[FullCircle]

Folks probably hang around in the lounge a lot waiting for








Which reminds me, got to get back to the grind

 

[yeongman]

Woah. Those are just amazing. For some reason I find myself itching to collect them. Heh.

 

[Sorensiim]

FWIW, I spent over 3 months on my K10 review and completely re-wrote it 4 times. They do everything so well  (to my ears) that I was having a seriously hard time not making it sound like a paid hypefest. After a year of ownership, I still haven't found anything they do badly. I would love to try the Roxanne for comparison but I don't have the funds (or the patience) for that adventure. MG6 Pro and Ref 5 is also on my list for when I win the lottery. I have an MDAC on the way so any further investments this year would probably be divorce-inducing...

 

[Pudu]

coughshillcough


Ahem ... I mean thanks for the reassurance.

As I said before, personally I find your review, together with that of Kunlun, seems to be the most grounded picture of the Kaisers. I admit it helps that I already know you're not one to run amok with the crowd (despite the fact that your K10 piece seemed completely devoid of cynicism and ironic disdain. I've actually been wondering whether you'd hired a ghost writer for that review ).

 

[Sorensiim]

coughshillcough


Ahem ... I mean thanks for the reassurance.

As I said before, personally I find your review, together with that of Kunlun, seems to be the most grounded picture of the Kaisers. I admit it helps that I already know you're not one to run amok with the crowd (despite the fact that your K10 piece seemed completely devoid of cynicism and ironic disdain. I've actually been wondering whether you'd hired a ghost writer for that review ).

The worst thing about describing ciems is that it all boils down to "These are really good, trust me!". I wish I could let people try them out and listen for themselves.

 

[Chris_Himself]

I find the 16's boomy as well, it's not just us being spoiled, I really thought it was a bit "much". I think you may want to look into the JH13.. thats why I got them. That being said I have a set of 8A's and they're on the warm side too but I really do like that sound signature. If you're looking for that energetic presentation without a lot of boomyness or midrange fluff you'll want to look at the UE Ref. ES5, or JH13. I've had experience with all of them, JH13's being the most since I wear them at least 2 hours a day and I sleep with them in.
 
Plenty of options but the asian house sound would appear to be on the warm side, which they'd call smooth. It's great if thats your thing but from what you are trying to get a really solid baseline with no distractions, I'd say the UE Reference which I have demo'ed so many times at local headphone meets is really, really neutral. It's not boring per se, but even the UE16 or whatever their flagship is at this point has a lot of snap compared to the UE's neutrality. Having dealt with their customer service for UE10 refits a long time ago, if the same people are working for them, their service is really industry leading.
 
Noble was very prompt and polite in their e-mails to me too and I think when ordering a made-to-order product with a lot of money downrange, it's very important to have someone on the other end to bug when stuff goes wrong, or when you want to pay them more money

 

[bobeau]

  FWIW, I spent over 3 months on my K10 review and completely re-wrote it 4 times. They do everything so well  (to my ears) that I was having a seriously hard time not making it sound like a paid hypefest. 
 

 
I don't think anyone doubts you love your K10s and what you wrote is your honest take.
 
That said, your stable of IEMs is this and other Heir units.  Your review was of a review sample that you got to keep (so in essence, a $1900 IEM for free), so it would be hard to say there was no compensation.  

 

[Sorensiim]

Originally Posted by bobeau /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I don't think anyone doubts you love your K10s and what you wrote is your honest take.
 
That said, your stable of IEMs is this and other Heir units.  Your review was of a review sample that you got to keep (so in essence, a $1900 IEM for free), so it would be hard to say there was no compensation.  

Buying my integrity would cost a hell of a lot more than that.

 

[goodvibes]

  I find the 16's boomy as well, it's not just us being spoiled, I really thought it was a bit "much". I think you may want to look into the JH13.. thats why I got them. That being said I have a set of 8A's and they're on the warm side too but I really do like that sound signature. If you're looking for that energetic presentation without a lot of boomyness or midrange fluff you'll want to look at the UE Ref. ES5, or JH13. I've had experience with all of them, JH13's being the most since I wear them at least 2 hours a day and I sleep with them in.
 
Plenty of options but the asian house sound would appear to be on the warm side, which they'd call smooth. It's great if thats your thing but from what you are trying to get a really solid baseline with no distractions, I'd say the UE Reference which I have demo'ed so many times at local headphone meets is really, really neutral. It's not boring per se, but even the UE16 or whatever their flagship is at this point has a lot of snap compared to the UE's neutrality. Having dealt with their customer service for UE10 refits a long time ago, if the same people are working for them, their service is really industry leading.
 
Noble was very prompt and polite in their e-mails to me too and I think when ordering a made-to-order product with a lot of money downrange, it's very important to have someone on the other end to bug when stuff goes wrong, or when you want to pay them more money

Your thoughts mimic mine. I still prefer the JH13 to the 16 or 8c overall as well. Biggest issue with JH is the stock cable which I think just got better. It's a built in advantage for Noble. As you know, easily corrected.

 
I just compared the K10, Roxanne, my personal JH13s, 8C and 4 at axpona with my own HiRes files and DX90. K10 and Roxanne are very competitive. I think the K10 is perhaps a hair better tonally but that the Roxanne has better focus to the sound. It's a wash. I'm more a coherence kinda a guy so I'd probably opt for the Roxanne but I'd need more time with both to be sure. The bass control is also quite functional as implemented though I'm not the sort to mess with things. Still, turning it up for plane/train rides or stage use to counteract how noise effects bass perception could be beneficial. They seemed in an OK spot so I left it. Perhaps the balance would have swayed toward the Roxanne with some tweaking but this compare will always be close.
 
To be honest, I'm still very happy with my JH13fp when it has the right cable on it. The Noble cable being one of those, LOL even if not as good as a chosen aftermarket cable. It's a great stock cable.
 
Didn't feel a desire to change my 13s to the flagships .

 

[warrior1975]

Buying my integrity would cost a hell of a lot more than that.

My take on it would not be that someone is buying your integrity at all, it is that when you don't have to pay for an expensive headphone it's much easier to not see certain faults.

Owning a pair of Wizards Heir 8.a, I have zero doubts that his Noble line is a high quality product. That being said, if anyone shells out their hard earned money, they are definitely going to have a higher expectation, possibly look more for flaws. As opposed to someone who receives a unit that they don't pay for, I'd be pretty damn happy with that unit and I'd definitely find it hard to give an unbiased review just predicated on the fact that I didn't drop $1500 on it.


Just my .02

 

[Kunlun]

It's really easy to see just the opposite happen quite frequently. People who spend a lot of money are then pressed to justify their investment.

Truly, while I think it's great to have full disclosure, it's the quality of the review we should look at, not the person or the means of obtaining the earphone.
I notice that people who claim bias seem completely unable to make specific critiques of the review itself. That's just a personal attack.

I think it's time to put personal attacks aside. Sorensiim's review matches my reasoned take (and I have owned 10 custom ciems and have 8 now, from a variety of companies, which I'm pointing out simply to say I have a little experience) and there have been quite a number of people who have bought the K10 and we can see there is a kind of basic concensus about how it sounds.

 

[warrior1975]

I totally understand what you are saying, and I hope you don't think I was attacking him, or discrediting the Noble line. I've enjoyed his reviews completely, and yours as well. I absolutely believe the Noble line is nothing short of great. I just honestly believe I'd have a much harder time being unbiased if I was given something for free, even if it was just in my subconscious.

That being said, as a consumer, and someone that people would possibly spend their money on a review of an item, I wouldn't have a hard time sharing my POV, even if it meant that I had to admit I regretted spending "xxxx" of dollars on something. To me there is no shame in that, and I'd hope that if I did do that, someone would also reciprocate about an item I was looking into.

Anyway, I apologize for derailing this thread. I appreciate Sorensim sharing his thoughts regardless. I take everything with a grain of salt as I've quickly learned here, that I may love something that you completely abhor.

 

[Kunlun]

It's really not about whether you believe the Noble line is great. I'm not attached at all to whether people like or don't like the earphones I happen to enjoy. Nor are Noble earphones the only ones I enjoy. Each person has to consider what they want. My take on a good review is actually has little to do with whether the reviewer likes or dislikes the earphone. Think about that. I know there are plenty of reviews that are basically about that. While I respect each person's take, those reviews are less useful to me.

What I try to aim for in a review is: Here is what you need to understand whether You, the reader, will enjoy or not enjoy this earphone. I try to give the information a person who knows what they want to hear (which is the big first step) can use to make an informed decision.

As for free samples, I understand what you are saying about yourself. It doesn't sound like you should write a review for anything you have a free sample for. That's cool, knowing oneself is really an awesome thing. However, please consider that a) some of my most positive reviews are for ceims I bought myself, so what holds true for you isn't the law for everyone else, nor is claiming bias really appropriate at all. B)you might be surprised by how many times someone who has spent a lot of money and is desperate to like that earphone gets very upset by my honest take on it.

 

[uelover]

I just honestly believe I'd have a much harder time being unbiased if I was given something for free, even if it was just in my subconscious.

 
I think that if one were to be given something for free in exchange for a review, and if that thing is especially expensive, it will be difficult for him to be critical and honest about the downside of that product.
 
Pyschologically, one will be somewhat inclined/pressured to show reciprocity back to the giver in exchange for the favor received.

 

[warrior1975]

I think we are on the same page, for the most part. My original post was due to the fact that I thought Sorensim was offended because the he thought the poster was trying to imply that Sorensim was really being "bought", I was just trying to share what I thought, as I don't believe at all Sorensim was "selling out" (for lack of a better term). On the contrary, his reviews are, and still will be one that I value. His review of Heir 8.a was rather nice, which I agreed with, then when the split happened, Noble came to, Sorensim never wavered in his POV in regards to the 8.a.

I completely agree that I shouldn't not be offering reviews of things that I get for free, now you and Sorensim, I would not discourage or anyone else for that matter. I am quite new at this, so I have a ton to learn.


Regardless, not that I disagree with what you said, I truly don't understand why someone would have an issue admitting that their purchase was less than expected. I've made so many mistakes in my life, losing money on audio equipment ranks at the very bottom... as it should for most people. I do understand that, that is not always the case. Just as it is not always the case with people who receive free gear, will be 100% honest with themselves and others. I'm not implying you or Sori do that, so please don't be offended.

If I offended anyone, I do apologize, that was not my intention at all.