Lépine
1296
Spent the Evening listening and analyzing Bellini Norma Casta Diva
I am comparing the Viking Ragnar vs the Kronos to see which is more articulate. So far I believe the Kronos is winning, but not by a huge margin. Both of these IEMs are glorious. The Kronos is a bit fuller, more detailed, and smoother. The Viking Ragnar is a bit brighter.
I have the wonderful options of listening to Maria Callas, Cecilia Bartoli, Marina Rebeka, Renee Fleming, Filippa Giordano, Sarah Brightman, Katherine Jenkins, and even the Opera Babes renditions of Casta Diva. So far I am enjoying Rebecca Newman the most. Both IEMs favor Lyric Sopranos.
Any Head-Fiers here?
I'll tell you, the new Noble Kronos is absolutely heavenly. I have waited for the successor to the Noble Viking Ragnar and when the Chronicle at $8,000 to $9,000 came out I was so disappointed at the ridicules asking prices. I waited and waited and then t...
Superb performance …
I see that the high end Kronos is currently sold out, that’s a lucky escape for my wallet ! The regular model looks excellent and I will try a pair as soon as I get the opportunity. Thanks for sharing this as I enjoy anything to do with audio systems and ...
You will enjoy the Kronos, it's the best Jon Moulton
has made so far. The Chronicle and Kronos are the same thing except the case was nicer for the very limited Chronicle. The Kronos is half the price and the drivers are all the same with same tuning and it graphs the same.
True audiophile
Haven’t tried them, but from what I’ve read they’re top notch. Enjoy!
Very nice immersive sound system, congrats! FYI: During the 'early days' i'm the one who dreamed up the Noble K10 in rose gold lines and created the name "Tiger Stripe" for the design.
My wife has a set of K10 as well, yet in her colors. As always, enjoy the music PS: I created / invented and (TM) the word Immersivephile (tm) and own the URL www.immersivephile.com. One day, if i find the right team and investors, may do something with i...
Those look like custom K10s!
I've not tried any customs yet. I have to find an audiologist to make me a mold someday. I want a Prestige but $2000 to 3000 more for a Prestige custom for an already expensive IEM seems out of reach
Yes, wife's and my set are both customs, makes a huge different imho.
Hope one day you get the opportunity to go custom, be sure your audiologist ensures your jaw is open about an inch when doing the molds.
The main reason I haven't tried customs is that Noble doesn't offer
the newest models as customs. I think the fit will be much better than tips that drastically alter the sound from IEMs. I think eventually I have to get some custom shells.
Makes perfect sense. Nowadays there are many more brands of custom IEM than back in 2015 when i got mine.
Am sure Jude, Warren, and my others friends @ headfi have great discussion about them.
Jude has made an empire
Head-fi is such a great place to learn how to spend way too much money for earphones. Do you go to any of the CanJams?
It appears I am in the company of several
audiophiles 😍. What do you use as your DAP? I'm ready for the Astell & Kerns SP4000 or Hiby RS8 II. My RS8 R2R and SP2000 are showing their age and Sony doesn't have the power I want or the search capability. I've now got 30,000 songs so I need a gaming l...
You have some very nice kit!!
I haven't bought anything for a while, but I have some Shure, Noble (K10) and Empire Ears (Odin) IEMs, mostly used through a Chord Hugo 2, with the streaming module. I keep hoping Chord are going to update the Dave. All the best, Jon
Yeah the Dave is ancient,
But I think Chord announced a new M-Scaler for the Choral Line that way exceeds the TT2 line so the Dave Amp is still good and the calculations are all off board. Still with my luck as soon as I buy the Dave, they will announce a Dave II Do you have the K...
No, not the KSE, just SE 846.
My first multi-driver IEM’s. When I got them they sounded terrible - until I realised they weren’t sealed in my ear properly. Once I sorted that out they were awesome and I realised what all the fuss was about. Yes, every now and then I look at the Dave b...
Dave should have been updated 5 years ago
I've been waiting a long time too. Not sure what Rob Watts is up to.
I love it!
Focal are the best! You have the Focal Clear, really nice choice! And a solid choice for the amp, I haven't heard that one, but Oppo I know is popular. Nice to see a headphone audiophile!
Yes, Clear Mg which sounds amazing. As you know, the Oppo HA-1 is long gone but a stellar Class A amp nevertheless...👍
And, a dinosaur CD player from the 80's...😉 ...
Is that a 1-bit stream CD Player?
Oh Philips was the best at the time! But I was a California Labs and Theta DSPre fan. I still have my California Audio Labs Sigma DAC before they were known as DACs!
According to the specifications...
D/A Conversion: Four-times over sampling (176.4 kHz) with digital filter and dual 16-bit D/A converters. This was not my first CD player but I kept it because nothing else I tried sounded as good. That said, I still have a PS Audio Lambda CD transport and...
audio gear has come a long ways, but still some components have a bit of magic to them
I know there are many new pieces that sound so much better, but the classic gear still have something about them that is like driving a vintage car, the experience never fades.
This is my two channel that is waiting to be revived
The Classic 30 is still considered a vintage legend. Probably almost as sought after as the D-150 for some people. Mine needs a proper tech to revive it. One day. ...
JH Audio Roxanne and UE 11Pro Customs pared with a Chord Mojo
As I am on the move a lot, and don't get to sit and enjoy music at home much, I haven't invested in a hi-tech home system. However when travelling, I use USB Audio Player Pro (bypassing internal DACs) on my Samsung S23 Ultra, into a chord Mojo then then o...
That's a perfect Head-FI type of system!
I love my Mojo and Mojo 2, they are just fantastic, only qualm is Chord needs to give us 4.4mm balanced outputs.
Thanks very much!
I hadn't really thought of balanced outputs much with my setup. Do you think it would make a big difference with IEMs vs full-ear headphones? I keep my music files as high quality as possible
Most all of the sources I use the balanced output always sounds better.
There is always more power and dynamics compared to single ended output. However, Chord does a great job and that is the only way they run their circuits.
Spent the Evening listening and analyzing Bellini Norma Casta Diva
I am comparing the Viking Ragnar vs the Kronos to see which is more articulate. So far I believe the Kronos is winning, but not by a huge margin. Both of these IEMs are glorious. The Kronos is a bit fuller, more detailed, and smoother. The Viking Ragnar i...
WOW!!!
Compared to just about everyone on this thread I am a Philistine when it comes to audiophile , but I am looking to upgrade everything… Perhaps I should post a separate thread when I’m ready for advice… Currently I own Burson virtuoso conductor headphone a...
I would love to hear your Grados
I never heard a pair of those. I have ZMF, Audeze, and Focal of various lines. The OG Utopia is still my favorite. I have a HiFiman around here somewhere too. I'm curious about the LINN ! Is that a Roon compatible system? I never understood streaming serv...
The GRADOs are of course “good” but sometimes a bit flat but the nuanced tonality (drum solo on Abby road for instance)
is amazing but they are poorly constructed with the curling wires etc…the Linns are small and I have terrible acoustics so it’s hard to judge them. They do some things extremely well like acapella or Quartet or solos, especially in classical, but they com...
I haven't listened to any NAIM so can't give you an opinion.
Burson makes some nice gear and not too expensive which is nice, but repair services is very sketchy. I am not sure I have any confidence in how they repair their equipment. I buy a lot of media from QoBuz, I will consider streaming subscription. I think ...
It's more fun and cheaper than 2 channel
I like portable gear, you can try the latest technology and take it anywhere. Not quite the big room experience, but also it doesn't require a home theater to enjoy the music.
HQPlayer 22M DSD256 Upscale 4 Mbs
You have to love this new tech. It literally cooks NVidia cards using CUDA. Diana singing "Upside Down" on Viking Ragnar and 8 wire graphine. ...
Fellow audiophile here! tho more of a dilettante lol
I am very much more on a budget but have a Fiio DAP, and dac/amp dongle and some CIEM from inearz and for my Bluetooth set up have the FInal ze8000 (fabulous) and also just got the B&W Pi7 s2. Ngl, wish I had your set up lol!! I particularly like the ...
Wonderful!!!
It's always great to see another audiophile!! The great thing about new dongles is that it's inexpensive but sounds glorious!
Bad!! No that is glorious !!
How do you like the Audeze isine? i heard that they are great but 1. uncomfortable and 2. not a whole lot of isolation (I mean it is open back but ....) but yes, the cheap dongle is amazing! I will say that the DAP is still better but the difference in pr...
Not iSine
Hi Spencer thank you for the questions. I do have some iSine10s but the picture is showing the LCD-i4. Without using the Reveal+ VST plugin, the i4 is expensive junk which basically means it only sounds good off a PC because of the wild and complicated EQ...
Thank you for all of this information!!
I am very much on a budget so tidal is the most cost effective solution for me lol Having said that, I have downloaded the software for what you suggested and so will see how that functions with tidal! And thanks for your correction about the audeze, I ha...
Another favorite
Consider the Hiby RS6. Much less money and really great performance. Or for dongles the DC Elite or Nunchaku. These are well worth the asking prices.