[AlanYWM]

   
 
Could you share with me the location/name of your dealer so this can be addressed.
 
Something that should be understood, dealers often times allow potential customers to "trial" their demos with their own personal "fancy" cable in order to hear the sound quality of the product with the cable.   We can ask the dealer not to allow this type of activity, but ultimatley we can't really do much about it if a dealer desides to allow this to occur. (other than repair the demo)
 
Folks the major issue here as that not all cable MFG use the same pin MFG, so the tolerances are going to be different.  If say one cable has a larger tolerance and is used on a socket, it will stretch the socket, rendering the socket loose.

 
I will PM you as I think it better.

 

[EDWARIS]

Highly likely, plastics tend to do that over time, and on top of that the CIEMs are coated with lacquer. Lacquer (varnish) tends to "yellow" due to UV light exposure.

 I'm offering a photo to help explain







Essentially the problem is, the drivers used int the K10 are too big to begin with, a recessed socket is just that.....   it is a socket that has been "recessed" into the interior of the CIEM shell.  There is NO ROOM in the CIEM shell to accomadate a recessed socket and 10 drivers


While there are other socket designs, none of them are perfect either. All sockets carry some type of compromise, we have studied this and decided the two pin, although it has its faults, is well supported by the DIY, and cable up-grade community/industry.  There are a lot of folks with 500$+ cables that would be disapointed when they realize their cable could not be used with a new "super socket" etc etc.

don't get me wrong, I will order K10 soon anyway, I just need to choose a design and I really believe it's the best looking and best sounding ciems now on the market. I just very worried about this socket, I had really terrible experience before and the sockets was the reason I rarely used my ES5 last year. it was just terrible to use them. but I want to have top ciems becouse I love ciems idea, I like their design, and I do a lot of sport and ciem is the only way to listen music during sport, especially when you use helmet or headwear (cycling, MTB, skiing, snowboarding, xc-skiing ect), but for running and streinght training it is also most convinient. I need new ciem and really want K10 indeed. I just hope it will be tough pin connectors. and maybe if you can't make recessed socket you can just to make earphones 1 mm higher around socket? it is also impossible? anyway maybe I just had bad luck with 2pin and it is not so bad generally, but for me its expensive, and any repair is very long and costly process becouse I live very far away from US, so that's why I so worried about it.

 

[scook94]

From what I can gather from following this thread from the beginning, the socket hasn't been an issue until you made it one.

 

[producerjames]

No socket issue or what so ever. Enjoying my k10u everyday

 

[Jalo]

Dr. Mouton:

It may be true when you say " Essentially the problem is, the drivers used in the K10 are too big to begin with, a recessed socket is just that..... it is a socket that has been "recessed" into the interior of the CIEM shell. There is NO ROOM in the CIEM shell to accomadate a recessed socket and 10 drivers". What about building the socket outward so it is not recessed into the shell but still has a socket to better secure the connection. What Edwaris describes is true and happens to me also. I think for those that do not travel a lot may be fine, but I frequently travel on airplane and have experienced all those problems, loose connection, loose channel, bent pins, broken sockets etc. if there is an extended socket, I could even use a tape to help secure the connection.

 

[TonySunshine]

Now the question-  Could you not gently pry the 2 pins apart to tighten the fit.   I am sure noble is cringing but no duct tape is involved.  MacGyver would approve though.

I did exactly this with the stock cable and my moon audio black dragon. When. I first got my k10s I thought there was an issue with the cable because sound would cut out of the right ear piece when I touched the connector. Left was fine. Got a new cable overnighted from Brannan and same problem! That's when I realized the right earpiece socket was looser and so the cable 2pin connector was a bit loose in it, so touching it would disconnect it. Got a pair of needle nose pliers and spread the pins ever so doughty and haven't had any problems since.

 

[MuZo2]

  Some of our products could, in theory, accept a recessed socket. Maybe one day we will offer them, and maybe not.  That being said, ultimately, a K10 can not use  recessed sockets due to size restrictions.

K10U is so small, maybe K10 ciem can accommodate recessed sockets. I am sure Wizard can do the trick with his magic wand.

 

[FullCircle]

K10U is so small, maybe K10 ciem can accommodate recessed sockets. I am sure Wizard can do the trick with his magic wand.

Nope, the socket takes up about the same amount of space as a ci driver.... I don't care to build something that sticks out of the ear like a golf ball

 

[M Coupe]

There are some IEMs that do stick out like that.  Thankfully the K10s do not.   I guess only this guy would neatly accommodate the golf ball IEMs on the market.  Keep up the good work Noble!
 

 

[doublea71]

   
Highly likely, plastics tend to do that over time, and on top of that the CIEMs are coated with lacquer. Lacquer (varnish) tends to "yellow" due to UV light exposure.
 
 I'm offering a photo to help explain
 

 
 
 
 
Essentially the problem is, the drivers used int the K10 are too big to begin with, a recessed socket is just that.....   it is a socket that has been "recessed" into the interior of the CIEM shell.  There is NO ROOM in the CIEM shell to accomadate a recessed socket and 10 drivers
 
 
While there are other socket designs, none of them are perfect either. All sockets carry some type of compromise, we have studied this and decided the two pin, although it has its faults, is well supported by the DIY, and cable up-grade community/industry.  There are a lot of folks with 500$+ cables that would be disapointed when they realize their cable could not be used with a new "super socket" etc etc.

The denim and flesh are clearly fused together; it is impossible to know where one material begins and the other ends, so there is no doubt in my mind that this is a Prestige.

 

[Ultimate Mango]

For anyone worried about K10s getting loose connectors over time. I have K10 número uno. The sockets are tight and I have never had one fall off. I may be on my third or fourth cable, since the design of the cable has improved since my pre-release cable that came with them initially, but I do not change cables often. My understanding of the socket used is that it is rated for hundreds of insertion and removal cycles, and I am still on a single digit number of times inserting and removing a cable. If you swap cables daily, you will wear the connectors faster.
One tip I heard, which may also help, is if your connectors are loose try flattening the cable slightly with a pair of pliers rather than spreading the connectors apart. A flatter cable may grip the connector itself better, rather than spreading them and using the lateral strain to hold it. The spread cable will naturally lose that lateral pressure, where a slightly flattened cable will meld more closely with the connector internals for a long time.
There are things in life to worry about. The nature of the connector on a Noble Ciem is not one of those things.

 

[M Coupe]

Regarding cables.  
 
I have a couple questions for the veteran  K10 owners-
 
1.  I assume the stock cable is copper.  Is that right? 
2.  My gut tells me after a whole 2 days of listening that silver Litz would be the way to go.   There is nothing wrong with the stock cable but I perceive that silver would add a small amount of favorable tuning.  I have silver, silver litz and copper litz sitting in my drawer unused. I could get them reterminated from MMCX to 2 pin fairly cheaply but wanted opinions first.
 
Thank you!

 

[FullCircle]

The cable is spc

 

[M Coupe]

Thanks Dr. John!  I appreciate that information.  
 
Seriously, what other high end audio company has the owners helping customers out.  It is a rare thing and appreciated. 
 
I have to be honest though...that jean short picture has burned a place in my brain that I cannot erase.  Damn you!  Seriously, where do you find these pictures lol!

 

[iranintoavan]

Looking for some advice on my first CIEMs. Long story short for consolidation reasons I've decided to sell my HD650, DT770 and RHA MA750 headphones and corresponding amps and just get one nice pair of CIEMs. Basically I found myself wanting to be more mobile with my headphone usage and that's not practical with those big ones. Figured I'd sell it all and consolidate to one nice CIEM and call it a day (for now).

My budget is 500ish but I can be flexible if I need to be. Of course I would like K10s but they are out of the question. I currently love both my HD650 and DT770 and would like something in between them. Less bassy and boomy than the DT770 but more than the 650. I mostly listen to electronic stuff so I do enjoy a somewhat fun sound with a good low end but I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a bass head. I still want it to be well rounded. So I've been leaning towards the 3C. Since I can't sell to upgrade with CIEMs I wanna get the right ones the first time. Any suggestions?

The 4C sounds great but I worry it won't be as musical as I'm used to with the HD650 and will sound flat and boring to me. That's just normally what I think of when I think of neutral but I could be wrong. The 5 and 6 sound pretty nice as well but they are double the price as the 3 so that would be stretching it. Thanks for the advice. I'm looking forward to being a part of the family one way or another