[FullCircle]

@shizzin
Currently no plans for said product

 

[Oniemtilt]

Just received my Ronin's from MusicTeck (https://shop.musicteck.com/products/noble-ronin?_pos=1&_sid=c5357f49e&_ss=r). Thank you Andrew, as always, for the great service. I am not a professional reviewer by any sense - just a fanatic/collector. I honestly don't put a huge amount of faith in iem reviews - as an owner of many flagship iems (Odin, Elysian X, Aroma Jewel, Mojo GT, Oriolus Traillii, Effect Gaia, MEXT, ThieAudio Monarch MkII, ThieAudio Prestige, and more) I find I can make them sound completely different by changing tips and the source (and of course the characteristics of the music one listens to) - so it's hard to compare one person's experience with another's. With all that noted let me provide a few first impressions. 1) the unit itself is an attractive bluish marbled color. The cable is a gorgeous blue and silver braid. 2) Fit is very comfortable for me. I only use Sedna Xelastic tips (not included with Ronin). These are the only tips I have found that reliably and comfortably stay in my ears. So any comments regarding sound further on will be colored by these tips and how they fit me. 3) For me, the carrying case is a little over the top. There is a nice small leather snap pouch which one can use, and that fits into "Nanuck 903" plastic locking case the size of a small lunchbox (does anyone remember those?). I don't know who would carry their iems in a suitcase like this, but to each their own. I assume I am not normal having 20+ iems hung on a doorknob for a quick grab and go. 4) Sound: the first thing I noticed was the resolution of every instrument in a mix. When listening to Steely Dan's Can't Buy a Thrill in 192.0 kHz on Quobuz, on the first track "Midnite Cruiser", each instrument, from the bass to the bongos, guitar to piano, could be isolated with intent listening. In the electric guitar solo at ~3:00, the pluck of the strings could be heard. In the third track "Reelin' in the Years", Donald Fagen's vocals are as clear as I have heard them. At this point I switched to my Traillii's and listened to "Reelin' in the Years" again. It is a completely different sound. The Traillii are warmer, and I don't know how else to say it, more "musical". Rather than a collection of individual instruments playing together, the Traillii blends everything together coherently. Switching back to the Ronin for "Fire in the Hole" my reaction was consistent - the separation of the vocals, cymbals, and guitars was more distinct. I also noticed that the vocals were more "upfront" in the Ronins.

Overall, I would say that if you like to hear each instrument with precision (which I happen to enjoy) then I think you may enjoy the Ronins. The reason I have so many iems is that I enjoy hearing music that I know well with different emphasis - which allows it to sound new each time. I don't say this about every iem I own: the Ronin will definitely go into heavy rotation amongst my collection.

P.S. All listening was done on an A&K SP3000 with no equalization.

 

[So11rek]

Robin = $ 3900 usd !!!!!!
Spare me.....

Enjoy so much with ODIN.......Kills my Sultan in every categories except Fun Category.......

I think that Ragnar kills Odin in every category, I sold my Ragnar and purchased Odyssey instead, there is a huge downgrade in realism of vocal and instruments,stage, upper mids/treble harmonics,resolution and clarity. Day and night(imho).I hope that Ronin can surprise me like Ragnar did

 

[So11rek]

Just received my Ronin's from MusicTeck (https://shop.musicteck.com/products/noble-ronin?_pos=1&_sid=c5357f49e&_ss=r). Thank you Andrew, as always, for the great service. I am not a professional reviewer by any sense - just a fanatic/collector. I honestly don't put a huge amount of faith in iem reviews - as an owner of many flagship iems (Odin, Elysian X, Aroma Jewel, Mojo GT, Oriolus Traillii, Effect Gaia, MEXT, ThieAudio Monarch MkII, ThieAudio Prestige, and more) I find I can make them sound completely different by changing tips and the source (and of course the characteristics of the music one listens to) - so it's hard to compare one person's experience with another's. With all that noted let me provide a few first impressions. 1) the unit itself is an attractive bluish marbled color. The cable is a gorgeous blue and silver braid. 2) Fit is very comfortable for me. I only use Sedna Xelastic tips (not included with Ronin). These are the only tips I have found that reliably and comfortably stay in my ears. So any comments regarding sound further on will be colored by these tips and how they fit me. 3) For me, the carrying case is a little over the top. There is a nice small leather snap pouch which one can use, and that fits into "Nanuck 903" plastic locking case the size of a small lunchbox (does anyone remember those?). I don't know who would carry their iems in a suitcase like this, but to each their own. I assume I am not normal having 20+ iems hung on a doorknob for a quick grab and go. 4) Sound: the first thing I noticed was the resolution of every instrument in a mix. When listening to Steely Dan's Can't Buy a Thrill in 192.0 kHz on Quobuz, on the first track "Midnite Cruiser", each instrument, from the bass to the bongos, guitar to piano, could be isolated with intent listening. In the electric guitar solo at ~3:00, the pluck of the strings could be heard. In the third track "Reelin' in the Years", Donald Fagen's vocals are as clear as I have heard them. At this point I switched to my Traillii's and listened to "Reelin' in the Years" again. It is a completely different sound. The Traillii are warmer, and I don't know how else to say it, more "musical". Rather than a collection of individual instruments playing together, the Traillii blends everything together coherently. Switching back to the Ronin for "Fire in the Hole" my reaction was consistent - the separation of the vocals, cymbals, and guitars was more distinct. I also noticed that the vocals were more "upfront" in the Ronins.

Overall, I would say that if you like to hear each instrument with precision (which I happen to enjoy) then I think you may enjoy the Ronins. The reason I have so many iems is that I enjoy hearing music that I know well with different emphasis - which allows it to sound new each time. I don't say this about every iem I own: the Ronin will definitely go into heavy rotation amongst my collection.

P.S. All listening was done on an A&K SP3000 with no equalization.

Thanks for the review, is Ronin much brighter compared to Ragnar?

 

[Oniemtilt]

Thanks for the review, is Ronin much brighter compared to Ragnar?

Sorry - don't own (nor have heard) the Rangers.

 

[meomap]

I think that Ragnar kills Odin in every category, I sold my Ragnar and purchased Odyssey instead, there is a huge downgrade in realism of vocal and instruments,stage, upper mids/treble harmonics,resolution and clarity. Day and night(imho).I hope that Ronin can surprise me like Ragnar did

Try to get away from Noble for now.....

 

[So11rek]

Try to get away from Noble for now.....

 

[FullCircle]

 

[Halimj7]

Between the two, I'd think of Kublai Khan as more of a versatile, accessible sound with strong technical qualities, while Ronin sacrifices some of that accessibility (particularly in the constructions of the bass and treble) and goes all in on a more technical, resolving type sound. Kublai Khan has that really deep, well extended bass, and powerful (but accurate) low-end delivery, along with a generally really balanced overall sound that's fairly close to a Harman neutral sort of tuning. Ronin is really focused on the upper end performance, with a lighter bass with a focus on the highly revealing and more resolving treble. Ronin strikes me as providing incredible performance for orchestral music, soundtracks, and some types of jazz, but the tuning rock/pop/electronic might not be everyone's cup of tea for rock/pop/electronic (well mastered, high-res tracks have incredible detail, and really amazing holographic vocals, but might lack in the fun factor).

after watching your video I left thinking the Ronin was brighter sounding iem but the some other reviews I saw from Majorhifi for example suggest the Ronin is a really neutral iem. Is that your take also?

 

[stephenkostas]

after watching your video I left thinking the Ronin was brighter sounding iem but the some other reviews I saw from Majorhifi for example suggest the Ronin is a really neutral iem. Is that your take also?

In terms of tonal balance it’s definitely more bright than neutral. Listening with some tubes or smoother sounding DAP like the SP3000, it can come off as neutral, so I can understand how, depending on the gear, you might hear slightly more neutral.

 

[shznn]

@shizzin
Currently no plans for said product

I was actually hoping for a custom. Too bad. I hope you do offer it at some point, I'd probably be interested.

 

[reeltime]

One discovery I'd like to mention since shooting that video-- The Ragnar I'm finding to be very DAC sensitive. I love the amp on the Woo WA11, especially for IEMs. But on the Ragnar, the DAC on the WA11 leans bright and thin. If I play the same track off of a DAP, bypassing the DAC and using the WA11 as a straight amp, the sound is lush and robust. For DAPs, the SP1000 has greater detail, but the Cayin N8 has a better overall tone. I'd advise anyone who isn't thrilled with the Ragnar, to test several different signal paths-- you may stumble into something you didn't expect-- in a positive way.

 

[PrestonSturgesEnthusiast]

I have recently purchased the KK at Musicteck (great service btw) and I’m ecstatic about it, it is basically everything I hoped for in terms of insane subbass combined with neutrality and top technical performance.

I found the bone conduction implementation so satisfying that I would hesitate to upgrade it with an IEM without the feature. Here’s hoping Noble will keep including it in future models.

I also have a properly driven LCD5 and the KK just rendered it obsolete. I wasn’t expecting that at all.

I’m pairing the KK with the Cayin n8ii. Tube mode + class A + high gain worked great for me, allowing to tweak the sound to my liking without having to descend into the EQ rabbit hole (I have nothing against EQ by the way, I’m just lazy).

 

[Halimj7]

In terms of tonal balance it’s definitely more bright than neutral. Listening with some tubes or smoother sounding DAP like the SP3000, it can come off as neutral, so I can understand how, depending on the gear, you might hear slightly more neutral.

Thank you. Is Bloom bringing Ronin to canJam NYC?

 

[stephenkostas]

Thank you. Is Bloom bringing Ronin to canJam NYC?

Yes, we’ll have Ronin, and a good crop of other recent TOTL IEMs for comparison.