Noble Katana (U) review and comparisons

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by thegunner100, Oct 3, 2016.

  1. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Intro
    First off, a big thank you to @Kunlun for lending me his Noble Katanas so soon after getting them. It’s a huge sign of trust to lend me a pair of $1850 IEMs without any hesitation, and I’m very appreciative of it. Also, thank you to @k4rstar for lending me his ZX2 as well. Yet another sign of trust. I love that the SBAF community is able to make something like this happen.

    I normally tend to just write short impression with bullet points, but this review deserved more than just that. The UERM is no longer the CIEM king since it has been discontinued and “replaced” by the UERR. The UERRs have a different tuning that’s more bassy and dark, based off the universal demo that I listened to. Many have moved on to the Campfire Audio Andromedas. It’s an understandable transition considering that the Andromedas certainly do many things better than the UERMs. However, they are very finicky with source output impedance and they are not available in customs.

    I’ve had the UERMs for over 3 years now and they’ve been the only pair of IEMs that I’ve used since I’ve gotten them. After all this time, I wanted to find a pair of CIEMs that were neutral like the UERMs but with better bass extension, slightly less treble emphasis, and a little bit better overall in technicalities. I had no initial interest in the Katanas but Kunlun offered to lend them to me when I went to his office to drop off the loaner Mojo. So here I am with Noble’s latest $1850 9-driver flagship, going up against the UE’s discontinued $1000 3-driver former neutrality king.

    Chains used, and IEM pairings

    Lynx AES16 > Yggdrasil (AES) > Jotun (SE) > IEM

    This setup gets pretty close to being as good as it can get for IEMs. It was so good with the Katanas that it nearly ruined my portable experience. Before I got the ZX2 loaner, I didn’t think that any DAP would get me anywhere close to the sound from the desktop setup but thankfully that’s not the case. This setup plays extremely well to the Katana’s weaknesses. It tightens and cleans up the bass, reduces some midrange lushness, and makes the treble a little more apparent. Soundstaging, layering, imaging, and just about everything else was improved from the portable setups as well, which should be obvious.

    Dx90 > IEM
    I wasn’t impressed with the Katana straight out of the DX90 at first. It’s warm sounding, lacked soundstage, and really emphasized the thickness of the Katana’s sound. After getting more acclimated, I still think that it’s true of the dx90 and Katana pairing. While it’s fine for electronic music, everything else is kind of lacking. The Katana seems to pair best with clear sounding, neutral/bright sources.

    ZX2 > IEM
    The ZX2 has been the best DAP that I’ve heard by far. It easily beats the dx90 in sound, and is free from sabre glare. Based off memory, the ZX2 beats the Chord Mojo as well. I’m in love with how the ZX2 sounds with the UERMs. It’s natural, spacious, dynamic, smooth, detailed, and whatever positive traits you can throw at it. In some ways, I actually prefer the ZX2 over the Yggdrasil/Jotun when it comes to the UERMs. The desktop setup can be ruthless sometimes with the UERMs when I’m listening to anything treble heavy or badly recorded. The ZX2 does a good job at hiding some of those flaws while still presenting a sound that’s still true to the source.

    The Katanas also play very well with the ZX2, easily beating the dx90. However in this case, I would definitely take the desktop setup over the ZX2.

    Side notes on the ZX2: This thing is built really well and is reflective of its price tag. It’s easy to use with its side buttons when it’s in my jacket pockets, but can be a little hard when I have it inside my pant’s back pockets. It would be nice if the ZX2 were a little bit less bulky and light. I also loved being able to actually see my album art rendered in higher resolution. Browsing through my library was also a breeze, but I wasn’t able to play files through the folder view on my microsd card. It works for the internal storage however.

    Katana & UERM comparison

    Treble
    The Katana’s treble is smooth and softly rolled off. Sibilance is present on tracks that have it, but it is not presented in your face like the UERMs do sometimes. The smoothness does make the Katanas very listenable for any bright recordings. In comparison, the UERM’s treble is slightly accentuated but much more clear, sparkly, and airier. The most appropriate comparison would be a pair of modded hd800s compared to a modded hd650.

    Mids
    I haven’t really heard much of Noble’s other line, but it seems like lush mids is one of their house signatures. The Katana is the same in this regard. I think it’s pretty well done, but the UERM’s midrange has the precision and clarity that the Katana doesn't. Despite that, the Katana’s midrange is still detailed and doesn't overpower the other frequency ranges.

    Bass
    As most of you probably know, one of the UERM’s few weaknesses is in its bass extension. The Katanas makes the UERM’s weakness more apparent with its overall stronger bass presentation and extension. The Katanas have longer sustained bass notes, texture, and rumble than the UERMs. On the other hand, the UERM’s bass is very clean and linear with a punchy mid-bass. The Katana’s bass lends itself very well to electronic music overall but the UERMs win when it comes to the more ambient and spatial electronic music.

    Everything else
    The extra bass presence and lush mids of the Katana gives it an intimate presentation that is smaller in soundstage than the UERMs. The Katanas being universal, do have a disadvantage compared to the custom fit of my UERMs. However, my UERMs are over 3 years old and the fit is no longer quite as good as it used to be. I don't think that having a custom version of the Katanas would close the gap though. I’ve yet to hear any IEM so far that can beat the UERMs in terms of spaciousness and airiness, but that may eventually change if I ever get my hands on a pair of Perfect Seal AR6 or Empire Ears Spartan.

    The coherency between the Katana’s drivers is astounding. I’m impressed at how 9 drivers can come together to produce an even sound. Now, the benefits of actually having so many drivers is something I’m not so sure about. Perhaps the multiple drivers help the Katanas maintain its strong technicalities and clear sound despite its fun sound signature.

    Build quality, fit, accessories, etc
    The Katanas look well-built and sturdy, but the housing is big with its 9 drivers. The large housing gets uncomfortable for me after wearing them for an hour on the train. While the medium blue tips did fit well, I’m sure there are probably better fitting or sounding 3rd party tips out there. I personally don’t like the design of how the new universal Noble housings look. The Katana’s stock cable was okay but could have been a little better with cable microphonics. I also prefer right angled plugs for durability and ergonomics, but the Noble stock cables are straight plugs.

    Conclusion
    Noble managed to produce a totl IEM with a very well refined and tastefully done FR. It has a fun yet non fatiguing sound and clear that also manages to dish out technicalities that one would expect out of a flagship product. So far, it's the best sounding IEM that I've heard that deviates from neutral. I'd gladly take it over something like the UE18s or anything from the JH lineup. Note that I haven't actually heard the K10 before but I don't expect to like them if they're even more smooth, bassier, and more treble deficient than the Katana. I think Andromeda owners would probably also enjoy the Katana. The differences in sound signature depends highly on the OI with the Andromedas but they can be made to have a similar sound. I don't have the Andromedas for direct comparison, but I would probably prefer the less lush mids on the Andromedas.

    $1850 is a really steep price to be paying for a pair of IEMs. The housing is big and can be uncomfortable for some. If you opt for the custom version, you’ll end up paying at least an extra hundred for ear impressions and then a 4-8 week for them to be built.

    While I was initially really impressed by the Katana pairing with the Jotun/Yggdrasil, ultimately the ZX2 + UERM combo brought me back to reality. I still prefer the diffuse field tuning of the UERMs and the spaciousness that comes along with it. The Katanas did show me that there are certainly improvements in the realm of CIEMs, but how much will I have to pay for it?

    Thanks again to Kunlun and k4rstar for the loaners. I’ll be picking up a ZX2 when I get the chance, but I will continue looking for a new reference IEM.
     
  2. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Sheesh, if I had known you were going to do such a write-up I would have sent my Andro's along as well for the three-way comparison.

    Very nice read though, I'm more surprised than you that the ZX2 was able to trade blows with such a desktop setup.
     
  3. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Please no, my ears were already getting sore and sensitive from swapping between the two xD. I didn't think I'd be doing such a write up either but I ended up enjoying the Katanas for what they were.

    Yeah, the ZX2 is really just amazing with the UERMs. If i didn't take tonal balance and the extreme level of revealingness of the jotun/Yggdrasil into consideration, the desktop setup certainly does just about everything better.
     
  4. The Life

    The Life Facebook Friend

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    Very nice write-up. I wish my K10s and Katanas were universals so that I could send them over to you for a head-to-head comparison.

    For me, my ears have gotten so used to the K10's buttery smoothness that I pair the Katanas almost exclusively with my ALO CDM to give them a hint of that tube-y smoothness. Out of anything solid-state and I just yearn for the K10s. Maybe I'll give the Katanas a shot with the ZX2 to see how that combo sounds, though the lack of USB DAC functionality has always made Sony DAPs pretty much a no-go for me.
     
  5. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    What solid state amps have you used? The Leck and ZX2 are both solid state and are great pairings with the UERMs. The Jotun is colorless, especially when combined with the Yggdrasil so you'll get whatever FR your transducers produce. To me, it was the perfect match with the Katanas.

    I can't see myself ever liking the K10's. While in generally I do prefer a neutral or slightly dark sound, the K10s probably go too far in the dark direction.

    That ALO CDM though, is pretty damn pricey :O. Do you actually take it outside to use?
     

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