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Massdrop x NuForce EDC In-Ear Monitors
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Massdrop x NuForce EDC In-Ear Monitors
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Product Description
Made in collaboration with NuForce, a company that’s brought us high-performance audio gear from nearby Milpitas, California for more than a decade, the EDC in-ear monitors are ready to go everywhere with you. Wear them at home, in the office, at the gym, or while traveling or commuting Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downCEE_TEE
3480
May 25, 2017
Hey Everyone!
Here's a new in-ear monitor (IEM) from us that I'm really excited about. Something the audiophile community has requested for a long time: an inexpensive, removable cable IEM. While that might not sound exciting at first, it's the combination of features plus execution with attention to detail that is hard to find at a low price point. Most companies don’t set out with the clear intention of making the very best entry-level product. They start out with a high-end product and then whittle down features until they feel comfortable selling it for less. The result isn’t a holistically considered product but just a “low-end thing”.
There are a few community-favorite, great-sounding IEMs out there for under $100. The problem has been that if the cable breaks on your $40 "giant-killer" and you need to buy a new one...now it's an $80 IEM with the same risks. But, changing an existing favorite to have removable cables takes: new tooling/molds, reliable connectors, and can also change the sound (many IEMs have small housings and need to be made larger to accept removable connectors). After trying to improve some of the favorite low-cost IEMs, we opened up the search for a partner who understood what we were trying to do and could create a new product for us from the ground up.
There are a couple more requirements the community gave us for this project from all of your requests and feedback online: -A lot of people like the option of a microphone cable, but some audiophiles swear the electronic circuit in the cable changes the sound. Needs to have a microphone cable AND a braided cable. -Even some community-favorite, low priced IEMs can vary a lot between units. If you have to buy more than one unit to get the sound you want, the price increases. So the units have to be consistent to provide value. A requirement for the NuForce EDC is to be within +/-2 dB of left/right channel matching and from the frequency response target. This is being carefully worked on to scale with production.
NuForce is already known for having very comfortable IEMs. We were really happy that they were willing to work with Massdrop and the audiophile community to provide the above and tune an all-around fun, musical sound signature with clarity and bass that works for travel, gym, or quiet listening environments.
Just for fun. My first portable rig amp back in 2010 was...a NuForce!
There are a few community-favorite, great-sounding IEMs out there for under $100. The problem has been that if the cable breaks on your $40 "giant-killer" and you need to buy a new one...now it's an $80 IEM with the same risks. But, changing an existing favorite to have removable cables takes: new tooling/molds, reliable connectors, and can also change the sound (many IEMs have small housings and need to be made larger to accept removable connectors). After trying to improve some of the favorite low-cost IEMs, we opened up the search for a partner who understood what we were trying to do and could create a new product for us from the ground up.
There are a couple more requirements the community gave us for this project from all of your requests and feedback online: -A lot of people like the option of a microphone cable, but some audiophiles swear the electronic circuit in the cable changes the sound. Needs to have a microphone cable AND a braided cable. -Even some community-favorite, low priced IEMs can vary a lot between units. If you have to buy more than one unit to get the sound you want, the price increases. So the units have to be consistent to provide value. A requirement for the NuForce EDC is to be within +/-2 dB of left/right channel matching and from the frequency response target. This is being carefully worked on to scale with production.
NuForce is already known for having very comfortable IEMs. We were really happy that they were willing to work with Massdrop and the audiophile community to provide the above and tune an all-around fun, musical sound signature with clarity and bass that works for travel, gym, or quiet listening environments.
Just for fun. My first portable rig amp back in 2010 was...a NuForce!
Jyri
818
Nuforce
Dec 19, 2017
I am pleased to announce that Massdrop X NuForce EDC has won The Absolute Sound´s Product of the Year 2017 award in earphone/IEM category!
"The Massdrop x NuForce EDC ranks as the most carefully designed and ruggedly built budget in-ear reviewer Steven Stone has seen. Its light weight, compact casing, interchangeable cables, and slightly dark but full range sonics combine to make it his best-buy in-ear monitor - and TAS´ Earphone of the Year. " - Steven Stone, The Absolute Sound (Ultimate Guide to Headphones and Personal Audio)
The Absolute Sound is one of the most respected and oldest Audiophile publications in the USA.
"The Massdrop x NuForce EDC ranks as the most carefully designed and ruggedly built budget in-ear reviewer Steven Stone has seen. Its light weight, compact casing, interchangeable cables, and slightly dark but full range sonics combine to make it his best-buy in-ear monitor - and TAS´ Earphone of the Year. " - Steven Stone, The Absolute Sound (Ultimate Guide to Headphones and Personal Audio)
The Absolute Sound is one of the most respected and oldest Audiophile publications in the USA.
somanysensory
11
Mar 11, 2018
JyriWell deserved as well; I've had these for about 5 months and they've been wonderful for me
CEE_TEE
3480
Jun 16, 2017
UPDATE: 6/29/2017
Just as planned…the launch drop ended in June but we are extending the launch with a drop through July!
More samples and reviews are still in-progress. Thank you for your patience. :)
Catching up after some recent travel, will answer questions here in discussion soon.
POST: 6/15/2017 Hello Everyone,
Some news and updates…
The review process for the NuForce EDC has been taking longer than expected. Some people have samples and some are still waiting for them. In order for more people to have the reviews to make an informed decision, we are going to extend the EDC launch through most of July.
The first drop will close and payment will be captured June 28th. The drop will immediately reopen and run through July 26th. This extension won’t have an impact on the estimated shipping date.
One more thing…
We received feedback from some of the samples that went out. We are slightly changing the EDC connectors from the stock NuForce 0.75mm pin diameter to 0.77 diameter pins and sockets.
What does this mean? It ensures that you can use the EDC with more aftermarket 2-pin cables. You don't have to use proprietary NuForce cables (with the shroud). You can use most 0.77mm 2-pin cables and can also use the new 0.77mm EDC cables with shroud.
Note: You might not get a good connection if you try stock NuForce HEM cables as they have 0.75mm diameter pins.
The EDC pins/sockets will be designed in mass production to work with 0.77mm pins. This tradeoff is important to our community and NuForce has agreed to help us with this change for mass production. Early testing showed that the EDC could accept a range of 2-pin cables, but varying tolerances make this an important change for flexibility with aftermarket cables.
Edited 6/28/2017: Closed initial launch drop and re-opened/extended as planned.
POST: 6/15/2017 Hello Everyone,
Some news and updates…
The review process for the NuForce EDC has been taking longer than expected. Some people have samples and some are still waiting for them. In order for more people to have the reviews to make an informed decision, we are going to extend the EDC launch through most of July.
The first drop will close and payment will be captured June 28th. The drop will immediately reopen and run through July 26th. This extension won’t have an impact on the estimated shipping date.
One more thing…
We received feedback from some of the samples that went out. We are slightly changing the EDC connectors from the stock NuForce 0.75mm pin diameter to 0.77 diameter pins and sockets.
What does this mean? It ensures that you can use the EDC with more aftermarket 2-pin cables. You don't have to use proprietary NuForce cables (with the shroud). You can use most 0.77mm 2-pin cables and can also use the new 0.77mm EDC cables with shroud.
Note: You might not get a good connection if you try stock NuForce HEM cables as they have 0.75mm diameter pins.
The EDC pins/sockets will be designed in mass production to work with 0.77mm pins. This tradeoff is important to our community and NuForce has agreed to help us with this change for mass production. Early testing showed that the EDC could accept a range of 2-pin cables, but varying tolerances make this an important change for flexibility with aftermarket cables.
Edited 6/28/2017: Closed initial launch drop and re-opened/extended as planned.
Jyri
818
Nuforce
Sep 12, 2017
Quick update to everyone. Our (Massdrop and NuForce) quality check and random listening tests were successful! We have shipped the inventory to Massdrop.
- Jyri/NuForce
Kingpoetus
7
Jan 24, 2018
JyriI got mine and opened them. First try and THEY DON'T WORK! What am I supposed to do? I want a pair that work. Please advise.
Kbaum
64
May 2, 2019
JyriHi Jyri. I've been enjoying my EDCs for more than a year now and noticed vocals are more pronounced on the left channel. I've switched cables, sources and then different headphones, hard to take off my hifiman 4xxs, to see where the issue was. The right earpiece is quieter than the left. Can I clean the nozzle and if so how?
cheers
Alan
AveryC
1571
Sep 26, 2017
Hi Everyone! Good news. We’re excited to announce that all units of the Massdrop x NuForce EDC In-Ear Monitors have arrived at the warehouse and we’re planning on sending them out a bit early. They are currently undergoing a quality check, and we expect them to start shipping out by the end of this week (9/29).
If you need to change your delivery address please contact community support through your transactions page (https://www.massdrop.com/transactions) by tomorrow, 9/27 at 5pm PT.
ZeroMaster
46
Oct 7, 2017
I just got mine bro and just like you I am no Audiophile but these IEM are awesome! Very Detailed and Clear with a "touch" of bass that you can only hear in songs that have a bass, they sound kinda similar to my AKG M220 Pro. All in all a good purchase and you Massdrop and Nuforce for the early shipping 👍
Elikookoo
0
Nov 6, 2017
AveryChey i wanted to ask is there any point for w8ing for these ?
i know the drop just ended, will there be a new drop soon or can it take monthes?
jersey_boy
197
Oct 6, 2017
EDITED: revising my post as i spent more time with them and tried them forked with a splitter out of a magni 3 for a bit after letting the amp run them overnight. now that ive spent a little more time i think i can walk it through a little better.
i also own nuforce ne800, hem2, and hem6 (and previously hem4) among dozens of other pairs of iems. the hem shells are my favorite iem shells and these are extremely similar, basically same shape with different materials. they are not as premium feeling as the bigger brother hem's, due to a different plastic being used.
i want to note that while im a HUGE fan of the nuforce hem iem's and own multiple pairs, but i've been consistently disappointed with build quality issues and have had some major defect with every single pair ive bought via massdrop. the ne800m split in half on both sides removing it from the packaging, i fixed this with crazy glue. the hem2 had a dead side and needed to be RMA'd. now, with my nuforce EDC, the inside of the carrying bag is split into pieces. (may edit with a picture later when home). luckily, the phones were ok this time. I will probably just crazy glue this back together, but nobody likes to get a brand new product with stuff like this, it shouldn't happen.
in terms of sound, bass and treble extension are lacking a touch, but the bass is not too bloated for the range that is there. i can clearly differentiate bass notes better on the hem2, the bass on the edc sounds a hair louder to me. there seems to be a little bit of a dip on the lower mids, and the upper mids are more prominent on the edc compared to the hem2. seperation is nice, staging is ok. i can.I use bubbles by yosi horikawa as my test track for imaging and staging usually and it the hem2 is a hair wider and more precise in imaging. Unlike my speakers or higher end stuff where i get a very outside of the head soundstage, these sound like bubbles jumbling all around inside my head, which is pretty neat and they do a decent enough phantom center of the head job when called for too. pretty good performance for the price point. the hem2 is a little more natural/airy presence to the sound, but i think thats a characteristic of ba vs dd, and it's further up the product line.
the hem 2 is definitely a step up in most aspects, but they are anywhere from +5$ to twice the price+ depending on sale pricing and when you buy. given the price on these, they are good, and have removable cables, which is a HUGE plus at this price, and virtually nonexistent on competitors at the price. They sound pretty good, a great everyday carry pair. but they also don't have the super cool pelican case the hem2 has, which is such a great bit of icing for those.
in the end though id grab these if i wanted cheapies with removable cables, but if i wanted better sound, the 1more triples are often found for 75$ ( i paid 65$ shipped for these edc ) and i think the triple sound all around better and sometimes the hem2 can be found deep on sale for anywhere from 70-100. the nuforce ne800m i think is discontinued but it was much better on the bass and more precise, albeit no removable cables, and costs 80$. there is somethign that the hem and edc can do at this price that a lot of other competitors cannot.... you can lie down with these in your ears, they are very narrow profile, and one of the reassons they are some of my favorite shells. That's a HUGE HUGE HUGE plus. they are very low profile and light weight.
for 50-60$ these are pretty great. if i didn't have a ton of expensive stuff, id probably use them more in my daily rotation for work/commute, but i think i'll make these my new gym headphones.
note, i use both the default medium tips and complies too. i prefer the rubber tips to complies on these.
i also own nuforce ne800, hem2, and hem6 (and previously hem4) among dozens of other pairs of iems. the hem shells are my favorite iem shells and these are extremely similar, basically same shape with different materials. they are not as premium feeling as the bigger brother hem's, due to a different plastic being used.
i want to note that while im a HUGE fan of the nuforce hem iem's and own multiple pairs, but i've been consistently disappointed with build quality issues and have had some major defect with every single pair ive bought via massdrop. the ne800m split in half on both sides removing it from the packaging, i fixed this with crazy glue. the hem2 had a dead side and needed to be RMA'd. now, with my nuforce EDC, the inside of the carrying bag is split into pieces. (may edit with a picture later when home). luckily, the phones were ok this time. I will probably just crazy glue this back together, but nobody likes to get a brand new product with stuff like this, it shouldn't happen.
in terms of sound, bass and treble extension are lacking a touch, but the bass is not too bloated for the range that is there. i can clearly differentiate bass notes better on the hem2, the bass on the edc sounds a hair louder to me. there seems to be a little bit of a dip on the lower mids, and the upper mids are more prominent on the edc compared to the hem2. seperation is nice, staging is ok. i can.I use bubbles by yosi horikawa as my test track for imaging and staging usually and it the hem2 is a hair wider and more precise in imaging. Unlike my speakers or higher end stuff where i get a very outside of the head soundstage, these sound like bubbles jumbling all around inside my head, which is pretty neat and they do a decent enough phantom center of the head job when called for too. pretty good performance for the price point. the hem2 is a little more natural/airy presence to the sound, but i think thats a characteristic of ba vs dd, and it's further up the product line.
the hem 2 is definitely a step up in most aspects, but they are anywhere from +5$ to twice the price+ depending on sale pricing and when you buy. given the price on these, they are good, and have removable cables, which is a HUGE plus at this price, and virtually nonexistent on competitors at the price. They sound pretty good, a great everyday carry pair. but they also don't have the super cool pelican case the hem2 has, which is such a great bit of icing for those.
in the end though id grab these if i wanted cheapies with removable cables, but if i wanted better sound, the 1more triples are often found for 75$ ( i paid 65$ shipped for these edc ) and i think the triple sound all around better and sometimes the hem2 can be found deep on sale for anywhere from 70-100. the nuforce ne800m i think is discontinued but it was much better on the bass and more precise, albeit no removable cables, and costs 80$. there is somethign that the hem and edc can do at this price that a lot of other competitors cannot.... you can lie down with these in your ears, they are very narrow profile, and one of the reassons they are some of my favorite shells. That's a HUGE HUGE HUGE plus. they are very low profile and light weight.
for 50-60$ these are pretty great. if i didn't have a ton of expensive stuff, id probably use them more in my daily rotation for work/commute, but i think i'll make these my new gym headphones.
note, i use both the default medium tips and complies too. i prefer the rubber tips to complies on these.
Onslash
166
Oct 14, 2017
Yes , and if you want to flip it back . I can just swap the left and right cables.
Onslash
166
Oct 14, 2017
Im on 20ish burn in now. The bass gets better but still prefer if it would pack more volume. Some songs i notice like taylor swift's look what you made me do , did just fine. But some edm songs sounds lacking the punch. The included foam tips also helps
hatman
364
Jun 4, 2017
Dsnuts, thanks for elaborating further on the differences between your first and second samples. And for disclosing that a second person -- another handpicked reviewer/enthusiast? -- also was given a "dud" by NuForce.
But my question is about what you asked NuForce and what explanation, if any, NuForce gave you for why the company sent such "duds" out for review.
It's not at all unusual for a manufacturer to change a design, particularly a pre-production one, if it thinks it is about to get a bad review.
The explanation you got, if any, is important because, how do we know NuForce won't change its design again if someone else doesn't like the sound?
Thank you again for being a good sport about answering questions.
But my question is about what you asked NuForce and what explanation, if any, NuForce gave you for why the company sent such "duds" out for review.
It's not at all unusual for a manufacturer to change a design, particularly a pre-production one, if it thinks it is about to get a bad review.
The explanation you got, if any, is important because, how do we know NuForce won't change its design again if someone else doesn't like the sound?
Thank you again for being a good sport about answering questions.
hatman
364
Jun 9, 2017
Fortune is not letting me in to read that review, even after I turned off
Adblocker.
micahjrose
126
Jun 12, 2017
I got a bad unit too. Glassmonkey here. I haven't gotten a replacement sample yet.
hatman
364
Jun 1, 2017
After reading the review solicited by NuForce for this drop, I still don't know how these earphones that no one has heard of sound.
Here's how the reviewer describes his first sample:
"I have to admit that the review sample I got ended up being a disappointment due to the sound being overly bassy with no treble. Even with 1 week of driver blasting I thought the guys at Massdrop went over the edge. The sound was terrible. I told them if this is what they have planned for a big release then I questioned their direction. My concerns was quickly met by them overnighting a confirmed good sample. Long story short. The newer sample I got was in deed a different beast! "
Right there is where the reviewer should have said -- this is a red flag, dear consumer, proceed with caution.
What happened between the first sample and the second? No explanation. Would your purchase sound like the first or the second? Who knows?
The reviewer does tell us that, " Disclaimer: No Chinese food was wasted ..." He thinks he is a clever writer. Sadly, this kind of opinion writing does little to enlighten us.
These could be terrific-sounding earphones; we'll never know from this writeup.
In his profile, the writer describes his occupation as, I kid you not -- "Mess with people." Maybe he does that as well with his "reviews."
Here's how the reviewer describes his first sample:
"I have to admit that the review sample I got ended up being a disappointment due to the sound being overly bassy with no treble. Even with 1 week of driver blasting I thought the guys at Massdrop went over the edge. The sound was terrible. I told them if this is what they have planned for a big release then I questioned their direction. My concerns was quickly met by them overnighting a confirmed good sample. Long story short. The newer sample I got was in deed a different beast! "
Right there is where the reviewer should have said -- this is a red flag, dear consumer, proceed with caution.
What happened between the first sample and the second? No explanation. Would your purchase sound like the first or the second? Who knows?
The reviewer does tell us that, " Disclaimer: No Chinese food was wasted ..." He thinks he is a clever writer. Sadly, this kind of opinion writing does little to enlighten us.
These could be terrific-sounding earphones; we'll never know from this writeup.
In his profile, the writer describes his occupation as, I kid you not -- "Mess with people." Maybe he does that as well with his "reviews."
Kciel
1
Jun 18, 2017
Thanks for the response, appreciated.
Well these sound promising. Think I'll join the drop :)
Dsnuts
117
Jun 18, 2017
KcielI am certain for the money MD is asking for these it is a very safe purchase. I have much more expensive earphones that I only wish gave as much value.
The EDCs has the type of sound that might not Wow you on first listen. It is when you listen to them. And get used to them is when they grow on you. Guys will appreciate how natural the sound is.
Give them a solid burn in and try them with your favorite tracks and on all your sources.
Just a guess or a prediction on my part but I think these will become a big hit.
The EDCs has the type of sound that might not Wow you on first listen. It is when you listen to them. And get used to them is when they grow on you. Guys will appreciate how natural the sound is.
Give them a solid burn in and try them with your favorite tracks and on all your sources.
Just a guess or a prediction on my part but I think these will become a big hit.
Ron.bernard
33
Jul 9, 2017
Thanks for extending the drop through July now I can wait what another 4-8 weeks ? This is not fair to the people that already paid for these and are waiting ,,, for you to extend this drop I would not of. Orde these if I knew u were going to do this , I'm still waiting on my last pair of Akg k7xx from 3 months ago ,,, your getting ridiculous massdrop
Dizastrophe
37
Jul 11, 2017
Man your history is nothing but toxic replies. Why are you even on this site?
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