[audio123]

Just finished a 12 hour session with the Viking Ragnar. Jotting down some notes before it escapes me. I am going to add a disclaimer that these are day 1 impressions. Some of these thoughts may evolve over time as I burn it in, roll tips and cables.

The Unboxing:
At first I was planning on going home to record a unboxing video. However, as I was driving I couldn't contain my excitement. I pulled over to a park somewhere and used my bare hands to rip open the wrapped plastic on the box. Quite savagely I will add. There might have been a family or two watching. "What is this guy on?" ... Man. If they only knew how much heat this thing was packing inside.



The Ragnar was packed quite modestly. It reminded me of the Traillii experience. Instead of a Van Nueys, Noble included a pellican hard case case & a thin leather pouch. This is awesome because I have neither of those in my stable. The thinner rectangular leather pouch seems like it will conform better to my jacket than the conventional thicker circular cases.

Aesthetics & build quality:

It's beautiful . Ragnar both looks and feels high quality. I like the subtle, masculine, monochromatic design language. The cables weave pattern also match the damascus faceplate. Extra points to Gryffindor.

After sitting at the park staring at it for a while, I tested the integrity of the cable & the IEM housing. It took me a bit of effort to disconnect it. The female two pins connectors are the tightest I have come across so far. I have had some bad experiences with chifi products literally falling off the cable. This is good insurance for light walks.

The Fit:
The fit is something ive been curious about because I have troubles with universal shells. To give you a reference, right now the XE6 is nearly perfect, the Traillii is slightly snug. The Ragnar is a little more snug than the Traillii but much better than the Odin. While wearing Ragnar, I can consciously feel that something is there but it's not unbearable like the Phonix and Z1R. Green checkmarks on the fit. ️

How does it sound?

If I had to choose 5 adjectives to describe Viking Ragnar it would be: Immersive, intense, majestic, immaculate. The mids are star of the show but it would be an understatement to label it as a mids specialist. It is incredibly resolving like the Odin which is something I have come to expect with reference sets. However it is Traillii-esqe in the sense that it does it while painting a vivid, lucid image. Another characteristic that it shares with the Trailliis is the sense of space. Each instrument is well defined and coherent.

The tuning is on a brighter side compared to the U12T. I found the bass quantity more than adequate. The texture is something I'll have to A/B test later. It destroys classical, movie soundtracks and acoustics. It might be on another tier for vocals music.

The treble is well extended. Lots of sparkle for high hats and synths for electro. The upper mids might be a problem for genres like electronic and metal. I noticed this with some songs where the kickdrums were louder than the rest of the instruments. A potential negative is that the Ragnar is ruthless in the sense that if a track has deficiencies, you will hear it.

Nocturne in E-flat major - Joshua Bell


Violins have so much air and sincerity. The imaging at 1:35 is stellar. I can hear how much emphasis Bell puts against on his violins. I hear more nuances, both vertically and horizontally creating a 3 dimensional image in my mind. When I close my eyes I can visualize his hand movement.

It has the charisma of the Traillii in how it draws you into the music. An example is a soundtrack from one of my favourite movies Pans Labyrinth:



While listening to this I felt completely lost in the music. The female vocalist sounds ethereal. When the strings kicked in my jaws dropped as I was whisked away to a different space and time.

More to come.

-Nate

I absolutely concur. The vocals on the Viking Ragnar are on point. Simply ethereal. This IEM is a winner and it is in the same bracket as the Jewel & Traillii which is a feat. To everyone, forget the GT600, Supermoon & Odyssey. Get the Viking Ragnar. Never been so excited about an IEM since the Jewel & Traillii in which both went on to become crowd favourite elite tier IEMs. The Viking Ragnar is the latest big winner.

 

[maegnificant]

Just finished a 12 hour session with the Viking Ragnar. Jotting down some notes before it escapes me. I am going to add a disclaimer that these are day 1 impressions. Some of these thoughts may evolve over time as I burn it in, roll tips and cables.

The Unboxing:
At first I was planning on going home to record a unboxing video. However, as I was driving I couldn't contain my excitement. I pulled over to a park somewhere and used my bare hands to rip open the wrapped plastic on the box. Quite savagely I will add. There might have been a family or two watching. "What is this guy on?" ... Man. If they only knew how much heat this thing was packing inside.



The Ragnar was packed quite modestly. It reminded me of the Traillii experience. Instead of a Van Nueys, Noble included a pellican hard case case & a thin leather pouch. This is awesome because I have neither of those in my stable. The thinner rectangular leather pouch seems like it will conform better to my jacket than the conventional thicker circular cases.

Aesthetics & build quality:

It's beautiful . Ragnar both looks and feels high quality. I like the subtle, masculine, monochromatic design language. The cables weave pattern also match the damascus faceplate. Extra points to Gryffindor.

After sitting at the park staring at it for a while, I tested the integrity of the cable & the IEM housing. It took me a bit of effort to disconnect it. The female two pins connectors are the tightest I have come across so far. I have had some bad experiences with chifi products literally falling off the cable. This is good insurance for light walks.

The Fit:
The fit is something ive been curious about because I have troubles with universal shells. To give you a reference, right now the XE6 is nearly perfect, the Traillii is slightly snug. The Ragnar is a little more snug than the Traillii but much better than the Odin. While wearing Ragnar, I can consciously feel that something is there but it's not unbearable like the Phonix and Z1R. Green checkmarks on the fit. ️

How does it sound?

If I had to choose 5 adjectives to describe Viking Ragnar it would be: Immersive, intense, majestic, immaculate. The mids are star of the show but it would be an understatement to label it as a mids specialist. It is incredibly resolving like the Odin which is something I have come to expect with reference sets. However it is Traillii-esqe in the sense that it does it while painting a vivid, lucid image. Another characteristic that it shares with the Trailliis is the sense of space. Each instrument is well defined and coherent.

The tuning is on a brighter side compared to the U12T. I found the bass quantity more than adequate. The texture is something I'll have to A/B test later. It destroys classical, movie soundtracks and acoustics. It might be on another tier for vocals music.

The treble is well extended. Lots of sparkle for high hats and synths for electro. The upper mids might be a problem for genres like electronic and metal. I noticed this with some songs where the kickdrums were louder than the rest of the instruments. A potential negative is that the Ragnar is ruthless in the sense that if a track has deficiencies, you will hear it.

Nocturne in E-flat major - Joshua Bell


Violins have so much air and sincerity. The imaging at 1:35 is stellar. I can hear how much emphasis Bell puts against on his violins. I hear more nuances, both vertically and horizontally creating a 3 dimensional image in my mind. When I close my eyes I can visualize his hand movement.

It has the charisma of the Traillii in how it draws you into the music. An example is a soundtrack from one of my favourite movies Pans Labyrinth:



While listening to this I felt completely lost in the music. The female vocalist sounds ethereal. When the strings kicked in my jaws dropped as I was whisked away to a different space and time.

More to come.

-Nate

Man, they name it Viking Ragnar and tune it unfit for metal. Not a great decision.

 

[kevin638880]

I mean, can't really just "forget the Supermoon" when the Viking Ragnar is like 3x the price with a different timbre & signature.....also a tough task to challenge a planar on resolution.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

I mean, can't really just "forget the Supermoon" when the Viking Ragnar is like 3x the price with a different timbre & signature.....also a tough task to challenge a planar on resolution.

exactly my thoughts overall the "forget the" statement is just.. too black and white, it's all subjective in this hobby anyways.

I wouldn't be surprised if some people would prefer the cfa supermoon or solaris over those 4k+ iems after demoing, or pick something like the ier z1r.

 

[Rockwell75]

I absolutely concur. The vocals on the Viking Ragnar are on point. Simply ethereal. This IEM is a winner and it is in the same bracket as the Jewel & Traillii which is a feat. To everyone, forget the GT600, Supermoon & Odyssey. Get the Viking Ragnar. Never been so excited about an IEM since the Jewel & Traillii in which both went on to become crowd favourite elite tier IEMs. The Viking Ragnar is the latest big winner.

Seriously though these kind of blowhard twattish posts don't do anyone any favours. Odyssey & Ragnar are two fundamentally different sound signatures that may appeal equally to different people for different reasons, and people interested in what a single driver planar offers-- or who don't want to spend $5K-- are well advised NOT to "forget the Supermoon".

 

[Rockwell75]

I wouldn't be surprised if some people would prefer the cfa supermoon or solaris over those 4k+ iems after demoing, or pick something like the ier z1r.

Supermoon is still my favorite IEM and I've heard pretty much everything of note that's out there right now. I'm not saying it's "the best" or that everyone will love it...but for me, it's still number one. YMMV etc.

 

[audio123]

Seriously though these kind of blowhard twattish posts don't do anyone any favours. Odyssey & Ragnar are two fundamentally different sound signatures that may appeal equally to different people for different reasons, and people interested in what a single driver planar offers-- or who don't want to spend $5K-- are well advised NOT to "forget the Supermoon".

Forgot to add that if one is willing to go all out.

I was the first to praise Jewel as an elite tier IEM and many audiophiles have doubts about my statement. Look at the Jewel's status now.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

Supermoon is still my favorite IEM and I've heard pretty much everything of note that's out there right now. I'm not saying it's "the best" or that everyone will love it...but for me, it's still number one. YMMV etc.

Yeah I can get ya for sure, haven't heard the supermoon specifically, but have heard a bunch of planars from plunge..

I can only guess that the supermoon is similar to the demo I've had long long ago, and if it really is similar, then it should have no issue what so ever dishing out resolution that puts something like the cfa solaris SE to shame (from personal experience, going from solaris SE to the plunge demo which was planar + dd, it was like going from 1080p to 4k)

However it seems to be closedback, so I'm assuming it's not quite at the very top. To me the difference between a closed back and a heavily back vented/open back iem is absolutely huge in terms of SQ, it's hard to go back

 

[Rockwell75]

Forgot to add that if one is willing to go all out.

Even still if you've got a thing for bass it's by no means clear that any of Jewel, Traillii or Ragnar are for you. I love the Trailli and Ragnar, but none of them can compete with Odyssey when it comes to bass. I appreciate your enthusiasm but when you talk in a haughty tone that suggests you know what's best for everyone it just makes people want to reach for the ignore button.

 

[audio123]

Even still if you've got a thing for bass it's by no means clear that any of Jewel, Traillii or Ragnar are for you. I love the Trailli and Ragnar, but none of them can compete with Odyssey when it comes to bass. I appreciate your enthusiasm but when you talk in a haughty tone that suggests you know what's best for everyone it just makes people want to reach for the ignore button.

To each his/her own. I don't like to sugar coat stuffs.

 

[drftr]

To each his/her own. I don't like to sugar coat stuffs.

It's not sugar coating though. I have heard the Jewel and the Traillii and I don't want them, no matter how much the rest here insists. And in return only very few would want what I like. Perfectly fine.

drftr

 

[audio123]

It's not sugar coating though. I have heard the Jewel and the Traillii and I don't want them, no matter how much the rest here insists. And in return only very few would want what I like. Perfectly fine.

drftr

Understand where you are coming from. I only recommend IEMs that will be crowd favourite.

 

[Rockwell75]

I don't like to sugar coat stuffs.

I would rather have something coated in sugar than arrogance, hubris and misinformation.

 

[drftr]

Understand where you are coming from. I only recommend IEMs that will be crowd favourite.

Never mind...

drftr

 

[Tristy]

Understand where you are coming from. I only recommend IEMs that will be crowd favourite.

Got ourselves the IEM prophet over here