Noble Audio - the Wizard returns!
Nov 25, 2014 at 1:14 AM Post #6,815 of 36,067
 
Up to bat today is a set of Wizard-designed Noble 5C (gasp!) that manage to incorporate the owner's specified artwork into the design itself.

Using a multi-layered technique, the artwork is applied twice to each faceplate, once near the surface and again as a physical three-dimensional object below/behind. The result is a shadow effect that, in combination with a mirror finished base, produces the optical illusion that the faceplates extend much further back than they actually do.

Those deep navy blue shells with silver interior don't look too bad either.
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Very nice 3D shadow effect, Brannan.
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 2:56 AM Post #6,816 of 36,067
OMG. I just read through like a bazillion pages these past few nights. Was finally ready to upgrade my REALLY old Shure E5c's... Bounced from the SE535 to IE80, then thought well it's not too big of a stretch to the IE800 or even SE846... Then hell, at that price range I might as well do ciem! So back reading up on customs... First UM Merlins, but wow the 8.A's would be THE pair for me but just out of my range. But hey, is that a Black Friday 30% off sale HA is having? Woohoo! Spent hours reading up on the 8.A and many more figuring out which wood with which color shell... Only to find out the Wizard is no longer with HA.

So now the question I have for Noble is... Will you have a Black Friday sale this year so I can spend way more money than I should on the best ciem's from the best company ever?

Yes this my very first head-fi post. :D
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:42 AM Post #6,817 of 36,067
OMG. I just read through like a bazillion pages these past few nights. Was finally ready to upgrade my REALLY old Shure E5c's... Bounced from the SE535 to IE80, then thought well it's not too big of a stretch to the IE800 or even SE846... Then hell, at that price range I might as well do ciem! So back reading up on customs... First UM Merlins, but wow the 8.A's would be THE pair for me but just out of my range. But hey, is that a Black Friday 30% off sale HA is having? Woohoo! Spent hours reading up on the 8.A and many more figuring out which wood with which color shell... Only to find out the Wizard is no longer with HA.

So now the question I have for Noble is... Will you have a Black Friday sale this year so I can spend way more money than I should on the best ciem's from the best company ever?

Yes this my very first head-fi post.
biggrin.gif

 
Wow. I last used my Shure E5C more than 10 years ago. Can't believe it's been that long since.
 
Which ciems are you going to be getting?
 
 
P.S.
 
Might be best to just wait till friday to find out. Things got mighty interesting here the last time this question was asked. 
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:51 AM Post #6,818 of 36,067
Yes this my very first head-fi post. :D


Congrats! I do suggest you PM Brannan as he will help you with that and answer your questions :) thats what wiz did for me when I got my K10 :)
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 4:20 AM Post #6,819 of 36,067
Wow. I last used my Shure E5C more than 10 years ago. Can't believe it's been that long since.

Which ciems are you going to be getting?. 


Yeah, I think I bought my e5c's back in mid-2000's. Loved the mids, decent high, but lacked the low end bass I really like. So after reading the reviews, I landed on the Merlins, then then 8.a. Now if I can get the n8 in the same price range, I think I'll be in heaven.

I haven't read up on the n5 or n6's yet... Given my newbie status (was listening to iTunes-ripped 192 MP3 on iPhone 5, just upgraded to iPhone 6, bought a Fiio e17, and now reripping everything to 320 (testing to see if I can tell difference between that and lossless), should I save the bucks and go with the n5 or n6?
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 4:31 AM Post #6,821 of 36,067
Yeah, I think I bought my e5c's back in mid-2000's. Loved the mids, decent high, but lacked the low end bass I really like. So after reading the reviews, I landed on the Merlins, then then 8.a. Now if I can get the n8 in the same price range, I think I'll be in heaven.

I haven't read up on the n5 or n6's yet... Given my newbie status (was listening to iTunes-ripped 192 MP3 on iPhone 5, just upgraded to iPhone 6, bought a Fiio e17, and now reripping everything to 320 (testing to see if I can tell difference between that and lossless), should I save the bucks and go with the n5 or n6?

 
Wow. How did you get it to last that long? Mine died on me after 3-4 years. Had to send them back for recabling a few times. Gave up after the 3rd time.
 
Haven't tried the N5 or N6. I did a a/b between the 8C and K10. Am going with the K10. Heh.
 
Am also busy trying to rip my old tunes in 320. But some songs are just too old and obscure as it is... Decided to just give up and get a Hugo as well.
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 5:30 AM Post #6,822 of 36,067
been on these forums since very beginning..."read-only" mode...
 
finally decided to take step into ceim world and was overwhelmed with the possibilities...
 
been reading reviews, some interesting, some not but one thing came to my mind is how similar lots of ppl here sound to those in photographic forums...there is always this kind of ppl that is interested primarily in the technical side of things rather than the essence...like when you are reading the book and instead of capturing the meaning of the novel you are delighted with the quality of the typeface....or when you are looking at the photograph you constantly seek for noise quality, color rendition, bokeh rather than looking at the picture itself...i am afraid here is the same story - ppl not only try to evaluate the sound (which is completely useless since sound perception is completely individual) but also base their opinion on how "better" iem "A" sounds to iem "B" on freq graphs, number of drivers, crossover complexity and such...
 
i, too, fell victim of these factors as getting "the best possible" is significant for me (i am musican and music is part of my life)
 
thus, i've beein thinking of a single most important factor that would differentiate a ciem for me, the one that will measure one ciem above others...this factor i would call a "transparency". but not transparency in the meaning of "sound transparency" but in the meaning of "ciem transparency" that is a good ciem should be transparent to the listener it shouldn't be a barrier between the listener and the music (one aspect of a "barrier-thing" is when ciem articulates the sound so meticulously that you start to pinpoint the instruments distracting yourself from the music itself)
 
that said, i would like to know if noble accepts 3D models of impressions or they should be sent?
 
thanks! )
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 5:38 AM Post #6,823 of 36,067
  been on these forums since very beginning..."read-only" mode...
 
finally decided to take step into ceim world and was overwhelmed with the possibilities...
 
been reading reviews, some interesting, some not but one thing came to my mind is how similar lots of ppl here sound to those in photographic forums...there is always this kind of ppl that is interested primarily in the technical side of things rather than the essence...like when you are reading the book and instead of capturing the meaning of the novel you are delighted with the quality of the typeface....or when you are looking at the photograph you constantly seek for noise quality, color rendition, bokeh rather than looking at the picture itself...i am afraid here is the same story - ppl not only try to evaluate the sound (which is completely useless since sound perception is completely individual) but also base their opinion on how "better" iem "A" sounds to iem "B" on freq graphs, number of drivers, crossover complexity and such...
 
i, too, fell victim of these factors as getting "the best possible" is significant for me (i am musican and music is part of my life)
 
thus, i've beein thinking of a single most important factor that would differentiate a ciem for me, the one that will measure one ciem above others...this factor i would call a "transparency". but not transparency in the meaning of "sound transparency" but in the meaning of "ciem transparency" that is a good ciem should be transparent to the listener it shouldn't be a barrier between the listener and the music (one aspect of a "barrier-thing" is when ciem articulates the sound so meticulously that you start to pinpoint the instruments distracting yourself from the music itself)
 
that said, i would like to know if noble accepts 3D models of impressions or they should be sent?
 
thanks! )

 
Sounds like the K10 will be a good fit for your tastes then - all of the info is laid out for you, but it doesn't fall into the trap of separating all individual sounds so much as delivering them all cohesively as one beautiful soundscape
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 7:50 AM Post #6,824 of 36,067
So now the question I have for Noble is... Will you have a Black Friday sale this year so I can spend way more money than I should on the best ciem's from the best company ever?

Yes this my very first head-fi post. :D

Welcome to Head-Fi. You've stepped into the den of some of the most passionate audiophiles around. To be honest, you won't be found wanting with the Kaiser 10s.

Great sound, fun people. You'll enjoy your time here! :cool:
 
Nov 25, 2014 at 12:12 PM Post #6,825 of 36,067
been on these forums since very beginning..."read-only" mode...

finally decided to take step into ceim world and was overwhelmed with the possibilities...

been reading reviews, some interesting, some not but one thing came to my mind is how similar lots of ppl here sound to those in photographic forums...there is always this kind of ppl that is interested primarily in the technical side of things rather than the essence...like when you are reading the book and instead of capturing the meaning of the novel you are delighted with the quality of the typeface....or when you are looking at the photograph you constantly seek for noise quality, color rendition, bokeh rather than looking at the picture itself...i am afraid here is the same story - ppl not only try to evaluate the sound (which is completely useless since sound perception is completely individual) but also base their opinion on how "better" iem "A" sounds to iem "B" on freq graphs, number of drivers, crossover complexity and such...

i, too, fell victim of these factors as getting "the best possible" is significant for me (i am musican and music is part of my life)

thus, i've beein thinking of a single most important factor that would differentiate a ciem for me, the one that will measure one ciem above others...this factor i would call a "transparency". but not transparency in the meaning of "sound transparency" but in the meaning of "ciem transparency" that is a good ciem should be transparent to the listener it shouldn't be a barrier between the listener and the music (one aspect of a "barrier-thing" is when ciem articulates the sound so meticulously that you start to pinpoint the instruments distracting yourself from the music itself)

that said, i would like to know if noble accepts 3D models of impressions or they should be sent?

thanks! )


Hi there and welcome! Please be sure to send us your actual impressions.
 

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