By Nick Smith, 7th April 2024
The path of innovation is a trek through the dark unknown, into the light of discovery.
Years ago Campfire Audio released the Supermoon which captured attention for using a planar driver.
Planars work differently than the usual dynamic drivers, and like balanced armatures respond faster than DDs but without the unsatisfying bass decay of BAs. Suddenly planars were perceived as the hot new innovation destined to permeate the market, yet predictions of planar supremacy proved unfounded.
So when offered a set of the new ISN Neo3s that use a 1x Planar 2x DD configuration in exchange for a review, I immediately wondered if they’d suffer the usual planar drawback…
Metallic tonality – every planar earphone I’ve heard has had questionable timbre, and hybrid IEMs mixing planars with other drivers have had coherence issues too.
So I’m approaching this review with trepidation, concerned adding a planar may create more problems for the Neo3s than it solves. Let’s discover out how successfully ISN have made this approach work.
Packaging
The USD $199 ISN Neo3s arrive in a small cardboard box, inside is a leather carry case which closes magnetically.
Inside are the earphones & stock cable, three sets of silicone eartips in 3 sizes, a shirt clip, IEM cleaning tool, and a small plastic accessories case.
The included ISN C8 cable arrives in your choice of 2.5mm, 3.5mm or 4.4mm termination, utilises OCC conductors and retails for $32.50 when sold separately. It’s extremely supple & flexible, and gives the impression of being more solidly built than most IEM stock cables at this pricepoint.
Ergonomics
The Neo3s’ distinctively orange medical-grade resin shells are fully vented & decently large, which is explained by their driver configuration – all three drivers in each earpiece are quite chunky, and you can see them clearly through the resin.
Luckily the shells are very smooth and fairly ergonomic. Their weight is slightly above the norm for hybrid IEMs with lower driver counts but nothing too dramatic and I wouldn’t label them heavy.
They’re are a little on the larger side, so though I find them decently comfortable can’t nominate comfort as one of their outstanding attributes. The larger shells do isolate very effectively however.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Sound Impressions & Technical Performance
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
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