Sudio has several true wireless earphones in their product line up, but if you still haven’t found something you like, their new Nio might just be the one for you. Nio is due to launch tomorrow (11 Jan 2021), and I have here a quick review of what you can expect from these earphones.
The Sudio Nio is designed for casual listening, and is suited for commuters, runners, and music lovers alike. The Nio also aims to deliver balanced and spacious good quality sound at a reasonable price point.
At first glance, the Sudio Nio bears some resemblance to the Apple AirPods. The earpiece, with the iconic stem popularised by the AirPods, and the charging case, is quite different from most other designs from Sudio, with the exception of, perhaps, the Ett.
Ordinarily, I would fault a design-centric company like Sudio, which is well-known for their chic Scandinavian design, for unashamedly copying a design from another company. However, just like almost every smartphone nowadays is just a slab with all-display on one side, it seems like this AirPod-esque design has become quite common and well-liked.
The silicon ear wings do make the Sudio Nio distinctly different. It’s not the kind of wing tips which hook into the cymba (upper part of the concha), but a somewhat simpler mould that fits snugly into the cavum (lower part of the concha into which the external auditory canal opens into). This means that any pressure from the snug fit is on the cavum, instead of in the external auditory canal.
This ear wing design is a good alternative for people who dislike the pressure from tips stuffed into their ear canals. You won’t feel discomfort from wearing the Sudio Nio for long periods of time. Two air vents also help to relieve ear pressure, so overall the Sudio Nio is very comfortable to wear and listen to.
There are touch controls on the outside surface of the Nio’s stem. They provide the usual basic controls to play/pause, skipping track back and forward, as well as to adjust volume. Call controls to answer, reject, and end calls are also available.
The 10 mm dynamic driver in the Sudio Nio offers strong bass response and an expansive sound stage. I personally find the bass too boomy and over-powering for my liking, particularly when listening in a quiet environment. This is a little unusual since I usually enjoy a strong bass, though admittedly I am a little fussy about many other sound quality characteristics.
For me, I found the bass overwhelms the mids and the treble. This is especially so for the treble, as it ends up lacking detail and sparkle. The mids on their own are good, but once you have strong bass parts playing at the same time, the former feels a little recessed.
I am a little unused to the Sudio Nio’s sound profile. It is bass heavy. If this is what you like, then the Sudio Nio may work for you.
Using adaptive dual microphones, the Sudio Nio picks up my voice quite well for phone calls. There is not much of background noise suppression.
You can get 5.5 hours of music listening time out of the Sudio Nio’s earpieces. This can be extended up to 20 hours together with the charging case.
The charging case has a USB Type-C port for charging. There is in indicator LED on the front to show battery status, and a button on the bottom for resetting the Sudio Nio.
The Sudio Nio supports Bluetooth 5.0 with A2DP v1.3/AVRCP v1.5/HFP v1.6 profiles. The Bluetooth connection works quite reliably.
The earpieces have IPX4 ingress protection, which is good against sweat and light rain.
In the box, the Sudio Nio ships with a total of 4 pairs of ear wings, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, the charging case, and some documentation.
The Sudio Nio launches on 11 Jan 2021 at S$119, and it is available in four colours: black, white, green, and sand (as reviewed here). The sand colour is Sudio’s latest colour, first available with the Nio.
If you’re interested to get the Sudio Nio, you can use my discount code ZITSENG15 when you purchase on the Sudio website. You get free worldwide shipping and 3 years of international warranty with Sudio SPHERE.
Summary
The Sudio Nio true wireless earhpone comes in a familiar design, but adds ear wings for a better snug fit.
Highlights:
- Nice familiar design
- Ear wings offer comfortable snug fit
- Bass heavy sound profile
- IPX4 (resists sweat and light rain)
Hi, did you find the sound volume to be low compared to other ear buds? Mine are very low and remain low even after trying many options.
Me too! I reached to maximum volume on my phone and still sounds low. But during a call using the ear pods, its super clear.
Hi guys, I recently bought Nio and I am having issues with the charging. The support team has been taking some time to respond (send them support ticket last Wednesday but no response until now). Would you please let me know how you charged the earpods for the first time? I’ve tried the ones in their support site, but only the case would blink – there’s no light in the earbuds. Let me know if you encountered such or if you can suggest something? Thanks!