New Noble Universals

History proves that people are prepared to pay Noble's prices (I have, three times) but companies like Campfire are starting to embarrass their pricing structure a little bit...

 

I don't know if id call $1100 vs $1750 embarrassing. Campfire are still charging some serious coin.
Multibit Modi @ $249 vs most dacs over $2k? Thats embarrassing.

 

I haven't heard either but other people are comparing them. If they offer similar performance then $1100 vs $1750 is embarrassing. $1100 is still a lot of money but it's still relatively good value if it offers TOTL headphone performance without all the special needs of full sized headphones. In any case, it's good to see that Campfire are challenging the trend towards ever increasing prices. I haven't heard Modi Multibit either, it sounds pretty compelling, but are people really comparing it to 'most DACs over $2k'?

 

I would favourably compare any schiit dac of the current MB generation over the Lavrys, Brystons, Chords and Myteks of this earth. I haven't heard the Modi Multibit but it its punching around bifrost MB level then this would ring true.

I have heard a Lavry Blue / Gold, Bryston BHA-1, Hugo TT and Mytek 192 and have owned both a Gungnir Multibit and Bifrost Multibit.

EDIT: I would love to see a cost breakdown of what goes into a $1000 iem. R&D, parts cost, assembly etc. Im not saying they're not worth that much or that i have any idea what the margins are like. Just curious.

 

I would bet money that I am the only person in the world who has owned both a Katana and an Andromeda (maybe even the only person who has heard both) and I would say that, despite the similarities in tuning, the gap in price, at least to my ears, roughly approximates the gap in peformance (taking into account the fact that as price goes up to the >$1000 range, marginal utility goes down precipitously and also the fact that the sound of both IEMs vary widely depending on source and amp, especially by output impedance).

 

My thoughts on Tralucent Ref 1 Too vs Noble K10 (go easy people, I don't normally do things like this)

On a personal note, been trying to spend some more time with my k10s, very difficult to get a good fit. I'm pretty much stuck with triple flange, those are the only ones I can get to seal, which usually takes me a good 5 minutes literally. That's definitely the worst part of these IEMS.

It's also incredibly difficult abing them against other IEMs for that reason. I was able to ab it running balanced vs single ended. I don't hear any difference personally. That's using g a fiio X7 with am3. Also, using the whiplash modular system so I'm not really swapping cables out in the traditional sense. The wire stays plugged into the IEMS at all times, but you can switch the lower half of the cable.

The one thing that really stands out on the k10s to me is the treble extension. My God does it extend. I don't recall hearing treble ever extending so well in an iem (I'm a basshead so that means very little). I do love me some treble though, so it works out very well.

I've been focusing on comparing my K10s against my two favorite IEMS, both TOTL offerings from Tralucent. The Tralucent Plus 5 and the Ref 1 Too.

The Ref 1 Too is really a lot different than the Noble offering. The sound signatures are very different. I don't think they are similar enough. The Ref 1 does everything great, it's my number 2 in my modest stable. It's most dominant feature is it's head pounding bass. It excells in every are though, for me, it's been as close to perfect as I could find. I've owned the Ref 1 Too for several months now, but I did own the original Ref 1 for approximately a year or so.

I didn't compare them as much as the Plus 5, which I feel is closer in sound signature.

Bass, it's a unique experience on the Tralucent. There is an obscene amount, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. It doesn't spill into the mids at all. It's perfect for me.

The Noble, is definitely no slouch. I own the Heir Audio 8, and the K10 is reminiscent of the 8. It hits hard, deep, and is present when called for, much like the reviews have stated. It's a good amount of bass for a normal person, alas, I'm not.

Mids. The mids if feel are another strong point on the Noble. They are very clear, nothing spills over, with just a hint of warmth. Just the way I like them. On the Ref 1, the mids are a weak point (if you were to give them a fault, I dont really, but I would totally understand why people would complain).

Treble glorious treble on the Noble. Wow. It's there. It's pushing the limits but I feel it doesn't overstep the boundaries. It's damn near perfect. Absolutely amazing job.

Ref 1 has treble done very well, it just is approached a little differently. It's very hard to explain for me, but I've loved the treble on the Ref 1 for years now, and I still do. The K10s treble is definitely more in your face. Both seem to extend very well though. I'd give Noble the edge here, but not by much.

Soundstage, eh. Hard to determine on IEMS and with my fit issues I'm having a terrible time comparing the sound stage. Tralucent is well known for their amazing soundstage, that goes without say. I think the K10 holds it's own.

Build. Both are done nice. Different looks totally though. I have the universal K10s, so aluminum with red face. They seem to be built extremely well. Quality screams out when you look at it, and even more so while holding it.

Tralucent, love the look. Black with carbon fiber. To me it doesn't get much sexier. As a matter of fact, that's what I had my Heir 8 made like, and if I went custom, I'd do that setup with the K10. If had some small issues in the past with the cable and connection on my Tralucent Ref 1. The newer iem design seems to have rectified whatever the issue was.

For universals, I'd say they are pretty close. Custom, first off Tralucent doesn't offer it. However, even if they did, hard to beat Noble at that. They create some of the most beautiful IEMS I've ever seen. Great job gentlemen.

Cable. Tralucent comes with a stock silver/gold mix. It's a great cable. It's a bit thicker than the Noble stock cable. I won't go into sound, not worth the aggravation. I also own the Tralucent uBer Too cable. It's very pricey, I believe that cable alone costs as much as Nobles k10. You do receive a healthy discount if you purchase the upgraded cable when ordering new IEMS. I believe $750.

Anyway, both stock cables are great. I prefer the Tralucent, but I like a thicker cable with some bull. No comparison between the stock noble and upgraded uBer, completely unfair product.

They both come with Pelican cases and tips. Noble does offer 2 bands and that cleaning tool. Also, Noble stickers. Advantage Noble.

Now, on to which I prefer... If this was last year, there wouldn't even be a discussion. I'd take the Ref 1 all day... Basshead and all. Recently I've been trying to broaden my horizons some. Hence my purchase of the K10 and the Plus 5.

I still prefer the Ref 1,bass is just in my DNA. Doesn't take anything away from the K10. It's a great IEM, which I'm beginning to really enjoy.

Now compared to the Plus 5, they are much more similar than different... I'll have to save that for another night though. It's late and I'm tired. Plus, I have work to do.

Sorry for the long post. Probably should have just done a formal review.

Also, I eq the crap out of everything. My X7 is rooted and I'm running Neutron (20 band PEQ) and V4A (Viper4android). I'll play around with eq settings off to see how it does in its stock form.

Prices:

Noble K10 $1350 Wizard bday special
Ref 1 Too $1650 IIRC
Plus 5 $1850

 

Quick update. I changed back to the stock cable and my fit issues are almost 100% resolved. I suppose the extra weight from the cable was pulling down in the IEMS. Fit isn't perfect, but now I get a good seal and without triple flange tips, which was driving me insane.