[Sorensiim]

neither ref1 or se846 or merlin etc don't artificially or badly boost bass,it's a matter of preference.

 
I used to own the Merlin and I definitely found them to have a lift in the bass area. Not a bad boomy boost, but a lift nonetheless.
 
 

the way I see it,when I play an album on my Naim set up at home without any EQ I hear a lot of rumble,this is the point to have 10 drivers and 2 dedicated ones for bass,so like a speaker with dedicated bass or a live gig where you"feel" bass I don't see(and this is why I pay top dollar) why a 10 driver won't try and replicate that feeling,but would instead only by the sound of it ocasionaly appear.
that's Def not how it is I a music system.
it's a matter of preference of course but I care less about voices in your face and ultra details,I would like that too,but mainly..you gotta have that basic high end system feel,otherwise,we are talking about crossovers,coherence,bad implementation etc

Couldn't agree more. Like I stated in my review, the implementation of those 10 drivers, making them sound as ONE, is actually what impresses me most about the K10. 

 

[Girls Generation]

neither ref1 or se846 or merlin etc don't artificially or badly boost bass,it's a matter of preference.
the way I see it,when I play an album on my Naim set up at home without any EQ I hear a lot of rumble,this is the point to have 10 drivers and 2 dedicated ones for bass,so like a speaker with dedicated bass or a live gig where you"feel" bass I don't see(and this is why I pay top dollar) why a 10 driver won't try and replicate that feeling,but would instead only by the sound of it ocasionaly appear.
that's Def not how it is I a music system.
it's a matter of preference of course but I care less about voices in your face and ultra details,I would like that too,but mainly..you gotta have that basic high end system feel,otherwise,we are talking about crossovers,coherence,bad implementation etc

So the 846 and the Merlin definitely had boosted bass. I can't say it was badly boosted, but it was definitely boosted. Artificially. But like you said, it's a matter of personal preference and hearing, so to each his own they say.
 
I'm not sure what kind of high end speaker system you've heard, but I can tell you, an audiophile system, not a home-threatre system, will not give you intense bass. Of course a large sub will make you feel the impact more since it's producing large sound waves, but a well-tuned and EQed system will have proportional bass that, again, comes out when it needs to, but doesn't when it isn't called out. I would despise a system that would blast bass in calm vocal tracks. A truly high end system should be able to play vocals and dubstep without me cringing whenever I listen to either genre. If you're looking for massive bass in all your tracks, you might as well opt for something cheap.
 
The K10's vocals are actually placed among other instruments and not in your face. They are, in my opinion, quite well tuned and sound very coherent.
 
I'd also like to point out that live is much, much different sounding than recordings most of the time. However, note that the K10 will sound great with both recorded and live.

 

[warrior1975]

So the 846 and the Merlin definitely had boosted bass. I can't say it was badly boosted, but it was definitely boosted. Artificially. But like you said, it's a matter of personal preference and hearing, so to each his own they say.

I'm not sure what kind of high end speaker system you've heard, but I can tell you, an audiophile system, not a home-threatre system, will not give you intense bass. Of course a large sub will make you feel the impact more since it's producing large sound waves, but a well-tuned and EQed system will have proportional bass that, again, comes out when it needs to, but doesn't when it isn't called out. I would despise a system that would blast bass in calm vocal tracks. A truly high end system should be able to play vocals and dubstep without me cringing whenever I listen to either genre. If you're looking for massive bass in all your tracks, you might as well opt for something cheap.

The K10's vocals are actually placed among other instruments and not in your face. They are, in my opinion, quite well tuned and sound very coherent.

I'd also like to point out that live is much, much different sounding than recordings most of the time. However, note that the K10 will sound great with both recorded and live.

QFT

@girls generation - why do you keep telling him to look for something "cheap" if he wants bass? Just because something has bass doesn't make it cheap, i.e. Shure Se846, Tralucent Ref 1, asg g2, Heir 8.0 (which has plenty of bass and which is on the same wall of fame that the K10 is on), Noble 8c, and a slew of other (c)IEMS that have bass and aren't "cheap". I find your posts slightly arrogant, a little patronizing, and with an Heir, oops air of superiority, almost like your are a Noble...I mean royalty not the brand.

I forgot about JH audio, quite a few of their IEMS have bass, but I'm confused because you already referred to them as making cheap products, then said you had jh13 & jh16, which I believe you liked both...

 

[soundblast75]

Naim is quite high end and does not play cheap emphasised sound.It has a super low end without any extra boom of any kind.the Bass I'm talking about is any human's natural hearing desire, it has to be there.if I want even more than that I could EQ. But only if somethings is lacking.

There's no discussion about any of these totl IEMs being on pretty much the same level of performance,it's a crowded market and anyone who insist Noble is something on another planet has their priorities wrong in this forum.

 

[VisceriousZERO]

I think you should listen to them first before commenting like that I know everyone has a preference but you really should hear it first.

 

[warrior1975]

When will you finally get to enjoy them (hopefully) soundblast75?

 

[FullCircle]

QFT

@girls generation - why do you keep telling him to look for something "cheap" if he wants bass? Just because something has bass doesn't make it cheap, i.e. Shure Se846, Tralucent Ref 1, asg g2, Heir 8.0 (which has plenty of bass and which is on the same wall of fame that the K10 is on), Noble 8c, and a slew of other (c)IEMS that have bass and aren't "cheap". I find your posts slightly arrogant, a little patronizing, and with an Heir, oops air of superiority, almost like your are a Noble...I mean royalty not the brand.

I forgot about JH audio, quite a few of their IEMS have bass, but I'm confused because you already referred to them as making cheap products, then said you had jh13 & jh16, which I believe you liked both...

 
It was on the wall, but was bumped off by the K10...  the cost of progression I guess.
 
 
As for cheap and bass:
 
The Noble 5 has a robust bass response....  probably the most noted aspect of the N5 (the price on that is 600 in IEM format, and above that in CIEM format)
 
The Noble 6, also a robust bass response but a bit more tamed, tighter and faster response. (the price on that product starts at 999) 
 
 
 
and back to the K10
 
 
The N5 has one single bass driver, and it  hammers out bass like Thor striking down his enemies, the K10, has the same bass driver as the N5 (except x 2 drivers per side)  Performing at 20 Hz for the K10, is like asking an elephant to crush a pecan....      absolutely not a challenge.   (The K10 will in fact go below 20 Hz)
 
 
I don't ever recall anyone claiming the bass response on the K10 is anemic.   If someone found it to be too bass light, well there are other products in the Noble line up that are more suitable for bass hungry folks.   For me, the K10 strikes a great balance, and performs extremely well across many genres.....   In fact, I often forget that it does, until I play some EDM, or something with some great drums.....  and then I am reminded.....   I'm not dealing with a common denominator.

 

[warrior1975]

I'm not saying it is anemic at all, I've yet to hear it, but I am dying to. I was more responding to Girls generation and his statements of IEMS with bass are "cheap". I have nothing but respect for you Dr. Moulton, as I truly love my Heir 8.a, which was your baby. I'm quite sure the Noble line is nothing short of amazing as well, and one day I will find out. I just don't understand how certain people can make blanket statements about things, especially when they are somewhat contradictory.

Regardless, I will still pine over your sexy designs and marvel at their pure beauty.

 

[FullCircle]

I'm not saying it is anemic at all, I've yet to hear it, but I am dying to. I was more responding to Girls generation and his statements of IEMS with bass are "cheap". I have nothing but respect for you Dr. Moulton, as I truly love my Heir 8.a, which was your baby. I'm quite sure the Noble line is nothing short of amazing as well, and one day I will find out. I just don't understand how certain people can make blanket statements about things, especially when they are somewhat contradictory.

Regardless, I will still pine over your sexy designs and marvel at their pure beauty.

 
 
Oh I didn't say you did say the K10 was bass anemic, I'm just saying for those that fear that to be the case....   (no fingers pointed) calm down relax, and "spread love like peanut butter."
 
 

 

[kova4a]

I think it was more of a statement about audiophile-grade gear and probably implying that it's supposed to be reference and that basshead gear is cheaper. I haven't heard K10 but seriously doubt it will be bass light or lacking in any other way in this department - even N4's bass is somewhat north of neutral. N6's bass is a lot more impactful and goes all the way down, so K10 should be even more thunderous given that as far as I know, N4 and N6 have the least amount of bass in Noble's line-up aside from the switch models.

 

[warrior1975]

I love peanut butter!!! Definitely spread love and peanut butter!!

I think we should all wait and see how soundblast75 likes (or dislikes) his K10s. If they are as magical as everyone says, and there are quite a few that do, then he should be a happy person. Hopefully he loves them and it will add to the already amazing reputation of them. If he doesn't, hopefully this doesn't turn into an ugly thing... We all have different preferences and certainly can't attack others with a different view than your own.

Regardless, we should be pestering Dr. Moulton and team to share what tricks they have up their sleeves as its quite obvious they are working on something else...

 

[Mimouille]

Man this whole discussion is going every which way...so some think music should be reproduced with "the right amount of bass" and others feel "the right amount" should be synonymous with "a lotta bass". Well with such precise qualifiers and absolute notions I am amazed we are going nowhere

 

[warrior1975]

Moar bass!!! Always!!!! ☺

 

[kova4a]

Man this whole discussion is going every which way...so some think music should be reproduced with "the right amount of bass" and others feel "the right amount" should be synonymous with "a lotta bass". Well with such precise qualifiers and absolute notions I am amazed we are going nowhere

As usual different people perceive things differenetly and have different preferences. For instance, what I consider to be flat, tight and hard hitting bass is something that my brother calls "no bass at all" and that his cheap buds have better low end. And we are identical twins and still our perception of bass can't be more different, so then what is left for other people?

 

[FullCircle]

Man this whole discussion is going every which way...so some think music should be reproduced with "the right amount of bass" and others feel "the right amount" should be synonymous with "a lotta bass". Well with such precise qualifiers and absolute notions I am amazed we are going nowhere

 
 
Hmmmm  yes, good observation.
 
I wish I had the research, but any how, there was some research done in Australia, that showed that people percieved IEMs as more "natural" sounding with a bass lift. It was surmised this was due to the resonance changes in the ear canal due to occluding the ear with a silicone tip etc etc.
 
 IEM companies are aware of this research, and for the most part they strive to add the "right amount" to hit those levels of "natural."  I imagine every company has their own idea of the right amount is.