[Sorensiim]

  That's still relatively new. I didn't mean to imply that you haven't yet come to terms with them. I like my new toys as well when they're good and am very frustrated when they are not. No syndrome implied. I personally need to wait for the other shoe to drop before I can fully participate in new toy joy.

 
Hard not to think that your pair are OMG pretty every time you look at them. They are truly stunning. I never pay extra for cosmetics as I look at these sort of things more as tools than possessions but I'd have to seriously consider it if I were in the market for those. 

No offense taken at all - I am very prone to NTS and keeping my mouth shut about these was just about the hardest thing I've ever had to do! 

 

[Man7rah]

I've wondered for a while, when you get a Wizard design, do you let the design purely into his hands or does it work similar to a tattoo where you work closely with the designer to get exactly what you want?

 

[Kunlun]

I've wondered for a while, when you get a Wizard design, do you let the design purely into his hands or does it work similar to a tattoo where you work closely with the designer to get exactly what you want?

When I've worked with the Wizard, it's been a little of both. I let him know a bit of what I wanted and then let him work his magic. Obviously, in terms of wood, there is also the uniqueness of each sample and that plays a role in the final product as well.

I'll let Sorensiim share his experience as well.

 

[Rednuht]

  I've wondered for a while, when you get a Wizard design, do you let the design purely into his hands or does it work similar to a tattoo where you work closely with the designer to get exactly what you want?

 
I've asked them yesterday a similar question like yours, If you choose wizard design on the website, you'll let him design your ciem freely, but there is also an instruction box below where you can tell them about your decisions like materials or colors you want, so they will build a one base on it with a combination of wizard design

 

[Kunlun]

Thanks Rednuht, you said it well.

 

[Mimouille]

I've had the K10 in my posession for almost 3 months now, specifically to ensure that the initial onslaught of "new toy syndrome" and "OMG SO PRETTY!" had worn of by the time of writing the review   

Three months and you only tell us now !? This will not go unpunished

 

[Rednuht]

Three months and you only tell us now !? This will not go unpunished

 
He couldn't write a review at that time, because he might be under the effect of wizard's dust

 

[Sorensiim]

He couldn't write a review at that time, because he might be under the effect of wizard's dust :rolleyes:

Yeah that sums it up I think. That and the NDA

 

[Ultimate Mango]

I freely admit here that I am a full paying customer of Noble and own the K10. I was a Heir customer, owning a 4.ai and 5.0, and the K10 are actually my first set of customs.
I came to head fi looking to replace an aging pair of Shure E500PTH iems, and after looking at UE900 and W4R and Shure 535 I ultimately decide to try the 4.ai. It was very different from anything else I and ever heard, but I enjoyed them and they looked great. I did have a small problem and Heir at the time provided great customer service to get it taken care of. When the 5.0 was announced I order a pair because I did want more low end to enhance what I liked about the 4.ai. I posted some here about all that, but I am not a professional reviewer and have a busy work and travel and personal schedule, and most of my listening is done on airplanes or places with little or no internet access. So I don't write a lot about them.
I am not at all affiliated with Heir or Noble, but I must admit I was moved by some of Wizards posts about his life and challenges with a startup business and his family, which can be seen freely in his post history here. Perhaps as a man with a family who also travels a lot it struck a chord with me personally, and I have worked start ups and small business and understand what it is like to pour yourself into something and have a less than desirable end state (let's leave that drama out of here).
I was interested in maybe purchasing a custom iem, and contacted Wizard and eventually decided, freely and independently based on my own research, mostly here, to purchase a K10. Maybe I am a little crazy for doing this before anyone else had a copy and there were no reviews and Noble may not have even had a name. But I knew enough about hard work and start ups and business and life to put my trust in Wizard and his new company to build me a pair, and I gladly paid my hard earned money for them.
I have no reason to be anything but open and honest here about them and my opinions. As my first customs I had no idea what to expect. I was kind of surprised at how shallow the fit seemed, since I am used to foam tips and deep insertion to block plane noise. Ultimately the left side was perfect, and the right left my ear sore after using them, and I worked with bangkokkid and we decided that a refit was the best course of action.
When I had them, they sounded great. Words already written here articulate them better than I could. Deep rumbling bass, mids that were so clear but presented in such a way that you didn't have to listen so hard to get every little detail, the detail just is there. Highs unlike anything I had ever hear. Brit and extended and sparkly without ever being harsh or sibilant. Like not at all in any way ever sibilant. I actually had to adjust to how they sounded since there was so much high end detail I had never really heard before.
I will post pictures here of them, and I have to take accountability for the design. I really didn't let Wizard do his thing, and I got exactly what I asked for. I told him to go wild with the rebuild, and to not listen to my dumb ideas about how to design an iem. I would guess I will get back a work of art next time around.
All told, I was very happy when I had them, fit issue aside. If they had fit I would not have said one bad word about the design, since they were exactly what I requested. I am just taking the chance to since the fit wasn't right, make them as outrageously beautiful to the eye as they are to the ear.
If you have questions, fire away. All I can do is answer honestly since I have nothing else and no other motivation.
Here are some pics:

[/IMG]
Sorry I'm not a photographer either...

 

[Ultimate Mango]

Mobile uploading not working great. Here are some better pics, the review samples before they were shipped to me.

 

[Ultimate Mango]

 

[Rednuht]

Nice impression Mango, I really like your opinion, luckily, it is on the same trend with two previous reviews, otherwise I will be very confused and have to wait for another one. Now, I believe that K10 seems to be a monster and it suits me well, too.

One question, how about your cable? Is it a magnus cable?

 

[Sorensiim]

I freely admit here that I am a full paying customer of Noble and own the K10...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the mighty K10 - I'm glad that I'm not the only one in love with them!

Nice impression Mango, I really like your opinion, luckily, it is on the same trend with two previous reviews, otherwise I will be very confused and have to wait for another one. Now, I believe that K10 seems to be a monster and it suits me well, too.

One question, how about your cable? Is it a magnus cable?

I think all Noble ciems come with the Magnus cable

 

[FullCircle]

Magnus 1 Core, overmolded terminators

 

[Ultimate Mango]

I don't have the new 'standard' Noble cable, I had an old style one. I will be getting the new one when they are ready. I have several Magnus cable IEMs and really like it. It is insanely flexible, transmits less noise than any other cable I have had for an IEM (a big deal for me) and it does its job getting the signal from my player or amp to the iems. 
 
I found a little shirt clip I like on Amazon, too, for a few bucks, but bangkokkid mentioned they may have found one they like, after lots and lots of looking. 
 
I know a lot of people here like do to cable comparisons and talk about materials and connectors and such, but I am happy with the cable Noble provides. 
 
Regarding the K10: My ears are sensitive enough to appreciate it, but I have no reference point at all to the way it sounds, so it was very foreign to me. I suppose the 4.ai and 5.0 helped open the door compared the 7+ year old Shures and other things I've used, but the K10 is just on another level. I'm looking on my desk right now at a pair of ATH-M50s wondering what I would need to replace them with to get something sounding like the K10 in a full size closed can. I am looking at my trusty little AudioEngine D1 realizing that I probably need at least something like an Asgard 2 to take its place. 
 
I read a lot of reviews on the 8 driver from the Wizard, and they talk a lot about detail and how you have to really listen to them and there is so much to hear (if that makes sense). The K10 seems to have that much detail, but you mentally don't have to take such a focused active listening role to hear it. When I first got the 4.ai when I started to listen to music I found that I really had to listen to it, and it revealed so much that I had never before heard. With the K10 its just all there.