[FullCircle]

Hello, friends! Just spent some quality time enjoying my new Noble Prestiges which arrived earlier, and I'm eager to share some impressions with you all!

Throughout my head-fi journey, I've had the joy of experiencing various TOTL IEMs, typically keeping 4-6 sets on hand. I listen to pretty wide range of music spanning classical, rock, jazz, original soundtracks (OSTs), J-pop, K-pop, Canto-pop, and more. My preference leans towards "specialist" sets rather than all-rounders, as they make my life easier to match the IEMs to my mood.

The MuZiGe, Nodachi, and Viking each boast distinct sound signatures, far from the "all-rounder" or neutral tuning. However, they share one common trait: TOTL resolution. Switching between these sets, you won't feel a drop in quality.


MuZiGe - 1DD10BA, Definitely a weird one and not for everyone, warm, slightly dark, and textured sound, characterized by a lush midrange. Its mid-centric tonality owes much to the boosted 400hz-2khz range. The bass is excellent—quick and high-quality, though not overly abundant. Vocals have a thick, emotional texture that draws you into ballads without causing fatigue. Treble is a mixed bag; while the soundstage is surprisingly wide, some detail in guitar and violin notes may be lost. It's a fun set, especially for slower, relaxed music with an analog vibe like jazz, blues, and ballads. However, I definitely won't get these if I listen only to rock, classical, or other instrumental-heavy music. IMO it is a Traillii with a narrower soundstage, retaining an analog and textured feel while leaning quite a bit towards the darker side. I enjoy pairing the MuZiGe with PW Audio's Meet Again cable and EBT Metal SS tips, driven by the P6Pro Ti for a balanced and enjoyable presentation.


Nodachi - 8BA4EST, same configuration as the Ronin but offers a completely different tuning. I heard it was tuned in collaboration with Korean audiophiles, it presents a fun sound with an upper-mid boost (2khz-4khz). Vocal clarity and detail are exceptional, allowing you to appreciate micro-details without strain. Vocals are positioned closer than the Traillii but further than Phonix LE/OG, with well-controlled sibilance and an expansive soundstage. Bass quality is solid, though quantity is moderate, similar to the Jewel; instrumental presentation is average compared to my other sets. Compared to Ronin, Nodachi is on the brighter side with more vocal clarity to my ears, while Ronin got a thicker mids considerably. Among the TOTL IEMs I've owned (Phonix LE/OG, Traillii, Jewel, MM, etc.), I like Nodachi the most particularly for pop and vocal-centric tracks— just a great experience to feel the emotions of the singers in particular you are Country Pop, JPOP, KPOP or other Canto/ Mando pop lovers. I like Nodachi to pair up with Beat Audio Orbitsaga with augmented bass and spacial presentation, Azla Max eartips to slightly tame the treble and N30LE AP driven in Class A/ Classic Tube mode for pure indulgence .


Viking - 2DD4BA4EST, I have both the Prestige and OG Damascus versions and previously had the Ragnar. The Vikings are technical powerhouses with the best soundstage, technical details and spatial presentation I've encountered. They emphasize treble, making them especially enjoyable for OSTs (like "Interstellar's Mountains," John Williams' "Jurassic Park" opening), or live orchestra concerts and Anne-Sophie Mutter's violin performances. The Viking OG boasts the most energy and spatial presence, while the Prestige version is warmer, more suitable for vocal tracks. However, I don't like to listen to vocal tracks on Viking, I find the vocal presentation a bit dry and lean sometimes, which can be fatiguing when trying to focus on the finer vocal details rather than the song as a whole.

TLDR - I thoroughly enjoy the unique experiences these sets provide, not to mention their stunning aesthetics! They are different enough to cover a vast swath of my music library, with my other two sets catering to EDM (Grand Maestro) and serving as an all-rounder with balanced tuning for every track (P-Zero). I've also measured the frequency response of these IEMs using my IEC711 measurement rig and standard foam tips. I'm no professional reviewer or measurer by any means, so please take my findings with a grain of salt if you're interested.



Happy listening guys!

The Nodachi was tuned in conjunction with a professional sound engineer in Korea. I consider him to be a great guy, a person that one would aspire to be.

 

[Rockwell75]

Physical books I hope and not ebooks?

Perhaps you're being cheeky with this comment but we live in a country and in a time where the current leader's most noteable accomplishment is putting tampon dispensers in the male bathrooms of all federal buildings. I wouldn't put it past the clowns in charge these days to start editing old books to make them more politically correct...or to suit whatever other agenda strikes them. I'm pretty sure this has already been talked about...if it hasn't happened already...with Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and I think even some of Roald Dahl's books. For this reason, and as well as my reasons already given for maintaining my own music library, I'll appreciate e-books as a convenience but I'll never entirely commit myself to them when it comes to my very favorites or stuff I want to keep for posterity.

Also you will never enjoy the ocean the way in the picture, the water is cold year around.

It's all relative. I've been swimming in the ocean in San Diego in February and it's way more tolerable than the same ocean is up here in August.

I see nobody answers that they love their wife so let me be the one

You guys don't love your wife?

Found the guy whose wife reads the thread .

Some of us are married to our IEMs...and cats.

Really loving the pictures and sentiments everyone is sharing. I went for a hike this afternoon to my usual spot.

 

[Soundvibrations]

Whilst first impressions often stand ; I generally suggest a more extended listen as the brain will accustom itself and modulate perception over time.

IEM’s are so tip and fit dependent that even moving a size up/down or changing tips can significantly influence the sound signature. And because not all shells are the same ; it can be some frustration until you find Goldilocks. I’ve mistakenly disregarded a (very very nice) IEM for not recognising I’d screwed up the tip fit. Now I want to buy it … and I can’t because the 50 units have long sold out.

Did you audition the Trifecta before purchasing?

Often, I now prefer to listen to an IEM I am interested in without reading the reviews first. It saves me money and heartache in the long run. The secondary market is fabulous sometimes At picking up a bargain - and there’s less of a loss if you move them on.

I will mention that very few CFA’s have appealed to me and I’ve found most of then unnaturally coloured in one way or another that hadn’t made sense to me. Andromeda 2020 was the exception. And I ended up buying it. Not going to pull punches that I’ve been otherwise disappointed with CFA.

Recently, had some fun auditioning at my local audio store. Worked out XE6 and RE6 was not for me. Nor were Volur, Phonix and when the sales associate who knows me well passed me an IEM I didn’t recognise at the time, I commented it was okay, but not quite as technically proficient as I was used to (Noble Ronin). And got to listen to what I think would be God Tier for your Final Fantasty Soundtrack. Go order the Storm.

If I may, first impressions remain impressions...often you can hear defects that perhaps aren't that important and bring out qualities that you weren't even remotely aware of...
a lot depends on what "we believe is right" in a given period, on the absolutely necessary burning of the brain or of the equipment itself, on the tips etc... and last but not least but very important on psychoacoustics,
we find ourselves more often acting on impulse and eliminating something that could have been excellent even for our cup of tea...
In this sector I find any review made with tests in the shop or for a short time totally worthless.. however good one may be with hearing, it takes hours and hours and adaptation.. otherwise they are reviews based on impressions, which without controversy, in most cases they are really useless even if made with the best intentions and you manage to focus on some actual flaw or strength...

 

[CodenameBK201]

we live in a country

American here.

 

[btwine]

Saturday survey.

Share a picture of something in your life that you love, non-audio related.

My cat Monty takes all the attention I will give him when I’m not working or focusing on hobbies like audio. In fact, when he sees me put earphones in, he rolls on his back, insisting I rub his belly and multitask.

 

[mark88888]

Perhaps you're being cheeky with this comment but we live in a country and in a time where the current leader's most noteable accomplishment is putting tampon dispensers in the male bathrooms of all federal buildings.

Strongly disagree but to explain why would be to get into a political argument, and aren't there a billion other places for that?

 

[Ike1985]

Can anyone compare the Brise Shirogane to the Orphy L?

 

[Deezel177]

Better late than never.
Find out where AFUL MagicOne stand for us.
- https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aful-magicone.26804/reviews#review-32704

Not to spoil my upcoming e-earphone post too much, but this thing is the best single-BA IEM I’ve ever heard. Heck, it could be the best budget IEM anyone can buy right now. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was listening to a 5-or-6-BA, $1500 model. I’ll talk about it more later, but it’s honestly unbelievable how good it is.

Share a picture of something in your life that you love, non-audio related.

Even if I wasn’t currently on my honeymoon, she’d be the first thing that comes to mind.

 

[audionewbi]

Great suggestion.
The most important thing in my life are my family and friends. Nothing beats community and I am writing to this to remind myself of that fact, since I tend to shut myself off and then wonder why I feel so lonely and sad.
I cannot share a picture of all these important people though so second of all is health. My physical health has decreased massively in my late 20s, relatively speaking, due to my laziness as a child and certain genetic factors and now I have to hold my body in a manageable state of only occasional mild pain.

This is where my picture comes in. Being able to do stretching, elastic band and body weight exercises and weight lifting and being able to do it on my own schedule at home is very valuable to me. I am still learning how to better my body and even more how to hold a constant and regular "schedule" and decrease unwise decisions. But I won't give up.

Keep at it my friend, your best years are ahead of yours.

 

[RTodd]

Saturday survey.

Share a picture of something in your life that you love, non-audio related.

My cat Mango:

Our cat Rosie one of her favorites spots on my wife’s feet, not as committed as the full lap, able to dart off at well just about any sound or movement. In fact I had to slowly creep up from behind the coach to get a shot of her.

 

[FullCircle]

Keep at it my friends, your best years are ahead of yours.

 

[Rockwell75]

I found a great pic of old school Metallica with Cliff:

In honor of that I listened to one of my favorite tracks:



This track, and whole album actually, sounds magnificent on Trifecta.

 

[trbo996]

These are weird, man. They are doing something funky here.

Glad I’m not the only one. In my quick listen, three songs were disjointed, distorted, and mud. The fourth was golden ambrosia from the mount. Fifth was the worst.

I walked away, but respect that the IEM works for others’ libraries and ears. Just not mine, which is a shame because they have such a great design and coloring.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Love gunpla too but too busy with my work so hardly have time to build my backlogs

Mine right is probably about double that. Triple if they come up with any clones of P Bandai add ones. Maybe they won't release the Epyon Sturm Und Drang. But who am I kidding

1/8th of my stack is me trying to bolt yet more swords to one I have on display.

1/8th are me trying to bolting on more guns to one I've been trying to pose

1/2 are kits I took parts from for customs

The remaining 1/4 are things I have here and there trying to make customs for the Frozen Teardrop suits.

Perhaps you're being cheeky with this comment but we live in a country and in a time where the current leader's most noteable accomplishment is putting tampon dispensers in the male bathrooms of all federal buildings. I wouldn't put it past the clowns in charge these days to start editing old books to make them more politically correct...or to suit whatever other agenda strikes them. I'm pretty sure this has already been talked about...if it hasn't happened already...with Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and I think even some of Roald Dahl's books. For this reason, and as well as my reasons already given for maintaining my own music library, I'll appreciate e-books as a convenience but I'll never entirely commit myself to them when it comes to my very favorites or stuff I want to keep for posterity.

I'm a huge physical book fan, ebooks were kinda more for convenience during the pandemic. But the way things are going, the older the edition the better to have a copy of. They can break into my hour if they want to change whats printed in them.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Back to more music things, went to upload music this AM, ended up spending a few hours cleaning up some tags I actually missed and having to go dig up a fresh copy of a few tracks where I thought I fixed some sort of Metadata issue.

First time with a 1A pretending to be a 1Z and I'm seriously contemplating selling my 1AM2 atm.