[tienbasse]

Small remark: I'm not a very patient person, but honestly, 5 months delay for a 249$ 2-BA universal IEMs: it's an ordeal, not a delay.
 
If you wonder why the Drop is still below the 1000 bar, the 5 month delay is ONE major cause.
I know Noble is a "small" company in terms of manpower, but I wouldn't even wait 5 months for a CIEM, so imagine for a cheaper model.

 

 

[Roscoeiii]

The great prices that are being offered on a Noble universal here are partially due to the economics of how these orders are set up. It must be a great relief to Noble to have an exact number of orders worked out before putting in the order for drivers. And then there is the lack of a middle man. Savings that require patience for delivery are more and more common for efforts like Massdrop and Kickstarter. 
 
Don't imagine Noble can be too displeased by almost 1000 orders placed in just over 24 hours. That's pretty damn nice. And they've met the minimum required order #. 

 

[alexking]

How do these compare to the Trident? I currently enjoy the Trident but would be happy to upgrade to something a little less harsh in the treble range.

 

[ziphyx]

First really high end in ears, in comparison to what I've owned. I was interested in noble for a while but I am not in the luxury of being able to spare this much money on IEMs sadly.. But this is a no brainer, really excited!

 

[Subhakar]

What nags me is the genuine fear that all these hundreds of Noble X pairs on order have the potential to delay the delivery of regular line Noble orders...

 

[Wyd4]

What nags me is the genuine fear that all these hundreds of Noble X pairs on order have the potential to delay the delivery of regular line Noble orders...

I would think that the fine people at noble would be prioritising standard orders over these.

I would also think they didn't just pick March as an arbitrary date, but actually a calculated dates based on production capability in excess of their normal workload.

Noble aren't a start up. This isn't their first rodeo.

 

[cuiter23]

How do these compare to the Trident? I currently enjoy the Trident but would be happy to upgrade to something a little less harsh in the treble range.

I own the 3C and was thinking of getting these. Dont want to turn it into a drivers war kind of thing but 3 vs 2 I highly doubt these will have the same level of performance as the 3s or Trident.

Noble would be shooting themselves in the leg if they were. Based on this rationale, i decided against going for a pair.

 

[bearFNF]

I Just compared the Noble X to the T20i. I used the reference and bass tuning ports. Preferred the reference port. The T20i has a more flat sound profile where the Noble X is a more bass/mid focused, to my ear. I think the T20i are more versatile due to having the changeable tuning ports. The T20i also are smaller earpieces but the cable is more friendly on the Noble X for glasses. The T20i comes with a more thorough accessory package. Both sound very good to me. In the end its down to sound signature preference. Either one would be nice to have. Overall I would lean toward the T20i because the sound is more to my liking and the included extras don't hurt either. IMO YMMV

 

[FullCircle]

Small remark: I'm not a very patient person, but honestly, 5 months delay for a 249$ 2-BA universal IEMs: it's an ordeal, not a delay.

If you wonder why the Drop is still below the 1000 bar, the 5 month delay is ONE major cause.
I know Noble is a "small" company in terms of manpower, but I wouldn't even wait 5 months for a CIEM, so imagine for a cheaper model.  

We have the ability to build 200 Noble X a day. If need be. The problem is on the supply side, shipping down time, and the fact that there are several holidays spread through out this time period. It is a logistics shut down, shipping, customs, govt offices, all closed. Our build team isnt the bottle neck, we have two labs ready and wishing to work.

 

[FullCircle]

What nags me is the genuine fear that all these hundreds of Noble X pairs on order have the potential to delay the delivery of regular line Noble orders...

Not an issue, on Nobles side, again supply lead time. A typical order from Knowles can take a month to fulfill.

 

[Toolman]

Jan/Feb is traditionally a massive slowdown time (due to Lunar New Year and the week long Golden Week holiday + the month long "recovery time" from too much celebration), if any of the materials are sourced out of China

 

[FullCircle]

  Jan/Feb is traditionally a massive slowdown time (due to Lunar New Year and the week long Golden Week holiday + the month long "recovery time" from too much celebration), if any of the materials are sourced out of China

 
 
Knowles shut down most of their facilities located in China (I think they still have one).  Regardless, the above mentioned Holidays are shared in neighboring countries as well, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc etc

 

[FullCircle]

I would think that the fine people at noble would be prioritising standard orders over these.

I would also think they didn't just pick March as an arbitrary date, but actually a calculated dates based on production capability in excess of their normal workload.

Noble aren't a start up. This isn't their first rodeo.

 
 
 
No, this is not our first rodeo.  The universal lab had the roof blown off twice, and flooded out twice due to severe weather.  We also had a 6+ earthquake and we have moved lab locations 3 times in 4 years.  We don't make announcements about the moves, and we don't close operations due to the move. We also opened a new lab located near a Knowles manufacturing center as well, and it has been on line now for about a year. We now have 2 universal assembly locations in two different countries that do partial assembly work, all universals have final assembly performed in America.   Currently we have production locations in 4 different countries.   
 
Despite that, I still do not feel that we are a "power house."   We are growing, we love what we do, the growth is just a bi-product of doing what we love to do.

 

[KimbaWLion]

I just wish I could afford the higher end models... BUT this is a GOOD start at a GREAT PRICE! For all the discussion of value, how many BAs etc. it ALL comes down to sound in the in end does it not?
More is not always better and better does not always = more. Should I like this I can always save! 

 

[silverfishla]

Umm, so nothing about those last series of conversations says "made in America" to me.  I'm not that much of a stickler for such things, but that was way off from anything sounding like "made in America".  Why does it say that on the Massdrop promo?  I don't think it's a big deal, but still.