Noble Kaiser Encore (K10 Successor)

https://nobleaudio.com/en/shop/universal/kaiser-encore/

New Noble to replace the K10, and if I am not mistaken, a stealth price increase from $1650 to $1850..

 

Never had the chance to hear the K10's but I like this color scheme better than the candy cane red. Hope someone can give some impressions, especially compared to the latest flagships.

 

Crazy that people are willing to pay $1850 for IEMs.

 

Is this based on personal impressions? If so, please expand.

Or is this based on hype?

 

I have to pass. I liked the original K10s, but didn't love. I wouldn't drop 2k on the encores. Personally I liked the Vega much better than the K10s. I won't even mention how much more I prefer my cheap ass Sony ex800st over the Nobles.

I did have the opportunity to hear the Katanas, although nowhere near my preferred signature I did like them. I considered buying them, but I have fit issues with Noble for some reason. Never had that with Heir, they fit perfectly.

I just don't think the K10s were worth it, and I'm speculating, but I don't think the encore will be worth the increase in price, proprietary drivers or not.

Sorry to say, I think the K10s are the most overrated iems ever. Not bad, just never wowed me in any way.

 

I also think the Nobles are really over-rated. I tried the K10s at A2A in Melbourne and they were both "fine". Fine as in if someone at starbucks told me to listen to a cool new track off his phone I wouldn't even notice that they were anything other than ~$100 Sennheiser in ears. They are not what id call a value proposition. Currently patiently waiting for the same store to have the full CFA range so i can go have a big listening session. My days of buying unheard are over.

 

Looking forward to hearing these for myself. I own a pair of K10UA's and I really love the sound signature compared to other IEMS i've tried (Andromeda, Zeus-R). I'm probably in the minority with my opinion, but I do have weird ears. I get headaches listening to anything remotely bright, and the K10 is just a hair over what my ears can handle.

In regards to the encore, those who have it have told me it's a mix between the K10 and Katana, which is something I have a hard time wrapping my head around (seems like too much of a compromise for me, as both of these things aim for different things)

 

The Campfire Andromeda destroys the Noble K10 in almost every way at a fraction of the cost (I've owned both). Unless someone who has a fair amount of experience with Andromeda could easily vouch for the new Nobles as worthy contenders, not really interested.

 

@Warrior aside from the fit, how did you find the Katana? i realise that you love bassssss and eq-ing, did you audition the Katana eq'ed?

thx

 

I like the Kaiser Encore > Katana, and I'm supposed to be a "neutral" guy who *should* like the Katana more.

The Encore has mellowed out the bass over the original K10, so it sounds better balanced.

JM2C

 

I really enjoyed the sound. The bass, although not high in quantity, did reach low. The highs were not harsh at all and the mids were similar to the K10, without being as thick. Unfortunately for me, I had to hold them in my ears to get a proper seal. You can do better for the price though. They kind of remind me a bit of the Custom Art 8.0.

 

I feel like with Noble, you're always going to be able to do better for the price, since regardless of if you actually enjoy their designs or not, you're paying a premium for that aspect. I don't think they've ever really been concerned with competitive pricing.

 

I agree when it comes to their custom designs. They are beautiful, but their universals, design wise, are solid but I don't feel they are special aesthetically. I also agree they aren't concerned with competitive pricing either, but as consumers, we are. I was saying that for the benefit of us, not for Noble to reconsider their prices.

 

Supply and demand...
Noble sells a lot of product. And it seems the higher they price them, the more they sell. I think that works for them especially in the Asian markets. When they introduced the Prestige line for $2850 and up, they couldn't make them fast enough to fill orders. I think they've done a great job positioning themselves as a luxury brand.

If people stopped buying them, maybe they might lower their prices, but I don't think their sales are hurting at all.

 

I owned both at the same time and ended up selling the Andromeda and I still have the K10s to this day so I would have to disagree completely about what "destroys" what. They're both very good IEMs with tunings that appeal to different ears.

 

I preferred the K10 as well, although I didn't spend significant time with the Andromeda. Also, much more of a sound sig preference for me. I need bass and K10s are about the minimum for me to be happy. Anything less and I suffer terribly.

 

I was able to do some quick comparisons tonight with the K10 Encore U, the Katana U, and my K10C's.
It's been a while since I heard the aluminum K10U, but the Encore's are a completely different sound. I was kind of surprised how different the Encore's sounded from my K10C's.

Honestly, the Encore's sound a lot more like the Katana's than the K10's. The Encore's highs are much higher than the original K10's. I always thought the K10's were on the darker side, but the Encores are bright.Not HD800 bright, but still bright and detailed. To me, the Katana has smoother highs.
The mids are still excellent and the bass may have been bumped up a bit too.

I have to point out though that even with the spiral dot tips, my ears just don't work well with the Noble universals. I can't get a really good seal and generally have to apply a little pressure with my fingers to get a good seal.

Alex from Audio Zenith was there too and he felt that any treble harshness I was hearing was due to seal problems I was having. Alex did not hear it that way.

I prefered the smoother sound of the Katana, but Alex preferred the Encore and felt the Encore was much better balanced than the Katana.

I did prefer both the Encore and the Katana over my K10C's. I have heard the Andromeda briefly at previous meets and I think any comparisons between the old K10 and the Andromeda are not valid to be applied to the K10 Encores. You really have to hear the Encore's before making any judgements since they are so different from the K10's. I was not a huge fan of the Andromeda's and prefer the Encore's or Katana's from memory. I really need to compare them side-by-side sometime.

 

Seal, depth of insertion into ear canal and depth of earphone insertion into the tip itself, all make significant differences to sound on these and I am not even talking about differences between the tips. To be honest, I figured all of that out quite a bit later into auditioning of all the different Noble universals at this meet. Therefore I am not 100% sure if my initial impressions on Katana vs Encore were correct. Maybe they were but at this point I am just not sure as I didn't fiddle with all the variables mentioned above, since upper grade units were listened to at the very beginning, SORRY.

 

Anybody here owned UERM's in the past? I lost mine some 6 months ago. Always carried that and my K10u's. Looking for a replacement for something neutral and was hoping Katana or Encore might be the answer. Tried Andoremda's at a meet for an hour, for me it was a bit fatiguing. Haven't heard the new stuff from Nobles and hoping to learn from folks who have. Thank you!