Sound Analysis.

I analyzed N8iii sound performance, using my reference Aroma Jewel IEMs, while playing a variety of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel’s “The Curse”, Sandro Cavazza’s “So much Better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool’s “Never Go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love Again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, Bob Marley “Jamming”, David Elias “Vision of her”, Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”, and SaberZ “Without your love”.  The DAP was already burned in with many hours of playback, although I don’t know the exact number.

As I always say, I prefer to describe the DAP’s sound by comparing it to other DAPs and by pairing it with different IEMs/headphones, since the DAP itself doesn’t have a distinct sound.  What we perceive is how it sounds through connected IEMs/headphones, or the differences in sound when comparing sources using the same pair of IEMs/headphones.  Unfortunately, since this was a very short-term loaner, I didn’t have time to dive into my usual multi-IEM and headphone analysis.  Also, I don’t have access to the N30LE or EvoOne.  It’s impossible to compare with a distant memory when I had those on loan, making any analysis misleading, even if you try.  In this Sound Analysis section, I will summarize my findings across various sound settings in a shorter analysis.  Then, in the comparison section, I will go into more detail.  This is my subjective opinion, detailing how I hear it as I analyze the N8iii sound.

Solid State timbre – I hear a neutral-natural tonality, a wide, expansive soundstage, and a smoother presentation of the sound.

Modern Tube timbre – I hear the tonality to be still natural, but there is also more texture in mids, no distortion, just a slight sound diffusion that takes the edge off the “sharp” edges of transient note response.  From a technical perspective, it’s a step up in holographic soundstage expansion with more expanded vertical dynamics.

Classic Tube timbre – I hear a more tubey, textured, analog tonality, with more noticeable diffusion and a laid-back smoothness.  Resolution and detail retrieval are not compromised, and the sound remains dynamic and expansive, with a noticeably holographic expansion of the soundstage.

Class AB to A and A+ amp types – The AB sounds tighter, faster, and more precise.  Switching to A gives the sound a smoother, more lively presentation.   A+ is like a hybrid mode that retains the articulation and speed of Class AB while adding the smoothness and texture of Class A.  This was my favorite amplifier type.

Switching from P to P+ power mode improves the performance of hybrid IEMs or anything with a DD driver, giving it more control, especially in note decay, and a more impressive punch with faster note attack.

Hyper mode felt like an adrenaline boost, injecting the sound with greater dynamic response, improved layering and separation, greater clarity, and a more “live” 3D feel.  A lot of it will depend on your IEMs’ or headphones’ capabilities, since you can’t polish the… you know what.  But it really felt like a steroid enhancement shot when I switched to Hyper mode, which, as already mentioned, engaged a maximized P+ mode and Class A+ amp type.

I have to mention the very impressive black background and dynamic sound expansion at both micro- and macro-dynamics levels, as well as the improved layering and separation of the sounds, while still keeping it smooth and natural.  Also, in my test with sensitive IEMs, while comparing N8iii vs C9ii using CFA Andro ’20.  I set N8iii to “extreme” with Classic Tube, High Gain, P+ power mode, Class A+ amp type, and there was zero hiss, enabling me to hear a pure black background during playback in quiet passages of the song or while idling.  With C9ii, under similar settings, there was a noticeable waterfall hiss.

Line Out test

I’m starting to make it a habit in my flagship DAP testing to check pure LO performance.  This LO test was done using the N8iii in Solid State vs. the SP4000, since they both use the same AKM chipset.  Furthermore, I used a WATATSUMI amp and an OROCHI IC as my neutral natural external “buffer”.  While WATA is not exactly a neutral reference amp, it is more neutral than the C9ii.

This is going to be a short comment since I didn’t find any difference in tonality or technical performance with either of DAP’s LO outputs.  Both are very clean and dynamic, with a deep, bottomless black background.

Comparisons.

In this section of my review, I will present two critical comparisons.  First one is N8ii vs N8iii, trying to match and compare their various modes and settings.  And the second comparison will be N8iii vs SP4000 w/C9ii, since SP4k has a similar AKM chipset and C9ii has similar amp and timbre modes.  I will use “ii” to reference N8ii and “iii” to reference N8iii.

N8ii vs N8iii

Both with SS, P+, HG, Class AB – ii has a bit colder and more revealing tonality in mids and a little more sparkle in treble, while iii has smoother and more textured mids and treble, and a bit more coloring in mids.  Both have a similarly resolving sound.  iii background is a little blacker, which makes the perception of its sound to be tighter, especially when focusing on mid-bass punch, while ii is a bit more relaxed.  Also, the iii soundstage spreads just a little more to the left/right, and imaging expands more as well.

Both with Tube, P+, HG, Class AB – when switching ii to tubes and with iii in Modern Tube mode, their tonality is not too far off, adding more texture to the sound, expanding dynamics (similar effect with both DAPs where vertical dynamics does expand with tubes), having similar holographic level of imaging. However, iii soundstage is still wider, with some of the sounds surrounding you.  But then, you can take iii to another level with Classic Tube, which gives the sound a more tubey, slightly diffused tonality and a more laid-back smoothness.

Both with Tube, P/P+, HG, Class A – when switching amp to Class A, in P power mode, the sound is very similar when iii is in Modern Tube mode, perhaps with iii just a touch wider in soundstage; otherwise, very similar.  And that is where the similarity ends because ii has only one tube mode, and in Class A, it can’t switch to P+ power mode. Then, iii starts scaling up when switching to P+, with more expanded dynamics, blacker background, and more articulate mid-bass punch.  Next, when you switch iii to Classic Tube, you get more texture and smoothness, with a delicate tube “diffusion” effect, without excessive distortion, while maintaining a similar level of resolution.

What gets even more interesting is when you switch iii to Class A+, which is really like a hybrid Class A/AB mode, giving you the speed, the tightness, the articulation with more precision of Class AB, yet the smoothness and the textured undertone of Class A.  When you switch between AB and A and focus on the background, AB makes the background blacker, and sounds have a faster transient response, while A “slows” things down a bit.  Here, with A+, it felt like the transient response of sounds, the speed at which they were popping out of the darkness, was similar to AB, yet the edges of the sound still had a smoothness which is typical of A.

On top of that, iii offers you a Hyper mode, which is their optimized Power mode (P+) and Amplifier type (A+).  Besides a bump in the power, the change felt like an application of a high-res dynamic filter, with an injection of a more energetic sound response, with more clarity, with improved layering and separation of the sound, hence my reference to “dynamic filter”, with timbre sounding more realistic and vibrant.  This change will be very IEM/headphones-dependent and will depend on how your transducers respond to the boost of Hyper mode. Still, after trying Hyper in Classic Tube mode, I couldn’t go back to any other setting because this felt like perfection in tuning.

N8iii vs SP4000 w/C9ii

With SS, Class AB – Under these settings, iii tonality is slightly less colored, more neutral-ish in comparison to C9ii being a bit warmer.  Also, when both are in SS timbre mode, the C9ii soundstage is slightly more holographic.  If you switch iii to Hyper mode, its soundstage expansion is larger than that of the C9ii.

With Modern Tube, Class AB – very similar tonality, tonal coloring between iii and C9ii, but a step up in retrieval of details from iii. You still hear a tubey texture from iii, but with cleaner detail retrieval and higher resolution.  One noticeable thing is the blacker background of iii and no hissing with sensitive IEMs.

With Classic Tube, Class AB, A, and Hyper – in this comparison, it is hard to tell them apart under either AB or A amp type.  When I switched to Hyper mode, iii retrieval of details scaled up a bit, and its black background became more apparent, especially in how tighter, faster, and more articulate the sounds in comparison to C9ii.  And again, iii has zero hissing with sensitive IEMs compared to C9ii.

Conclusion.

As I usually say, and continue to repeat, when it comes to flagship DAPs, it is not always about which one is better.  Every manufacturer puts their best effort into the design of the next flagship model.  And the best DAP for you is the one that offers the best synergy with your favorite earphones or headphones.  Of course, it’s a subjective opinion because we all have different preferences in sound and use different IEMs and headphones.  But when we have access to more sound-shaping tools within a DAP, we no longer have to worry about which source to use or which modular card to switch to; instead, we use the available tools within a source to fine-tune the pair-up synergy.  Again, it’s almost like a modular design, except under software control, where you don’t need to buy additional modules or switch between modules.

With N8iii, just like with N30LE, you have access to even more options and setting combos than with N8ii, allowing you to switch between Solid State or dual NuTubes in Classic or Modern modes, Class A, Class AB, or a new “hybrid” Class A+ amp mode, extra voltage boost going from P to P+, and also a gain control on top of that.  Or you can go straight to Hyper mode for supercharged P+/Class A+ performance.  Basically, you are in full control of how you mix and match these settings.  And if you want richer sound coloring, you can choose between a regular Line Out and a Pre-Amp output for greater flexibility when using an external amp.  With all these tuning options, you have access to multiple tools to fine-tune the N8iii’s sound to perfection, allowing you to achieve optimal synergy with your favorite IEMs and headphones.

Also, worth mentioning that at its baseline setting, you can find some common ground between N8ii and N8iii, but N8iii takes off with many more sound-shaping and enhancement options, making it a clear step up in every aspect compared to N8ii.  I wouldn’t even think twice if you are looking to upgrade your N8ii.  If you already own N30LE, you might argue that N8iii has too many similarities and is more of an enhanced side grade than an upgrade.  But if you were not able to get your hands on a very limited release of N30LE, now is a good chance to get one, since the N8iii is cheaper than the N30LE, and this “other” limited release is still available.