Tonality – The NT-8 pursues a reference-style sound as demonstrated by its mostly neutral tone. However, it is noticeably coloured within the midrange and high-end where it showcases enhanced vocal clarity and a brighter background on behalf of a centre midrange push in addition to middle-treble. Treble manages great headroom and detail presence without skewing excessively bright as a result of its excellent technical ability. This earphone is an excellent example of a high clarity sound without the associated thinness.

Bass – The first aspect of the NT-8’s low-end that stuck out to me was its extension. It is shockingly good for a BA earphone while maintaining great cleanliness. Sub-bass has a touch of additional emphasis which draws attention to this facet and, as a result, this earphone has solid slam and impressively defined rumble. This provides volume to the NT-8’s sound that a surprising amount of BA earphones lack. Mid-bass is neutral and a more reserved upper-bass instigates a clean sound that isn’t lacking in body but does operate in the absence of warmth.

Specifically, this tuning contributes towards a neutrally toned bass with a similarly neutral note size. Control is terrific and bass is lightning fast. It is extremely tight with concise slam that, combined with strong extension, makes the NT-8’s low end quite hard-hitting. As expected, these qualities result in excellent separation producing a hyper-defined low-end, and its strong technical qualities permit the retrieval of fine details and textures. The NT-8 isn’t a bass emphasized earphone, however, it doesn’t come across as remotely anemic either. It is a clean, expansive and superbly detailed, flatters all genres of music.

Mids – When reference or neutral is mentioned in a review, I usually expect a thinner sound. Yet, though the NT-8 isn’t particularly full or warm, its midrange is quite musical and certainly easier on the ear than most bright tuned monitors. I would attribute this to the lower-midrange with bass/midrange separation achieved through upper-bass as opposed to lower-midrange attenuation in addition to emphasized vocals that draw attention. As the lower-midrange remains well present, midrange notes are filled-in, lacking hollowness and coolness while contributing towards a more natural vocal reconstruction. The centre midrange stands out most, arguably in the whole frequency range to my ears, and this brings vocals to the fore.

As emphasis persists into the upper-midrange, clarity is enhanced as is the immediacy of the monitor’s vocals without veering into excessive forwardness, undoubtedly a prime strength of the NT-8. And, as observed on many modern earphones, the NT-8 employs a gradual 4KHz dip to aid density and it sounds delightfully refined and silky smooth as a result. The NT-8 is for the vocal lover. That’s not to say instruments aren’t flattered, the earphone’s extended bass and clean treble ensure they never become overshadowed. It has a neutral tone, excellent transparency and is also incredibly revealing.

Highs – The NT-8 strikes as a crisp monitor with an open image. This is achieved through a moderate 8KHz middle treble peak that grants foreground details a very pristine sense of clarity while enhancing air. Meanwhile, lower-treble is less present, in line with the earphone’s 4KHz trough. This serves the midrange, aiding a smooth vocal reconstruction while preventing the earphone from sounding bright as middle-treble emphasized monitors usually do. The result is an earphone that retains plenty of foreground detail and a surprising amount of attack that maintains air, openness, and atmosphere without fatigue or sibilance.

Higher up, fair upper-treble emphasis can also be observed which highlights the NT-8’s stunning treble extension and resolution. This is an earphone teeming with micro-detail and sparkle, resolution is exceptional, staying true to its status as a TOTL product. Nonetheless, treble isn’t tizzy or off-timbre. It is a touch thin due to a bias in middle over lower-treble, especially due to attenuation of the 5KHz region, however, few would have problem with the NT-8’s keen ability to balance cleanliness, detail presence, and brightness while upholding outstanding technical ability.

Soundstage – Soundstage expansion is a specialty of the NT-8, a by-product of its sensational extension. The earphone flatters live recordings and thoroughly enthralls the listener. Width is especially impressive, stretching well beyond the head while depth, though more intimate, remains a strong performer given that its vocals are fairly forward. Imaging is razor sharp with quick transients, sharp directional cues and a strong centre image for vocals. The NT-8 errs on the side of transparency and neutrality equating to high separation throughout without sounding sparse. The NT-8 is well-layered but layers aren’t hyper-defined like earphones with a darker background. Nonetheless, the earphone has adequate midrange body and enhanced density yet quick decay and a neutral tone that ensure a hyper-defined listen with easily discerned micro-detail and placement.

Drivability – The NT-8 is easy to drive with a 110dB sensitivity and a 16.5ohm impedance. It is also fairly sensitive to hiss and, due to its high driver count combined with a relatively low impedance, is quite source dependent due to output impedance. Pairing the NT-8 with a higher impedance source such as the Hiby R6 immediately yields roll-off on either end, providing a more relaxed sound. Highs are notably muted, lacking crispness and air while vocals become more laid-back. Bass becomes more diffuse and the sound is less focussed in general. Those averse to a bright background may want to experiment with impedance adapters as you do retain a very detailed sound, though undeniably the earphones sound most true from a low impedance source.

It sounds great with a bit more current output but some slight warmth subjectively helps the low-end. The DX200 is an excellent mate up top with its crisp foreground and cleaner background that compliments the NT-8’s inverse treble tuning. The result is a meticulously controlled sound with great speed, soundstage expansion and sharp imaging. Though my Pixel 3 has a low OI, it was a markedly less dimensional and dynamic sound, lacking the speed and impact of the iBasso player. Being so resolving, the NT-8 takes full advantage of high-quality sources though its excellent tonality can still be very much enjoyed with any source sporting a low output impedance such as the Shanling M0.


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