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PennAsn
39
Mar 31, 2017
Started to burn mine in the second I got home but then I got impatient after only a couple hours. Everything is quite clear and they do a good job standing up to rather bass forward music (2CELLOS and Yo-Yo Ma). They're able to resolve a lot of detail and the best way I can describe them so far is they're a tad warmer than analytical. Treble is clear but not piercing and bass is more forward than my on my K7XX. The latter could be more due to the nature of in-ears though. They definitely do not sugar coat it when you run a poor resolution file or a poorly produced/mastered recording. Everything from EDM to classical, metal, jazz, rock, folk, the Noble X seems to be able to handle them all quite well. My only gripe is that none of the included tips allowed for a great fit so I'll probably end up buying a set of Comply tips soon. The foam tips isolated the best but even the smallest size didn't feel all that secure, which I chalk up to how quickly the foam returns to its original shape. For those who are interested, I tested them on my desktop running through my O2 DAC/AMP and tested low quality MP3s (to see how unforgiving these would be) to WAV and FLAC files at 44.1 khz (16 bit) as well as 96 khz (24 bit).
UPDATE: I've been comparing the Noble X's to my RHA T20 earphones running them both off of my iBasso DX80 at the office and I've noticed a few additional things. The Noble X's are definitely warmer sounding and a tad fuller because of it. The soundstage is definitely wider on the Noble X's and to my ears it's partly because the bass on the T20s definitely feels like it's in your ears whereas on the Noble's the bass sounds like it originates farther away. This also might be a case of the bass being slightly more elevated in the X's compared to the T20s. They both seem to be resolving similar levels of detail overall and initially, I thought the highs had more sparkle in the T20s while it was missing in the X's but after more rounds of listening, the X's definitely have that same level of sparkle, it was just harder to hear at first because of the fuller and wider soundstage. One pleasant surprise is the microphonics, or lack thereof in the Noble X's. My T20s have really bad microphonics and the wire going over my ear can get annoying since I wear glasses. Virtually no microphonic issues with the Noble X's and no comfort issues with the cable going over my ear either.
I'm really enjoying the sound of the Noble X's but there are just a couple things I have issues with. I would have liked to see the wire leading into the plug reinforced a bit more and have a more robust housing. It seems rather small and flimsy compared to the T20 and it isn't exactly the easiest to grab onto. My DX80 makes for a rather tight fit so I have to be a bit more careful when unplugging. I also would have liked to see the cable be just a couple inches longer but I'm really splitting hairs on this last point.
Overall I'm quite pleased with them and there's a good chance I'll end up selling my T20s soon. If anyone here is interested in them let me know.
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