NUARL N10 Plus TWS Earphone Review
NUARL N10 Plus TWS Earphone Review
Introduction:
NUARL is a Japanese company that is specialized in portable audio equipments such like True Wireless & Wired Earphones.
The N10 Plus is the latest member of the ANC (Active Noise Cancelation) capable TWS earphone Series. It features the in house developed [N10] v3 NUARL DRIVER™, which is a 10mm Diameter Full Range Dynamic Driver with a multi layer PTT Diaphragm. The N10 Plus is equipped with a Dual Microphone Configuration that supports a special Ambient Sound Mode and Qualcomm’s cVc technology.
The NUARL N10 Plus is also IPX4 Waterproof that means it’s protected from splashing water, with no matter of direction.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank NUARL for providing me the N10 Plus for review purposes. I am not affiliated with NUARL beyond this review and all these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual price for the NUARL N10 Plus is about $164,00 USD. More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package and Accessories:
The NUARL N10 Plus came in a rectangular stylish box with some product related brandings and illustration.
This box contains the following items;
- 1 pair x NUARL N10 Plus True Wireless ANC Earphones
- 1 pcs x NUARL Charging case
- 4 pairs x Block Ear+ Antibacterial Silicone Ear Tips (S/MS/M/L)
- 2 pair x Silicone Ear Hooks (pre installed)
- 1 pcs x USB Type-C Charging Cable
- 1 pcs x User Manual & Quick Star Guide
Design, Build Quality, Fit & Comfort:
The NUARL N10 Plus was designed by the famous Japanese Product Designer “Akihiro Momozaki” from Battle Design, which is available in two different color option that are Light Olive and Piano Black same like my review unit. The earphone housing is made of plastic material with a glossy surface, which makes the N10 Plus very lightweight with only 7,4grams.
The N10 Plus offers a very comfortable wearing experience thanks to its lightweight housing and the removable rubber ear-hook design. This makes the N10 Plus ideal for exercising or on the go.
On the front of each earpiece is the minimalist looking faceplate that sports the NUARL brand logo and a hole for the special microphone that catches up the ambient sound for the new implemented Ambient Sound Mode features.
Both the left and the right earpiece do have two button one that is located of the rear side of each monitor (sub button) that gives you access to Ambient Mode and that Activates the ANC (Active Noise Cancelation) feature. Here is also the LED status indicator that lights up in different operations modes.
The second button is located on the top of each earphone along with a second microphone hole. This multifunctional button is for actions like play/pause, volume up/down, next/forward, pairing, call answer, etc.
The inner surface of each earphone is made of the same glossy plastic material where you can find the sound nozzle which has a filter on the top to prevent the insertion of unwanted particles like dust, earwax, etc. Here is also an opening that seems like a vent for the 10mm Diameter NUARL [N10] v3 Dynamic Driver.
The inner surface of each earphone sports also the charging ports of the N10 Plus.
Charging Case:
The charging case of the N10 Plus is made from the same plastic material that has a glossy surface. This case has a rectangular shape with dimensions of W95.5 x H39.3x D36.8mm. It weights about 66grams and is equipped with a 760 mAh Li-ion battery that can charge each earpiece up to 6 times.
On the top of the charging case is the NUARL logo while the bottom shows information of the product model and some industrial standards and certification.
On the front of the case is the LED status indicator that gives information like the remaining power of the battery and the charging process.
When you open the case you will see the seats for the earphones the Left / Right markings. These seats have a magnetic surface to ensure the right connection for the charging process and to avoid that the earphones drop out.
On the rear side of the charging case is the hinge mechanism and the USB Type-C charging port that can be charged with the cable that comes in the box when you connect it to your PC or with an adaptor to a wall charger.
At the bottom of the case is a label with some industrial certification and specs of the product.
Battery Life:
Each earpiece is equipped with a 60mAh capacity Li-ion battery that offers an average playtime of approx. 7.5 hours if you do use the earphone with the low latency aptX & aptX codec, while you can increase the battery life up to 9.5 -10 hours when you use the N6 Pro2 with codec’s like AAC or SBC, which is quite impressive.
Technical Specifications:
- Driver Type : Ø10mm NUARL DRIVER N10 v3
- Frequency response : 20Hz – 20kHz
- Bluetooth version : BT5.2 / Class 2 with Multi-pairing up to 4, Multi Point up to 2
- Audio Codec’s : aptX adaptive, aptX, AAC, SBC
- Bluetooth Profile : A2DP, HFP, HSP, AVRCP
- Bluetooth distance : approx. 10 meters
- Microphone : Omni-Direction cVc NC / ANC / Ambient Sound
- Charging case battery: 3.7V 760mAh
- Earphones battery : 3.7V 60mAh for each earphone
- Playtime ANC On : 5 Hours (AAC, SBC), 3.5 Hours (aptX)
- Playtime ANC Off : 7 Hours (AAC, SBC), 5 Hours (aptX)
- Charging time : about 1.5 hours
- Dimensions Case : W95.5*H39.3*D36.8mm
- Dimensions Earphone: W27.6*H18.5*D28.9mm
- Waterproof Level : IPX4
Features:
A) Smartphone application “N10 Connect APP”
The N10 Connect APP is a iOS / Android compatible application that gives you access to the following features that are listed below;
- Adjust the ANC effect level
- Operation Settings for External Sound Intake
- Volume Level Settings
- Equalizer Settings
- Button Settings
- Firmware Updates
B) aptX adaptive & low latency gaming mode
The N10 Plus is equipped with Qualcomm aptX adaptive. When used in combination with a compatible Smartphone, the sound quality and delay will be optimized according to the content. In addition, it is equipped with a unique “gaming mode” that allows low-latency wireless communication to be used even on iOS devices and PCs.
C) Ambient Sound Mode
The Ambient Sound Mode allows you to hear the surrounding sounds while wearing the earphones. By using the Smartphone app “N10 Connect”, it is possible to switch the music playback mode at the same time as capturing external sound.
D) HDDS Technology
The NUARL N10 Plus adopts the patented technology “HDSS” of US T.B.I that suppresses distortion and reproduces a sense of reality. It prevents the localization in the head that is often found in canal type earphones, and reproduces the natural spread of sound with depth and three-dimensionality.
E) Hybrid tuning
The driver is placed in a metal housing that is modularized to give the same analog tone as a single wired earphone. Furthermore, by combining the earphone module with a digital tone that makes full use of the DSP built into the SoC.
Pairing, Navigation, Signal Strength, Latency & Call Quality:
The pairing process of the N10 Plus is very easy, after you put out the earphones form the charging case you need to double click the main button (play button) of the Left earpiece.
You don’t need to re-pair the earphone after the first pairing process; just simply put out the earpieces from the charging case and your phone will automatically recognized and connect them.
The operating distance of the NUARL N10 Plus is about 10 meters that is very stable, both in in-door and outdoor conditions.
The N10 Plus shows a great performance in terms of latency thanks to the Gaming Mode that uses the aptX codec. I didn’t have noticed any significant lip sync issue, while I have watched some YouTube clips and/or movies on Netflix.
The N10 Plus offers one of the best call quality performances I have experienced from a TWS Earphone, thanks to the well implanted Omni-directional microphones that do supports Qualcomm’s cVc noise cancelling feature.
Active Noise Cancellation:
The N10 Plus is equipped with the latest Active Noise Cancelation technology (ANC) that suppresses the effect on sound quality. The performance ok, but not outstanding when I do compared it to the Sony WF-1000XM4 that I have had tested on a local store.
Equipment’s used for this review:
- IEM’s : NUARL N10 Plus, Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2.0
- Source : Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, iPad Air2, FiiO M11 Pro
Albums & tracks used for this review:
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage
- Metallica – Sad but True
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets
- Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone
- Slayer – Angel of Death
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain
- Lorde – Royal Massive Attack – Angel
- Toutant – Rebirth
- Really Slow Motion – Deadwood
- Massive Attack – Angel
- Muse – The Handler
- Twerl – Lishu
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say a Little Prayer
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel
- Sting – Englishman in New York
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On
- Elton John – Rocket Man
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight
- Sting – Englishman in New York
- Casey Abrams – Robot Lovers
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Seasons”
- Otto Liebert & Luna Negra – The River
- Gogo Penguin – Raven
The Sound:
The NUARL N10 Plus shows a V-shaped sound signature and offers a pretty strong and for TWS standards pretty fast bass response thanks to its capable NUARL N10 V3 Dynamic Driver. The midrange is a bit recessed, smooth and musical midrange, while the upper midrange and treble area shows a fairly strong but controlled presentation. The general sound performance of the N10 Plus is pretty darn good for a TWS earphone, especially compared to similar and even higher priced products.
Bass / Midrange / Treble & Soundstage:
The NURAL N10 Plus has a V-Shaped tuning with an audible emphasis on both ends. The subbass region of the N10 Plus shows a fairly good performance in terms of depth and extension, while the general quantity/intensity and rumble is on an average level. The subbass has a warmish and soft tonality that is pretty entertaining in TWS standards when I do listen to a wide variety of genres.
The midbass region is showing a strong and impactful presentation, while they are no negative situations like a midbass hump. The quantity and intensity is above average with strong final hits. The bass of the N10 Plus can be described in general as fast, tight and fairly controlled, which doesn’t shows any remarkable negative situations such like muddiness and mixings.
The midrange of the NUARL N10 Plus is slightly recessed due to its V-shaped sound signature. The midrange shows an efficient sense of transparency, airiness and micro detail retrieval. The lower midrange has a moderate level of depth and body when I do listen to both male voices or to instruments like an acoustic guitar, trumpet or viola.
The upper midrange is slightly more pronounced and detailed compared to the lower midrange area. Female vocals and instruments such like a piano, violin or clarinet do sound fairly pronounced and controlled, while I didn’t hear any remarkable sibilance and harshness when I don’t go to higher volume level.
The treble range of the NUARL N10 sounds fairly energetic and dynamic thanks to the well tuned brightness. The treble extension is slightly short, but more then sufficient for a True Wireless earphone, especially at this price level.
For example, instruments like hi-hats in metal music are slightly recessed, while the hits are quite countable. The general treble intensity and quantity is not too much or to low and will satisfy most of the people who will listen to it. I do really like the balanced and controlled treble tuning of the NUARL N10 Plus.
The N10 Plus has a soundstage that offers enough space for a fairly precise placement of instruments and vocals. The soundstage shows in general an pretty adequate level of depth and wideness that fulfills my expectation from an TWS Earphone.
Comparison:
NUARL N10 Plus versus Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2.0
Both the Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2.0 and the NUAL N10 Plus do have a V-Shaped sound signature that is highly entertaining, while the N10 Plus has a slightly warmer tonality.
The subbass region of both TWS earphones is pretty close in terms of depth, while the N10 Plus shows a bit more intensity and better sense of extension. The midbass of the N10 Plus sound a bit tighter and do show also a better level of authority. However, both TWS earphones are fairly equal in terms of control and resolution in this area.
The midrange of the N10 Plus has a slightly warmer tonality and a softer, more musical presentation, compared to the Momentum TWS 2.0, which has brighter and somewhat unnatural midrange character. Both TWS earphones are petty successful with female vocals due to their energetic upper midrange character, while the NUARL N10 Plus has the slightly edge for male vocals thanks to its lower midrange tuning.
The treble range of both the Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2.0 and the NUAL N10 Plus is pretty bright and dynamic in its presentation. The lower treble range of the N10 Plus has the slightly edge in terms of clarity and resolution. The Momentum TWS 2.0 on the other is more successful when it comes to the upper treble region that shows a slightly better sense of airiness and sparkle.
Both TWS earphones are pretty equal when it comes to the soundstage performance, with minor differences.
Conclusion:
The NUARL N10 Plus is another very versatile TWS earphone of the company that is packed with lots of features such like Active Noise Cancellation, Ambient Sound & Gaming Mode or IPX4 Water Resistance, which moreover offers a decent sound performance with its well adjusts V shaped sound signature that you can enjoy while exercising or on the go.
Pros & Cons:
- + Very enjoyable V-Shaped Sound Signature
- + Lots of Features (ANC, Ambient Sound, Gaming Mode, IPX4 Water Resistance)
- + Fit & Comfort
- + Signal Strength & Battery Life
- + N10 Connect Applications
- – All Plastic Design
- – You May Prefer Touch Controls over Physical Buttons
Thank you for the Read!
