce again wasn't that big of a deal...sure, I could have always returned them, but it was nice to know that even if I loved them, I wouldn't be out a lot of money.

I received the NE-7M very recently and have been loving them...they provide a clear, open sound, just as I've come to expect from NuForce. Its possible that some other earphones would give "more" bass, but at the expense of overall clarity and balance. It took some trial-and-error with the included ear-tips to get the best fit...I settled on the 2nd smallest. Not only did they fit the best, but they also provided the best sound isolation and bass response...this was immediately noticeable when comparing them directly. With the other tips, the bass was lacking...once I got the right fit, it came out with a vengeance.

I have not yet had a chance to use the microphone, but hopefully I will soon...whether it be the iPhone or something else. I might try Skype in the meantime just to get a handle on it.

I am very pleased with these earphones...they fit comfortably, block out ambient sound very well, and (most importably) sound fantastic. Very three dimensional. That they are half the price of any other reasonable competition is the icing on the cake. If I have one complaint...and its a minor one...its that I would have picked a different accent color if given a choice (the pair currently available has a gold accent...I would preferred silver or all black). Not a huge deal, as the color is just a small portion of an already small earphone, but I figure its worth mentioning.