Today I'm taking a look at the NICEHCK Yuandao earphones. I've been using a pair of Sony MDR-E9LP earphones for a long time, and while they're alright, I wanted to see what other options of a similar form factor and price might be out there.
Check out the video on YouTube for more information and audio samples:
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| The NICEHCK earphones up close. |
The NICEHCK packaging is pretty simple, not much to it, though it does have some information printed on the back. Inside, you get the earphones and some standard foam ear covers.
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| Included foam ear covers for the earphones. |
Both the NICEHCK and the Sony use a standard TRS connection point. One difference I noticed right away is the connector style. The NICEHCK ones have a straight connector, while the Sony pair I have uses an angled one. For my specific use case, plugging into my computer, the straight style on the NICEHCK is actually preferable.
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| Comparing the straight TRS connector of the NICEHCK (top) to the angled connector of the Sony (bottom) |
Now, let's talk about the cable. I compared the full length of both cables. The Sony cable turned out to be slightly longer than the NICEHCK cable. That was a bit disappointing for me, as I was actually hoping for something longer. I guess I should have paid closer attention to the length specification when I ordered. Of course, you could always use an extension cable if needed (I ended up doing this without issue...).
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| Caption: Holding up both sets of earphones to compare the overall cable lengths. |
Looking at the earphones themselves, the NICEHCK earphone body is noticeably larger than the Sony one.
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| Earphone sizing. |
I decided to do a quick fit test with the NICEHCK and the Sony. I put both earphones in, one in each ear. Then I shook my head around a bit. The Sony earphone actually fell out, while the NICEHCK one stayed securely in place. So, at least for my ears, the physically larger earphone seems better with the NICEHCK.
Let's look at the specs quickly. The Sony packaging claims a frequency range of 18Hz to 22,000Hz. The NICEHCK specifications state a range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz. On paper, the Sony seems to have a slightly wider frequency range.
However, there's a significant difference in driver size. The NICEHCK uses a 15.4mm driver, while the Sony has a 13.5mm driver. That's quite a difference, and you'll notice that from the larger driver in the lower frequencies.
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| Highlighting the NICEHCK earphone while discussing its 15.4mm driver size. |
To get a sense of the sound difference, I did a quick test using an external audio recorder. I played the same audio clip through each set of earphones, placing the earbud right next to the recorder's microphone for each test.
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| A visual representation of the recorded sound waveforms for both earphones as shown in the video. |
So far, based on this initial look, these NICEHCK Yuandao earphones seem pretty nice. They come at a comparable cost and offer a deeper sound profile. My main wish is that the cable were longer. They seem like a decent option if you're looking for basic, budget-friendly earphones.
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| Holding the NICEHCK Yuandao earphones after the review. |
If you want to hear the sound comparison test and see the full review, check out the video version of this on YouTube.
Check out the earphones through my links:
- NICEHCK: https://amzn.to/41GERAU
- Sony: https://amzn.to/41HqDzQ