[mscott58]

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

Any chance you can get to a show? Then you can hear them all and decide based on your own tastes. Big show here in a few weeks in SoCal. Cheers

 

[iranintoavan]

Any chance you can get to a show? Then you can hear them all and decide based on your own tastes. Big show here in a few weeks in SoCal. Cheers

Sadly no, I live no where near SoCal. Wish I could though! I doubt there are any shows near Kentucky

 

[bangkokkid]

 
Sadly no, I live no where near SoCal. Wish I could though! I doubt there are any shows near Kentucky

 
I want to visit Kentucky!

 

[Watagump]

 
Sadly no, I live no where near SoCal. Wish I could though! I doubt there are any shows near Kentucky

 
I have the solution as always, MOVE.

 

[iranintoavan]

I want to visit Kentucky!

Bring some different Noble's with you and I think we can work something out!

 

[iranintoavan]

I have the solution as always, MOVE. :wink_face:

We're actually thinking about it. We visited California this Christmas for the first time (sadly I didn't know about Noble then) and loved it out there. However it will be a while till that's possible since everything is so expensive!

 

[284033]

  I was at a shop offering the K10 recently. The connectors to the K10U were so loose that both ear pieces fell off when I tried to wear them. I know this is a demo unit but.... And after reading about some of the complaints here, I know this is not an isolated problem.
 
I have nothing against Noble Audio. I personally liked the sound coming out from the K10. However, for something that costs around $1600, I would have expected a more secure connection. I hope Noble Audio is able to fine tune the connector part and make it more secure. Perhaps to something like Fitear? 

 

 
I apologise for the less than stellar experience you had with our demo unit.

The demo unit was taken over from the previous distributor of Noble in Singapore and the unit already had loose sockets from abuse by the time we took over ownership of the demo units.

Noble and ourselves assure you that unless the sockets are badly abused, they do not become loose easily.

 

[vhsownsbeta]

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

I sold my headphones/gear and have been living in the world of IEMs for just over a year... No regrets!
 
I'm listening to 4 universals exclusively while waiting for my K10s. I wouldn't call them flat or boring, just very well balanced. This is coming from Roxannes and SE846s. Listening to RL Grime Scylla as I type, bass quality is excellent, very articulate. Quantity is directly related to source material. I didn't realise how distracting/overbearing/skewed the massive (but awesome) bass on the 846s was. The 4s sound very cohesive and refined.
 
This is all IMHO.

 

[krismusic]

Not wishing to completely disagree with vhsownsbeta ))
I heard the 4u and 10u the other day and although I thought the 4's excellent it is the bottom end where I noticed the most difference.
Personally I would not recommend them for someone who likes the 650 and a fun sound. The 600's maybe.
There are other Noble CIEMs that are described as much more toward what you are looking for. (3 or 5?).
Another thought. Maybe if you cannot get Brannan over for a holiday .
I was very lucky. I have a pair of custom moulded ear plugs that happened to fit the universals.
Perhaps custom sleeves on a universal would give you a trouble free fit and resale value?
I don't know how neat they would look though!

 

[iranintoavan]

Not wishing to completely disagree with vhsownsbeta ))
I heard the 4u and 10u the other day and although I thought the 4's excellent it is the bottom end where I noticed the most difference.
Personally I would not recommend them for someone who likes the 650 and a fun sound. The 600's maybe.
There are other Noble CIEMs that are described as much more toward what you are looking for. (3 or 5?).
Another thought. Maybe if you cannot get Brannan over for a holiday .
I was very lucky. I have a pair of custom moulded ear plugs that happened to fit the universals.
Perhaps custom sleeves on a universal would give you a trouble free fit and resale value?
I don't know how neat they would look though!

After reading basically every review out there for the 4/4C I've decided it's probably not the one for me. I've seen more than a couple people say with deep electronic music the low end wasn't anything spectacular.

So it looks like it's either the 3 or 5 for me. The 3 is definitely more in my price range and would even allow me to customize it or go with a wizard reprint. The 5 is pretty much out of my price range but I suppose if it's the perfect one for me I could wait a little longer and save some more.

Are there any universal IEMs that are close to the 3 and 5 that I could buy from Amazon Prime and try out and return? (Sometimes I feel bad trying things from Amazon like that but then I remember how much money they get from me annually and I don't feel as bad). I've seen a review saying the 1964 V3 is similar to the 3C and I believe they have a demo program where you can try them out at home. Any ideas or comparisons between the 3 and 5? Thanks guys!

 

[iranintoavan]

I sold my headphones/gear and have been living in the world of IEMs for just over a year... No regrets!

I'm listening to 4 universals exclusively while waiting for my K10s. I wouldn't call them flat or boring, just very well balanced. This is coming from Roxannes and SE846s. Listening to RL Grime Scylla as I type, bass quality is excellent, very articulate. Quantity is directly related to source material. I didn't realise how distracting/overbearing/skewed the massive (but awesome) bass on the 846s was. The 4s sound very cohesive and refined.

This is all IMHO.

After reading some more reviews I'm still sorta leaning towards the 4 not being for me. I'm glad to see someone else went all in with IEMs and has no regrets! I'm just excited to have great audio everywhere and anywhere instead of chained to my desk. It won't be a hassle if I wanna listen in bed or in the living room vs my office.

 

[Sorensiim]

So it looks like it's either the 3 or 5 for me. The 3 is definitely more in my price range and would even allow me to customize it or go with a wizard reprint. The 5 is pretty much out of my price range but I suppose if it's the perfect one for me I could wait a little longer and save some more.

Are there any universal IEMs that are close to the 3 and 5 that I could buy from Amazon Prime and try out and return? (Sometimes I feel bad trying things from Amazon like that but then I remember how much money they get from me annually and I don't feel as bad). I've seen a review saying the 1964 V3 is similar to the 3C and I believe they have a demo program where you can try them out at home. Any ideas or comparisons between the 3 and 5? Thanks guys!

This might sound like Captian Obvious speaking... but have you considered trying out the N3 and N5 universals? Either by scoping out a demo set or by going the momentarily more expensive route by buying and re-selling a used set?

 

[vhsownsbeta]

After reading some more reviews I'm still sorta leaning towards the 4 not being for me. I'm glad to see someone else went all in with IEMs and has no regrets! I'm just excited to have great audio everywhere and anywhere instead of chained to my desk. It won't be a hassle if I wanna listen in bed or in the living room vs my office.

You mentioned 'well rounded' in your original post, that is why I put the 4 forward. But yeah, it isn't a bass headphone if that is what you are used to. But it isn't anaemic either. It's interesting how the brain can adapt to different headphones. My 'reference' 4 is still immensely enjoyable to listen to. I can't wait to hear what the K10 will bring! Good luck in the search.

 

[Malevolent]

 
You mentioned 'well rounded' in your original post, that is why I put the 4 forward. But yeah, it isn't a bass headphone if that is what you are used to. But it isn't anaemic either. It's interesting how the brain can adapt to different headphones. My 'reference' 4 is still immensely enjoyable to listen to. I can't wait to hear what the K10 will bring! Good luck in the search.

 
Actually, may favorite of the rest of the Noble IEMs that I've tried is actually the Noble 4. It is well balanced, detailed and has enough clarity and sparkle at the top end. In a vacuum, I could get the 4s and live happily ever after. (Un)fortunately, along came the Kaiser 10, and as they say, the rest is history..

Frankly speaking, before the K10, I was looking to upgrade my IEMs. After getting the K10, I'm looking to upgrade my source/cables/amps instead. 

 

[iranintoavan]

  This might sound like Captian Obvious speaking... but have you considered trying out the N3 and N5 universals? Either by scoping out a demo set or by going the momentarily more expensive route by buying and re-selling a used set?

Are the demo sets only found at the large shows? If so, I likely don't live near enough to one. I have considered it, I suppose if I bought a used pair I wouldn't really lose much money, probably only shipping. I may give that a shot. Thanks!