Funny thing is that I value my Khans very highly. They are an "S" to me. But you need comply isolation foams on them, which damps the highs a bit, making them neutral with only subbass boost and very coherent overall (just look at the graph and the mids). I've measured them and they look great with comply.
Other thing is V1 Khans were f*ed quality wise, I had to replace mine 2 or 3 times due to broken 2pins or the whole shell broke once (!!!). Had to negotiate the replacements heavily as they told me it's my fault. Once they created V2 though, they are OK now! That, not the tuning, was a blemish on the brand and why I probably won't buy anything from Noble soon, but I have to admit, Khan is a great IEM and they know how to make a superb IEM, only watch out for their highs made for people with hearing loss (no disrespect intended here), these highs need to be tamed.
Also have EE Zeus XRA and have to admit: it is coloured neutral. In CIEM format the highs move further away into 10+ kHz region and are more flat / neutral than shown here, with some little spikes adding resolution and sparkle. Superb layering and a tuning one has to get used to, mid forward, but also higher mids subdued at the same time. Bright and light, but at the same time dark and slightly warm. Technically proficient. Still a flagship and a legend. I even consider buying myself a second one from this Drop, to have it also in UIEM format. What a pity Wraith didn't overcome the predecessor, had big expectations (heard it myself too and wasn't impressed much).
Thanks for confirming my expectation of the tonal response of the Khan. We shouldn't pay that much for tonal response like that! I recently got to hear the Elysium universal and similar issue. I can't agree with ranking iems tuned like such to be ranked up there. Also, value should be takin into account.
Funny thing is that I value my Khans very highly. They are an "S" to me. But you need comply isolation foams on them, which damps the highs a bit, making them neutral with only subbass boost and very coherent overall (just look at the graph and the mids). I've measured them and they look great with comply.
Other thing is V1 Khans were f*ed quality wise, I had to replace mine 2 or 3 times due to broken 2pins or the whole shell broke once (!!!). Had to negotiate the replacements heavily as they told me it's my fault. Once they created V2 though, they are OK now! That, not the tuning, was a blemish on the brand and why I probably won't buy anything from Noble soon, but I have to admit, Khan is a great IEM and they know how to make a superb IEM, only watch out for their highs made for people with hearing loss (no disrespect intended here), these highs need to be tamed.
Also have EE Zeus XRA and have to admit: it is coloured neutral. In CIEM format the highs move further away into 10+ kHz region and are more flat / neutral than shown here, with some little spikes adding resolution and sparkle. Superb layering and a tuning one has to get used to, mid forward, but also higher mids subdued at the same time. Bright and light, but at the same time dark and slightly warm. Technically proficient. Still a flagship and a legend. I even consider buying myself a second one from this Drop, to have it also in UIEM format. What a pity Wraith didn't overcome the predecessor, had big expectations (heard it myself too and wasn't impressed much).
Funny thing is that I value my Khans very highly. They are an "S" to me. But you need comply isolation foams on them, which damps the highs a bit, making them neutral with only subbass boost and very coherent overall (just look at the graph and the mids). I've measured them and they look great with comply.
Other thing is V1 Khans were f*ed quality wise, I had to replace mine 2 or 3 times due to broken 2pins or the whole shell broke once (!!!). Had to negotiate the replacements heavily as they told me it's my fault. Once they created V2 though, they are OK now! That, not the tuning, was a blemish on the brand and why I probably won't buy anything from Noble soon, but I have to admit, Khan is a great IEM and they know how to make a superb IEM, only watch out for their highs made for people with hearing loss (no disrespect intended here), these highs need to be tamed.
Also have EE Zeus XRA and have to admit: it is coloured neutral. In CIEM format the highs move further away into 10+ kHz region and are more flat / neutral than shown here, with some little spikes adding resolution and sparkle. Superb layering and a tuning one has to get used to, mid forward, but also higher mids subdued at the same time. Bright and light, but at the same time dark and slightly warm. Technically proficient. Still a flagship and a legend. I even consider buying myself a second one from this Drop, to have it also in UIEM format. What a pity Wraith didn't overcome the predecessor, had big expectations (heard it myself too and wasn't impressed much).
Other thing is V1 Khans were f*ed quality wise, I had to replace mine 2 or 3 times due to broken 2pins or the whole shell broke once (!!!). Had to negotiate the replacements heavily as they told me it's my fault.
I don’t. Love the build now. Big shell. Nice finish. Long metal nozzle. Recessed sockets (could be done better, one is slightly more recessed than the other but within the norm). What’s bad about it? Maybe the chi-fi accessories.
Thanks for confirming my expectation of the tonal response of the Khan. We shouldn't pay that much for tonal response like that! I recently got to hear the Elysium universal and similar issue. I can't agree with ranking iems tuned like such to be ranked up there. Also, value should be takin into account.
Could perhaps make the pin socket better. As much as I like the sound, the build doesn't seem very durable IMO. Mine started losing sound on the left side when you move the 2-pin. Worrying. No Noble IEM for me anytime soon probs.
Khan on Comply Isolation, close to perfection for me:
Without Comply on my IEC711 compliant mic the highs look like this:
A bit too much, yeah.
Optional back vent blocking (on Comply):
Compare to qdc 8CS, which is also great, mind you, we see better subbass, leaner midbass (too lean for some maybe), better 3kHz pinna gain, no crossover dips at 5kHz lol:
Revisiting the EE Zeus XRA topic, here's how mine measures at deep insertion (metal tube from IEC711 mic taken off, CIEM glued to the mic, the same with 8CS here, that's why the highs look different than above):
8CS is a "studio model", it's not enitrely neutral as we see (another variation of coloured neutral upper mids), but we also see Zeus is not that far off from this mode of "coloured neutral" variations. We also see proof for my claim about highs which extend nicely with no 8kHz spikes here in CIEM format.
Yeah, never could trust Noble. The way they bump up their threads isn't for any informative content, but just marketing the looks of their shell. If I'm getting an audiophile iem, I care about sound, not the shell of the driver.
Way back I got to try out their expensive Encore iem, and was so underwhelmed. Just not worth the price they were charging. After that experience, I pretty much lost interest in their iems.
In defense of the Noble Encore......the signature is not for everyone. They don’t exactly fit everyone either. What you have is two almost egg shaped halves which are pure aluminum and pressed together with 400lbs. The shape is due to the construction methodology. But...after finding tips the Noble sound can be loved by many.
I tried the Khan and didn’t like it. Tried the Katana and found it too conservative, basically boring. But the Encore is an interesting tune after you get used to it. It’s not perfect by any means but does have some character different from anything. It’s not the most detailed either but kind of coats everything in a slight harmonic distortion? This character goes to make music sound live and adds enhancements to electric guitar. The tune is neutral with slight adds to the sub, but a large removal of lower midrange which draws attention to the actual midrange, even though they are not forward. The soundstage is big with a slight treble emphasis which moves cymbals out around a fairly forward and back, side to side soundstage.
The magic is they do many genres well, and remain forgiving despite having mostly midrange character. All three Noble IEMs I’ve spent time with (Khan, Encore and Katana) were actually very different having a personality all their own, though they may not seem to have a big wow factor? It’s that they are technically good, do most genres well, except EDM, and are maybe an acquired taste? Even though opposite......the Encore and IER-Z1R complement each other in use. Though being less intense than the IER-Z1R, the Encore stays in position as a favorite in my collection, at times used for weeks on end.
It’s a reviewers goal to also review value. It’s important for readers to know what a value an IEM objectively is! And....I’m not sure where the Encore sits in a value curve relative to what’s out there? It’s pricy at $1850, but still I haven’t found anything that sounds exactly like it, yet? It’s this subjective uniqueness which is hard to put a price on?
In defense of the Noble Encore......the signature is not for everyone. They don’t exactly fit everyone either. What you have is two almost egg shaped halves which are pure aluminum and pressed together with 400lbs. The shape is due to the construction methodology. But...after finding tips the Noble sound can be loved by many.
I tried the Khan and didn’t like it. Tried the Katana and found it too conservative, basically boring. But the Encore is an interesting tune after you get used to it. It’s not perfect by any means but does have some character different from anything. It’s not the most detailed either but kind of coats everything in a slight harmonic distortion? This character goes to make music sound live and the adds enhancements to electric guitar. The tune is neutral with slight adds to the sub, but a large removal of lower midrange which draws attention to the actual midrange, even though they are not forward. The soundstage is big with a slight treble emphasis which moves cymbals out around a fairly forward and back, side to side soundstage.
The magic is they do many genres well, and remain forgiving despite having mostly midrange character. All three Noble IEMs I’ve spent time with (Khan, Encore and Katana) were actually very different having a personality all their own, though they may not seem to have a big wow factor? It’s that they are technically good, do most genres well, except EDM, and are maybe an acquired taste? Even though opposite......the Encore and IER-Z1R complement each other in use. Though being less intense than the IER-Z1R, the Encore stays in position as a favorite in my collection, at times used for weeks on end.
It’s a reviewers goal to also review value. It’s important for readers to know what a value an IEM objectively is! And....I’m not sure where the Encore sits in a value curve relative to what’s out there? It’s pricy at $1850, but still I haven’t found anything that sounds exactly like it, yet? It’s this subjective uniqueness which is hard to put a price on?
In my opinion Noble K10 , Katana and Ecore, do everythings well, but nothing very well. As you wrote they don't have the wow factor and are essentially boring.
In my opinion Noble K10 , Katana and Ecore, do everythings well, but nothing very well. As you wrote they don't have the wow factor and are essentially boring.
I dunno. On Audio Video Show Warsaw this year I heard them for the first time (Katana and K10 don't know which, probably the newest), and I thought they sound cool. Only that K10 highs will be fatiguing for sure after a while. Actually Katana highs also. Comply Isolation needed for sure. I love the aluminium housings though, and technically they sounded really great for 9-10 BA, spacious, high resolution, very good. Still keeping my Khan though, will not sell it - one of the best IEMs in my collection for me. And just learned how to use IER Z1R properly - I thought it's not as good as Khan, but was mistaken; you really need to push this one far, past the first bend of ear canal preferably, and it's not easy with these tips being so soft (and also it only sounds "right" on the stock tips; and it also sounds the same on triple comfort and silicone; will get bashed for this for sure but measure this and you'll see).
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