Too Good to Be True? Suppressed 9MM & 5.56 in One System? We Put Next Level Arms To The Test!

Video Overview

As part of our suppressor host series we're covering the Next Level Armament line of suppressors and their Ascend Phoenix Ambi Billet Rifle with interchangeable 9MM Horus upper receiver. Rob isn't a fan of AR 9MM, will this system from Next Level Arms change his mind? We put the promise of Next Level Arms' multi caliber system to the test along with their NLS5P 5.56 and NLS9 9MM

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
04:30 - Ascend Phoenix 5.56 Testing
06:29 - Horus 9M Test in NLA Lower
08:54 - Testing On Daniel Defense Lower

Video Transcript

in this video, instead of just diving into the silencers, we're going to look at a company a little bit more holistically and that's Next Level Armament. They've got some kind of, I don't know, let's call them nifty or different silencers that I haven't seen before. They have a flow through type technology. They've got ports out at the front. And to be honest, it looks like something from an 80s movie with the knurling on the outside. I mean, I like the looks of the silencer. I don't necessarily like the weight of the silencer. Now we've done some testing already with the 556 version and it is a low back pressure suppressor and it was actually one of the silencers I was comfortable taking my ears off and cooking a few rounds off with. And as you know, I'm not really into doing that. So having said that, being flow through, being low back pressure and being quiet, so far it seems like a pretty good suppressor. But what's really driving my attention right now is they've got an AR-15 rifle that they're calling their full ambidextrous rifle and they have an upper receiver that they said allegedly you can take the AR-15 upper off and put the 9mm. So the 556, drop the 9mm right onto it and it will operate flawlessly. Now the problem with AR-9s, there's a lot, is we put really heavy bolt carriers into the weapon because there's too much blowback force because instead of gas operated like an AR-15 is, they're blowback operated. So there's too much momentum coming rearward. So to slow it down we give ourselves really heavy bolt carrier groups, we give ourselves really heavy buffers and this hopefully slows down the entire system but usually ends up sharing off the last round hold open and insert 15 other problems here. So AR-9s, I don't own any, I don't like AR-9s, I don't think they're good weapons. So they're telling us with their, they're not calling a roller bolt, they're calling it a delayed bolt system. So that sounds to me kind of like an MP5. Now I've got a few MP5s and when you add a silencer to the end of your MP5 you increase the gas back pressure and you have to change your unlocking cam in order to get reliability and not wear out parts. So to say, this is a big say in things, this is a big, alleged, this is a big allegation that you can take an AR-15, pull the upper off, put an AR-9 upper on it and have it run reliably and then put a suppressor on the end of it and still have it run reliably. That sounds a bit too good to be true. So today we're going to test that. We've got their ambidextrous AR-15 and 5.56, we've got their 5.56 suppressor and then we've got their 9mm upper with their 9mm magazine. It looks kind of like a CMMG magazine so I'm not sure if it's theirs or not but we'll be able to just plop that right onto the gun, not change the mag well, not change the buffer and see if it runs well and then we're going to screw their suppressor on the end of it. Now in the end, if it does run well, I'll put it on one of my AR-15s to see if that changes anything. Maybe they did some special sauce to their lower that I'm not privy to. I've inspected it, it looks like a high end but a standard AR-15 so I'm not seeing modifications. In case it does run well, I'll put it on mine and see if it still runs well. And then their suppressor, let's talk for a moment on their 9mm suppressor. I have to be honest, I'm not terribly stoked on their 9mm suppressor. One, it's incredibly heavy for a 9mm suppressor. Two, it doesn't have any standard hub system, kind of like their 5.56 so that means you can't put a piston on it, if you can't put a piston on it, you can't put it on a pistol. So that tells me this suppressor is a bit more designed to go on rifle platforms and you really wouldn't be able to put it on a pistol, maybe because it's so heavy and because of the lack of piston systems. So it's going to have to be screwed directly on. But perhaps, and I haven't put a single round through this suppressor yet because I didn't know what to screw it onto. I mean having a 1 by 2.8 rifle in 9mm is just not something I have a whole lot of. I didn't know what to screw it onto so I've done no testing on this so far. But if it is performing like their 5.56 version, I'll bet you it's low back pressure and I'll bet you that's how they're solving the problem of the increased back pressure even with the roller bolt or delayed system that they're using. So it'll be a very interesting test. And if they succeed, hey, it's going to be noteworthy. I think they might have problems, but we'll find out. Please, before we begin the test, like, comment, subscribe. It really does go a long way for us. And if you copy the link and throw it to your friends, that goes a really long way for you. So please take that for that minute. It's free. It doesn't cost you anything. Hit the like, comment, subscribe. It means the world to us. We're losing a lot of money and we're sweating in the Arizona sun. We love what we do and we're going to keep doing it. But the only thing we ask of you is to just hit those buttons for us. It means the world. Thank you. Alrighty, let's see how she performs.

That trigger tech trigger sure is nice. She shots smooth. She seems to be appropriately fast. She seems to be ejecting the right way. Let's add that silencer and see what happens. Not the lightest of suppressors.

But definitely did good on the back pressure. Definitely did good on the sound.

Alright, we're set.

Way forward ejecting.

Almost no gas to the face.

And that wasn't a slow mag dump either.

A little bit of gas to the face. That took some work.

And it shoots pretty soft. It's a good package.

Let's see if this whole AR9 thing pans out the way we're hoping.

Okay, whole upper is coming off.

It looks like a standard weight buffer is in there. And they gave me an H1.

Nope, just an H. They gave me an H with it. They said it might run better with that. But hopefully we don't need it.

Optic transferred over.

Okay.

Weird mag going in.

Alright, here we go.

You know, that shoots really smooth.

AR9s historically I have found do shoot very smooth. But the mass, the bolt mass that's so heavy coming forward and backwards, that's the real pain with them. Alright, here's the 9mm can going on.

So while 9mm is a soft shooter, having a roller bolt system like an MP5 is nice. This delayed system feels a lot like an MP5. Very smooth shooting.

But can it run well suppressed?

Okay, these are supersonic rounds. By the way, 115 grain mag tech rounds.

Here we go.

(Clapping)

Wow, and last round hold open.

Okay, I got to give it to them. It ejected well, it shot smooth. It shot as smooth as it did without the suppressor. Now with the increased back pressure from the suppressor, I expected it to not be so smooth. But that was incredibly soft. It felt like an MP5SD, which is a weird thing to say. The SDs are, I mean obviously, integral suppressed and very well tuned. And extremely proprietary. Like it's all, not just HK specific, but it's all SD specific. And that's like the similarity in parts between an MP5 and an MP5SD is night and day. There's very few similar parts. So to take this thing and just throw a different upper on an AR15 lower, that's not got essentially an H3-ish, super heavy buffer.

That's impressive. But to take a silencer and do suppressed and unsuppressed and to be shooting MP5 soft,

I didn't think it was going to work, color me and press. This is a nifty system. I don't think I would put this silencer on a whole lot of other things, at least not that I can think of right now. My brain's kind of wondering what other half by 28s do I have that I can screw this on? Because I mean it felt so soft, so low recoil. I didn't feel any increased back pressure from the suppressor.

I dig it. This is a cool system. I'm excited to have it and I'm excited to do more testing with it.

Alrighty. So this is one of my favorite rifles. This is a Daniel Defense underneath it all, 14.5 pinned. And it's their full ambi lower. It's one of my favorite guns.

This is how it normally runs.

Little bit of gas in the face, but not bad. And that's that PTR suppressor I'm using.

Snap this guy on real quick. Nice and loose.

Wow.

Soft shooting, little bit of gas in the face, but not bad. And last round hold open.

Okay, fine. Let's swap you back to the 5.56. See if you can take it.

Okay.

Suppressor is still hot from our earlier test. Holy cow. Alright, 5.56 on the Daniel Defense lower.

Ready?

Little bit gassy.

Little bit of gas in the face. Even as a righty.

Ejecting a little bit more far forward. And that's probably because I've got a standard weight buffer in mine. Maybe they've got an H1 or something in there. We'll have to weigh that buffer. But you saw it going forward a little bit, little bit of gassy. I mean it ran. It ran well. But it wasn't as fine tuned as it was on their lower. It probably just has to do with buffer weight. So if we were going to go back and forth up the buffer weight and man, this is a smooth runner. And the fact that we threw it on my lower completely different from the one it came with. I mean, I guess that makes a point. It's a plug and play. You could buy that 9mm in your upper and toss it on your AR15 lower. And it should work with no problems at all. That's a big ask and it's an impressive accomplishment.

Man, that redefines the value of an AR9. AR9s are not valuable. I don't like them. Anybody who has them. I mean, there are some good ones out there. Some people love theirs. But I've seen a lot of them fail. I've seen a lot of issues that I don't own anymore. Just because of those issues. I remember buying the original Colt. And I don't remember the, you know, 69, whatever number it was. But it was the original Colt 9mm. And it had those stick mags that were impossible to load. It was just, I mean, it was fun, but it had all the standard AR9 problems. In fact, I remember the hand guard coming loose because the barrel nut unscrewed. Because unlike a gas operator, you've got a gas tube going through and pinning your upper receiver or barrel into place. And with this guy, there's no gas tube coming up here. So it was able to actually unscrew itself and come loose on the range. Only 200 rounds in from Colt. And it was a cool gun, but it just wasn't all that much fun to shoot. This is a smooth shooter. This totally reminds me of an MP5. Especially with this press. It reminds me of an MP5-SD. I'll bet you with subsonics, it shoots really quiet.

Well, next level armament on this case, they nailed it. It is truly next level. This is a cool system. I'm excited that I have both. I'm excited to do a whole bunch more testing. We'll check back in once we know a whole bunch more. If you like this video, please do me a big favor. Hit that like, comment, subscribe, and check out our merchandise. Coffee cups, t-shirts, hats, all that stuff really helps us pay our bills. Because the range bills, the silencer taxes, and the ammunition, all that stuff is stacking up. So if you're enjoying the content, you're getting a good education out of this like we are, please give us a little bit of love and return and check out some of that swag. As always, stay safe, and I'll see you in the comments.