The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[Junmoe62]

Hi guys,

I’m super happy after receiving those bad boys back from repair :

they look and sound as good as new! I really missed those guy!
So I just wanted to say a big thanks to @FullCircle and the Noble team for their top notch customer service!


Also, a little over a week ago, I purchased a pair of Hifiman Svanar :

They do sound great and truly deserve the TOTL moniker, but sadly, as good as they may sound, they hurt my ears really bad after prolonged use. The entrance of my ears got pretty swollen, so it seems my ear shape is not suitable for this design unfortunately.
So it seems like I’m going to have to sell them. If anyone is interested, please let me know! I purchased them in China and I’ll be back to France for a 3 weeks vacations from march 25th (first time going back home in 3 years! Finally! It’s gonna feel good! ) . Also, the retail price of these is substantially cheaper in China, so it could be a good opportunity for someone in France or Europe to get a good deal (I didn’t use any of the accessories and cable). Anyways, sorry for the shameless plug!

Sound wise, they are fairly balanced with a nice analog vibe. Bass is powerful and precise when called for, mids are organic, clear and detailed. High mids/lower treble region can be a bit fatiguing after a while with some tracks but I’m really sensitive to that region of the spectrum. They are not harsh or sibilant though. Trebles are very detailed as well.
Soundstage is very spacious and I personally think they portray the staging in a very special way. The feeling is closer to an open back than a closed back. It doesn’t feel like a close and personal staging, but more like an ambiante and harmonious presentation, almost like going to a concerto at the opera. They also work extremely well with binaural recordings. Very few IEMs manage to fool my brain in hearing sounds from the back. These definitely succeed in doing so.
If you wanna know more about this set, I advise you to go check the excellent reviews from @Scuba Devils and other guys.

Also, I’m not quite sure why some say the 2 pins connectors are proprietary? All my IEMS and cables are the same and work on the svanar without any issues. Or is it a region thing, like electric plugs being different in different parts of the world?

I wish you all a nice day,

cheers,

Julien.

 

[drftr]

So I just wanted to say a big thanks to @FullCircle and the Noble team for their top notch customer service!

Very happy it worked out the way we hoped! I remember seeing the pic on the Noble thread and boy I felt bad.

drftr

 

[yaps66]

Ronin and Fibae 5 are in. Ronin is better to my ears, not $2k better though . Both are really nice. Ronin is definitely bigger, though nowhere near the Plussound IEM I have in also.

Would love to hear your impressions/comparisons of both!

 

[Rockwell75]

Ronin and Fibae 5 are in. Ronin is better to my ears, not $2k better though .

Ronin is close to $3K more than F5.

 

[toaster]

I haven't heard Orpheus but always thought it would build more on the sound of 1950s than First Times. If you can get that confirmed here then your 1950s demo would be more than interesting. 1950s made me scale back from M20 to M15 btw.

Indeed.

Orphy was the first cable that made me feel like a major step had been taken since 1950. So much so, that shortly after acquiring orphy, I sold my beloved dr. juggles 1950 clone. The 1950 is definitely an amazing cable...the first time i heard it on my a18t it really blew me away.

 

[firesign]

Hi guys,

I’m super happy after receiving those bad boys back from repair :



they look and sound as good as new! I really missed those guy!
So I just wanted to say a big thanks to @FullCircle and the Noble team for their top notch customer service!


Also, a little over a week ago, I purchased a pair of Hifiman Svanar :



They do sound great and truly deserve the TOTL moniker, but sadly, as good as they may sound, they hurt my ears really bad after prolonged use. The entrance of my ears got pretty swollen, so it seems my ear shape is not suitable for this design unfortunately.
So it seems like I’m going to have to sell them. If anyone is interested, please let me know! I purchased them in China and I’ll be back to France for a 3 weeks vacations from march 25th (first time going back home in 3 years! Finally! It’s gonna feel good! ) . Also, the retail price of these is substantially cheaper in China, so it could be a good opportunity for someone in France or Europe to get a good deal (I didn’t use any of the accessories and cable). Anyways, sorry for the shameless plug!

Sound wise, they are fairly balanced with a nice analog vibe. Bass is powerful and precise when called for, mids are organic, clear and detailed. High mids/lower treble region can be a bit fatiguing after a while with some tracks but I’m really sensitive to that region of the spectrum. They are not harsh or sibilant though. Trebles are very detailed as well.
Soundstage is very spacious and I personally think they portray the staging in a very special way. The feeling is closer to an open back than a closed back. It doesn’t feel like a close and personal staging, but more like an ambiante and harmonious presentation, almost like going to a concerto at the opera. They also work extremely well with binaural recordings. Very few IEMs manage to fool my brain in hearing sounds from the back. These definitely succeed in doing so.
If you wanna know more about this set, I advise you to go check the excellent reviews from @Scuba Devils and other guys.

Also, I’m not quite sure why some say the 2 pins connectors are proprietary? All my IEMS and cables are the same and work on the svanar without any issues. Or is it a region thing, like electric plugs being different in different parts of the world?



I wish you all a nice day,

cheers,

Julien.

They are not propietary, it is a simple 2-pin 0.78mm connector.

What happens is that the connection hole is deeper than in other IEMs and that causes some cables to not enter correctly. They need to have a little longer pins or the plastic where they are inserted. I have cables that work well and others that don't (although they can be easily fixed).

 

[RTodd]

Ronin is close to $3K more than F5.

Want to spend more time with Ronin, the F5 has its place for me, it is laid back with excellent timbre, music first.

Ronin may also be excellent timbre though in my quick listen I did not find it laid back, I sensed no issues with Ronin that would distract me from enjoying the tunes, more time is called for. There is no reason these two cannot coexist in my line up, the question is not does F5 do enough, the question I would seek to answer is does Ronin.

Since price was mentioned, Isabellae $500.00 and F5 $1,000.00 both have a special character and sound great to me, both are excellent value, that I am convinced are worth the cost. Ronin is considerably more expensive, and does not have the same character as F5 or Isabellae so personally I could not really compare them based on the price. If I was to come to the thought that Ronin was worth the cost for what it brings to the table remains to be understood. Just my opinion here, I sense Ronin is going to get a lot more ears on it, no doubt to me it is compelling.

 

[maegnificant]

Different kind of question, pretty subjective:

I really enjoy this album, though there are two masters of it on bandcamp. Which one do you like more? And why? I own one of them already, but I am thinking about getting the other, but I don't want the same album twice on my music player, please help me decide








*edit* Do you hear a difference at all? Because I sure think I do, but who knows

 

[Anfernee]

Ronin is close to $3K more than F5.

I don't know what you think of Ronin, I think it subverts my perception of Noble's inherent tuning style. The Eletech wiring is really nice looking, though I wish they could add some budget, and it would be nice to have a Japanese Ronin style hardware.

 

[Andricop]

In fact I wouldn't be that optimistic. First of all, the general agent of PW Audio has clarified on their Facebook that the stock cable of Traillii Ti is not PWAudio's OEM, as far as I know, it is a DIY workshop in mainland China. Secondly, this is not a product of Oriolus JP, but developed and produced by Oriolus' general agent in mainland China. He just used the name of Oriolus, and no information about this product can be found on the official website. As far as I know, he sells his products through China's third-party trading market "Xian Yu" (more often second-hand trading market). As a Traillii owner, I would prefer to buy a real "successor" rather than a "special edition" for grandstanding. I don't think the titanium cavity is suitable for the sound signature of the Traillii. I have no malicious intentions, I just hope that more people will not be deceived.

Quoting Julien message :

Oriolus Traillii Ti :
The king is back big time! It wasn’t actually for demo, but an owner was kind enough to let me try it so I could compare with my OG Trailliis. I can definitely tell you the difference isn’t only a cosmetic one! They sound absolutely epic! Basically, you take everything that was great on the OG, you make it better and you remove most of the drawbacks (except the price obviousl…).
Deeper and more organic bass, clearer and cleaner (less veiled) mids (still warm and organic), better treble extension and details, significantly bigger and more precise soundstage. I’m truly impressed! I wasn’t expecting that actually… Add to that the most comfortable shell I’ve tried (the shape on the back is different than the OG and really follows the shape of the ear a bit like a custom) and the new cable with nicer hardware and this is an absolute killer set (for an eye watering price ). I think that was my favorite of them all to be honest.

At least it looks like there is some sonic difference and that the shell is a step forward in comfort

 

[gLer]

Hey guys, my full review of the fabulous FIBAE 5 is now online HERE. Enjoy!

​

 

[warrenpchi]

Do you want me to Copy-Paste or is there someone there who can explain how the scroll bar works?

drftr

I guess I'm not understanding why you'd want to leave? Even if you're done shopping, I bet new people to the thread could benefit from your experience.

 

[FullCircle]

.... it would be nice to have a Japanese Ronin style hardware.

Point taken

 

[552609]

Point taken

Personally I love the Ronin, the colors, and the cable - one of the best stock cables I've ever received.

 

[FullCircle]

Personally I love the Ronin, the colors, and the cable - one of the best stock cables I've ever received.

Thanks, but no harm in adding a little touch of class to the cable hardware. The reality is getting anything manufactured in small volumes is a miracle.

That said, we can now build cables that are made with the same materials as the prestige housings.

"Prestige +" = the materials used to build the cable hardware matches the iem housing