After one month of owning a Kaiser Encore custom I think it’s time to share my (unprofessional) impressions.
At first I have to apologize because neither my English nor my sound description is as accurate as I would like, however I try my very best.
This is my first pair of (costly) CIEM, so I was quite excited when I could afford a pair of K10. Before that I only owned a Shure 215, an Ultrasone HFI-780 and a Cowon P1, so there will be no direct comparison. Several days after Sunny’s confirmation mail, Noble announced the Kaiser Encore. I reached out to Brannan and asked for an update to KE, he and Sunny have done a great job and change my order. About eleven weeks after ordering and few days before Christmas, I received a package by Noble, and had to pay less tax then I was prepared for. Nice additional gift! But the real ones are the CIEMs themselves.
I absolutely love the design (don’t ask me why I chose a red, it just hit me). Hand-manufactured masterpiece which fit snugly in my ears. I don’t have any issues with seal break, I can move, run, eat, talk and nothing hurts. I though my strange narrow ear canals could be a problem for the seal or even the placement of sound bores, but everything went well. If someone is interested, my ear impressions were made in a slightly open jaw position without a bite block.
Until Christmas I was more an EDM/Electronic music guy who listened also to some normal, popular song. But with KE, much EDM music are pretty bad recorded, that is why I was looking for some other music. That was the best decision of the year (after ordering. I browsed this and some other threads for music recommendations and found a complete new way to enjoy music. Songs by Amber Rubarth, Macy Gray and many others sounds so realistic. You can feel how every instrument is placed around yourself, sometimes only couple of meters, sometimes on a really big stage. I even sometimes here something clicking or dropping in the recorded environment, and I instantly move my head because I thought I would be in real life, because it sounds so natural and positioned. After I received some albums by Art of Noise, Pink Floyd, and Flim & The BB’s from my father, it goes even one step further. I was really frightened by some songparts and amplitudes. It just hit you, completely unprepared. It sounds so clear, detailed and fast but can also punch your face if it's necessary. The amount of bass feels right and balanced in my opinion. If you need more the KE can easily deliver more by changing cable, use EQ (really good on my P1) or other tweaks. I cannot explain (and also don’t know) which frequencies are boosted or whatsoever, it just feels right, no hiss or massive bass. In combination with my P1 they are definitely on the warm side.
I still listen to (for me) new music genres and every time I’m impressed by the KE. After plugging in some other headphones, I don’t want to listen to vocals and instruments, there is no fun anymore. That’s probably the reason why I never got stuck at these genres. At EDM or popular pop everything is so mixed up, like mash or some other stuff, it’s no big difference. Don’t get me wrong, they sound great and many times better than my old one, but where the KE really shines is good recorded music. Binaural or not, instrument separation, soundstage, realistic sound signature and fast punches are their biggest strength.
I like the stock Noble cable, it’s quite comfortable, long enough and has small connectors on each side. Sound wise … I have no idea. From time to time I can hear some interferences which are coming from my smartphone, but this should't be a problem caused by the cable.
In conclusion, I’m really happy with my purchase, I would order them immediately again even though they are pretty expensive. Maybe … probably this one isn’t the last Noble CIEM, I’m looking forward to future line-up. Right now I'm going to convince my father, because the biggest downside of the CIEM is, that no one else can try them.
I hope this may help you. If you have more music recommendations, that would be awesome.
Big shout-out to whole Noble-Team!
Check out Above & Beyond, they have two Acoustic Albums that are particularly amazing. Listen to "Hello" on your Encores - you won't regret it!
