Today we’re looking at the new flagship from Noble Audio – the Khan. It’s a triple hybrid IEM with a unique design.
Disclaimer: Noble Audio provided the Khan at no cost. I only had to pay for importing the product to Austria. Headfonia is not affiliated with Noble. As of this year, Noble is a site advertiser. Many thanks for the generosity and opportunity to review the Khan.
About Noble Audio:
I’m sure everyone has heard of Noble Audio sometime in their audiophile time. Noble has always been rather popular for their sound and artistic designs. The company has been around for a few years already and has brought us highly loved products like the Kaiser 10, the Katana, Savant, Sage and the Kaiser Encore.
Noble is run by two men, the Moulton brothers. John Moulton, aka the Wizard, has been crafting custom IEMs for a long time now, and his designs are some of the very best around. I am fortunate enough to own three sets of his work. Jim Moulton is the financial brain of the company and is looking after everything from their Texas based headquarters.
If you want to see some of their work, I suggest you take a look at their lookbook here:
https://nobleaudio.com/en/lookbook/
Noble Audio Khan
What makes them really outstanding is, that they not only make acrylic CIEMs, but they also work in special ingredients, like full wood-shells, carbon glass, a hardened and knitted material design, which they call Space Zebra. These are part of their Prestige designs, which are only available for custom Katana and Encore.
Their custom IEMs are generally made in Asia, in different production facilities, however, the Prestige line is made by Jim Moulton in Texas. The universal line-up is made from US parts with some assembly occurring in Thailand, where John Moulton resides.
Noble is a brand that does not release flagship after flagship, like other companies. No, they rather stick to their guns for as long as they see fit and then release a new model. Just this year, Noble has introduced their new top of the line – the Khan.
About Khan:
The Khan is Noble’s very first foray into the hybrid segment. While others slowly dip their toes into the waters by testing out conventional hybrid designs, Noble went all in and worked on an IEM using three different driver technologies.
Khan uses a ten millimeter dynamic driver for lows, four balanced armatures for mids and high mids, and a ten millimeter ceramic piezo electric super tweeter. The interesting thing about the piezo and the dynamic is, that they sit on top of each other. The low end DD is placed above the ceramic tweeter, and both share one stainless sound tube.
Noble is not very keen on disclosing too many technical details on the Khan, other than that it’s sensitive enough to be used with smartphones and digital audio players, but that really counts for almost all IEMs. Khan does pair very well with my gear, but due to its nature of design, it proves to be slightly harder to drive than other monitors in my inventory.
Khan is currently only available in universal format, but I have been told they’re working hard to make it into a CIEM too. Noble’s SRP for it is 2,399$ and it can be acquired either from their own online store, or one of their regional dealers and distributors. Make sure to check their dealer list, to find one close to you!
The review continues on page two!
James
Nice to see you enjoying the Noble Audio Khan too!
After trying out most of the latest batch of flagship iems, the Khan stood out. It is almost perfect, except the price ;)..but I still preordered anyways.
My recent flagship iems ranking:
1. Noble Khan
2. Campfire Solaris
3. QDC Anole VX
4. Meze Rai Penta
5. JVC FW10000
6. Sony z1r
7. Jomo Trinity
Terry
Khan has a serious problem connecting to a smartphone such as an iPhone.
This is obviously a device problem.
So I can’t give Khan a score.
Noble must resolve this device’s defects quickly.
Here’s my ranking.
1. Jomo Trinity
2. QDC Anole VX
3. Legend X
3. JVC FW10000
4. Campfire Solaris
5. Sony z1r
X. Noble Khan
Linus
Hi Terry,
thanks for your comment.
I’ve heard about the iPhone problem, unfortunately I don’t have one to confirm. It works well with my OnePlus 5t.
Cheers
Steven Zore
Hey Terry:
Looking at your rankings… I listened to the Trinity at NYC Canjam and thought it was an utter disaster… Yet you rank it #1.. LOL, Love this hobby!
Linus
Hi James,
thanks for your comment.
Nice list you got there.
I agree, Khan is very nice. Of course the price is always a big factor, but compared to other flagship prices it’s still more “normal”.
Have a great weekend.
Aureen
How would you compare Khan to the CA Solaris? From both a pure SQ standpoint as well as a price / value ratio.
Linus
Hi Aureen,
thanks for your comment.
I have zero experience with the Solaris, sorry, can’t help you there.
Have a great weekend!
Nitish
How does Khan compares to Hyla TE5T? Both have tri hybrid topology.
Thanks
Linus
Hi Nitish,
thanks for your comment.
The 5T is considerably brighter up top and has a lighter, less powerful bass. The Khan is fuller and more dynamic. The 5T in my opinion needs a tube amp or warm source to keep that treble away from being too hot. It’s a rich treble, but too forward for my taste.
A review of the TE-5B and 5T will be out soon. 🙂
Nitish
Thanks Linus
With LPGT, TE5T was too hot. I am pairing TE5T with sp1000cu & EA horus; excellent synergy imho.The bass improves a lot in quantity with JVC spiral dots for me but spinfits cp155 (M) has the best balance.
Cheers
Linus
No worries Nitish.
You’re right, the 5T is source dependent, but for me it’s still on the edge. The only ones that keep it safe for me are pairings with tube amps (Oriolus BA-10 or Woo Audio WA8).
Jason Kang
What’s cable rolling?
Linus
Hi Jason,
cable rolling is when you exchange the supplied stock cable with an aftermarket cable.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
Ben
Hey Linus, great review. Heard it at Canjam Singapore and easily best of show, that and rupert neve rnhp 🙂
Anyways compared to the OG k10s, how did you think it fared?
Side note; had a friend who just got in to audio and he was floored by the Khan too.
Linus
Hi Ben,
thanks for your comment.
The K10 is softer and more forgiving than the Khan, it can’t compete on a technical level and the Khan has faster and more shimmering highs. Khan’s bass is better controlled, tighter and faster.
Glad you like them too. 🙂
YICHING
The Khan is crazy good and heared it at Camjam too!!!
It’s no doubt that Khan is the best and pair very well with my cable.
Wills Chiu
Hi linus, how does the khan perform against Tia Fourte? I’ve heard the khan but would like to know is the Tia Fourte better than it since it is quite expensive. Have a great sounding weekend!
Linus
Hi Wills,
real sorry for the late response.
The Khan isn’t as forward in its upper mids and treble section as the Fourté. The 64 creates a bigger stage and is better organized in my opinion. Bass on the Fourté is more organic and softer. Mids are fuller on the Khan though.
Hope that helps.
Sorry again for the delay in replying…
Dat
Hi Linus,
Can you do a short review about Khan with Linum SuperBar cable?.Is it reduce treble from Khan .Thanks
Linus
Hi Dat,
thanks for your comment.
Well, the Linum doesn’t really change any frequency. It has a very neutral tone and won’t tame the treble of the Khan. If you’re after that you should seek out for copper cables. Something like the PlusSound tri-copper would be a very good choice.
Cheers!
Vladimir
Hello, thanks for the nice review. I would like to know how you compare this one with u12t and Nostalgia Camelot?