Kaiser Encore: Early impressions Please note: This review is posted only so I could share my (very) early impressions, as I know many are eager to hear about the latest Noble (co-) flagship. I've had these beauties for less than a week.   As detailed as the Katana, but with a warmer touch. A bit kinder with poor recordings than the Katana, but not as forgiving as the K10. The price you pay for super realism is that you get… the truth, no sugarcoating going on here. Trash in = Trash out. Well, almost. The bass gets a solid boost, but it’s never...

(Reposting from The Noble Thread)   After a some days with the Katana, I’d like to jot down a few words about my experience with them. This is not a full blown review, just me trying to convey some early impressions.   One of the songs that really impressed me on the Katana is “Grand Canyon” by Puscifer. Fittingly, the third line of that song goes “Grant, Holy Mother, grant me clarity” because oh boy the Katana delivers that in spades. After 3 years with the K10 as my go-to headphone, the Katana is like a breath of fresh air, like an ice cold...

Savant universals, with “Wizard Design” faceplates.   The Noble Savant is an IEM available as a $600 universal and as a $1600 custom “Prestige” version. The Savants use the same (tiny) acrylic housing as the rest of the Noble universal lineup and can be used with a wide selection of tips. For me, the medium foam tips gave me the best combination of reliable seal and comfort. Like the Shure “Olives”, the foam is closed cell so you can clean the tips rather than having to throw them out when the gunk and wax builds up. Both the universal and Prestige...

Disclaimer: This particular set of Kaiser 10 is a review sample from Noble Audio.   It made some serious waves here at Head-Fi when Dr. Moulton, perhaps better known as “The Wizard”, as well as his entire staff parted ways with MDSP, the parent company of Heir Audio. MDSP announced that they would continue building Heir Audio products and selling them under the Heir name. Dr. Moulton and his staff remained quiet about their plans for the future… But nobody really expected them to just stop making (C)IEMs, did they? It turns out that The Wizard had...

I got fed up by the cables at my desk at home and decided to get a wireless headset for gaming. I was actually pretty settled on the Logitech G930, right until the point where Logitech told me to just bugger off when I pointed out that they were charging twice as much for the G930 in Denmark as they do in other countries. Despite Logitech being my go-to brand for the past 10-15 years, I decided to go with one of the G930's competitors, the exceedingly awesomely named Corsair Vengeance 2000.          Being dumb an audiophile, my previous...

  These are not for everyone. These are neutral monsters - no warmth, no bass boost, no mercy. The Heir Audio Tzar 350 is a dual-driver, 350Ohm(!) universal IEM tuned for neutrality and transparency. It is hand built using the same, compact type of housing as Heir’s popular 3.Ai and 4.Ai. The Tzar is made using black acryllic where the Ai models are a dark shade of purple. 9 sets of tips are included in the sturdy Otterbox case, along with a detachable Westone-style cable and a cleaning tool. Tip rolling is recommended, try out all the tips...

  All listening done from my Ibasso DX100 using only lossless files.   Heir Audio is a relative newcomer in the field of custom in-ear monitors, but the man behind the company, Dr. John Moulton, is by no means a rookie. Having already made a name for himself here on Head-Fi by posting his beautiful creations he earned the nickname “The Wizard”. After a series of unfortunate events in dealing with another CIEM company I ordered Heir’s top of the line model, the $1099 Heir 8.A. As the name implies, there are no less than 8 BA drivers in each...

  I've taken down my review of the Merlins and will repost it once I get them back. By now it's been 4 months and I've had them in my posession for no more than two weeks out of those 4 months.   Two weeks into the 3-5 week estimated turnaround time for my remolds/fixing and UM have gone back to maintaining radio silence. Not a word, not a single peep, no replies to emails.    I love my Merlins but I'm starting to *really* dislike the customer service (or lack thereof) from UM UK. Just keep me informed, that's all I ask for.