Noble Audio Kadence Review – Headfonia Reviews

September 18, 2022

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Today we review the Noble Audio Kadence. It’s a full BA IEM with 8 drivers. It’s priced at $1,599 USD.

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

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.

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:

Noble Audio Kublai Khan Review

Kadence

The new Noble Audio Kadence is a conventional IEM, consisting of 8 BA drivers inside. 6 are supplied from Sonion and the remaining 2 from Knowles. This is Noble’s new “reference” IEM with an honest approach to sound, with excellent balance and refinement.

Here are the specs:

Composite body with unique acetate faceplate
Stainless steel nozzle with an integrated wax guard
8 driver arrangement
6 Sonion balanced armature drivers
2 Knowles balanced armature drivers
Impedance less than 35 ohms
Hand-assembled and matched
Sensitive enough for use with most smartphones as well as portable amps and daps
Detachable 8-core cable with industry standard 2-pin configuration (0.78 mm diameter)

The Kadence is an 8-driver all BA UIEM that takes reference sound to the next level.

Kadence is currently only available in a universal format only. Noble’s SRP for it is 1,599$ and it can be acquired either from their online store, or one of their regional dealers and distributors. Make sure to check their dealer list, to find one close to you.

Package

The monitor arrives in a mid-sized box with a good design. Inside you get a Pelican case and the ear tips as well as a cleaning tool. There’s also a small pouch, two rubber bands, one sticker, and a warranty card. The Pelican cases are among my favourites so it’s good to have that.

Build Quality and Design

Noble’s design approach has always been with art in mind. But they opted for a more subtle design language with the Kadence, especially when compared to the Kublai Khan and Jade. Kadence has a composite resin body, and acrylic faceplate. There’s a stainless steel nozzle with a wax guard on the tip. Overall the monitor feels great and robust.

The face plates feature an “acetate” design with smoky grey and white colours. The golden company logo and model logo complete the design in an elegant fashion. The design is subtle, yet very premium and classy.

Noble uses a standard 2-pin socket for their IEMs, but the sockets are recessed. This ensures better stability, robustness and improved long-term durability. Overall I have no doubts about the build quality of Kadence.

Fit

From an ergonomics point of view, the new Kadence is a large and bulky monitor. However, with the right ear tips, it is very comfortable which is a nice surprise for me. I have had zero issues with my Kadence 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.