Nocturnal Hybrid IEM and cable Tour.
- Thread starter goodvibes
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2003
- Posts
- 5,442
- Likes
- 3,090
Glad you got it safely. I was gonna update you with tracking but I guess it got there quicker than I got a PM together. Ha ha ha....
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2003
- Posts
- 5,442
- Likes
- 3,090
The Nocturnal Audio Hybrid
Price: ~$600
Included items:
> Array of tips
> 3 cables: standard, hybrid silver & copper, 8 strand copper high end
> Otterbox-type case
Design/build/fit-
The Nocturnal has a faux carbon finish on the faceplate, like it's trying to emulate the Tralucent earphones. Similarly the earphone body shape and size is very reminiscent of it too (so I’ll just come out right here and say it-- most of the IEM reminded me of the Ref.1 I owned not too long ago). Unfortunately as has been mentioned previously, it also suffered from the same loose cable connections as the Ref.1 I had. These days I find myself wishing IEM manufacturers would get away from the typical small dual prong plug that is so prevalent, and go to the snap-in type used by Fitear. I remember reading somewhere that the Tralucent designers found that style of pin too difficult to integrate into their IEMs because it would mean having to drastically alter their shells... On the Nocturnal, as with Tralucent, while certainly there would have to be a bump out, the security of knowing the connection will stand the test of time would have to be worth the effort in engineering the extra space for the larger components. On the Parterre it only seems to add a few extra mm in depth, but what would I know about manufacturing IEMs?
Fit was a bit of an issue for some reason, and it took the old standby Ortofon silicone tips to get the most secure seal and best sound quality to come forward. I tried the 8 strand copper cable which was installed on it, then went to the hybrid and stayed with that cable as I felt it did more to bring out the soundstage and midrange, as well as detail. I didn’t want to swap cables back and forth much with the looseness of the plugs (right side especially).
Sound-
My first reaction was much the same as it was for the Ref.1… Holy mackerel, there is a trainload of bass! I mean, it really is what dominated the presentation. Besides being very deep, it was mid-bassy, and I could never really get away from that. My recollection of the Ref.1’s bass was of a somewhat cleaner presentation, and not quite as intrusive into the midrange. If an owner mainly listens to rock, electronic, hip-hop, or anything demanding strong bass much of the time, this would be a good choice. Listening to A Perfect Circle 'Thirteenth Step', The Package, the bass was absolutely concussive. It was crazy. It just needed some control to grab hold of the driver and tame it a tad!
Treble extension was quite good, but mainly when using the Ortofon tips instead of the included ones. There was very nice openness and detail retrieval. I believe I did detect some lower treble/upper midrange bite, but it wasn’t terrible by any means. It seemed smoother than I recall for the Ref.1, and there was nothing lacking in the amount of detail or extension and cymbal tone seemed nice and natural. On recordings with harshness/sibilance present, the Hybrid definitely had me wincing every once in a while.
Midrange had issues to my ears. It was noticeably recessed, especially when comparing to my two favorite IEMs, the Parterre and ASG-2.5. Both of those possess a midrange and vocal tone which are far more lifelike. On the Noc Hybrid there was this congested sensation to voices, and the tone just seemed compressed somehow. It didn’t sound right. When I listened to some tracks by The Tear Garden (a recent favorite music discovery of mine), the tone of Edward Ka-Spel's voice, already 'nasally' by nature, was really exacerbated by how the Noc hybrid skewed it.
Perhaps the biggest challenge I encountered was the soundstage. The first impression is one of great width and space, but the more time I spent with it the more I heard one that lacked height and depth. It seemed quite wide but narrow and stretched. And vocals were definitely withdrawn. Going back to the Parterre, there was a much more natural/realistic sense of placement and layering. I could hear deeper into the recording and pick out the distinct instruments with more ease. Likewise, the ASG-2.5 had a more cohesive portrayal of space, and was maybe even a touch more enveloping and 3D than the Parterre. I realize these are pretty tough competitors to be drawing comparisons with, but the 2.5 especially is right on the same retail level.
Summary-
To wrap it up, it may seem like I didn’t care too much for the Nocturnal Hybrid’s sound. That’s not entirely true. The bass can be highly entertaining for music genres that revel in the low frequencies. There was plenty of detail, extension, and spaciousness, which enables hearing deep into the recording. Build seems very solid, aside from the cable's mini plugs coming loose. An owner who possibly couldn't afford one of the Tralucent models could get a taste of what they're about. If Nocturnal has any remaining things to do finalizing this model, I would love to see the tuning tweaked so that the midrange tone is more clear and lifelike, and the lower treble spike tamed. If they could achieve these things, along with cleaning up the mid-bass thickness somewhat, then it would seriously bump this IEM to a level where it gives some of the big boys a scary run for the money. But just to give me the Fitear connectors please!!
Price: ~$600
Included items:
> Array of tips
> 3 cables: standard, hybrid silver & copper, 8 strand copper high end
> Otterbox-type case
Design/build/fit-
The Nocturnal has a faux carbon finish on the faceplate, like it's trying to emulate the Tralucent earphones. Similarly the earphone body shape and size is very reminiscent of it too (so I’ll just come out right here and say it-- most of the IEM reminded me of the Ref.1 I owned not too long ago). Unfortunately as has been mentioned previously, it also suffered from the same loose cable connections as the Ref.1 I had. These days I find myself wishing IEM manufacturers would get away from the typical small dual prong plug that is so prevalent, and go to the snap-in type used by Fitear. I remember reading somewhere that the Tralucent designers found that style of pin too difficult to integrate into their IEMs because it would mean having to drastically alter their shells... On the Nocturnal, as with Tralucent, while certainly there would have to be a bump out, the security of knowing the connection will stand the test of time would have to be worth the effort in engineering the extra space for the larger components. On the Parterre it only seems to add a few extra mm in depth, but what would I know about manufacturing IEMs?
Fit was a bit of an issue for some reason, and it took the old standby Ortofon silicone tips to get the most secure seal and best sound quality to come forward. I tried the 8 strand copper cable which was installed on it, then went to the hybrid and stayed with that cable as I felt it did more to bring out the soundstage and midrange, as well as detail. I didn’t want to swap cables back and forth much with the looseness of the plugs (right side especially).
Sound-
My first reaction was much the same as it was for the Ref.1… Holy mackerel, there is a trainload of bass! I mean, it really is what dominated the presentation. Besides being very deep, it was mid-bassy, and I could never really get away from that. My recollection of the Ref.1’s bass was of a somewhat cleaner presentation, and not quite as intrusive into the midrange. If an owner mainly listens to rock, electronic, hip-hop, or anything demanding strong bass much of the time, this would be a good choice. Listening to A Perfect Circle 'Thirteenth Step', The Package, the bass was absolutely concussive. It was crazy. It just needed some control to grab hold of the driver and tame it a tad!
Treble extension was quite good, but mainly when using the Ortofon tips instead of the included ones. There was very nice openness and detail retrieval. I believe I did detect some lower treble/upper midrange bite, but it wasn’t terrible by any means. It seemed smoother than I recall for the Ref.1, and there was nothing lacking in the amount of detail or extension and cymbal tone seemed nice and natural. On recordings with harshness/sibilance present, the Hybrid definitely had me wincing every once in a while.
Midrange had issues to my ears. It was noticeably recessed, especially when comparing to my two favorite IEMs, the Parterre and ASG-2.5. Both of those possess a midrange and vocal tone which are far more lifelike. On the Noc Hybrid there was this congested sensation to voices, and the tone just seemed compressed somehow. It didn’t sound right. When I listened to some tracks by The Tear Garden (a recent favorite music discovery of mine), the tone of Edward Ka-Spel's voice, already 'nasally' by nature, was really exacerbated by how the Noc hybrid skewed it.
Perhaps the biggest challenge I encountered was the soundstage. The first impression is one of great width and space, but the more time I spent with it the more I heard one that lacked height and depth. It seemed quite wide but narrow and stretched. And vocals were definitely withdrawn. Going back to the Parterre, there was a much more natural/realistic sense of placement and layering. I could hear deeper into the recording and pick out the distinct instruments with more ease. Likewise, the ASG-2.5 had a more cohesive portrayal of space, and was maybe even a touch more enveloping and 3D than the Parterre. I realize these are pretty tough competitors to be drawing comparisons with, but the 2.5 especially is right on the same retail level.
Summary-
To wrap it up, it may seem like I didn’t care too much for the Nocturnal Hybrid’s sound. That’s not entirely true. The bass can be highly entertaining for music genres that revel in the low frequencies. There was plenty of detail, extension, and spaciousness, which enables hearing deep into the recording. Build seems very solid, aside from the cable's mini plugs coming loose. An owner who possibly couldn't afford one of the Tralucent models could get a taste of what they're about. If Nocturnal has any remaining things to do finalizing this model, I would love to see the tuning tweaked so that the midrange tone is more clear and lifelike, and the lower treble spike tamed. If they could achieve these things, along with cleaning up the mid-bass thickness somewhat, then it would seriously bump this IEM to a level where it gives some of the big boys a scary run for the money. But just to give me the Fitear connectors please!!
Users who are viewing this thread
