Rin1990
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Noble Audio Katana Full Impression
Katana marked the end of my IEM-hunt for now. But my appreciation of balance has just begun.
Note: The impression on the Noble Audio Katana is done by the Fiio X1 + E12A stack with no bass boost and set on low gain.
All my tracks are in lossless WAV/AIFF/M4A 16bit/44.1 KhZ format.
Introduction
64 Ears ADEL U12. Mee Audio Pinnacle P1, Final Audio Piano Forte X. Jerry Harvey Audio Rosie, Angie, Roxanne and Layla. Finally, the Empire Ears Zeus R.
All of them have given me the pleasure to be embraced by their unique sounds and distinguishable personality shown in a very special spectrum, each with their own style and preference pandering to many different types of audio lovers and enthusiasts that go on for the neverending quest for the ideal sound on the go, spending tons of fortune on a pair of tiny IEMs might have seem like an excessive investment from many daily consumers' perspective, but when audio lovers are growing in numbers as time went on with technology advancing faster than we can keep up, can you really blame the people being excited on something so small yet so full of potential, wrapped in your tiny ears?
Sense of worth has always been in question and debate to many people when it comes to purchasing any flagship products, whether it's cars, computers, players, amplifiers, speakers and earphones. The sweet beauty behind investing on something that is the top of the line of the company's efforts to make a lasting impression that will hold their company's future for a long time as they strive to create better and better products, aspiring to constantly improve on perfection even though true perfection was just a lie, there's only a fiery passion behind the people who are willing to go further and further even though there's not much left in imagination when you've reached that promised land.
That's the sort of fire I sensed when I touched the Noble Audio line ups.
And that's every bit admirable as any other company that shared such passion to continue improve on perfection, constantly improving upon layer over layer like an endless loop of repetition between study and creation. What can be done to improve on something that's already as perfect as it look?
But a lingering question remained -- Are they truly worth their price? Well, after trying so many flagship models barring from those that are just too rare to be available in my country, I can safely say plenty of the flagship models I named not too long ago are worth every penny. Because they mark what defines their absolute best, their pinnacle of fruition from their passion to pursue the best sounds, each subjectively tested and tuned. The response is always a very simple once you tried them with your own hands --
"You get what you paid for."
And this is exactly what I thought after trying Noble K10U and now that statement I made was reinforced even further after trying the co-flagship -- Katana. Why?
Let's find out.
Design
The regal look on the K10U with its red and white color selection made for a very stand-out impression from the crowd.
Compared to the Kaiser, the Katana is more modest and "serious" looking with its choice if black and grayish gold with its dull spike that looked slightly like a tiny durian that didn't hurt nearly as much as the actual fruit.
I really like the pattern done to the shell and I hardly notice any awkward bits that stick out like a sore thumb, everything was built seamlessly with a very smooth flow from top to bottom all the way to the circular line-patterned surface on the faceplate with the imprinted Noble logo.
This is a fine balance between standing out and being subtle with attention on detail.
The Katana design gets a perfect 10/10 from me.
Fit
Remember how I said the big onion K10U protrudes a bit depending on what type of ear size and shape you have due to their fairly large housings? That lingering concern for those with smaller ears will immediately vanish once they saw the Katana because the housing on the Katana is actually smaller!
And keep in mind, the K10U is a 10-driver unit, and the Katana is a 9-driver unit. I am not even sure how the Wizard managed to do it but the smaller housing on the Katana fit my ears even better! And as the result along with the Dita silicone tips I normally use, it makes for a fit that is as close to being a custom as I can get. Of course, it won't be as flawless as actual customs molded to your ears, but it's pretty freakishly close since I did managed to force- fit a few custom IEMS that my friends had just to test them out of desperations before like that time with my friend's Cosmic Ears CIEM.
The fit on the Katana to my ears is a near flawless. This is as close to a custom as I can get, and I am happy for it.
Initial Sound Impression
The Katana instantly gripped my heart.
it has no wow factor, no. What it has however, is a soul-injection towards my ears through the music I feed the in-ears.
The very first thing that sends my heart lifting in joy and excitement when I opened up Of Monsters and Men's Crystals...is how harmonically balanced everything is in. Soundstage, positioning, instruments, vocals' breathing and emotional movements like head tilting around the mic, the sense of immersion and being involved with the artists...
It's all in a harmonic synchronization. Bass that punch with utmost balance between dynamic decays and punchy impact...mids that are so joyful to listen that I refused to let go off them... Treble that is in a sibilance level of juuuuuuuuuuuuuust right position for me with smoothness that is beyond description...
Folks...I think I just tapped into my personal Audio Nirvana zone through the Katana...something that not even the Empire Zeus R can do to me.
This is outright bonkers.
Clarity/Detail
I am completely thunderstruck by the level of clarity displayed by the Katana. It’s so clear that everything was presented not just in full spectrum, but every nuance of subtle note found in a song was easily captured and reproduced with utmost accuracy. There were no delays of any note of sort. Not a single instrument sound veiled nor recessed. Layers after layers of their musical note were all sent directly through my ears and in my head clear as crystals.
This amount of clarity was almost impossible to imagine without comparing it to the Empire Zeus R. But no...the Empire Zeus R was held back sometimes by its occassional overwhelming musical coloration and therefore leaving the sound slightly overpowered by some instruments that have more presence than the other. The Zeus R’s strength is also its Achilles’ Heel unfortunately, to those who want a more neutral sound for their flavor. The Zeus R to me was just a tad bit too musical for my taste and listening to the Katana, I just realized how much I’ve been missing actually from my orchestral tracks.
Listening to O Fortuna has never been such a mezmirizing and layered out experience where I will go out and pick each and every note sung by the chorus singers individually. They were all presented to me in individuals part by part.
It’s level of sheer clarity and accuracy sense left no competitors any chance to even compete.
The only other IEM that I can think of competing to this level of clarity is the JH Audio Layla which has the flattest and most analytical sound signature I’ve heard from my ears. Granted the Layla has a tad more performance on the clarity it felt a bit too cold for me, which is the complete opposite of the Zeus R.
Katana’s sense of clarity here is nothing short of mind-blowingly awesome and hyper-accurate.
It’s ability to dish out immense amounts of detail so effortlessly and presented in such a fair bit of musical way that is mixed with an incredibly analytical sense of scale and layering is absolutely stupendous. I am completely speechless listening to track after track of different genre songs.
Playing DSD file of the Thriller from MJ through borrowing the Calyx M again, I can hear everything so clear with such accuracy that they sounded organic, as if MJ in his early prime is still there with me briefly in the recording studio. The musical instruments presented on the funky beats made me feel like I am back in the early 80s.
Adele’s Rolling in the Deep has never felt so clear, detailed and so...accurately musical from all the subtle sparkles it just got exposed by the Katana.
I’ve said enough here...this, my friends, are what it takes to get a perfect score from me on clarity and detail level of an IEM, which I never gave to any IEM. Ever. Until now that is.
Congratulations Noble. You did it.
The Katana gets the first ever 10/10 in Clarity and Detail in my scale. The only IEM that is very close to getting this score was the Layla in my list, which is a 9.9/10.
Soundstage
The Katana is wide, but not as wide as the K10U.
Nuh uh, it’s strength doesn’t lie in the expansive nature like the K10U, the moment I listened and focused on the soundstage of the Katana, it’s not what they’re about. What the Katana is truly about concerning the soundstage however…
...is the holographic accuracy of the 3D imagining on instruments and vocals.
The positioning is just absolutely spot on, no matter what genre of music I use, they’re always so spot on to the exact ideal position that I imagined, it’s like K10’s soundstage width was being readjusted accordingly to position these instruments and vocal singers on that tiny idealistic spot and what’s the result?
All my music have what I heard in my head, the most accurate positioning ever with a soundstage that is on the idealistic balance in width, making the presentation overall on the tracks I play a truly organic and lifelike experience that drift me into that nirvana zone. Every time I close my eyes I can find myself into that place.
Empire Zeus R can do the same, but its accuracy was trounced by the Katana here. The positioning was just right in that ideal spot that I thought the Empire Zeus missed by a few fair margin to my ears.
The soundstage of the Katana isn’t as wide as the K10U, but it sure has the best 3D imaging ever that is as sharp and accurate as its namesake.
Listening to Loorena McKennit’s live performance is nothing short of hauntingly beautiful an experience with the Katana. You feel like you’re part of the crowd there in a VIP seat and Loorena felt like she’s there performing just for you with her band working their absolute best with their instruments to immerse you in the mystical world that Loorena would like you to imagine yourself in. The crowd applauses? They’re pretty much just as impressed as you are with the raw performance reproduced through these tiny little in-ears.
Have another 10/10 for the soundstage, Katana. You’ve earned it, Wizard.
Bass
Comparing the bass with the K10U, the bass on the Katana is not that powerful and impactful, but they sure as heck are as well-controlled as you can get.
The lows are clearly readjusted to have less quantity but the quality of the bass is cranked up to levels that are so beyond absurd and clean sounding that I swear this is a hybrid IEM with really, really, really wonderful ultra-wide dynamic transducers that are found on the Dita flagship IEMs or something similar to Campfire Lyra’s beryllium PVD transducers.
The bass here is so clean, so dynamic and decays so naturally that I swear these are not BA drivers. At all. No way.
But apparently...they are.
These bass responses are exactly what I expect from what BA drivers could sound like when tuned to their finest without too much quantity, which might seem too good to be true but Katana managed to convince my ears that these truly are possible.
Perhaps the truly hardcore bassheads will find the bass lacking some quantity, but they sure won’t find them lacking in quality at all, because that’s what Katana’s lows are all about. Quality over quantity.
This is easily the most well-controlled bass I ever heard from a BA driver IEM. Bar none.
Lars Ulrich’s drum tuning sprang into full organic life spectrum thanks to the bass tuning here that is neither too forward, nor lacking in punch and control and not just sounded right to me, it actually “feels” right. Like a fine balance between the two.
And don’t even get me started back on the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni track. It’s not as powerful a feeling on the bass, but the overall presentation of the bassy parts of the track was presented in a very natural way that doesn’t feel excessive at all, making the mids stand out even better thanks to this.
I’ve said enough already on this bit...the bass of Katana might lack a bit of quantity, but in exchange I get nothing but pure distilled quality bass with just the right amount and it’s all full bodied to the brim on every beat.
The Katana gets a 9.8/10 from me on the bass. Quality over quantity is just the better solution sometimes. And here it shows.
Mids
Vocals are important to my collection. They made up about 70% of my tracks in my Fiio player and I don’t think I can live well with myself owning a super V-shaped sound IEM for them, recessing their voice to the point where I hear nothing but sharp treble and boomy bass.
But that displeasure was immediately washed away once I played Katana on my vocal tracks...and by God was it nothing short of memorable an experience.
For the first time since, well...since about a year and half ago, I was shocked by the mids produced by the first so-called “audio-phile” grade in-ears from the Vision Ears VE5. It was soulful, full-bodied and the mids were brought towards me in a position I never imagined possible from a pair of earphones. It was the ultimate turning point of my life, a spark of a new hobby that I can sincerely love.
Katana made me realized that feeling once more and sends me to a place that I don’t think I will ever hear when it comes to how beautiful mids can sound. That along with how tonally accurate they truly can be with no bass enhancement whatsoever.
Lenka’s Blue Skies immediately graced my ears with her slow, deep yet eerily airy voice through her alluring yet organic pronunciation of every word in the simple lyrics.
Chorus hits with so much emotion and air that it felt like you’re in cloud nine with Lenka right in front of you.
Amy Grant’s How Mercy looks from Here hits like a pure diamond homerun baseball bat and my eardrums are the balls.
Her voice was perfectly captured with pure emotion and raw power. The message she conveys are as clear and transparent as they can be to my ears. Truly I never knew just how deep her voice can reach to a person’s heart without trying to raise her voice at all. Truly God bless this woman’s beautiful voice, talent and strong sense of encouragement to the people willing to listen to her songs that’s written with a kind heart.
Adele’s Hello struck like a nail in an old abandoned house.
Her build up vocal at the beginning seem to feel as if Adele knew you as a very old friend that just greeted you once again to catch up on things, before her voice reached the crescendo to the exceptionally powerful chorus.
“Hello from the other side” never felt so dominatingly powerful to the point where even the strong bass background took a momentary backseat and let Adele work her vocal power directly towards my ears. This is one of those moments where I realized this must be what vocal nirvana must feel. Only you and the singer with the rest of the musical instrument being just right there with you both.
Kylie Minogue has such a seductive voice. In Chocolate, her beautiful, pure and airy voice just tickled my ears with so much pure distilled emotion of desire.
The backup rap vocals can be a bit distracting in the song but once you focus on her voice alone, it can easily lose you in the music.
Katana easily sends her airy voice soaring high up and her tone was reproduced with such grace and accuracy that I can only describe as being “pure organic” and realistic. Yet it was neither too forward or far too bright and warm to bear.
Utada Hikaru’s Hikari is easily the most empowering song I’ve heard from her career on addition to being an iconic theme for Kingdom Hearts series.
The finger snaps being subtle details on her track was easily reproduced with utmost crispness and lushness. The Katana captures it so well along with the instruments that easily take one step back for Utada to sing to her heart’s content for the listener.
Her voice is brought to a full emotional front seat that isn’t too forward, but just right. It was both a very relaxing yet energetic experience that made me listen to her for hours.
Absolutely beautiful and gorgeous reproduction on the mids.
This is the only IEM that I can imagine being above the VE5 and Empire Athena and Zeus R in terms of vocal reproduction.
To my ears, in IEMs category --
Nothing else comes close to the Katana besides those I mentioned.
Congratulations, Noble. The Katana is now my fourth IEM in the list that won a perfect 10/10 score in the mids.
Treble
The smoothness of the treble on the Katana is something special in its own. While it’s not as silky buttery smooth as the Savant or the K10 in a very slight margin, there’s one thing that the Katana has that is far better than these two -- natural sparkle and airiness.
Enter Sandman from the album Through the Never by Metallica was easily the most satisfying feeling when using the Katana to find that climatic build up from the start until all the instruments came crashing down before the music picks up with fireworks blasting off at full force, crowds going nuts.
Everything was presented with so much sparkle and airiness that you feel like this is a performance made just for me along with the lucky few that have the VIP seats that see the band in action. The fireworks were so clear and crisp that you feel they were fired off right in front of me when I close my eyes.
Some natural sibilance can still be heard but this is only from song recordings that have plenty of it. Here it wasn’t veiled but wasn’t harsh on the ears either thanks to the smooth nature of the highs.
This is a good thing because as much as I don’t like sibilant sounds, I wouldn’t want it to be rolled off either for the sake of a clearer mids because if some sibilant sounds are meant to be there originally then I wouldn’t mind listening to them so long as they aren’t invasive to my sensitive ears.
And here it wasn’t bothersome at all to me. The treble has a very smooth presence, plenty of sparkle and air and with just the right amount of sibilance that feels natural in general.
The treble here is a very, very pleasing 9.8/10 to my ears. I can listen to my music for hours with this type of natural treble presentation.
Conclusion
The Katana marks the end of my journey on finding my ideal IEM that won’t shoot over MYR 10,000 ($2400 approx) and it’s easily the best performer for the price that trounces on everything else and only very few can come close to its sonic performance, especially when it comes to finding a balance between musicality and neutrality.
The Katana is the center between the two and I hope this goes without saying that it’s now my top IEM in my wish-list purely from sound performance alone.
Are there better and more technically capable IEMs out there? Yes. The KSE1500 for example which I am sure are going to be even better and then there’s Empire’s Effect Audio collaboration product, the Empire Arthur which is coupled with the special Excalibur cable designed for it which brought it to a whopping near MYR 15,000 ($3600 approx) price but those are far beyond my bracket and I don’t really have any interest in them for the time being.
The Katana left me with a bit of mixed emotion in the end though, because it made me wonder…
What’s left of Noble after the Katana? There’s almost no room left for imagination on it. How are they ever going to top this?
But all in all, this is also when Katana made me realized that pushing off my bass boost setting is the more ideal path to getting my desired balanced sound signature on many cases because it allows an IEM to give out the best natural performance with a flat signal that isn’t affected by any outside interference like EQ or bass enhancements.
Nicely done again, Noble Audio.
Someday I will get the Katana, and it will surely not be the only time I listen to its sound.
