I mean, I guess Noble Audio has never been and likely never will be targeting mass market, so maybe this isn't a problem. On the other hand, it would make it much easier for me to make a decision if reviewers were to grab several examples of IEMs that are sort of similar in their target market and review them together. While I can't necessarily trust the reviewer's ears, I can take what they hear as differences and use that to sort of rank the options based on what it is that I want. The problem with the reviews (and especially for new products) is that a person who has an ear that hears things completely differently from mine and uses language that explains things in a way that they understand but that I am not necessarily going to understand is giving a review of a single product. It's like trying to explain all the wonderful things onions do for the taste of a burger because you love onions and then trying to convince me to like the burger with onions when they physically make me gag. I have to try to figure out what the reviewer likes before I can understand whether to trust their description.
I mean, this is an industry-wide issue, but maybe Noble could really become revolutionary and provide their reviewers with models of other companies' IEMs that Noble wants to compete with, and have the reviewers explain what the differences are between all of them. I personally think Noble would come out on top much of the time, and even when Noble isn't "the best" overall, there are people like me who are fine with an IEM that might be described by some people as a little veiled in the mids or in the highs but really hits hard in the lows (I honestly don't see it like that, btw). If there had been a really good comparison between the M3 and the Dulce Bass, I might be here loving on the new M3. I may even have been convinced to save up for a while longer to get the K10U (though I doubt it would really have been what I was looking for). All I really felt like I knew about the Dulce Bass, M3, and K10U was "It has tight, sweet bass, but isn't as clear and separated", "there are a couple of professional reviews, but nothing from the public", and "this is the best thing I have ever heard (from people who aren't bassheads)".
If I was able to write decent reviews (that is, reviews that focused on the things audiophiles care about; things of which I don't truly have a full understanding), I would bend over backwards to listen to all the IEMs you could send me, write a monster comparison review, and wouldn't mind having to send everything back. I would want to do it just so I could truly know what I wanted to save up for next. I would love to see a comparison between Noble's M3, Dulce Bass, and Tux5 along with other IEMs that supposedly bring the thunder, like the Fearless Audio Roland, Campfire Audio Jupiter, and Empire Ears Legend-X. Even if they all hit in different classes and Noble might lose between the M3 and the expensive IEMs, people will take price into their calculations. I have a feeling Noble hits high enough above their weight class that you would come out on top in enough minds to win in the market. Plus, it might help all of the companies avoid returns and competition in the second-hand market.
