IEM general discussion thread

This is fantastic to hear! I'm not sure there have been any impressions are out there yet. Did you get a sense of when they're shipping? Did you hear the rest of the line?

 

I can't get a take on Noble IEMS. I've never heard them, I do own an Heir Audio 8.0, which I love. The hype on head-fi is ridiculous though, especially the K10. I know several people that didn't like it, ironically there isn't a review that's not 5 stars or close to it. Just makes me wonder.

 

I had a Noble 4. I think its the best iem I've heard so for.

 

This is awesome news. I love my Noble 4 because the bass and and midrange is so sublime and realistic, but like you said, the 6k peak gets really annoying in brighter tracks and can really accentuate sibilance to the point where it's piercing and uncomfortable. I just have too much music in my collection that is brightly recorded/poorly mastered to fully enjoy them. Looks like I'm going to have to get my hands on one soon.

 

K10 was pleasant but ended up being too lush/syrupy/slow. Savant had a nice tonality but there was something wonky and fatiguing in the treble. N4 was my favourite in the lineup so I would be interested to hear Savannah.

 

The hype is ridiculous, but they do make some great IEMs. I would never pay full price for them tho; I got my Noble 4 used, and I don't think I'll buy the Savanna until there's a sale or a used one shows up... whichever comes first.

 

I moved from the heir 8 to the k10 (2nd unit produced), and it's a 5-star earphone, no question. It's popular because it has an excellent mix of warmth and clarity that reaches well across the frequency range. That may not be what an individual wants, but the k10 is a very good earphone for listening to music regardless.

I'd recommend hearing a demo, I think you'll like it over the 8. The k10 keeps the same bass, but doesn't have the 8's dark sound.

Just my take, your litterbox may be on a different carpet, etc. etc. etc.

 

Quick question. Just figured I would ask but do they tune custom and universal IEMs differently for the same versions?

 

@Kunlun thanks for the feedback bro. Did you get the custom or the uni?

 

I can't tell you from experience, but I think the internals are the same for IEMs with custom/universal options. What matters most I think is fit, and customs are obviously better for that than tip rolling with universals, so there may be a better perceived sound with customs. I know at first with the Noble 4 I absolutely hated it because there was zero bass and that treble peak was sibilant even on tracks that shouldn't be sibilant. But, I finally found the right tip that let me deeply insert the 4 and give a good seal, and the difference was night and day. Stronger bass presence and that peak was much more tame, closely matching impressions I read on the 4 custom models, but even then, the peak might be even more tame with a custom fit.

Tip rolling can be a pain in the ass, but when you do find the perfect tips for your ears/iem, you can get close to (if not, the same) sound you'd get with a custom IMO. Isolation is probably not as good, but I'd rather save a few hundred bucks and have a good resell value. I would only go for a custom if it was a earphone that I would love unconditionally for years, but that's never happened so I don't see a point. But, that's only my opinion and everyone has different ears, and for some people universal iems will just never fit right.

 

Yep, fits and tips are a bitch. So much harder to get solid impressions and opinions since people have different ears and different tips to stick into those ears.

 

Guess I'm pretty lucky. I use the same 4 sets of tips for everything, spiral dots usually cover every iem for me.

 

Hey there!
I have the acrylic custom. Still one of my favorite ciems. Sounds good with everything. It's not a uerm-type tuning, so as long as you aren't expecting that, I think you'll be quite happy.

Oh, and to the person who asked: Yes, the tuning for the custom and universal fit versions of the same earphone are the same.

 

Thanks, UERM would be the last type of sound I'd look for. Just not for me. Quite hobby with bassy IEMS.

Side note, not sure if you remember me Kunlon, it was a long time ago. I pmed you when I first joined head-fi looking for a new iem. Told you I was interested in Heir Audio 8.0. You recommended waiting for the new company. Needless to say, impatient me, ordered the Heir anyway and have wondered about the Noble K10 ever since.

 

In case anyone wantrd to get a good price on a custom

Im selling my uerr in the classifieds for $650

 

So what's the consensus for warm and smooth IEMs (preferably dynamic)? Since earphones actually go into my ear, I feel like my treble sensitivity goes up a few notches.

 

Received my Z5 yesterday, a bit disappointed. Sounds good, but expected. More and that bass is sloppy. I ordered the upgraded cable, see how that works. I prefer my other Sonys at this point. Might need to tweak my eq settings as well.