Noble Audio Viking Ragnar Review

Today we review the Noble Audio Viking Rangar flagship IEM, priced at $4000.

 

Disclaimer: Noble Audio provided the Viking Ragnar at no cost. Headfonia is not affiliated with Noble Audio. Many thanks for the generosity and opportunity to review the VR.

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 long time and has brought us beloved products like the legendary Kaiser 10, Katana, Savant, Sage and the Kaiser Encore.

The original Kaiser 10 can still be purchased from Noble’s prestige models. It’s now renamed the Kaiser 10 Legacy (K10L). I’m sure older audiophiles remember that model very well.

The Moulton brothers manage the company; John and Jim. As you probably know, John is the notorious “Wizard” and he is responsible for those incredible and artful designs. I had a chance to meet his brother Jim at CanJam in 2019 and he’s a very nice person to chat with. He has a lovely family as well. Hope to meet them again in CJ London 2023.

We have written lots of articles about Noble Audio products before. You can find them by clicking here. If you want to see some of their work, I suggest you take a look at their gallery below. They don’t call themselves the creators of “Artisanal In-Ear Monitors” for nothing: https://www.nobleaudio.com/prestigegallery

We lately reviewed the fantastic Kublai Khan and you can check that review just below:

Viking Ragnar

The Noble Audio Viking Ragnar is a top-end flagship IEM. It features two 10mm dynamic bass drivers for a full range of controlled sub-bass and bass, while four Knowles balanced armature drivers fill out the upper-bass, mid-range, and upper mid-range. Four electrostatic drivers provide lifelike upper-midrange, highs, and super-highs. 

For the cable, Noble supplies a 4.4mm Magnus cable, constructed from graphene, monocrystalline silver, and copper-silver alloy. The rest of the specs are as below:

Shell: CNC-machined aluminium shells with hand-forged Damascus stainless steel face plate
Cable: Four-wire graphene and Litz-style monocrystalline silver conductor
Driver Units: Dual 10 mm DD for sub-bass and bass + four Knowles BA drivers for upper-bass, mid-range, and upper mid-range + four EST tweeters for upper-midrange, highs, and super-highs
Frequency Response: 20 Hz–40 kHz
Sensitivity: 112 dB/mW dB @1 kHz
Impedance: 17 Ω
Cable Connectors: 4.4 mm TRRS plug to source + two 0.78 mm 2-pin plugs to IEMs
Cable Length: 4 ft/1.2 m
Warranty: Two years

 

Package

The monitor arrives in a mid-sized box with a good design. Inside you get a Nanuk 903 case. In case you’re not familiar; Nanuk is a professional brand that provides many types of protective cases for various industries and needs. Their cases are considered as waterproof and indestructible. 

This particular case is rather big for a single IEM, but you should be damn sure that your IEM will not get any damage whatsoever inside this case. There’s a cut-out foam to store the IEMs perfectly in position. You can remove this foam and store more items with your Viking Ragnar, such as a DAP or DAC/Amp. The case is extremely high quality.

Noble also provides a smaller leather case for easier transportation. Moreover, you get a Noble Audio card, many ear tips, and a cleaning tool inside the package. Noble stickers and amplifier straps are also present, as these are Noble Audio traditions.

Build Quality and Design

Noble’s design approach has always been with art in mind. But they opted for a more subtle design language here, just like what they did with the Kadence. Viking Ragnar has a full aluminium body and a stainless steel faceplate, which is Damascus forged and shaped by master jeweller Chris Ploof. Each set has distinct textures and none of them are the same. This very special faceplate gives the Ragnar a classic, timeless look. It’s rather subdued and doesn’t scream with many colour combinations like many IEMs in the market today, but it looks great and very classy. 

The build quality, as you might expect, is fantastic. There’s no plastic or acrylic here, it’s all aluminium and steel. The Ragnar feels perfect in the hand in terms of robustness, and Noble can be proud of this IEM as this is almost a Prestige Universal.

Noble uses a standard 2-pin socket for their IEMs, but the sockets are very slightly recessed. This ensures better stability, robustness and improved long-term durability.

Fit

From an ergonomics point of view, the Viking Ragnar is not a very small monitor, so you need to go through the necessary trial & error process. However, with the right ear tips, it is very comfortable which is a nice surprise for me. I have had zero issues with the Ragnar in terms of fit, comfort or isolation.

Sure, they don’t come close to what a custom IEM offers, but this is as good as it gets for a universal. I highly recommend Final Audio E Tips, which I’ll mention in the closing stages of the review. Let’s go on.

Page 2: Sound
Page 3: Technical Performance, Cables, Tips, Synergy
Page 4: Comparisons & Conclusion
4.4/5 - (48 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

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