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sman
80
Dec 5, 2016
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2 Knowles drivers in a big shell. Somebody please try to convince me that there is something special or unique about that? Something like the new IBasso IT03 has 2 Knowles drivers and a Dynamic for the same price as these. So, where is the value? 599 list for these? What's the substantiation? What is so special about Noble tuning that differentiates it from others on the market with similar specs?
Dec 5, 2016
TheDoc
136
Dec 5, 2016
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smanSimilar specs? Are all cars with 4 wheels are "similar?" Are all cars with 6 cylinders similar?
Dec 5, 2016
zakalwe
125
Dec 5, 2016
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smanBoil everything down to specs and you'll have a hard time picking out anything wholly unique since most tech based products are built with sourced parts. Custom, in-house stuff is beyond this price range. What else would be unique? - 56 BA drivers maybe, but would it sound much better? Who knows. As for substantiation: Noble's reputation is probably most of it; you don't get called the Wizard amongst a community of audiophiles for nothing. There's haters and super-fans but most people down the middle would say a $250 Noble IEM is an intriguing prospect. I'm not trying to convince you either way as I haven't even joined it myself yet - and not sure that I will - but specs aren't the be all and end all by a long shot.
Dec 5, 2016
sman
80
Dec 5, 2016
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sman2 Knowles drivers Tuned by Noble. I'm asking what else makes these unique? What is it aboutNoble that differentiates itself from the others in this price range?
Dec 5, 2016
zakalwe
125
Dec 5, 2016
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smanWell, sound signature and aesthetics I guess: The stuff that makes most dual BAs unique to one another. Noble are known for good sound sigs and they look good - though these are both subjective. They have the new memory ear hooks that reviewers have said are better than the Savant's etc. and the cable is strong as hell.
Dec 5, 2016
sman
80
Dec 5, 2016
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smanI do like the looks.
Dec 5, 2016
TheDoc
136
Dec 5, 2016
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zakalweTwo drivers doesnt specify more than a number. Imagine a set of 4ft two way tower speakers, with two one inch drivers. Technically that is two drivers, but it certainly wouldnt sound very impressive.
Dec 5, 2016
sman
80
Dec 5, 2016
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smanTheDoc I get your car analogy. We're talking about the engine then (the drivers). I'm not saying that because it has 2 drivers like others that these are similar to other products out there. I am asking because it has 2 Knowles drivers like other products out there, what makes the Noble's dissimilar? I haven't heard them. The reviews I've read haven't been slam dunks. The value at $250 seems to be in line with others in that range. I don't think I'm being overly critical, just have questions since this is a Massdrop deal. Did you get the Akg K7XXX or whatever? They were good, but not at the the LIST price that they stated on Massdrop. They were more in line with the $199 that they sell for. Different build quality than the AKG that they were copying.
Dec 5, 2016
TheDoc
136
Dec 5, 2016
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smanAgain, two drivers doesnt mean anything. Two drivers could be two ci drivers, could be two fk drivers, could be two bk drivers, could be two tec drivers, or any combination of the above or more. Knowles offers many different drivers, iust like scanpeak offers many different drivers. What makes noble different than other two driver products, i couldnt tell you because it isnt an apples to apples comparison. The only information we have to go on is the numeral two, and that doesnt mean much at all.
Dec 5, 2016
TheDoc
136
Dec 5, 2016
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smanBtw, the review i read said the noble x is better than the katana. So either the Noble X is
1. a deal of a life time 2. A technological marvel
I wonder how many Katana owners would agree that the sage or the savant is better than the katana?
Dec 5, 2016
sman
80
Dec 5, 2016
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smanTheDoc Yeah, I know, such questions from those reviews. Those reviews actually confused the hell out of me! Haha. I couldn't make heads or tails out of all the comparisons. Were they good, bad, so so? He gave it 4/5 stars, so they must be pretty good. Worth the $250, he says yes.
Dec 5, 2016
zakalwe
125
Dec 5, 2016
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smanYeah, I think I'm gathering the same from the reviewers: that it's worth the $250. The rest is conjecture IMO because it's about sound sig taste and music taste. Honestly, the amount of reviews I read where they haven't listened to genres I listen to...
Dec 5, 2016
zakalwe
125
Dec 5, 2016
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TheDocnot sure you meant me there, but valid point nonetheless
Dec 5, 2016
Darin_Fong_Audio
134
Fong Audio
Dec 5, 2016
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TheDocI have the Katana and the Encore universals sitting on my desk next to the Noble X's, and IMHO, the X's are good, but not even close to as good as either the Katana and Encore. By comparison, both the Encore and Katanas have much better treble (clearer, more open, yet smooth and not harsh.) Overall more detail all the way around. The bass is more controlled and reaches lower than the X's.
The X's are really good, but when you compare side by side, it's obvious why the Encore and Katana's are priced the way they are.
Dec 5, 2016
jforce713
50
Dec 6, 2016
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Darin_Fong_AudioTo put it in bang for buck terms, which I think most people are going for based on the tone of the comments, is this worth tossing $250 down for a shot at sound sig and quality that most buyers have not heard yet, or is a higher end model worth saving your pennies for if one would be in the market for such a thing? BTW, I recently checked out some of your sound samples from your site. Just sat in front of some holy balls expensive B&W setup at a Magnolia, treated room, the business, and comparing Spanish Harlem over that system to the sample on your site... very convincing replication you do. I like!
Dec 6, 2016
Darin_Fong_Audio
134
Fong Audio
Dec 6, 2016
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jforce713Hi @jforce713 , That's a tough question because everyone's idea of "worth" is based greatly on how much money you have. $250 is a LOT of money to most people, and $1850 for an Encore or Katana is completely out of the question.
But if you're reading this, odds are you are probably able to swing $250 for a pair of IEM's.
With that said, you really have to compare the X's to what's out there for $250 or less. While I have not heard a lot of competition, I have heard a few of the much less expensive IEM's like Xiaomi's, iMore, VE Monk, etc. I think many of the really inexpensive IEM's can give you remarkably good sound for the price, I think at $250, the X's are worth the extra money. Are they 50 times better than the VE Monk? ;-) Probably not, but that's not how audio gear works. It's not a linear relationship.
If you can afford $250, the X's are really good for the price. One person mentioned that Noble made the X's too good for the price! They definitely perform higher than their $250 price, IMHO.
If you can afford to save up for a pair of Katana's or Encore's, then sure, they are definitely better by a wide margin, but they're not 7.4 times as good!
Glad you liked our Out Of Your Head software. It works really well with IEM's to give any IEM or headphone a huge soundstage. Open-ness and soundstage are no longer a factor with headphones or IEM's since our software makes all of them super open and spacious. (And 7.1 for movies and gaming too!) Put on your headphones and check out our demo: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/out-of-your-head-speaker-software or on our website http://fongaudio.com/demo
-Darin __________________________________________ Darin Fong Audio http://fongaudio.com
Dec 6, 2016
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