[MaxwellDemon]

Happy to get soon “My precious” : a Lotoo Mjölnir

I am ready to carry an extra 2 kg to get ( I hope) a desktop level sound while traveling. . .

Do keep us updated!! This is the thing I am definitely keeping my eye on before I make my decision on what is my next big purchase.

 

[Tex Irie]

Not sure if anyone else has tried the Noble Spartacus yet. This was amongst the other goodies sent across by Wilson from Jaben Singapore as I am stuck home recovering from a slipped disc.

I did a search online but couldn’t track information except about Spartacus the movie and the history.

Anyway, I managed to find the necessary details: it uses only Sonion drivers. The pretty faceplate is made from organic amber material.

The driver configurations are:

• Ultra High: 1 BA
• High + Mid-high: 2 BCD
• Mid-bass: 1 BA‘
• Bass + Ultra Bass: 2 BA

It’s quite nice cos it comes with switchable plugs for 4.4mm, 3.5mm and 2.5mm.

It is still early days with the Spartacus. I had a quick listen this morning while awaiting the Amazon Fresh delivery chaps. First thing I noticed is that the fit is much better than I have experienced thus far. Usually I find that Noble UIEMs then to be pyramid shaped and stick out my ears a fair bit. It would also feel uncomfortable because the shell is clinging for dear life from the point of insert of the ear tips.. This time around the Spartacus, the insertion is just nice, the shell sits flush against my concha and does not stick out. Together with the cable over my ear, I almost did not notice it was there.

Listening to my vocal music, my initial impression is that it is nice and cohesive. Soundstage seems big enough. Vocals are rendered well.

The Spartacus is fascinating. I think it needs burn in for sure. But even at this early stage, it is promising. The trebles are extended but controlled. If they pushed out any further, I am sure it would cross over into sibilance.

I also happen to have the Viking Ragnar on hand, as part of the care pack from Wilson, Jaben SG. I had a quick listen for comparison. I suspect that the Spartacus has that same details and nuances as the Ragnar but overlaid with more bass which gives a fuller, more 3D sound. I am not sure that as a consequence it creates an aural illusion that the sound stage is smaller than Ragnar. Perhaps it is only because Spartacus has more depth in its soundstage.

I think if you are fan of the Noble house sound, you will find the Ragnar and Spartacus to be quite complementary. By side by side comparison to the richer fuller sound of the Spartacus, the Ragnar has a grander soundstage but yet strangely austere.

Anyway, those in Singapore are in luck. The Spartacus demo unit is in at Jaben Singapore. I should be sending the care pack and this demo back to Wilson by the end of the work week.

@Kiats, I wish you a full and speedy recovery!

 

[nihalsharma]

Happy to get soon “My precious” : a Lotoo Mjölnir

I am ready to carry an extra 2 kg to get ( I hope) a desktop level sound while traveling. . .

Great! Will wait for your impressions. A lot of us are waiting for some good long impressions of the Mjolnir.

Meanwhile, you wait for the unit to arrive, please do some shoulder exercises. Lol

 

[Deferenz]

Not sure if anyone else has tried the Noble Spartacus yet. This was amongst the other goodies sent across by Wilson from Jaben Singapore as I am stuck home recovering from a slipped disc.

I did a search online but couldn’t track information except about Spartacus the movie and the history.

Anyway, I managed to find the necessary details: it uses only Sonion drivers. The pretty faceplate is made from organic amber material.

The driver configurations are:

• Ultra High: 1 BA
• High + Mid-high: 2 BCD
• Mid-bass: 1 BA‘
• Bass + Ultra Bass: 2 BA

It’s quite nice cos it comes with switchable plugs for 4.4mm, 3.5mm and 2.5mm.

It is still early days with the Spartacus. I had a quick listen this morning while awaiting the Amazon Fresh delivery chaps. First thing I noticed is that the fit is much better than I have experienced thus far. Usually I find that Noble UIEMs then to be pyramid shaped and stick out my ears a fair bit. It would also feel uncomfortable because the shell is clinging for dear life from the point of insert of the ear tips.. This time around the Spartacus, the insertion is just nice, the shell sits flush against my concha and does not stick out. Together with the cable over my ear, I almost did not notice it was there.

Listening to my vocal music, my initial impression is that it is nice and cohesive. Soundstage seems big enough. Vocals are rendered well.

The Spartacus is fascinating. I think it needs burn in for sure. But even at this early stage, it is promising. The trebles are extended but controlled. If they pushed out any further, I am sure it would cross over into sibilance.

I also happen to have the Viking Ragnar on hand, as part of the care pack from Wilson, Jaben SG. I had a quick listen for comparison. I suspect that the Spartacus has that same details and nuances as the Ragnar but overlaid with more bass which gives a fuller, more 3D sound. I am not sure that as a consequence it creates an aural illusion that the sound stage is smaller than Ragnar. Perhaps it is only because Spartacus has more depth in its soundstage.

I think if you are fan of the Noble house sound, you will find the Ragnar and Spartacus to be quite complementary. By side by side comparison to the richer fuller sound of the Spartacus, the Ragnar has a grander soundstage but yet strangely austere.

Anyway, those in Singapore are in luck. The Spartacus demo unit is in at Jaben Singapore. I should be sending the care pack and this demo back to Wilson by the end of the work week.

I listened to the Noble Spartacus at Canjam London. I liked it. Even though it was BA it had pretty good bass on it.

 

[Rockwell75]

Not to throw fuel into a discussion that is winding down, but just want to give my two cents as someone that's still very interested in the hobby and yet still some days get convinced that my $99 TWS earphones are so good I shouldn't bother with anything else.

Don't worry about throwing "fuel" on anything. The discussion as it has been carried on in this thread has been quite civil for the most part. Also, as per the title, this thread is at least partially a "philosophical discussion" thread so these sorts of discussions are not only welcome but encouraged as far as I'm concerned, with the only requirement being that everyone involved follows the norms of polite discourse. For people just flat-out not interested in philosophical musings, well they can always choose what to read and respond to, and what to ignore.

Your comment here reminded me of a couple things. The first is a quote from "Paradise Lost" which says something to the effect of "the mind is its own place and in itself can make a hell of heaven, or a heaven of hell". The second is a story about Paul McCartney who was asked once what was the best stereo system he's ever heard and his answer was something like "whatever is playing at the moment". I think in terms of ejoyment and "needs" a lot of it can come down to one's mental attitude. For years I was happy with a Fiio X-1 and Shure SE 215, and then after the latter broke I spent a couple years with a $50 pair of Sony IEMs I bought in an airport vending machine. Now obviously all of this stuff was of much lower quality than anything I've had since but at the time it was just fine and I derived massive amounts of enjoyment from it. Similarly, if I'm honest, I could have walked out of this game in March of 2019 with my CFA Solaris and Fiio M9 and never looked back...but years later here I am...slowed down somewhat recently, but not inclined at all to stop or retire. I think there is great gear at every price level and that most of us, if we chose to be, could be quite happy with something at a much lower price tier than we tend to operate on. But the fact is this is a hobby-- it's not a question of needs so much as playing around and trying different things simply for the joy of it (and also for the fellowship we find in communities like this one).

There's likely truth in both camps hence the back-and-forth debates and discussions regarding to brain burn-in vs actual burn-in, graph-readers and anti-graph-readers etc etc. All just part of what it means to be an audiophile in my opinion.

I think there is indeed truth in both camps. Also for the record I've never meant to imply that it's all or nothing-- what we're dealing with is more of a spectrum between two ideals (those who, if pressed, default to graphs, and those who rely more on their ears, let's say) with most people being somewhere in the middle embracing both ideals to some degree.

 

[Not so fat head]

I find that how my day went, stress, have I brought a tough problem home from work that’s weighing on me, rocky relationship, pissed off a friend…etc.., can affect my listing more that the hardware involved…
Sometimes great music can change the above, maybe 40% of the time. Music is Therapy!!!

 

[Script999]

I find that how my day went, stress, have I brought a tough problem home from work that’s weighing on me, rocky relationship, pissed off a friend…etc.., can affect my listing more that the hardware involved…
Sometimes great music can change the above, maybe 40% of the time. Music is Therapy!!!

I agree very much my friend
Depression and anxiety just gets washed away once these work of art aka IEMs gets into my ear canal and the music starts playing it’s just magic unfolding into my brain and I get transported into a different dimension. Time is the only thing that has to be sacrificed for peace of mind.

 

[Andricop]

This was amongst the other goodies sent across by Wilson from Jaben Singapore as I am stuck home recovering from a slipped disc.

Ouch Get well soon @Kiats !

 

[Andricop]

For those who have the Hifiman Svanar TWS, are you happy with it? Do you use it on a daily basis?
If I'm not wrong @Scuba Devils sent them back because of bluetooth pairing problems.

 

[claud W]

Jimmy Buffet, RIP , 9/1/2023

 

[Scubadevils]

For those who have the Hifiman Svanar TWS, are you happy with it? Do you use it on a daily basis?
If I'm not wrong @Scuba Devils sent them back because of bluetooth pairing problems.

Yes I loved the SQ but the tech needs work - frequent BT drops, one of which happened when I had 25 minutes walk left and they refused to reconnect so I walked in silence That did it for me and I returned. Very happy with ZE8000 and XM5, reliable technology and excellent sound, even if not at the Svanar level - I’d prefer a Mercedes that works all the time, than a Ferrari that works some of the time!

 

[Scubadevils]

I’ve listed my MEST MKIII again at a fantastic price if anyone in EU interested. I’d probably even do a bit lower as a Cooler special Fantastic, but Camelot still my preference in that category.

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/um-mest-mkiii-red-weekend-special.52217/

 

[Not so fat head]

For those who have the Hifiman Svanar TWS, are you happy with it? Do you use it on a daily basis?
If I'm not wrong @Scuba Devils sent them back because of bluetooth pairing problems.

Hi @andricop…. Check out the “TWS are we there” thread on Head Fi.. Several guys have bought it and some great feedback can be found there

 

[Rockwell75]

Beautiful day today. Nice to see the blue sky again and breathe fresh air instead of smoke.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I don't think you or anyone here should assume that I am on a side that is not my own when it comes to having a "subjective" impression of what I think what is going on here. I haven't seen anyone here reading rational explanations and then going "oh, well, that is eye opening, let me hit that switch and change sides". That will only happen when people don't feel that they need to buy new things and wake up to the wasteland they just built, or they are not able to buy them anymore. Until then we keep the fire burning, including me.

My response is more for the people that feel like the "Neo the red pill addict", and categorise the rest as clumsy beings with a blue pill stuck at their throats. When I see that, I write. If you don't like it from me, you are welcome to hit that magical ignore button.

If I go with your flow, I believe the high end is actually more environmentally and economically friendly than the entry level. Money being transferred by people with more disposable income rather than taking money out of beggars' bowls so to speak, and more money being transferred for less being manufactured and less going to the landfill. Most of the money received then spent feeding research staff and ad agencies and the like, feeding more mouths that would otherwise go begging, making virtual products rather than actual ones, again more environmentally friendly.

As for magical buttons, there's more than one of those, I hope for your sake nobody pressed the one starting with "R".