[astromaddie]

Sorry, I'm not up to speed as to what Etymotic is doing nowadays.   I am more familiar with the ER4P (showing my age).   I suspect the ER4xR is a variant of the ER4p?    Of the three products,

Savant, Sage, and the Noble X, the Savant would have been the closest to the Er4p.  That being said, the Savant had a pinch more bass, and it is also discontinued.


I am clueless as to the Purpleheart etc etc.

Thanks for the speedy response! So, just to clarify what I'm talking about: the XR variant is a little smoother than the 4P with a touch more bass as well. The bass end of the frequency curve is tilted up a bit.

The Fostex Purpleheart is a closedback headphone, a little bassier, basically a totally different sound signature. I'm thinking that might be a better choice for me just because I'm concerned there may not be a big difference between the Noble X and my Etymotics

 

[mattering]

I'm curious, if I have a pair of Etymotic ER4XR, do I really have any business getting these, or will they have a somewhat similar sound signature, and be in a similar class? The Etys are single BA and these are dual BA so I wasn't sure what differences to expect.

Or might I be better off going for the Purpleheart over-ear closed backs?

From my experience with the Etymotic ER4P (I find them thin and too trebley), these seem like they are totally different in sound signature.

 

[Seph Haley]

Man, I'm so conflicted. I want to get some high-end IEMs like these (previously in the drop but fell out). But Audioquest just released the Nighthawk Carbon and I'm not sure if this money should go toward those or these...

 

[MarkF786]

The Noble X's price of $250 is much more in line with other dual-BA IEMs.  The $600 price of the other Noble Dual-BA IEMs seems a bit absurd; I'm not sure how it's justified other than due to brand perception.
 
On another note, the new Etymotic ER4XR has improved bass over the ER4P.  I've been quite impressed by them.

 

[fuhransahis]

There seems to be a general obsession over the amount of drivers in IEMs and that correlation to price, instead of sound quality. I've seen some on here refuse to purchase the Noble X purely based on it only being a dual driver IEM, which seems a bit ludicrous to me.

Or is there always, or at the very least almost always, a direct correlation between the number of drivers and sound quality?

 

[Richsvt]

I m really sick of reading that the more drivers an IEM has, the better it must be. Not trying to pick on any one poster here.
Folks, it is not in the quantity, it is in the design and delivery that makes the difference.
 
Most cars have 4 wheels, so six is better? How about 8 or 12. That must be a fantastic car? (I am trying to be funny)
Do motorcycles suck because they have only 2 wheels? Ever driven a Ducati? They don't suck. I would take one of those over Smart Car anyday...
 
Let's give the Noble team some credit in what they do.
 
Let's move on, shall we?

 

[AnnaMatronic]

  I m really sick of reading that the more drivers an IEM has, the better it must be. Not trying to pick on any one poster here.
Folks, it is not in the quantity, it is in the design and delivery that makes the difference.
 
Most cars have 4 wheels, so six is better? How about 8 or 12. That must be a fantastic car? (I am trying to funny)
Do motorcycles suck because they have only 2 wheels? Ever driven a Ducati? They don't suck. I would take one of those over Smart Car anyday...
 
Let's give the Noble team some credit in what they do.
 
Let's move on, shall we?

Full-sized headphones must suck, since they only (with some exceptions) have 1 driver per side!

 

[FullCircle]

  The Noble X's price of $250 is much more in line with other dual-BA IEMs.  The $600 price of the other Noble Dual-BA IEMs seems a bit absurd; I'm not sure how it's justified other than due to brand perception.
 
On another note, the new Etymotic ER4XR have improved bass over the ER4P.  I've been quite impressed by them.

 
 
 
Firstly, Noble doesn't sell drivers, it sells earphones.
 
 
But lets pretend, your line of logic is correct, and use the ER4XR as the benchmark for price policies.   
 
The ER4XR is a single balanced armature driver, and according to Amazon, the price is $339.   That would mean that the price for the Noble X, Sage and Savant should be $678.  The Savant and Sage are currently under priced, and the Noble X is being sold at a serious bargain.
 
 
 

  I m really sick of reading that the more drivers an IEM has, the better it must be. Not trying to pick on any one poster here.
Folks, it is not in the quantity, it is in the design and delivery that makes the difference.
 
Most cars have 4 wheels, so six is better? How about 8 or 12. That must be a fantastic car? (I am trying to funny)
Do motorcycles suck because they have only 2 wheels? Ever driven a Ducati? They don't suck. I would take one of those over Smart Car anyday...
 
 
Let's give the Noble team some credit in what they do.
 
Let's move on, shall we?

 
 
 

 

[MarkF786]

I agree the sound quality of of an IEM is not proportional to the number of drivers.  The Etymotic ER4XR is a great example, only using one BA driver yet sounding better than many multi-BA IEMs.  The single driver might actually be to their advantage since they don't have to worry about cross-overs, time alignment, etc.  Still I think they're a bit overpriced at $350, and that they're only commanding that premium because of their loyal customer base and the newness of the product.  In another year or two, I'd expect the street price to come down to $250, and even now, it's not too hard to get them discounted by 10-20%.
 
Why might I judge a product as overpriced even if it sounds better than some more expensive products?  I consider the cost of materials, where it's made, the complexity of design, the cost of R&D, etc - and especially what comparable products cost - to form a ball-park estimate in my mind of what I'd value a product to be worth. Sure, sound quality comes into play, but if someone could make a $20 single-BA IEM that sounds as good as some other $1000 IEMs, I wouldn't be willing to pay $1000.  Instead, judging the factors above, I might feel it's worth $250 - and consider it a great value.
 
Obviously everyone has their own way to determine their personal valuation of a product.  I'm glad Noble's customers' valuation of their products align with the company's valuation, and that they have a thriving business with many happy customers.

 

[The FFrey]

I was thinking the same with a footballing analogy.
Me and some friends (i might be able to muster a full team of 11) on one side
Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and Hugo Lloris (Goal Keeper) on the other
Surely my team with 11 should win because there's more of us!
Hell no... we would get utterly twatted!
Numbers mean nothing (outside of math, and phone numbers)
Onwards and X-wards

 

[silverfishla]

I kind of disagree. Cost of materials should definitely be factored in. They don't design or manufacture their own drivers or connectors. They make the shells, assemble and tune it.

 

[Toolman]

Sadly had to drop this Drop 

 got a sweet deal for some bigger things that will sucked up all my hobby money for a couple of months.

Had to be contented with my K10UA LoL

 

[mark2410]

btw peeps, my review of these is nearing completion, so expect it to go live a day or so. 

 

[mashuto]

  btw peeps, my review of these is nearing completion, so expect it to go live a day or so. 

Looking forward to it! Any quick impressions to share before then?

 

[mark2410]

 
Looking forward to it! Any quick impressions to share before then?

it ends with
 

There is a soul, a joy, a sadness, a passion lurking just beneath their mild mannered sensibilities.  Something aching yet deep yet somehow light and airy all at once.