I'm no pro reviewer and I would say my journey into audio equipment is still in it's infancy. I don't write a lot of reviews either, I guess that will become apparent to you as you progress through this. But all that said and done, I really want to present my thoughts on the Noble 3U.
I have owned the Noble 3U for close to 2 months now. I have listened to them pretty extensively during this period.
My musical tastes are pretty eclectic. I listen to Hard Rock, Blues, Indian Classical, Western Classical, Grunge, Jazz, Prog Rock.. Favorite artists include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Sinatra, Diana Krall, some Beethoven, Shakti, The Beatles, UFO, SRV, Clapton.. Basically anything except modern pop music.
I play music from a Fiio X3ii direct most of the time. Also from an O2 amp when I feel like it.
The previous 2 reviews echo my thoughts on Packaging and Build quality.
Everything is delivered in a Pelican box. It's a perfect fit for the IEMs. But don't expect to carry your DAP and the Noble 3U in it. I tried to fit the Fiio X3ii along with these and it did fit, albeit a tight one. It made me anxious to be honest.
I would call the build quality of the IEMs very good. It's daintily shaped and the housing feels very very study. The finish is smooth all around, with the Noble Logo etched proudly in the front. But, you will notice small imperfections at the area where the injection mold breaks off. It doesn't really bother me though.
The Fit is faultless. These just disappear once you put them on. I wear glasses and the memory wire doesn't bother me at all.
The Isolation is top notch. Even without music playing, it gets hard to decipher speech a few meters away. With the music on though, it's 100% isolation.
Now for the sound, I shall divide this into sections:
Bass: I am not a basshead. But I do enjoy clear, tight bass and that is just what the Noble 3 delivers. The bass is wonderfully controlled and reveals itself only when the track actually calls for it. If you love drums, then you're in luck. You actually feel the impact. The soundstage is such that you feel the drummer is at the back (like they usually are when performing live). Listening to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is breathtaking, you feel yourself immersed into the heart of the performance, I cannot help but headbang like crazy!
Electronic tracks with a lot of bass sound satisfying, 'Principles of Lust' comes to mind.
Do remember I'm no basshead, there is no boom. It's all articulate and tight.
Mids: The mids are REALLY detailed. The vocals sound smooth and convey a lot a emotion, subtlety. No one is left out, the backing vocalists and lead are presented as layers. Same with guitars, they sound great. Listening to 'The Blower's Daughter', the vocals and guitar sound immaculate. 'Tu Bole' from A.R. Rahman's Unplugged album sounds delightful, a wonderful dynamic performance presented very nicely.
Female vocals are silken, listening to Diana Krall perform 'Peel Me A Grape' is audio porn. Enough said.
Treble: What do I say here? These absolutely love treble! They sound clear as a bell (LikeABell!
). These will make cymbal crashes a joy to listen to, they sound shimmery and the decay is just right. Very natural stuff. Listening to 'Echoes' from Live at Pompeii is the bee's knees, top tomato, Nick Mason's drumming sounds totally badass. Another song that comes to mind is 'Lithium' by Nirvana, the hi-hats during the verse give the whole song a very airy texture. Something I hadn't noticed with other phones.
But, this can be a double edged sword at times. With material that is poorly recorded or at high volumes, these tend to get sibilant.
Soundstage: These have very good soundstage for an IEM. There is an acute sense of space among instruments. This was really surprising for me, a pleasant one.
The Details in these are crazy, you'll hear everything the artist wants you to, in fact, even the details the artists hope you won't catch. Don't bother with lower quality/poorly recorded recordings.
Misc: Putting on the eartips is ghastly hard! You really need to will yourself on, especially when the tips are new. I tried all the tips Noble provides and Complys. I finally settled on the blue tips. These, for me, deliver a tight coherent sound and largely tame the sibilance.
So nearing the end of this review, you should know by now that I love my Noble 3U. Yes, they can sound sharp at times but deal with that and they reward you with the most satisfying aural experience, an engaging sound that allows for both analytical listening and outright fun at the same time.
The Wizard has succeeded in making me a fan of his, do try these out if you get a chance.
I have owned the Noble 3U for close to 2 months now. I have listened to them pretty extensively during this period.
My musical tastes are pretty eclectic. I listen to Hard Rock, Blues, Indian Classical, Western Classical, Grunge, Jazz, Prog Rock.. Favorite artists include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Sinatra, Diana Krall, some Beethoven, Shakti, The Beatles, UFO, SRV, Clapton.. Basically anything except modern pop music.
I play music from a Fiio X3ii direct most of the time. Also from an O2 amp when I feel like it.
The previous 2 reviews echo my thoughts on Packaging and Build quality.
Everything is delivered in a Pelican box. It's a perfect fit for the IEMs. But don't expect to carry your DAP and the Noble 3U in it. I tried to fit the Fiio X3ii along with these and it did fit, albeit a tight one. It made me anxious to be honest.
I would call the build quality of the IEMs very good. It's daintily shaped and the housing feels very very study. The finish is smooth all around, with the Noble Logo etched proudly in the front. But, you will notice small imperfections at the area where the injection mold breaks off. It doesn't really bother me though.
The Fit is faultless. These just disappear once you put them on. I wear glasses and the memory wire doesn't bother me at all.
The Isolation is top notch. Even without music playing, it gets hard to decipher speech a few meters away. With the music on though, it's 100% isolation.
Now for the sound, I shall divide this into sections:
Bass: I am not a basshead. But I do enjoy clear, tight bass and that is just what the Noble 3 delivers. The bass is wonderfully controlled and reveals itself only when the track actually calls for it. If you love drums, then you're in luck. You actually feel the impact. The soundstage is such that you feel the drummer is at the back (like they usually are when performing live). Listening to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is breathtaking, you feel yourself immersed into the heart of the performance, I cannot help but headbang like crazy!
Electronic tracks with a lot of bass sound satisfying, 'Principles of Lust' comes to mind.
Do remember I'm no basshead, there is no boom. It's all articulate and tight.
Mids: The mids are REALLY detailed. The vocals sound smooth and convey a lot a emotion, subtlety. No one is left out, the backing vocalists and lead are presented as layers. Same with guitars, they sound great. Listening to 'The Blower's Daughter', the vocals and guitar sound immaculate. 'Tu Bole' from A.R. Rahman's Unplugged album sounds delightful, a wonderful dynamic performance presented very nicely.
Female vocals are silken, listening to Diana Krall perform 'Peel Me A Grape' is audio porn. Enough said.
Treble: What do I say here? These absolutely love treble! They sound clear as a bell (LikeABell!
But, this can be a double edged sword at times. With material that is poorly recorded or at high volumes, these tend to get sibilant.
Soundstage: These have very good soundstage for an IEM. There is an acute sense of space among instruments. This was really surprising for me, a pleasant one.
The Details in these are crazy, you'll hear everything the artist wants you to, in fact, even the details the artists hope you won't catch. Don't bother with lower quality/poorly recorded recordings.
Misc: Putting on the eartips is ghastly hard! You really need to will yourself on, especially when the tips are new. I tried all the tips Noble provides and Complys. I finally settled on the blue tips. These, for me, deliver a tight coherent sound and largely tame the sibilance.
So nearing the end of this review, you should know by now that I love my Noble 3U. Yes, they can sound sharp at times but deal with that and they reward you with the most satisfying aural experience, an engaging sound that allows for both analytical listening and outright fun at the same time.
The Wizard has succeeded in making me a fan of his, do try these out if you get a chance.
