[Eide]

Brief comparison of Shure SE846 and Noble Kaiser Encore Universal.
 
Song I tested with
Perfect Darkness by Fink 
 
Equipment
Roon on a MacBook Pro, Dac/amp: Chord Hugo
 
First out I listened to the song with my Noble Kaiser Encore, then a full listen with my SE846, and finally parts of the song back and forth a few times. I didn’t´t need to change volume much when switching between them. The Encore is a bit more sensitive, so I lowered the volume about 3 dB.
 
Bass
Shure SE846 and Noble has very comparable amount of bass. Maybe a tad more on the SE846, but the bass from Encore is much more controlled. It sounds like the bass on SE846 is messing up lower frequencies a bit. It sounds a bit bloated compared to Encore.The bass drum hit sound almost like it is brick walling and has a tiny distort in the sound. But all over the SE856 presents a nice physical slam and rumble and is very satisfying. 
 
Mids
The Encores are all about clarity, crispness and airiness. The SE846 is tad more laid back and darker sounding. I used the neutral filters (blue), so I think the white filters would be more like the sound in the Encore. The instrument separation is where the Encore really shines. The also presents more of an «out of the head» experience. 
 
Treble
The treble is also more refined in the Encore. The snare hit really sounds physical and real. The SE846 presents this sound a bit more polite. But other than refinement, they have very similar treble profile. 
 
In my opinion the SE846 and Encore is familiar sounding. The Encore is just better in every parametre. It´s like you take a veil of your speakers or clean your window. I must confess that good bass is very important to me. That´s why I have Fostex TH900, Shure SE846 and now Noble Kaiser Encore. They are all excellent in the bass delivery department. But the king of them all is Encore.
 
PS. The Encore is almost twice as expensive, but they certainly doesn’t sound twice better. If sound improvement can be quantified, maybe 15% better. But for me it was worth the upgrade.

 

[Layman1]

 
PS. The Encore is almost twice as expensive, but they certainly doesn’t sound twice better. If sound improvement can be quantified, maybe 15% better. But for me it was worth the upgrade.

I like this, giving credit where it's due, but very balanced and hype-free

 

[Layman1]

Except that now it makes me want the Encores so much, and I've only just got the Katana lol

 

[FullCircle]

[quote name="Eide" url="/t/684787/

PS. The Encore is almost twice as expensive, but they certainly doesn’t sound twice better. If sound improvement can be quantified, maybe 15% better. But for me it was worth the upgrade.
[/quote]


Twice as expensive and 10 times as durable as the encore housing is made from cnc aircraft grade billet aluminum as opposed to an injected plastic housing

 

[Eide]

"cnc aircraft grade billet aluminum" sounds really good I must confess. Makes me feel better for not choosing to buy customs.

 

[ranfan]

Get a Noble Sage. More affordable, has the aircraft grade aluminium, AND the sound quality not far from the Encore

John also told me, it wasn't just the material but the technology and interior/exterior design behind the merging of it all as well, made it even more durable. It cannot be easily disjointed or separated, since it's pressed hard at an angle, uniform across the surface. Hence it is hard to find a reshelled Noble Universal.

BUT, I haven't done a drop test though. So..
 
-edit-
wrong description

 

[FullCircle]

Get a Noble Sage. More affordable, has the aircraft grade aluminium, AND the sound quality not far from the Encore


John also told me, it wasn't just the material but the technology and interior/exterior design behind the merging of it all as well, made it even more durable. It cannot be easily disjointed or separated, since it's pressed hard at an angle, uniform across the surface. Hence it is hard to find a reshelled Noble Universal.


BUT, I haven't done a drop test though. So..

Sorry, must be a communication error, only the encore and the Katana are built in that manner

That being said, the Sage is still a great value

 

[Bighappy]

Curious about the new Lightning cable...Still hoping to land sometime this month?

 

[420204]

Sorry, must be a communication error, only the encore and the Katana are built in that manner

That being said, the Sage is still a great value

 
absolutely agree, Sage is of high value imo.

 

[bangkokkid]

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Dapper​

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[Hisoundfi]

Those custom pics remind me of Tron!
 

 

[Hisoundfi]

I know I haven't posted much lately, just thought since I'm on here I should tell everyone I think the Encore is the best in-ear on the planet.

 

[noobandroid]

using the sage let me find new details in songs that I thought i knew em all, like in calvin Harris mix, has a lot of details i find that was missing

 

[Dingding123]

Those custom pics remind me of Tron!

This Tron pic reminds me of katana, Kaiser and Encore

 

[FullCircle]

  I know I haven't posted much lately, just thought since I'm on here I should tell everyone I think the Encore is the best in-ear on the planet.

 
 
 

 
 
 

using the sage let me find new details in songs that I thought i knew em all, like in calvin Harris mix, has a lot of details i find that was missing

 
 
Yes, I do like the Sage as well
 
 
but you will have to pry my Katana out of my cold dead hand