CVJ NAMI: Sonic Wave
"Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it"
~~Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman Emperor, Military leader and Philosopher, Author of Meditations.
Nami means "Wave" in Japanese. The kanji character literally translates it as "Water Skins". The latest CVJ product takes some inspiration from troughs and crests forms of waves from the seas. This is CVJ Nami, this is their latest entry-level hybrid driver IEM with tuning switches. This is currently the cheapest set with modular cable set-up albeit it only includes a standard termination plug. Somehow CVJ takes a right direction on this one.
The CVJ Nami's pair of transducers have a shell chassis made of composite materials like aluminium alloy on its faceplate and polycarbonate plastic on its cavity base. The drivers inside consisting of single dynamic driver and a balance armature driver. The said dynamic driver has a newer type that it has a 10mm, thin magnesium-aluminium alloy as its diaphragm to deliver a very responsive low frequencies with good depth, precise tone, fast transient speed and impact while retaining its tensile strength for long lasting performance. The balanced armature driver is a custom made (probably an E-audio one) to handle the midrange and treble frequencies to have a crisp and detailed sound. Like most current CVJ products, it has toggle switches too for adjusting some parts of sonic frequencies.
It still uses a QDC-type 2-pin connector as its detachable mechanism. But the best implementation of CVJ Nami was the quality of its stock cable. The stock cable is identical to CVJ Freedom's as it is a 4-core, 5N-rated OFC PU (Polyurethane)-insulated copper wires and it has a modular termination plug although it only includes a 3.5mm SE. The cable's quality is quite supple and flexible that it has some resistance to entangling. This is possibly the best stock cable in an IEM product under the US$50 range.
Regarding its fitting and comfort, it seems that it fits well into my lugholes without any issues at all like ear fatigue or any discomfort as I was able to use it for long listening sessions.
As for product packaging, The CVJ Nami is rather basic with its rectangular box having an illustration of the said product at front while some instruction, basic specification and company address at the back. The inclusions are modest in quantity but the modular stock is the equaliser as its selling point.
Here are the following contents inside CVJ Nami's packaging box:
■ a pair of CVJ Nami IEM.
■ stock modular cable.
■ Three (3) pairs of narrow-bored white coloured ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Tuning pin.
■ Paperwork like instruction manual, Q.C. stub and warranty card.
CVJ Nami is actually an easy to amplified IEM as it scales well on sufficient power output even to decent sources like typical smartphones and tablets. So putting it on a better audio source like Hi-Fi DAC dongles would rather be an optional one if you think that it might have a better sound quality.
Despite the implementation of toggle switches, CVJ Nami sound profile still leaning to a V-shaped tuning as it has more prominent bass, a scooped and neutral midrange and an elevated treble response.
Legend: □ = up, ■ = down
■■ - (1 DD) Subwoofer mode - the most "balanced" sounding setting as it has elevated bass and just an ample upper mids peaks just to sound more organic and dynamic.
□■ - (1 DD + 1 BA) HFE mode - V-shaped but it added some boosts on the presence part and some lift on the brilliance part to add more shimmer and add a modest amount of air.
■□ - (1 DD + 1 BA) EHF High Definition mode - This is the brightest setting as it truly boosted up and raise the presence to the brilliance treble frequency to have a crisper and more gleam for clarity, sparkling and copious amounts of detail.
LOWS/BASS:
Authoritative, punchy and very tactual bass response. The dynamic driver that was implemented on this one truly of a good quality as really performance pretty well.
It has a good sub-bass presence as it deliver a perceivable rumble and resonance from instruments like low-tone bass guitars and synthesisers. Midbass seems to have a more prominent role on the low frequencies as it has more body to give well-textured note weight on bass guitars, bass kick drums, violas and bass-baritone vocals. Bass guitars have a weighty and rasping sound as it roars, same as with violas almost the same characteristic albeit more darker while bass kick drums have sustaining and boomy sound from them. Then on bass-baritone vocals, It has good depth and dark tone to give that gravelly characteristic on both voices of Andrew Eldritch and Peter Steele.
MIDRANGE:
As it recessed as it was intendedly tuned. It has texture and warmth that will be favourable on male vocals and brass instruments. On some settings particularly on + 1 BA, it will add some shimmer to give more energy on female vocals and crisper percussive and string attacks.
■■ - this tuning mode has a warmer sound as it gives a heft, depth and texture on most male vocals and some female voice types. Baritones, tenors and contraltos have that fuller and lush sound to give that deep, rich and brassy tone qualities. Brass instruments like trumpets and trombones have a full and solid tone. It is also apparent that it gives a tad warm sound on string instruments as acoustic guitars have a buttery sound while violins have a lustrous and sweet sound. Percussives like timpani have a booming sound while toms and field drums have a rather rounded and deep sound.
□■ - this setting gives a bit of energy and sense of openness on some vocal types particularly on mezzo-sopranos, countertenors and sopranos. Both mezzo-soprano and countertenors have smooth, fiery and piquant sound especially on the hitting the falsetto register of the latter. Sopranos like dramatic and soubrette have these silkiness to give us that angelic and sensuous vocals. Seemingly that it also added a tad brighter tone on some instruments like strings and woodwinds. On guitars either acoustic or electric have a crisp and loaded with overtones especially when using those wah pedals as I listen to some Jimi Hendrix and Yngwie Malmsteem, while on violins, they have this vibrant and liveliness sound on every stroke of its bowstring. Concert flutes have a clear and brilliant sound from them while clarinets and saxophones have those reedy and lively sounds. On chordophones like pianos and celestas, it gives a bright and vibrant tone on the former while it has a glistening and bell-like sound on the latter.
■□ - this particular setting is the boosted version of □■ and even more energetic that it might be too much to some listeners who are particularly sensitive to this tuning. It will give more airy and shimmer on mezzo-sopranos and sopranos. Lyric and coloratura sopranos are able to deliver that shimmering and gleaming vocals that send us to a euphonic and provocative state. Violins have a more metallic tone while trombones and trumpets have those brighter and shrill sounds from them.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
In all types of tuning settings, CVJ Nami's overall treble responses are definitely elevated even on the single DD mode. It has some boost on the upper mids to give more definition and an onset on the expressive tones of some instruments particularly on percussive and also vocals. The presence range seems to have a clarity and detail while it is noticeable that it has a slope down somewhere on that part that it won't have the strident sound.
□■ - About this toggle setting has significant a tad boost on upper mids, presence and a tad boost on brilliance in the treble region to give a shimmer on cymbals strikes. It has more sparkle and an added treble air.
■□ - This mode evidently boosted all parts of the treble region to give that shimmer and sizzle on cymbal strikes and a shrill and piercing sound on glockenspiel. It even improves the treble air and gives more sparkle on harmonic. Treble sensitives should be aware of this type of tuning on this one too as it might cause discordant and ear fatigue.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
CVJ Nami has a rather average sound/speaker stage dimensions as it has an average to above average width span, a decent height reach and a good depth between front to back. This give a moderate head room within my aural sphere.
On imaging, it just simply has a typical two-dimensional, stereo panning which I was able to locate the placements of instruments and vocals. Separation and layering is decent enough for a hybrid driver set-up IEM as it able to give some spacing on each instruments and vocals but the stacking on each frequency and tonal layering of each instruments and vocals on its sonic canvas are rather rudimentary especially if you play more complex tracks.
Cohesiveness of its hybrid drivers seems to perform very excellent and its fast transient performance to deliver that clarity and detail signifies the full-range capabilities of its dynamic driver. The balanced armature driver is able to keep up with the dynamic driver's performance to deliver an intricate sound reproduction and detail and even more detail.
It also has good resolution capabilities as it is able to give a solid macro-dynamics and a decently capable micro-detail retrieval as it was able to draw out some information of details and nuances from audio tracks.
PEER COMPARISONS:
CVJ FREEDOM:
■ Both sisters are of a hybrid driver design but it has added three more balanced armature drivers. Both IEMs have identical stock cables but it has 2.5mm balanced and 4.4mm balanced termination plugs included inside the box. It is also noted that this set is more expensive.
■ Both sets have similar sound signatures but Freedom has four distinctive sound signatures that makes it more versatile compared to its cheaper sister. The U-shaped setting of Freedom has a more refinement of its overall sound quality as it less recessed midrange and smoother treble response. As for technical performance, it has better imaging, separation and layering as it is able to play more complex tracks with more accuracy to pinpoint the placements of instruments and vocals.
BGVP DN3
■ This is actually an old model from BGVP that was released around 2021. The reason I compare this one with CVJ Nami is due to the same price range and also has hybrid driver set-up. It has a CNC-milled aluminium shell chassis along with a 10mm beryllium-coated dynamic and 1 full range BA inside although it doesn't have a tuning switch as it has only one sonic profile. It has more quantity of inclusions like more choices of ear tips and a IEM pouch but the cable is rather mediocre in quality.
■ As for tonality, DN3 has a more neutral sound as it has a mild-U shaped sound profile. It has tighter bass, less recessed, more transparent and clean midrange but the upper-mids is a bit boosted that it has similar treble response with the ■□ mode yet it has less treble air. As for technical aspect, both sets have similar performance with the exception that micro-detail retrieval which Nami fares better on extracting details and nuances.
To sum up my review, it seems that CVJ is now on the blitzkrieg mode of releasing some interesting sets on a monthly basis as it performs decently on tonal and technical aspects. Since the introduction of the CVJ Mei, it is now their turning point that they finally grasp the circumstances of the current state of portable audio market.
CVJ Nami is able to perform decently on both tonal and technical performance. And probabaly, its main selling point will be the inclusion of a good quality stock cable, this is now the set with the best included stock cable in under US$60/£47 and it is also noted that is a modular one too but it only has a 3.5mm termination.
CVJ Nami is now available on CVJ official stores on Shopee and AliExpress. You can also purchase it on HIFIGO.
Here are my previous reviews of some CVJ products before:
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: CVJ NAMI
IMPEDANCE: 22Ω
SENSITIVITY: 114dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: QDC-TYPE 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: MODULAR 3.5MM,
DRIVER UNIT(S): 1 DYNAMIC DRIVER + 1 BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER
PROS:
△ Solid build composite shell chassis.
△ Tuning switches for tonal flexibility.
△ Three types of V-shaped sound profile to choose from.
△ Good quality modular stock cable.
△ Probably the cheapest set with modular stock cable.
△ Its dynamic driver is indeed a high quality one on how it performs excellently.
△ Punchy and robust bass response.
△ Vivid, bright and energetic female vocals on all 1 DD + 1 BA settings.
△ Clarity and detail on treble response.
CONS:
▽ Modular cable yet only standard 3.5mm included?
▽ Just one type of ear tips to choose from.
▽ Recessed midrange presentation.
▽ Treble sensitives should stay cautious on this one, boosted upper mids and presence might be an issue to them especially on 1 DD + 1 BA settings.
▽ Most technical capabilities are rather rudimentary (Just my fastidious nature kicking up but for its asking price, its decent after all)
Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)
Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
P.S.
I am not affiliated to CVJ HIFI nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to the CVJ team especially to CVJ LOVE for sending this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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