Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I thank Noble Audio for their support.
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This article follows our latest scoring guidelines, which you can read in more detail here.
Status and peak-level audio quality rolled into one just isn’t enough for these guys. They had to go ahead and craft some of the most beautiful designs along with it.
My Noble Audio Kaiser K10 is one of those very few pieces of gear that I would take with me if the world ended and I’d somehow survived.
Zombies, Vampires, giant rodents, or perhaps even genetically modified ex-girlfriends of mine wouldn’t stop me from trying to scour the land for a solar-powered USB charger…if only to power my portable players to pair with my K10.
Yep, I’d totally bring the K10 with me as the nukes drop. I would pick a nice spot at a park bench overlooking my city and get vaporized with a smile on my face as my lips ignite. With my body aflame, I’d shout, “But, dat’ Bass though.”
Accessories
For $1600, I expected better accessories and maybe even a spare cable. I wasn’t given anything else useful with my purchase outside of a nice, hard case box and the stock cable, a nice Noble K10 owner’s card, and the honor of knowing what will be inside my body very soon.
True, I am not an avid defender of cable quality, but I would have preferred a nicer, custom-styled, and fabric-braided cable for something that costs more than my ’99 Corolla.
Not a big deal, but it does bother me that such a basic cable is paired with something like this. Thankfully, the Noble CIEMs utilize the Westone/JH connectors, and I’ve a spare braided and RSA balanced cable I can use as I shelf my JH16 for the time being.
Noble should absolutely offer some other adapter options for the cable that is included. Let’s be honest here, these ciems should be balanced at all times if you can use it that way.
I think at this price, it is more than fair to consider the fact that most owners already own higher-end gear and plan to use the Kaiser 10 with said “really nice gear”.
I want at least some options in the future. The stock cable is too thin and low quality for something at this type of price. If you are a K10 owner, odds are great you are going to try to invest yet more cash into a custom cable, so be prepared to cable hunt if your rig is balanced.
You know what else would be cool? A cap for the tips of each mold, some type of little dust cover slip to go over each side, would be super awesome, dust protection and such. Meh. Maybe I am asking too much.
Design
Of course, it is nothing short of spectacular. The Wizard option is an expensive add-on of $400 if you want a unique design, $200 if you want a rehash of someone else’s Wizard design.
If you take a gander at Noble’s Facebook page, you’ll likely sift through a few dozen photos of previous owner designs, gawk for hours, and drool heavily at some of the stunning artwork and craftsmanship that went into so many of them.
They also offer a user-customizable option as well that can easily jack your final tally price tag above $2000usd. 24k Gold, wooden faceplates, rush order, glow in the dark, ect ect.
I asked Noble during the design phase options of my K10…” Why can’t you just give me a few different models of the K10, each with a different design, so that I can use a different one for every day of the week?” I was joking, of course.
However, after receiving them and seeing them live and in person, I’d started to think the impossible should be a reality. Yes, I want 6 more, each unique in design, for every day of the week.
I’ve opted for a Wizard reprint that was owned by someone else who purchased a Savant. I was told that his design materials cannot be used in the K10, but that it was possible to get a similar design in appearance.
The result was a fusion of what looks like blond wood and blue-ish burl. I posted a few snaps on the Reddit headphone page and was met with (in a good way) violent reactions and joking threats from others to come steal my K10.
Truly, it is beautiful, and photos don’t really do it justice when you see them up close with the naked eye. There are subtle patterns from the mixing process that kind of flutter in the sunlight at times, mimicking natural wood grain.
That, combined with the more blue-tinged areas with their gentle sparkle and reflecting of direct light, makes for a hell of a visual appeal.
I’m impressed, but I’ve a gripe that pains me. I wanted the entire ciem to appear like the faceplate is set up, but it appears the tips and central body area are lacking that woody appeal that I wanted.
There isn’t much of it there, and the fusion of colors on the faceplate is what I was after. It might be my fault for not specifying, so dialogue with Noble might be a wise option if you purchase one that you want to achieve a specific look.
Totally my fault for not telling them I wanted more of the blonde wooden look (it’s not wood) on the rest of the ciem. For me, there is too much blue swirl on the body, and it does bother me.
But, this is Art. Who the hell am I to question it? It is still beautiful, but it isn’t quite what I wanted. Again, the faceplates are spot on for what I asked for, and I think that is really the only important part.
Everyone can only see that area when I wear them anyway, so it really isn’t a big deal. If you noticed on the left ciem, there is a long, curved line on the blonde shade blotch area that looks like a butt crack.
Great, I’ve the Butt Crack K10 and it will forever be known as 24bit’s K10 Butt Crack design…some said it looked like a smile. But, let’s be honest here…that is an accidental butt design…sigh.
Click on page 2 below for my sound impressions and recommended pairings.
