[fiascogarcia]

I plan to review these myself, I hate posting first impressions but so far they're good. Is it supposed to be this hard to change cables? I feel like I'm going to bend or break the 2 pins.

Tight is good.  Just try to pull as straight out as possible, and try to change cables as infrequently as possible

 

[SDBiotek]

Yes, you definitely don't want them to get so loose that you end up losing one side of your iems. Nothing wrong with Noble's stock cables, unless you have a strong aversion to memory wire.

 

[ScottFree]

Yes, you definitely don't want them to get so loose that you end up losing one side of your iems. Nothing wrong with Noble's stock cables, unless you have a strong aversion to memory wire.

 
Noble's memory wire is a lot better than some others I've tried. Looking at you Shure.

 

[Dillan]

The cable and memory wire all seem good, just wanted something a little more custom with balanced connector so got a pure silver 8 wire 2.5mm balanced.

 

[SDBiotek]

Noble's memory wire is a lot better than some others I've tried. Looking at you Shure.

Ah yes, I remember the bad old days when I used to fuss with a Shure SE215. Personally I don't have any problems with the Noble stock cables, but fit and feel can vary wildly from person to person.

 

[Antihippy]

Still no impressions for the savanna?

 

[never satisfied]

Still no impressions for the savanna?

Well, it's been three weeks starting today since I ordered my Savanna, so hopefully it ships out sometime next week. I'll be sure to share my first impressions here when I've spent a few hours listening to it.

 

[Antihippy]

Well, it's been three weeks starting today since I ordered my Savanna, so hopefully it ships out sometime next week. I'll be sure to share my first impressions here when I've spent a few hours listening to it.

Cool, would love to here more about it. Just sent my impressions off for my customs so I'll have to wait a bit longer than 3 weeks haha.

 

[ScottFree]

Still no impressions for the savanna?

I'll post a quick impression if you want. But i can't guarantee it'll be readable as it's 3am at the moment and I'm half asleep.

So the Noble Savanna with SpinFit ear tips and standard cable. IMHO One of the finest Universal iems I have heard EVER. Well at least so far.

Wide and fairly high soundstage with a decent amount of air between instruments.

Compared to the Noble 4 (Gen 1) and Savant (Gen 1). More bass is present and in some songs the bass impact is just shy of the Savant with just a little loss in bass clarity.

The Noble 4 did seem to have a peak in the treble which occasionally made the N4 a bit edgy but this seems to have been smoothed out. Vocals are also fantastic.

I personally am very very very very happy with them. And quite frankly I have officially given up buying any iem at all. For me it's the Savanna that's my perfect iem.

 

[Antihippy]

Thanks for that. The earlier impressions I've read about fantastic vocals is what made me jump on the savanna c in the first place. I'm a bass head but I've found that i also trend towards sound signatures that present mids with clarity and musicality.

Good to hear that it's free of treble peaks too.

I would love a comparison with the hd600 as a reference point but that might be a bit unreasonable.

 

[never satisfied]

I'll post a quick impression if you want. But i can't guarantee it'll be readable as it's 3am at the moment and I'm half asleep.

So the Noble Savanna with SpinFit ear tips and standard cable. IMHO One of the finest Universal iems I have heard EVER. Well at least so far.

Wide and fairly high soundstage with a decent amount of air between instruments.

Compared to the Noble 4 (Gen 1) and Savant (Gen 1). More bass is present and in some songs the bass impact is just shy of the Savant with just a little loss in bass clarity.

The Noble 4 did seem to have a peak in the treble which occasionally made the N4 a bit edgy but this seems to have been smoothed out. Vocals are also fantastic.

I personally am very very very very happy with them. And quite frankly I have officially given up buying any iem at all. For me it's the Savanna that's my perfect iem.

Wowee now I'm REALLY excited to get my Savannas. Ive heard nothing but good from them so far

 

[warrior1975]

As I'm impatiently waiting, I'm also planning my next purchase. I'm thinking the famed Solar...

K10 vs Solar. That should be an interesting battle. Both groups are extremely passionate about their IEMS and their respective companies.

I'm just really looking forward to the K10... Especially since my Heir 8.0, one of them, has a broken shell.

I truly enjoyed my Heir and with the K10 being an improvement over the Heir 8.0...

 

[y2jdmbfan]

Anyone get any shipping notifications today? I was hoping to have my K10U's by next Wednesday...

 

[warrior1975]

Not yet. You ordered after me, right?

 

[Malevolent]

  Well as time went on  I reserved my comments hoping that perhaps someone else would. It finally dawned on me that probably very few people are in a position to answer because the new Katana is just rolling out. I happen to have a prototype of the new Katana that was given to me by Dr. John and I also have a set of K10U. I guess that leaves it to me to to make some comments about the two. I am a devoted fan of the K10U. I own many iem's and I keep reaching for the K10U as my reference iem. Then came a package in the mail from John and I have had time with the new Katana. I have listened to the Katana extensively over the past month. It is without question a flagship grade product but very different from the K10U. In the Katana I realized that John had created a separate but different flagship so that he could appeal to a wider audience. 
 
So let me explain in simple terms the difference between the two that most headphone/iem enthusiasts can easily grasp. The K10U sonically leans in the direction of the Audeze LCD or top Hifiman products as far as sound signature. The Katana is much more the HD800 or even the Stax reference sound. I am not trying to make a direct overall performance comparison between these headphones and iem's but many of us on this forum can relate to the house sound of those products. You will note that many would consider the LCD 3 to be a reference grade product while the latest version of the HD800 would earn the same yet they are very different sounding products.
 
The Katana is clarity first with an expansive soundstage for an iem. The separation of voices and instruments is exceptional. The bass is detailed though not with the weight of the sub bass in the K10U. There is a warmth to the K10U that pulls you into the music and makes most any well recorded material sound inviting. The Katana is much more a reference sound in the vain of the HD800. I have both and I enjoy both but for my musical preference I more often reach for the Katana. It should be said that I am a fan of classical music and I have owned both the HD800 and some Stax gear. So having said that, you know where my personal listening preference falls. 
 
Many companies have produced more than one flagship quality product to appeal to different segments of the market. It is just smart business. Some like open headphones and some like closed back headphones. We all have our own listening preference. As someone who actually owns both the K10U and the Katana I can say without reservation that they are both flagship quality products while appealing to people with different listening preferences. I applaud Dr. John for being able to create two such fine products.

 
Very helpful comparison, chodi! In fact, this was what I was thinking myself. The K10 is not a beast when it comes to absolute clarity and soundstage size, but it's a maestro at reproducing excellently textured mids and lows. That's why it's still at the very top of its game for fans of a solid midrange and bass.
 
Still, Noble's idea of gunning for 2 flagships is not a bad idea after all. The K10 is not everybody's cup of tea, I suppose. My wife for example, she prefers clarity above all else. I think she's going to find the Katana right up her alley. Which probably means I should prevent her from getting her hands on the Katana.