NICEHCK DB2 featuring NICEHCK CYAN CABLE: A TRANSITIONAL TUNING

This review content will be quite special as this is actually my first assessment of a NICEHCK product. I've seen this audio brand before on some e-commerce sites that I've visited as they sold some upgraded cables, earbuds and IEMs like NX7, DB1 and DB3. It is said that this audio company is known for their high quality cables and I will also include their latest upgraded cable here in this review article.

What I have here right now is their latest entry-level hybrid driver configuration IEM, the NICEHCK DB2. As an IEM earphone with hybrid driver set-up, the DB2's internal was arrayed with one dynamic driver and one balanced armature driver. The dynamic driver that was implemented here is a 10mm high quality magnet with titanium-coated graphene diaphragm for tensile strength and flexibility that will handle low and midrange frequencies to have a better transient response, low distortion and efficiency for tactile bass and clearer sound. The balanced armature will be solely responsible for the high frequencies in which it gives a more brighter sound and better resolution capability. Aside from the drivers, NICEHCK also implemented a PCB board and fabric mesh for better audio signal  frequency separation and improving its acoustic dampening.

The drivers and other components are encased in a composite shell housing and somehow, it is quite compact. Its cavity base is made of a clear polycarbonate while its faceplate is an aluminium alloy with laminated acrylic resin on its surface, and its nozzle is made of brass. The aesthetics on its faceplate is quite a looker as it reminds me of a nacre shell of a molluscs with blue-ish iridescent colour patterns. There's a vent hole in a cavity base where the dynamic driver was situated for releasing excess air pressure from inside. This set uses a NXP/TFZ-type of bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism which is quite uncommon.

The fitting of this set is somehow comfortable and it rests well into my lugholes without any issues at all like ear fatigue and discomfort. Its compact design provides a good passive noise isolation as it is able to block some unwanted noises from the outside surroundings.

The stock cable of this one is decent enough as it is a 4-core high purity OFC cable that was twisted and it has a L-shaped gold-plated 3.5mm single-ended termination plug.

Speaking of cable, I would like to interject another cable that NICEHCK sent to me along with this set. This one is more of an upgraded cable which is quite thicker than the stock cable and it was twisted and braided from termination up to the bi-pin connectors. It has a cyan colour scheme which makes it more appealing-looking on the aesthetics of your IEM if the colour matching is right. Its 4-core OCC silver-plated copper cable with each segment are insulated with nylon fabric for less wear, better handling and resistance to entanglement. It also has a solid metal alloy on connector shield, termination shield, chin slider and splitter parts, while the 4.4mm balanced termination plug and 2-pin connectors are gold-plated for better conductivity and resistance to corrosion.

The product packaging of the NICEHCK DB2 is on a medium-sized rectangular box. The printed illustration of its front panel looks pleasant as the company's anime mascot, Tian Hui as it looks so lively to stare upon, isn't she cute?

On the back part of the packaging box, there's a product specification, company address, email and contact number.

Here are the following contents inside of NICEHCK DB2 packaging box:

• Pair of NICEHCK DB2 IEM transducers
• Stock cable
• YP-leather storage pouch with metal hinge clasps.
• Three (3) pairs of narrow bored grey-coloured ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Four (4) pairs of balanced bore opaque silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Pair of balanced bore white-coloured ear tips.
• Postcard of Tian Hui
• Paperwork like Q.C. stub, user manual and contact card

As for power scaling, DB2 is a fairly sensitive set that it is easy to amplify even by sources with decent power output like smartphones, tablets and laptops. A decent power output is enough for this set to deliver a full range and vivid sound.

Regarding its tonality, with more emphasis on lows and high frequencies with a notched midrange presentation, The NICEHCK DB2 is definitely a V-shaped sounding set.

LOWS/BASS:

It seems that the low frequency of this set is more focused on the sub-bass rather than the mid-bass. The bass response of this one is quite rumbling, tight, hollow and a bit imprecise that I am trying to figure out on where's the texture, depth and volume on this one.

While it has a good sub-bass presence on this set as its reverberation from certain instruments like low tone bass guitars and synthesisers are clearly manifesting on most tracks with strong sub-bass presence like  and synth-pops, the mid-bass appears to sound lean and definitely lack of texture to give a more natural and correct tone on bass-centric instruments. Bass kick drums have a hollow and soft sound while cellos sound soft and less weighty. Bass guitars have dull and hollow sound from its string notation on either plucking, strumming, slapping or fretting. Bass-baritone vocals have a leaner, soft and hollow sound due to lack of depth and lighter tone. I've listened to some artists like Bryn Terfel, Barry White and Louis Armstrong that demand more texture and volume to project their vocal rendition properly.

MIDRANGE:

The first thing I noticed regarding this set is on how it was tuned was the depression of its midrange is clearly perceivable across its frequency range. It has this inherent leanness on its texture but it is transparent and smooth sounding with a little bit of energy to give an enough firmness on female vocals namely sopranos.

Male vocals sound a bit too transparent, glossy and sleek as baritones sound less lush but its smoothness and velvety sound characteristics are enough for light and lyric baritones but not on deeper ones like Kavalier baritone, Verdi baritone and dramatic baritones. Some tenors and countertenors will fare a bit better on this one as they sound clear, spicy, tender and emotive respectively. On female vocals, contralto-type singers like Anggun, Annie Lennox and Toni Braxton will sound less appealing as they sound too shallow, lack of richness and huskiness of their vocals appears inadequate in my liking. Mezzo-sopranos have smooth and sensitive sound in which I consider as good enough, while the sopranos have gleaming, light and sweet sounds which are well-suited on soubrette types of soprano singers and its similar vocal range like Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles and Belinda Carlisle.

When it comes to instruments, on woodwinds, concert flutes have light and soft sound, while the piccolos have graceful and light sound on them. Saxophones have a mellow, gentle and plaintive sound and the clarinets have gentle and round sound. Brass instruments like trumpets, trombones and horns, they sound full, soft and distant consecutively. Percussive instruments like snare drums, tom-toms, field drums and kettledrums, snares have dry and clattering sound, tom-toms have resonant but lacks warmth, field drums appears to have gloomy and shuffling sound, and then on kettledrums, they sound muffled and soft. Chordophones like pianos appear to sound soft and smooth due to some lack of warmth. On strings, guitars sound smooth and buttery while violins have a lustrous and solemn sound though in some tracks they sound a bit muffled.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

While the upper-mids up to the presence part of the treble region appears to be elevated and perceived dip somewhere in between presence part and brilliance part of the treble region, its treble response is on the balanced side as it sounds neither too bright or dull sounding. While its vocal definition and attack of instruments appears to be soft and smoothen, that dip that I've mentioned will somehow lessen sibilance and it won't sound harsh at all.

On the brilliance part, it appears to have an insufficient amount of treble but at least it has a sheen of its sparkle. While the hi-hats has a more correct tone as they have that shortened buzz sound, the cymbals sounds soughing and lustrous, and in some instances, a tad dull while the glockenspiel have a soft and lustrous sound, and then celestas have mellow and velvety sound on them.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Its perceived sound/speaker stage appears to be on the average size; average width spans, decent height and depth that gives me less roomy head room within my aural perception.

Stereo imaging is rather a bog-standard two-dimensional presentation but to my surprise, the positioning of instruments and vocals in a decently layering of frequencies and tones in a sonic canvas are somehow well-placed and it has a good separation on them.

Cohesive performance of its hybrid driver set-up is good enough as its dynamic driver has a fast transient response and less distortion on them while the balanced armature did its function as a supporting one for better clarity of its sound. Resolution capabilities of this set is quite decent, while it doesn't have a solid macro-dynamics for its note density but its micro-detailing is sufficient enough as it decently retrieves some nuances and subtleties of notation attacks and vocal ends albeit nor quite less sharp on its definition.

PEER COMPARISONS

CVJ NAMI

• This set was released last year and it is CVJ's current hybrid driver for the budget-tier segment. Like the DB2, it has 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature driver and it was also encased in a composite shell chassis. But the difference between them was that Nami has a QDC-type of connector, a tuning toggle switch and a better stock cable which is a modular one.
• Due to implementation of tuning toggle switches, it offers three different types of V-shaped sound profile from warmer to brighter tone. The bass response of Nami is more textured and sounds more authoritative, has a good presence of warmth if it was set in that mode that will give more note weight in male and brass instruments and a brighter treble response on a bright V-shaped mode but it should be noted that shrill, bright intensity and sibilance might occur. Technical performance-wise, both of them have average sound/speaker stage size, but the DB2 is a bit better at layering while the Nami has better resolution capabilities.

EPZ K1

• K1 has a similar driver configuration with the DB2 as it also has a 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature driver on each side of its transducers, but the K1 has a more premium-looking shell chassis as it is made of resin shells in a more conventional UIEM form factor. Product packaging and presentation this set is also comparable to DB2 in terms of quantity of inclusions.
• The K1 has a bright U-shaped sound and if it will be compared to DB2, the bass response of this one is more punchy and impactful, less recessed but warmer and plush midrange presentation which makes this one better in male vocals and a brighter and energetic treble presentation but there's some instances of shrillness on female vocals. On technicalities, the K1 has a wider sound/speaker stage, similar projection on stereo imaging and a more solid resolution capability.

As I concluded my review on NICEHCK DB2, this set is an affordable set that will let you experience the dawn of entry-level Chi-Fi tuning back in mid to late 2010s if you are interested in the evolution tuning flavours. If you are a casual-type of listener who wants to be a budding audio enthusiast seeking an improvement of sound quality from your typical “consumer-grade” headphones and earphones, this set might be a good option as it maintains a more musical and fun sound with some noticeable improvements.

NICEHCK DB2 and NICEHCK CYAN upgraded cable are now available at NICEHCK Official Online Store in ALIEXPRESS. Just check out the unaffiliated links below.

★★NICEHCK OFFICIAL STORE - ALIEXPRESS★★

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: NICEHCK DB2

IMPEDANCE: 16Ω

SENSITIVITY: 107dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M

PIN TYPE: TFZ/NXP-TYPE 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (1) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER

PROS:

NICEHCK DB2

● Somehow it has a decently solid construction of its shell chassis and is sort of lightweight.

● Available in three (3) colour options.

● Three (3) choices of ear tips to choose from according to our fitting preferences and possible improvement of certain sonic output.

● Stock cable appears to be decent and quite supple.

● Easy to drive

● Seems fairly good on some female vocals.

● Can be perceive as a clean bass

● Sounds pleasant on woodwinds.

● Smooth and balanced treble response.

● Overall, it has a smooth and transparent sound. Sibilance is kept under control.

● Somehow it has good separation and layering

NICEHCK CYAN CABLE

● Durable and well-constructed as it exudes a high quality one.

● Tightly braided and twisted strands for better transmission.

● Sheathed nylon fabric for added protection and entangle-resistant.

● Moderately textured cable that makes it more pliable.

● Solidly-built metal parts on plug shield, splitter, chin slider and receptacle shield.

NICEHCK DB2

● Steep V-shaped sounding

● Midbass appears to be less textured as it delivers less punchy bass response.

● Recessed and lean midrange presentation

● Hollow sounding male vocals.

● Not for contralto vocals as they sound a bit scant on note texture.

● Less natural and less engaging sounding on instruments particularly brass and percussives.

● Less airy treble response.

● Perceived sound/speaker appears to be on average size.

NICEHCK CYAN CABLE

● Wondering if this thing would have a modular feature, a detachable termination plug would be a better choice on this one.

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*

P.S.

I am not affiliated to NICEHCK 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 MS. VIVIAN for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.