Audiophilepure

For a little under eight years, I have contended that the Noble Katana is one of the finest-sounding headphones made only outdone by the best of the over-the-ear Electrostatic headphones in airiness and detail, and the best over-the-ear Planar headphones in terms of bottom-end. Now, Noble Audio have outdone themselves with the Viking Ragnar. I can only think of a couple of price-no-object over-the-ear headphones that can stand up to the Ragnar sonically, in terms of speed, tonal balance, dynamic range, musicality, and soundstage, and none that surpass it. To my ears, it is simply the best IEM available, and among the very finest headphones period. And for those who prefer a little thump in their bottom end, there are the black foam eartips.

The nozzles of the Magma have no etching so tip-rolling is somewhat problematic. You need tips that are narrower than the regular wide tips (e.g. SpiralDots) you normally use but still won’t cover the sound bores. Those are hard to come by and I’ve had some trouble finding aftermarket tips for it. Luckily, the included tips are quite good and I’ve had an absolutely fantastic time with the Magma during my testing phase. I’m just throwing you some extra information in case you decide to use the Magma as the daily driver.

It has been a while since I listened to this kind of refinement, balance and reference tuning. Nowadays most of the IEM world is focused on hybrids with tremendous bass impact, sparkling highs and lush mids. Even the budget models are playing on that field. And yes, that is also the case with Noble itself, with the Kublai Khan.

Noble Audio Kadence is having none of it. It’s all about the colourless, neutral and reference sound here. No frequency is in front or dominating the sound in any way. Everything is in place and under control at all times. It’s a neutral and uncoloured monitor as a direct result of that, and it’s technically very strong. From that reference perspective, this is one of the best monitors I’ve ever listened to. Let’s dive into the details about it.

At first listen, I heard an overall neutral IEM with a gentle lift in the treble and bass, a signature some may call “u-shaped.”

The Dioko’s sound reminded me a lot of the Timeless (which I constantly compared during my evaluation), albeit with a slightly smoother lower treble and a cleaner midrange. That said, while the former has excellent detail and resolution for the price point, the latter is better in both departments.

There was no surprise that the Astell&Kern DAPs provided a slightly warmer and more organic sound than the Sony which leans more towards being analytical sounding.

Both the RME and Aurora offered similar sonic signature with a bit less warmth than the Astell&Kern DAPs but a touch more than the Sony. The best pairings were the Astell&Kern SP2000 and Yulong Aurora that struck the best balance between color, texture, and detail overall.

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 is the best TWS the brand has to offer, for now, and one of the best solutions in the sub-$250 territory.

Sound is very good, comfort is impressive, and the extensive battery life makes them the perfect solution on the go. Add to that effective noise-canceling, adaptive apX, plus a comprehensive app, and you get a solid alternative to the classic AirPods Pro or the Gemini.

Sure, the old one was better-looking, but the new one is better-sounding, and that’s what really matters at the end of the day!