CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone, IEM, and Other Audio Related Discussion => Topic started by: Kunlun on October 07, 2013, 06:56:56 PM
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Noble Audio is live and on-line, (nobleaudio.com), so I thought I'd start a thread for their ciem line and coming universal iem line-up.
The flagship is the Kaiser 10, a 10 driver custom. I have it and it's very, very well tuned with natural, non-boosted bass. The bass here comes from the same dual big CI drivers as the 8.A, but the sound is much different, just a small lift from neutal for naturalness.
The mids have a dual BAs for mids and dual BA for upper mids. They are slightly warm and clear with a gentle lift in the vocal range to give a sense of liveliness to the sound. There are dual BAs for treble and for upper treble. The treble is really excellent, non-fatiguing without darkness or roll-off. Very good extension at both ends.
Overall, a very coherent design and a very versatile tuning.
There's a retuned 8 driver with improved clarity and brightness over the old 8.A.
The Bassy 5 driver is getting a full custom treatment. This is a straight carry-over from the Heir 5, but now custom-fit.
The heir 4.A/frogbeats 4C (EXACTLY THE SAME EARPHONE), is being retuned to eliminate the drop in FR. It's very, very flat from 20hz to 5k and it's quite nice (I have it and will report on it later).
The 3 driver has been entirely redone as well with a special driver which is the newest offering from Knowles.
There will be silicone shell offered as an option for the 4 and 3 driver customs. Update: The 5 driver will also have a silicone shell option.
I've been asked not to comment publicly on the universal fit Noble iems, but they should be coming along and I'll talk about them here as soon as I get the go-ahead.
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I've been talking to John and co. this past week. Looks like I'll be getting a Kaiser 10.
I'm also interested in the silicon version of the ever popular four-driver. Considering I've got my sights set on the UERM and L05QD, I may as well make it a "neutral trifecta" at some point with the 4S.
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This will be a stupid question, what differences are there between the acrylic and silicone versions of the customs outside of comfort? I'm assuming isolation? Anything else?
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It is fabled that because of the way sound back-reflects onto the silicone, silicone CIEMs produce a smoother sound (compared to an equivalent acrylic CIEM with the exact same drivers/crossover/tube lengths), but those claims are not substantiated.
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Brannan from Noble has confirmed that he will be exhibiting at the HF meet in Coronado on Saturday 11/2. If you order at the meet, they will do your impressions on the spot for free.
That settles it for me. I'm definitely going. I doubt that they can woo me away from my UERMs, but I'm willing to let them try.
P.S. If you're interested in carpooling from central or south OC, PM me. Chances are I will still have a Jetta wagon (either my current one or a new one), and I can take three people and a shit-load of gear.
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My head-fi review is up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/685225/review-noble-audio-kaiser-10-10-driver-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor
I tried not to describe it as "musical" so purrin wouldn't make fun of me...
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What happened to Heir Audio and why are all these IEMS more expensive than what they were putting out with Heir?
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Nice review, Kunlun. The Wizard's stuff is definitely art. Beautiful.
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What happened to Heir Audio and why are all these IEMS more expensive than what they were putting out with Heir?
I think the folks at Noble would like me to keep quiet about. However, I did say in my Kaiser 10 review the following:
"Noble is set up very wisely: By giving each of his team a share in the company, they can really put their hearts into what they do and everyone will reap the benefits of their hard work and talent. John has assured that Noble is built to last for years to come, just like his earphones."
John and his whole team left to form Noble, so if you read between the lines a bit, you can see what the problem is with the guy who owns Heir. Please don't comment on it further as there's nothing more I can say about it.
As for the prices, well, the newly re-tuned Noble 8C is EXACTLY the same price as the old Heir 8.A AND the Noble 8C has free shipping... facepalm
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Nice review, Kunlun. The Wizard's stuff is definitely art. Beautiful.
Thank you, CEE TEE. I appreciate it.
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I sent impressions in this past Monday.
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What happened to Heir Audio and why are all these IEMS more expensive than what they were putting out with Heir?
I think the folks at Noble would like me to keep quiet about. However, I did say in my Kaiser 10 review the following:
"Noble is set up very wisely: By giving each of his team a share in the company, they can really put their hearts into what they do and everyone will reap the benefits of their hard work and talent. John has assured that Noble is built to last for years to come, just like his earphones."
John and his whole team left to form Noble, so if you read between the lines a bit, you can see what the problem is with the guy who owns Heir. Please don't comment on it further as there's nothing more I can say about it.
As for the prices, well, the newly re-tuned Noble 8C is EXACTLY the same price as the old Heir 8.A AND the Noble 8C has free shipping... facepalm
Hmm, thanks for the information. Regarding the prices, I was looking more at the lower-end models in my price range - didn't compare the 8C/8.A, sorry for the oversight. Didn't mean to step on toes, but I guess my question is more so referring to the reshelling/warranty of my Heir 3.As. Is there anyone at Heir anymore, or are they left in the same state as my PFE 112s?
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Hmm, thanks for the information. Regarding the prices, I was looking more at the lower-end models in my price range - didn't compare the 8C/8.A, sorry for the oversight. Didn't mean to step on toes, but I guess my question is more so referring to the reshelling/warranty of my Heir 3.As. Is there anyone at Heir anymore, or are they left in the same state as my PFE 112s?
Ah, well, the new Noble 3C is a completely different ciem, with all new drivers and everything, so that's why it's different also in price.
For your Heir ciem, I would email them. Just keep in mind that the person who made your 3.A doesn't work there. Whatever new techs are there should handle your service needs.
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Hmmm.... Noble 4S is appealing...
Need to dig deeper in my pockets for this one...
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Brannan from Noble has confirmed that he will be exhibiting at the HF meet in Coronado on Saturday 11/2. If you order at the meet, they will do your impressions on the spot for free.
That settles it for me. I'm definitely going. I doubt that they can woo me away from my UERMs, but I'm willing to let them try.
P.S. If you're interested in carpooling from central or south OC, PM me. Chances are I will still have a Jetta wagon (either my current one or a new one), and I can take three people and a shit-load of gear.
I look forward to 'wooing' you, sir.
- Brannan (Noble Audio)
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Welcome to Changstar!
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I look forward to 'wooing' you, sir.
- Brannan (Noble Audio)
Welcome Brannan. We'll be seeing you at the San Diego meet.
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Looking forward to it.
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Looking forward to seeing what Noble Audio has in store. I have been thorougly enjoying my Tzar 350 since I first received them. I am sure you don't remember Brannan, but I had an excellent experience dealing with you. I am glad to see you guys bounce back after the Heir situation. I am happy that smaller companies are able to persevere in this industry and excited for the Noble universals. All the best with the new endeavour!
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I put a comparison up between the Kaiser and the demo SE5 that made the rounds here thanks to Astral Storm:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/685225/review-noble-audio-kaiser-10-10-driver-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9875347
Hopefully, it'll be useful.
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Kit Kat, I think it would be more fair to change 'demo' to 'loaner'. There would be physical differences in making a demo versus an actual custom built for someone else's ears.
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Yes, that sounds right, thanks Padre Anal!
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Looking forward to seeing what Noble Audio has in store. I have been thorougly enjoying my Tzar 350 since I first received them. I am sure you don't remember Brannan, but I had an excellent experience dealing with you. I am glad to see you guys bounce back after the Heir situation. I am happy that smaller companies are able to persevere in this industry and excited for the Noble universals. All the best with the new endeavour!
Thanks for the kind words! Sorry, can't say I remember at this point, but do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
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My review of the Noble 4C is up!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/687850/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9929607
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Noble is working on my Kaiser and 8C right now. I should also have demos of the five and six driver universals coming my way.
I'm looking forward to sharing my impressions when I've had some time with this stuff. Looks like Noble and Canal Works will be the two CIEM companies I'll have the most experience with this fall.
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Someone from Noble, perhaps it was Brannon, pmed me on headfi about attending the Austin meet coming up soon. I haven't sent out invites to vendors yet so I don't know for sure, but it sounds like they may be there if people in Texas are interested in hearing their stuff.
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Someone from Noble, perhaps it was Brannon, pmed me on headfi about attending the Austin meet coming up soon. I haven't sent out invites to vendors yet so I don't know for sure, but it sounds like they may be there if people in Texas are interested in hearing their stuff.
Yes, the upcoming Austin meet is actually very conveniently timed (and I have always wanted to go to Austin), but it is a little early for me to make a commitment. If space starts to become tight, please let us know and we will make a decision.
Thanks for the invitation!
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My review of the Noble 4C is up!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/687850/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9929607 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/687850/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9929607)
Wut happened to it? Did it get deleted or did I get banned from seeing it? Heard the 4C yesterday. Loved it.
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My review of the Noble 4C is up!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/687850/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9929607 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/687850/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor#post_9929607)
Wut happened to it? Did it get deleted or did I get banned from seeing it?
That's the $10,000 question... :)p12
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Wut happened to it? Did it get deleted or did I get banned from seeing it? Heard the 4C yesterday. Loved it.
IIRC, one of the mods removed it because Kunlun mentioned that the Frogbeats C4 and Heir 4.A were the same design. This isn't exactly a secret anymore, and Kunlun said Noble confirmed this to him, so unless they didn't want that published I'm not sure what the problem would be.
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Does Noble make the Heir 4.A? I wonder if they'd do repair service on a Frogbeats C4, in case something were to happen to mine during the coming apocalypse.
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Heard the 4C yesterday. Loved it.
Any mroe impressions on 4C from meet? Or other models? Thanks
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Kunlun, can you post your review here? It would be a good read.
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Wut happened to it? Did it get deleted or did I get banned from seeing it? Heard the 4C yesterday. Loved it.
IIRC, one of the mods removed it because Kunlun mentioned that the Frogbeats C4 and Heir 4.A were the same design. This isn't exactly a secret anymore, and Kunlun said Noble confirmed this to him, so unless they didn't want that published I'm not sure what the problem would be.
Wut happened to it? Did it get deleted or did I get banned from seeing it? Heard the 4C yesterday. Loved it.
IIRC, one of the mods removed it because Kunlun mentioned that the Frogbeats C4 and Heir 4.A were the same design. This isn't exactly a secret anymore, and Kunlun said Noble confirmed this to him, so unless they didn't want that published I'm not sure what the problem would be.
G-Customs were importing customs from a lesser known company in China and relabeling them as a unique brand. I talked to them on Skype and liked the idea, I had model names and advertising ready, ultimately logistics and quality control were really weak so I cancelled. I gave the idea to Frogbeats back when they were selling Vsonics from China and they really liked it, however communication with the Chinese company was difficult so they cancelled as well and found the Chinese Heir under western leadership more accomodating, in turn Frogbeatz CIEM's were invented which are simply relabeled Heir's, like many companies in audio.
Head-fi tends to deletes all posts about relabeled and marked up products, then send long emails about the risks they are running of potential defamation lawsuits from these companies.
After all, if I paid for popularity and was served a plate of whistleblowing, I'd question my investment too.
I never exposed Frogbeatz, since that wouldn't be nice, I suppose?
In some cases it's positive, for instance Nationite, they were just popularising Chinese DAP's under a reliable American arm, which is all ok.
Nonetheless, 'dissectors' don't fit in at head-fi, except for Tomscy2000 since he's cleverer than the average bear.
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Just thought I'd post some shots of my Noble cIEMs:
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o593/audioromy/RomyWebstersK10-4.jpg)
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o593/audioromy/RomyWebstersK10-1.jpg)
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o593/audioromy/RomyWebstersK10-2.jpg)
^ Kaiser 10 with oyster shell faceplates and neon body.
(http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o593/audioromy/RomyWebster8C-1.jpg)
^ 8C with mystic swirl design, reshelled from a Heir 8.A.
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Nice color choices, beautiful.
The purple remind me of bowling balls!
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The purple remind me of bowling balls!
Exactly! <3
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That oyster shell's pretty rad.
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Holy Crikey! Gorgeous! Does the neon look that bright in person?
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That's fresh! Did you get a 4C, too?
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I never happened to notice until now, but you do indeed have really straight ear canals!
Both colors turned out great --- I have a feeling the pink looks better in person than it does here, too.
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^Just to clarify...I am hoping they are that colorful in person. I have been thinking about neon orange lately, but only if they are really bright!!
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I'll have to get back to you on that. Those pictures were sent by Noble so I could verify everything looked good before they ship them (which is a nice thing to do). Can't wait to see them in person.
Also I haven't ordered the 4 driver yet, but I'm thinking about getting it with silicon shells.
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My Noble 4C review is back up:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/690751/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor
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The heir 4.A/frogbeats 4C (EXACTLY THE SAME EARPHONE), is being retuned to eliminate the drop in FR. It's very, very flat from 20hz to 5k and it's quite nice (I have it and will report on it later).
Is this referring to that the dip in the upper midrange? If so.. that's pretty legit. Adding a SPC cable did the trick for me with my good old froggy C4's lol.
And this...
Does Noble make the Heir 4.A? I wonder if they'd do repair service on a Frogbeats C4, in case something were to happen to mine during the coming apocalypse.
I would like to know if that's true too, I've actually already cracked a piece off the shell once after dropping it and was fortunate enough to be able to superglue it together. :)p8
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You could always try e-mailing Noble about it, but they made it pretty clear via correspondence they don't want to be known as a service center for Heir and Frogbeats products.
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You could always try e-mailing Noble about it, but they made it pretty clear via correspondence they don't want to be known as a service center for Heir and Frogbeats products.
Makes sense. I'll still give it a go if my C4's break. Luckily they don't leave my bedroom, so increased chances of not having to make the call in the near future...
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Just in case anyone hasn't heard: Noble's 20% off Black Friday sale is humming along. Wood and fancy faceplates are also 20% off.
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Unfortunately, my wallet is 100% off...
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Has anyone here spent any time w/ the universals?
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I had the Noble 6 for a week. Very nice.
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How about Noble 5? Some people find Noble 4 bass light and 5 is described as a version from bassier 8C.
If they keep midrange and highs adding a bit of bass could be interesting.
Also, I'd like to know how Noble 4 reacts to eq. If I found them very bass shy, I'd like to know ia a bit a eq can solve it.
Best
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Hi there,
I haven't heard the Noble 5. It's a direct carry-over from the Heir 5, the only one of the line to do so without revision (the 5 was the last to be developed, iirc). It's said to be dark. I have a feeling it matched up with the Heir 8.A rather than the Noble 8.C, which has an adjustment to the treble.
For the Noble 4C--the custom version which I have, I can say the bass goes deep on my set, just there's not a lot of it. But there are two bass drivers. It seems to respond fine to eq. to my ears. You can see LFF's famous "perfect water drop" review of the Frogbeats C4 which talks about the great bass extension. Thanks to some awesome there are some graphs of the universal fit Noble 4, the same earphone here, on CS, which do show some bass roll-off. Noble's own internal-use-only graph doesn't show that, interestingly, nor do my ears for the custom version. The Heir 4.a, Frogbeats C4 and Noble 4C have the same drivers and bass tuning, with the Noble 4C having a tuning correction, completely removing a dip which the other two have in the lower treble, I believe it was.
Here's my review of the Noble 4C
http://www.head-fi.org/t/690751/review-noble-audio-4c-4-driver-3-way-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor
And here's my Noble Kaiser 10 review.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/685225/review-noble-audio-kaiser-10-10-driver-custom-fit-in-ear-monitor
I still like the Noble 6. I'd like just a little more sub-bass to it and then it'd have been almost perfect for me (if my memory of it is at all accurate).
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Yes, I saw your reviews, I always do ;). Latest graphs show too much bass and highs roll off, and I was a bit worried due to this.
But I know graphs aren´t last word, so I thing Noble 4 with a bit of eq can be a better option for me than Noble 5. In fact, I was thinking with two drivers for low they can be good for eq if I need. I went from a JH13 and I like its clarity and neutrality (and slightly bass hump), if Noble 4 can offer this signature it´s I´m looking for. In the other hand, seems like Noble 5 is a different beast. In this case 4 version is my choice.
Thanks!!
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You're welcome. Even John Moulton has said the 5 has a slow bass, so yeah, it should be a different genus entirely. Let us know what you think of the 4!