That's in USD. I wrote S$3300, which means Singaporean dollars.
Noble Audio - the Wizard returns!
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That's in USD. I wrote S$3300, which means Singaporean dollars.
You know what would look good on the gram? A picture of the only set in the world with a reef coral face plate. Get to it sonny, make dad proud.
Keep an eye out for it in the next week or so
I was fortunate enough to audition the Khan at Plaza Singapura's Stereo Electronics. Apologies for the horrid phone photo.
Here are my thoughts:
The Khan has a crisp, energetic and musical signature - the product of a sparkly, open treble counterbalanced against a warm, full-bodied bass. Although it’s a signature that’s become relatively common nowadays, the Khan supersedes most of its ilk through sheer physicality. This is an immensely punchy IEM that sounds downright addictive with percussion, especially. Pre-panned tom rolls where hits are happening all around the listener's head are where this phenomenon is most effective. Hits pop from the in-ear’s serene, black background with great impact, and it’s a treat every time.
The bass is to credit for this. The Khan’s low-end punches with a balance of warmth and authority. Hits are harmonic, rounded and - again - pop, but they aren’t terribly undefined either. The low-end is quite strongly layered and only a hair bright in tone. Of course, for such a signature to exist, there’s a sacrifice to be made in timbre. Although the Khan remains admirably neutral in tone - largely due to the warmth of the bass - the crispness of the treble prevents it from being wholly accurate to my ears. Horns and saxophones have a slight reediness to them, and vocals are crisper - more transient-led - than what I’d call natural. Vocal performances hold weight, but aren’t the most powerful or resonant I’ve heard. Simply put, the treble could’ve been smoother for a more life-like texture, but that’s not what I believe the Khan aims to be anyway.
What it loses in naturalness however, it gains in imaging, layering and separation. The treble’s snappy nature gives the Khan great immediacy, and laces its soundscape with lots of detail as well. For its intended tuning and configuration, coherence is relatively high. Where it's weakest however is probably the midrange. The upper-mids are well-presented with zing to spare, but the lower-mids leave some to be desired. It’s neutrally-positioned and un-impactful relative to the rest of the pack. This isn’t an IEM I’d recommend for rich male vocals or meaty, roaring electrical guitars.
But all in all, the Khan is immensely proficient at crafting large stages and packing them to the brim with nuance and detail. This is an IEM that lovers of the A18t or the Legend X should look out for. Its arsenal of physical quirks certainly offer something extra to percussion that I haven't heard from those two. In terms of tonal transparency, the Khan is... good. The lower-mids are on the lean side and the middle-treble tends to tizz quite a bit; I’m guessing there’s a significant peak around 10kHz. It’s definitely not made for the studio. But, if you’re up for a vast, detailed and fun-sounding TOTL - and you don’t mind having all your tracks tinged with a similar brand of crisp cleanliness - the Khan is a flagship worth looking out for, even at its hefty price of S$3300.
Kinda ironic seeing the part about percussion, ever time I play Bang Bang by Jesse J, there is a major presence of a punching type of drum, possibly a snare drum. Its way outside of my right ear, its really amazing to hear the detail of that. I notice other tracks also demonstrating a sound outside of the right ear, so it doesn't just happen for drums, I guess its just showing a wide sound stage, I really enjoy that. I also agree about the use of tizz, good word to describe what I also hear.
What I love about how the Khan presents drums is how hard they punch with authority and speed. Usually, strong impact is either associated with low definition or sluggishness; perhaps some combination of both. The Khan manages to avoid both to my ears - presenting a stable, open stage, then dropping visceral drum hits out of nowhere. Of course, the size of the stage plays a role as well, so you're immersed in the soundscape. But, that level of dynamism is where it absolutely caught my attention.
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A sound engineer in Japan and Korea heard the Khan, both stated they wanted the Khan ASAP.
Like always YMMV and sound is subjective.
I recently had a Katana lover in Bangkok give the Khan a listening session. To sum up his remarks .... "Normally I dont care much about bass response..... but the Khan's bass is addictive."
My take on the Khan, it isnt the amount of bass, but just how the bass is presented.... nice helpings of bass, without going into the "mud zone."
It is a fun ride, and it is my current favorite in the portfolio.
Like always YMMV and sound is subjective.
I recently had a Katana lover in Bangkok give the Khan a listening session. To sum up his remarks .... "Normally I dont care much about bass response..... but the Khan's bass is addictive."
My take on the Khan, it isnt the amount of bass, but just how the bass is presented.... nice helpings of bass, without going into the "mud zone."
It is a fun ride, and it is my current favorite in the portfolio.
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I was fortunate enough to audition the Khan at Plaza Singapura's Stereo Electronics. Apologies for the horrid phone photo.
Here are my thoughts:
The Khan has a crisp, energetic and musical signature - the product of a sparkly, open treble counterbalanced against a warm, full-bodied bass. Although it’s a signature that’s become relatively common nowadays, the Khan supersedes most of its ilk through sheer physicality. This is an immensely punchy IEM that sounds downright addictive with percussion, especially. Pre-panned tom rolls where hits are happening all around the listener's head are where this phenomenon is most effective. Hits pop from the in-ear’s serene, black background with great impact, and it’s a treat every time.
The bass is to credit for this. The Khan’s low-end punches with a balance of warmth and authority. Hits are harmonic, rounded and - again - pop, but they aren’t terribly undefined either. The low-end is quite strongly layered and only a hair bright in tone. Of course, for such a signature to exist, there’s a sacrifice to be made in timbre. Although the Khan remains admirably neutral in tone - largely due to the warmth of the bass - the crispness of the treble prevents it from being wholly accurate to my ears. Horns and saxophones have a slight reediness to them, and vocals are crisper - more transient-led - than what I’d call natural. Vocal performances hold weight, but aren’t the most powerful or resonant I’ve heard. Simply put, the treble could’ve been smoother for a more life-like texture, but that’s not what I believe the Khan aims to be anyway.
What it loses in naturalness however, it gains in imaging, layering and separation. The treble’s snappy nature gives the Khan great immediacy, and laces its soundscape with lots of detail as well. For its intended tuning and configuration, coherence is relatively high. Where it's weakest however is probably the midrange. The upper-mids are well-presented with zing to spare, but the lower-mids leave some to be desired. It’s neutrally-positioned and un-impactful relative to the rest of the pack. This isn’t an IEM I’d recommend for rich male vocals or meaty, roaring electrical guitars.
But all in all, the Khan is immensely proficient at crafting large stages and packing them to the brim with nuance and detail. This is an IEM that lovers of the A18t or the Legend X should look out for. Its arsenal of physical quirks certainly offer something extra to percussion that I haven't heard from those two. In terms of tonal transparency, the Khan is... good. The lower-mids are on the lean side and the middle-treble tends to tizz quite a bit; I’m guessing there’s a significant peak around 10kHz. It’s definitely not made for the studio. But, if you’re up for a vast, detailed and fun-sounding TOTL - and you don’t mind having all your tracks tinged with a similar brand of crisp cleanliness - the Khan is a flagship worth looking out for, even at its hefty price of S$3300.
Nice, do you know if Stereo will continue to demo the Khan for the foreseeable future? Can't go this weekend, need to find some time to go and
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I dont know their plans, but I predict they will as they did place a modest size order of Khans
A sound engineer in Japan and Korea heard the Khan, both stated they wanted the Khan ASAP.
Like always YMMV and sound is subjective.
I recently had a Katana lover in Bangkok give the Khan a listening session. To sum up his remarks .... "Normally I dont care much about bass response..... but the Khan's bass is addictive."
My take on the Khan, it isnt the amount of bass, but just how the bass is presented.... nice helpings of bass, without going into the "mud zone."
It is a fun ride, and it is my current favorite in the portfolio.
Agreed. I personally can't get past the lower-mids and the tizz if I were to use it as a mixing/mastering piece, but it's an exhilarating listen nonetheless. The bass is pretty outstanding indeed.
I don't see why not. But, you do have to request it. They aren't displaying it front-and-centre yet at the moment. Oh, and you must refer to it as the Genghis or Genghis Khan. Simply say Khan and watch as their employees stare at you as if you're speaking gibberish.
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Gibberish
Over time, I think "Khan" will be the adopted name, just as the K10 became synonymous with Kieser 10
Over time, I think "Khan" will be the adopted name, just as the K10 became synonymous with Kieser 10
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I have another challenge John. Make just ONE set of Khan's with a blue and white mooshoo gai pan face plate and a blue and white cable to match my player. Serial number Wata001. Once I have them, you can have my inferior #002 back. 
tm.chen
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Did a quick demo with some of my favorite songs. The Khan was really good and does well bringing out the details. The only con I have was the way vocal high sound harsh when it went pass a certain pitch. I will have to demo it again with more tracks to confirm.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
Did a quick demo with some of my favorite songs. The Khan was really good and does well bringing out the details. The only con I have was the way vocal high sound harsh when it went pass a certain pitch. I will have to demo it again with more tracks to confirm.
Well, this is very bad impressions for a TOTL iem.
2nd person did an impression.
Wondering if I jumped on board too fast for new iem from Noble?
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