Noble Audio Kublai Khan Review

Sound

My experience with Noble Audio has usually been positive. I’ve listened to many Noble creations, including the legendary Kaiser 10. The Kaiser Encore is even more impressive, and I also liked the old Savant when it first came out.

The original Khan was also a very impressive monitor, although I didn’t quite like the treble response and general thinness in its sound. But it had a great sound stage and imaging for sure.

Now, Noble targets to iron out the small dents of the original Khan and improve it further. After a considerable amount of time I’ve had with the Kublai Khan, I can easily say that they’ve accomplished what they aimed for.

The new Kublai Khan has a very large sound, not in terms of fullness or body, but the perception of the sound stage and imaging. It has great resolution and transparency, great tonality, and an excellent treble response thanks to its piezoelectric super tweeter. Overall, the Kublai Khan is one of the most effortless and clean sounds I’ve experienced in terms of in-ear monitors.

Bass

Kublai Khan has a powerful bass reproduction when asked. It’s fast, physical and full of impact. Lows have high resolution and excellent texture, especially thanks to the new bone-conducting subwoofer.  It reaches deep, with a good sub-bass rumble and a good kick in the sub-to-mid-bass area. Sub-bass creates a good foundation for the rest of Khan’s signature to stand on. Mid and upper-bass have good body and weight, but they’re not tuned to be in-your-face sounding.

Quality here definitely is before quantity, as it’s not a particular bass-head monitor. The Kublai Khan, however, certainly knows how to throw a punch when needed, more so than the original Khan. The bone-conducting driver gives you a great feeling of cleanness, simply because you don’t hear but feel the lower registers. So the other drivers have their space to shine and do their work perfectly.

Midrange

The midrange is filled with resolution and air, it has a very good texture and transports nice amounts of emotions and blood. Instruments are realistic, with the right amount of body and weight. There is a slight emphasis on lower mids rather than upper midrange, where male vocals are more favoured. Though female singers also shine, they are especially rich and hard to let go of.

The timbre of the Kublai Khan to me is better than the original Khan, with more musicality and life. The instruments sound very realistic, and the detail level in the midrange is excellent. The mids are not too in front of the stage, but they’re not far back either, with a very ideal positioning which adds lots of realism.

Treble

Treble is something special with the Kublai Khan, and the piezo driver does a great job here. Highs are fast, energetic and incredibly clean. They extend wide into the upper registers and have a wonderful sparkly presentation. The Treble is detailed and rich, here lower treble shines more. That slight harshness and aggressiveness of the original Khan are not present here.

What you have is simply a sublime and effortless treble. What a great way to reproduce the highs. It’s open, spacious, detailed, defined and extended. It plays like the electrostatic drivers, if not better. The new highlight of the Kublai Khan is its bone-conducting subwoofer but to me, the treble driver is equally impressive. However, if you like warm and smooth IEMs, the Kublai Khan’s treble still might come a bit too sparkling and bright. However, the technical performance of the treble is simply amazing.

Page 1: Noble Audio, Kublai Khan, Package, Build, Design, Fit

Page 3: Technical Performance, Cables

Page 4: Comparisons & Conclusion