Quote: http://www.head-fi.org/products/noble-audio-savant/reviews/14051 Comparison AKG K3003i
These headphones are really well balanced, fairly neutral with the neutral filter and found them to be way better than the Shure SE846 tonally. But these fall short when compared to the Savant. The Savant was much more clearer and the highs are better than the K3003i. The Savant falls short again in the in sub bass department compared to the K3003i. Overall the K3003i is better balanced across the entire frequency range compared to the Savant. K3003i's are similarly easy to drive from almost any source. The soundstage is very much similar between the K3003i and the Savant.
After the long wait from the pre-oder... 4 mth , I finally received my savant .the sound.... great for mid, high and bass too. And my savant outlook looks smooth not like the photo that posted. Happy Camper and Can't take off my savant. ..
OK so I went to addicted to audio to audition a few items.
Nothing really worked for me.
Then I thought, heck why wait for the tour, I am right here.
I went in with a notion I probably wouldn't like them. Not because they are bad, but because I have generally preferred bass capable cans/iems and to generalize a dark sound.
Well.... Hasn't that changed.
I absolutely loved the savant. Usually when I have tried neutral or balanced iems I have usually come away feeling a little set back by either a lack of bass, or a spike or peak in the upper mids or overly bright treble leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I love them. They are perfect for the music I listen to and I think will be my next acquisition.
The only thing holding me back at the moment is I went with the intent of buying custom this time around. I simply cannot afford the prestige savant. If there were a regular custom varient I would buy it literally right now.
Regardless. Amazing amazing work on the savant.
For anyone with issues re: price and lack of drivers, the only advice I have is stop counting and start listening. These are amazing.
I have the Noble Savant Australian tour unit here with me for about 4 hours.
Using DX50 with FLAC 16/44 files (will try other sources eventually)
Trebles well aligned with the lows/mids, sounds safe and in no way offensive imo. I can recognize straight away the tuning of Savant is stable and 'audiophile' correct, there's not much its doing wrong. Little to no vocal sibilance, safe highs, that ever so hinted amount of mid-range warmth makes them suitable for long listening. Separation is accurate, soundstage adequate. its just a safely tuning IEM without much to criticize besides those looking for some extra bass extension. From my experience, the low-end is quite normal for something putting across this balanced presentation, or at least not out of an average from what I've heard.
I'll be around. Thanks to Noble and dmarc0 for inviting me demo the Savant.
Free now. Test the complimentary BTS from pre-order the savant , it works flawlessly with my Sony xperia zl without losing bass like some got it. And the distance I tested around 20 feets still sounds great. And the BTS made my 20 yrs old Aiwa mini hifi alive through the aux input. Bravo !!!
Free now. Test the complimentary BTS from pre-order the savant , it works flawlessly with my Sony xperia zl without losing bass like some got it. And the distance I tested around 20 feets still sounds great. And the BTS made my 20 yrs old Aiwa mini hifi alive through the aux input. Bravo !!!
Important question please. Will the Savant sound THAT much better in balanced mode? I realize that's a hard one but I'm trying to figure out if I should get a portable DAC/Amp or a DAP and should I look for only balanced units. So many choices out there now. I am getting the iPhone 6s Plus tomorrow so if I go dac/amp, that's the phone I'll be using. I also want to eventually stream Tidal too so I'd need the DAP to be able to do that if I go that route. What do some of you feel the law of diminishing returns will be with the Savants?
BTW, I'm really loving them. They aren't what my Stax are, but I really really love them.
Quantifying it is pretty tough. I'm by no means an expert, and my testing method I'm sure is flawed, but I'll just throw out my thoughts.
Just listened to the same two songs (Simon and Garfunkel - Cecilia and The Boxer, 96/24) on my GeekOut V2 with balanced and single-ended. I definitely think there is a wider soundstage and better instrument separation using balanced. I will definitely use it balanced with my laptop at all times. Single ended still sounds great, but I can definitely tell the difference.
BUT, my issue with balanced is simply the amount of different connectors that are used. The GOV2 uses the same connector as HiFiMan, so my cable from Ted Allen will work great for the GO or a HiFiMan dap in balanced mode, but if I wanted a pono, or a&k, or CypherLabs dac/amp, I would need either a converter or a different cable. I've got the Cavalli Liquid Carbon pre-ordered but don't intend to use my IEMs with it balanced, as I don't want to have to deal with a new cable or connector. I will get the XLR cable for my HE-400s and go from there.
I've got my RWAK100s which I think is terrific, but I find myself listening off of my phone more lately just out of convenience. Unless some of the newer dap's coming out blow me away I will probably move to using my phone as my source in the future. The CypherLabs Theorem 720 as a dac/amp has caught my eye, or even the V2+
Over 10 hours of pumping the savant. Listening to Frankie goes to Holiday remix, mogwai - Hardcore will never die but you will, Goldfrapp, Sade ... For me I am contented with the bass. It pumps.. .
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