This is my second Noble IEM after the Khan. It is a 7 driver quadbrid, featuring 4 BA, 1DD, 1BC, 1 PE. The piezo-electric driver is rarely seen and I’ve only seen Noble and a few others use them. This is essentially the Khan with an extra bone conduction driver in it. It retails for $2600 USD. I used Lotoo Paw Gold Touch as the source.
The packaging is always pretty nice, as Noble usually includes a heavy duty Nanuk case, always a nice extra
Also comes with a nice leather case
The IEM shell itself looks much nicer than the Khan. The motif on the shell reminds me a bit of the Nostalgia Camelot actually.
Bass:
The Kublai Khans tuning is pretty similar to the Khan’s – it’s got slightly more bass, but ever so slightly more. I’m not sure what the bone conduction driver is doing, but it barely adds anything to the bass. I would consider the Khan very lean in terms of bass – basically neutral level.. and the Kublai Khan is still lean and neutral, despite having a touch more bass. It’s still a pretty flat sounding bass that will please those looking for a neutral type bass but definitely won’t satisfy anyone who is looking for a fun tuning with more bass.
Mids:
The Kublai’s mids are pretty much the same as the Khans – it’s neutral neither too forward or recessed. It has decent weight and body and I think is good enough for most people although it’s not a vocal IEM per se, it’s not bad for vocal tracks either. It’s just not too bad, not the best just decent for mids.
Treble:
The treble is pushed up and forward just like on the Khans. I think just like with Khans, Kublais must be for trebleheads as well because the treble is clearly a bit peaky and energetic. It might be too harsh or fatiguing to some people, but people who are ok with some treble peaks might be fine with this..
Technicalities:
Soundstage is quite good on the Kublais, it’s wider than alot of other $2k IEMs and I would say the difference between these and the Sultans is not much in terms of soundstage and detail as Kublai, Khan, and Sultan are all on the same tier pretty much in terms of technicalities. These are all great for the $2k level.
Overall, I think people who like Khan or Viking Ragnar will like Kublai Khan as it has a very similar signature – this being the typical Noble signature of lean bass and mids paired with pushed up treble. Definitely one for neutral / treble lovers.
The packaging is always pretty nice, as Noble usually includes a heavy duty Nanuk case, always a nice extra
Also comes with a nice leather case
The IEM shell itself looks much nicer than the Khan. The motif on the shell reminds me a bit of the Nostalgia Camelot actually.
Bass:
The Kublai Khans tuning is pretty similar to the Khan’s – it’s got slightly more bass, but ever so slightly more. I’m not sure what the bone conduction driver is doing, but it barely adds anything to the bass. I would consider the Khan very lean in terms of bass – basically neutral level.. and the Kublai Khan is still lean and neutral, despite having a touch more bass. It’s still a pretty flat sounding bass that will please those looking for a neutral type bass but definitely won’t satisfy anyone who is looking for a fun tuning with more bass.
Mids:
The Kublai’s mids are pretty much the same as the Khans – it’s neutral neither too forward or recessed. It has decent weight and body and I think is good enough for most people although it’s not a vocal IEM per se, it’s not bad for vocal tracks either. It’s just not too bad, not the best just decent for mids.
Treble:
The treble is pushed up and forward just like on the Khans. I think just like with Khans, Kublais must be for trebleheads as well because the treble is clearly a bit peaky and energetic. It might be too harsh or fatiguing to some people, but people who are ok with some treble peaks might be fine with this..
Technicalities:
Soundstage is quite good on the Kublais, it’s wider than alot of other $2k IEMs and I would say the difference between these and the Sultans is not much in terms of soundstage and detail as Kublai, Khan, and Sultan are all on the same tier pretty much in terms of technicalities. These are all great for the $2k level.
Overall, I think people who like Khan or Viking Ragnar will like Kublai Khan as it has a very similar signature – this being the typical Noble signature of lean bass and mids paired with pushed up treble. Definitely one for neutral / treble lovers.
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