A 2,200mAh power-bank case that refills the buds about 20 times, charges a phone and doubles as a phone stand. Touch buds on Bluetooth 5.0 with CVC 8.0 call mics and a water rating for wet rides.
The NC F9 case does three jobs. It holds and charges the buds, it tops up your phone over a cable, and it props the phone up as a small stand. On a café stop during a long ride, that means a video, a map check and a charge from one box.
The heart of it is a 2,200mAh battery, a notch above the common 2,000mAh F9 cases. USB-C refills the case in roughly 90 minutes, and an LED display shows the level of the case and each bud.
The phone rescue has limits. A 2,200mAh cell is smaller than a modern phone battery, and some energy is lost on the way. Expect a partial top-up that gets you through the evening, not a full charge.
The whole kit weighs 100 g, and most of that is the case battery. It rides well in a jacket, a saddle bag or a gym bag, and less well in the front pocket of slim jeans. That is the trade for a battery this size.
Every case size in the F9 range, from slim shells to 3,600mAh, is compared in the F9 charging guide.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Stable range | 15m (maker figure) |
| Pairing time | About 2 seconds out of the case |
| Case battery | 2,200mAh |
| Playtime per charge | 5 to 6 hours |
| Extra from the case | About 126 hours |
| Case refills | About 20 |
| Case recharge time | About 1.5 hours |
| Charging port | USB-C |
| Phone charging | Yes, case works as a power bank |
| Phone stand | Yes, the case props up a phone |
| Battery display | LED for each bud and the case |
| Controls | Touch: calls, play, volume, tracks, voice assistant |
| Call noise reduction | CVC 8.0 |
| Water resistance | IP7 (maker's code) |
| Enclosure | Plastic |
| Weight | 100 g |
| Colour | Black |
Each NC bud runs five to six hours on a charge. About 20 refills sit in the case, which the maker puts at around 126 extra hours of playback. Charge the case on Sunday and it carries you through a week of commutes and gym sessions.
Here is how that week can look:
| Day | Use | Case after |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | Commute both ways, one gym session | Well over half left |
| Saturday | Long ride, one phone top-up | Drops fastest |
| Sunday | Recharge the case, about 1.5 hours | Full again |
That table assumes buds only on the weekdays. Every phone top-up takes a big bite out of the reserve, because a phone battery is many times larger than a bud's.
Habits that keep the case at its best:
The LED display reads out each bud separately. If one side lags the other by a lot after a charge, clean its pins and seat it again; a poor contact is the usual cause.
Five to six hours per bud charge is long for an F9. It covers a long run, a flight or a full afternoon at the desk without a pit stop. Many F9 pairs stop at four or five hours, so the NC buys an extra podcast episode before the case is needed.
Pick up both NC buds and they link up, then hop back onto the last phone they knew. The maker puts pairing at about two seconds. On a cold morning with gloves on, that speed matters.
The buds run Bluetooth 5.0, with the maker quoting a stable 15m link. Indoors, with walls and your own head in the way, plan on one room. A phone in a jacket or a running belt stays well inside that.
Controls live on the buds, so the phone can stay zipped away:
For calls, CVC 8.0 strips background sound from your outgoing voice. On a windy bike path or a busy slope, the other person hears you rather than the gusts. Music gets no active cancelling; a snug tip is what keeps the wind roar down.
On the bike, carry the phone in a chest or jersey front pocket. A phone stuffed in a back pocket or a saddle bag behind you causes most stuttering links, and moving it to a front pocket usually fixes it.
Works with any Bluetooth phone, whatever the brand. If the buds ever stop linking to each other, the F9 reset guide covers the long press that clears them, and how to pair F9 earbuds walks through iPhone and Android menus.
NC rates the buds IP7, which reads as the IPX7 submersion level most F9 makers print. It covers rain, sweat and snow on a ski day. It is still not a swim rating, and the case itself should stay dry.
The NC suits days outdoors: cycling, running, hiking, skiing. Pair that with the 2,200mAh case and it is a strong kit-bag choice. Where it gives ground is chip age and pocket size.
| NC F9 | Volt F9, 2,000mAh | Volt F9 Mini | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | 2,200mAh power bank | 2,000mAh power bank | Slim, buds only |
| BT version | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.1 to 5.3 |
| Water | IP7 | IPX7 | IPX7 |
| Phone stand | Yes | No | No |
The Volt Plus Tech F9 with 2,000mAh case gives up a little battery for Bluetooth 5.3. The F9 Mini gives up phone charging to shrink the case down to jeans-pocket size.
Pick the NC F9 if:
Skip it if:
Snow days deserve one extra habit. Cold drains any lithium cell faster, so tuck the case into an inside pocket close to your body and the LED figures will hold up far better through the afternoon.
The full version lineup sits in the F9 versions compared.
Each charge gives five to six hours of play, and the 2,200mAh case refills them about 20 times for around 126 extra hours.
Yes. Run the phone's lead from the case for emergency power; the case also props the phone up as a stand.
NC rates it IP7, read as the IPX7 level: rain, sweat and snow are fine. Skip swimming, and never let the case get wet.
Around 90 minutes on USB-C.
Its CVC 8.0 processing tidies your outgoing voice during calls. Outside sound during music is blocked only by the ear-tip seal.