Noble Audio Prestige Viking Ragnar

Introduction

From my knowledge, the story with the Prestige Viking Ragnar begins in early 2023 when the distributor of Noble in China decided to launch a 20-set limited edition of the model. The original version was built with maple wood and has a Eletech customized cable. However, like all Prestige modes from Noble, it quickly became available as a semi-custom or custom that could be ordered anytime.

I personally owned two pairs of VKRP, an older version made from resin which was returned due to shell fracture and a latest version made from stabilized wood which I am daily driving now. I have also demoed the original maple wood version. Sound signatures between variants are different due to shell and nozzle material but would only be slightly. There are also rumors about differences between the Chinese and American version, which I unfortunately cannot answer since all my experience is based on Chinese-sold versions.

Difference to the Viking Ragnar

I do want to address this before sound review since it may cause some fault assumptions. Long story short, despite Noble claims the Prestige variant should have identical sound with their original counterpart, every single prestige model I have listened to was totally different to the model that they are based on. This is especially true for the VKRP. Look at the FR I measured below:


If you search for a FR for the Viking Ragnar, you will notice the difference. The OG version has a flat FR curve with a peak near 8kHz, where the VKRP has more of a “neutral with sub-bass focused” signature but with more emphasis on the mid and high frequencies but reduced the shouty bit from 4kHz to 7kHz, basically transitioning from a studio monitor to a more typical TOTL Hi-Fi sound. Both has their suited application, but I do believe VKRP is more suited for most listeners out there.

Sound

The FR above kinds of speak for itself already, but I will still do a sound analysis based on each frequency range.

Bass

Many have said that the VKR has somewhat lacking bass and it is basically the same story here for the VKRP. Noble’s twin 10mm dynamic driver array has always been delivering deep but quantitatively lacking bass and this is especially true when paired with the sub-bass focused tunning of the VKRP. Do not think about getting even a bit of warmth from this pair because there simply isn't any, but this does ensure that the VKRP has a great air-ness toward the mid-high and contributes to its amazing technical performance.

Mids

Noble’s long-lasting 4BA arrangement plays a crucial role in the mids of the VKRP. Despite this somewhat lacking driver number the VKRP still shows consistently high technical performance and good tuning coherency at this frequency range. The mid frequency tops out at around 2.5 to 2.8kHz, ensuring a neutral vocal performance. Vocals specifically are somewhat on the thinner side, but great separation and expansive soundstage means that they are standout and clear while not hindering any instruments, which is perhaps the greatest quality about this IEM. The rather aggressive decrease from before 4kHz all the way to 7kHz did a great job to ensure vocal does not get bright and shouty at all despite the overall emphasis on the mid-high frequency range. This does cause some oddness when switching to the VKRP from a more “Hi-Fi termed Neutral” signature like Harman IE2019 or Crinicle IEF neutral, but from a reference point of view Noble did the relatively correct job and one could adapt to it through a short time of listening.

Highs

Like previously mentioned, the shouty region from 4kHz to 7kHz has been reduced, but since the rather aggressive elevation near 8kHz, the VKRP is definitely more of a bright set. Listening to violin is an absolute joy on the VKRP, however, since some female vocals could deliver sound that stretches into this region, it could still get shouty in certain tracks. This is especially true for the resin version since its elevation in the highs started a bit more early from around 6kHz instead of 7kHz, but that version also has slightly elevated mids to back it up. Overall, the VKRP probably has one of the best highs for any TOTL IEMs in my opinion, since it achieves a great balance of being bright but not shouty for the most time.

Soundstage & Technical

The soundstage of the VKRP is large in all directions, perhaps one of the largest on the market with the Annihilator. Same could be said for the technical performance of the VKRP, which the lack of warmth made it seems even better than it already is. With great separation between vocal and instruments and clear and discrete location of each instrument, the VKRP excels both in vocal tracks and instrumental tracks, making it a true all rounder if lack of mid-bass is tolerable.

Build & Fit

As a Prestige model from Noble, each VKRP is unique in look. My current pair has a stabilized wood shell in beautiful blue and black with some yellow patterns to light it up. Here is the image of the unit:


Around the time when the VKRP launches, Noble has updated the shell shape for their IEM models and the VKRP is one of the first to use it. The new shell is now found on the VKRP, Viking Ragnar KE, new Prestige Sultans, Nodachis, Both Onyx and Prestige Onyx, and is recently adopted for Prestige Khan and currently China-exclusive Qilin also, so if you have recently encountered a newer Noble product, you may already have tried the fit. Compare to the older version of the VKRP that has shell material all the way to their nozzles, the latest version has a metal nozzle with an indentation at the end which allows ear tips to be securely fastened in place, so definitely grab the latest version if you want to use ear tips like the Eletech Baroque or any JVC FX series since they fall off easily on the older version.

Cable

Due to the number of versions, the VKRP has many stock cables. The ones that I am aware of includes:

1. Noble old stock cable, 8w OFC, what most people get from their prestige models.
2. Noble new stock cable, probably still 8w OFC but with interchangeable plugs, seen on newer prestige as well as the Spartacus
3. Noble Prestige+ cable, 8w SPOCC, standard for VKRP+
4. Noble Prestige+ 2024 cable, cannot remember the specific material but is alloy and 4wire, not sure if this is an option for VKRP+ or if its going to replace the old Prestige+ cable yet but it is standard for Onyx Prestige+ and Qilin.
5. Eletech customized cable, 4w Gold-Copper alloy with SPOCC, was the original cable for the Chinese-limited maple wood edition and is now still an available option in China.
6. Noble magnus 4 cable, same as VKR, seen on VKR KE (basically a VKRP).

I have only demoed some of them and not all on the VKRP, but from my experience, the Prestige+ cable and the Eletech cable both works fine on the VKRP, not sure about the Prestige+ 2024 but it seems fine to me, but definitely switch out the default cable, it’s made out of too thin OFC wires that cannot deliver any performance.

For upgrade cable, I would personally recommend the PW audio Orpheus to most people if they could afford it since it is the best cable for compensating the lack of mid-bass of the VKRP. However, since I also own the Canpur 622B and the MA Alter Ego which all has plenty of bass I personally uses the Orpheus Lite with the VKRP, which brings the best separation and technical performance of the VKRP and could still add some bass to the set.

Conclusion

I got the VKRP mainly because I want something that emphasizes the mid-high to compensate for the Canpur 622B. However, the VKRP ended up being more than I want it to be. I now use the VKRP more than I use the 622B due to its comfort, overall better vocal and more impressive technical performance. I would be giving it a easy 5 star just for the sound. Even considering my first resin pair was not matched correctly at start, the shell fractures after a month or so when the repair is done and I ended up returning the unit, I will give it a 4.5 still since the sound is just one of its kind.