Probably the most distinctive element of Noble Audio’s brand is how their level of materials quality and craftsmanship always matches up to the price and sound quality. Whether it’s the Damascus steel faceplate on Viking Ragnar, the CNC cutting process of the Ronin, or the FoKus Prestige – a TWS that’s literally carved from wood. Shogun takes things even further, with a seriously intense combination of materials and design that results in a meticulously crafted, in-your-face look. While Shogun’s look and build is certainly memorable, will its sound leave the same sort of impression?
Build and Design
Few IEMs integrate the full design – the cable, shells, and faceplate – into a cohesive idea as well as Shogun. The faceplate consists of the three-dimensional “shogun” design which is under a layer of clear resin, with a red and black shell. The cable matches the red and black pattern of the shell and terminates with a plug design that looks like the hilt of a katana blade. The hilt design actually has a bit of texture to it, which simulates the wrap on the handle of the sword.
Internally, Shogun is using a 13-driver quadbrid configuration, with 2 Bone Conduction Drivers, 1 Dynamic, 6 Balanced Armatures, and 4 Electrostatic Drivers. This makes for a pretty big IEM, but the general ergonomics are still quite good, and it’s not nearly as large or bulky as some other IEMs with tribrid or quadbrid configurations and driver counts numbering in the teens.
This is all very cool, and well-made, but it’s not for everyone. I’ve seen people shopping for IEMs eliminate products from consideration with much less elaborate designs for being “too much” or “too gaudy,” so I expect it will be the same here. If you love it – there’s nothing like it – but if you don’t it's going to be a hard sell. That being said, Shogun's sound might just be enough to make that sale anyway.
Sound
Shogun is Noble’s hardest hitting tuning yet, with a combo of fast, physical bass, deep extension, and the brand’s signature top end detail and clarity. Shogun also delivers a wide soundstage with exceptional imaging that completes the package for an engaging, immersive sound.
In the bass, you get a good bit of emphasis in the midbass with a shelf that extends down into the subbass, but doesn’t emphasize the subbass as dramatically as many other recent IEMs with BC drivers. The midbass emphasis provides great punch with kick drums and a generally energetic, fun feeling, but the trade off is that there isn’t quite as much texture as you might expect for this price range.
The midrange provides good clarity, detail, and layering, along with great vocal delivery. Shogun’s timbre feels natural, but leans slightly warm. Vocals are well balanced, with good vocal imaging and a realistic vocal presentation.
The treble doesn’t have the same sort of bite as many other Noble flagship IEMs, but there’s still a nice amount of air and extension and a strong sense of resolution. It’s the same Noble treble quality so many people love, but a little less treble quantity.
The soundstage and imaging are a big highlight, with Shogun providing a massive stage, and strong imaging separation with three-dimensional delivery. If you have any tracks with exaggerated imaging – or some more “gimmicky” test tracks – Shogun is going to provide a big wow factor and can genuinely put a smile on your face with how realistic and tactile the imaging feels.
Shogun isn’t particularly power hungry, and will sound good on just about any source. Because of the warmth in the tuning, I preferred more neutral sources for Shogun, with the DC Elite being a standout. For eartips, I ended up using the Symbio W hybrid tips the most, as they really seemed to complement the Shogun’s soundstage.
Shogun’s natural timbre is evident on “Gallow’s Pole” by Led Zeppelin, where it expertly delivers crisp, lifelike tones from the surprising array of acoustic instruments. The vocals immediately feel holographic in the presentation, but when the rest of the instruments enter, the placement and space between and around each one is even more evident. Shogun also delivers strong dynamics as you go from a single acoustic guitar, to something like a bluegrass band and finally to the full band with the drums in. The drums and bass are clearly highlighted, with the bass guitar in particular feeling both weighty and tightly articulated.
With a bass heavy track like “Borderline” by Tame Impala, the kick drum has a hard-hitting impact, and while there’s a sense of resonance from the kick, it doesn’t rumble quite as hard as I know this track can. The other elements are nicely placed and separated, with impressive detail and texture in the variety of synthesized instruments used in the track. The vocals have an ethereal feeling, with a good sense of the general placement, but the reverb and echo gives the sense of the vocals blooming out into the other instruments.
While Shogun might not be your first pick for solo piano, it delivers Lang Lang’s performance of “Clari de lune” brilliantly, capturing the dynamics of the piano along with the ambience of the room. The smallest details reverberating around the room, really puts you in the audience, and the warmth in the delivery softens the blow on the sometimes piercing upper range of the piano.
Comparison: Noble Ronin, Empire Ears Raven
Probably the most direct comparison and competition for Shogun is the Empire Ears Raven, a 12-Driver quadbrid with a similar configuration, and some similar tuning characteristics. On the other end, Noble’s other samurai themed IEM, Ronin, shares some shared brand aspects of Noble’s design and tuning, while also having some clear contrasts in the sound and design.
In terms of the build and design, the aesthetics are all quite different. Ronin has by far the best build of the three, with a shell that’s milled from a unique material designed by Noble, and the included cable is a unique white and blue Eletech cable. Raven’s black design and embossed faceplate is very cool – and probably the best if you don’t want your IEMs to stand out too much – but the look and feel of the shells and cable don’t give you the confidence in a nearly $4000 product the way that Noble does.
In terms of sound, Raven and Shogun are fairly close in just about every aspect except the bass. Raven’s bass has a deeper, stronger subbass response, while Shogun emphasizes the midbass and low mids a little more. Raven also adds a little bit of an extra pop in the vocals. In the overlay of the frequency response, Ronin looks more reserved in the treble, but because it lacks a significant bass shelf, it ends up being the brightest of the three, though there’s still some warmth to Ronin’s tuning. Shogun and Ronin do seem cut from the same cloth – just with the emphasis shifted to give you a warmer, heavier sound with Shogun.
Final Thoughts
While the Shogun’s sound may not be quite as memorable as its faceplate, it’s an all around great IEM that adds a little more warmth and color to Noble’s flagship lineup and stands strong among the competition. Even if the visual design wouldn’t be your first choice, it’s worth checking out if you want a balanced sounding, flagship quality IEM with hard-hitting bass.
