Sensitivity：114dB spl/mw
Resistance：17Ω
Driver: 4 Knowles BA
4 Sonion BA
4 Electrostatics
Housing: Materials built by Noble. Housings CNCed by Noble. The blue, silver and black are Noble’s standard colors. The lines bring the free style, just in line with the sound.
Cable: A brand collaboration with Eletech. The color combination of Ronin cable is in line with the the color of Ronin housings. The sound of the cable is tuned in line with Ronin IEM as well. Please refer to cable photos attached.
Packaging: The packaging of Ronin is designed for this specific model as well. The picture is the Japanese Ronin image while the font of Ronin is designed according to the Ronin style as well. Please refer to the packaging file.
Warranty Cards: The warranty card is designed in line with the picture of the box and sleeves. Please refer to the warranty card file
Sound Tuning:
Follow the wind, interpreting the voice of freedom -- Ronin
Ronin brings a clear and expressive sound style, a powerful drivers configuration and Noble's unique housing materials, creating a product that interprets the sound of freedom.
Clear and hierarchical low frequency is Ronin's pursuit. We abandon the overly rich reverberation and heavy image in the traditional heavy and low frequency earplugs. Instead, we adopt the turbulent but hierarchical low frequency effect and dynamic performance, bringing the listener the enjoyment of shock but not thud.
In the presentation of the texture of the voice, Noble has always been a master of delicacy, and Ronin's voice has a very precise grasp of the details, just like the painting of an artist. No one has ever erased the flaws in all the materials with a bold and bold stroke, but has used a brilliant modification to bring people the real beauty. We do not pursue pure stimulation. Only pursue the enjoyment of the beauty of the real voice, and feel the free expression in the granular sense and the details of the lips and teeth.
Outstanding sound glossiness and moderate moistening bring a clear and extremely malleable high-frequency style, which maintains a high sound density under the free and lively sound. The toughness and tenderness of the strings are compatible here.
It’s been 5 weeks since CanJam NYC. My mission, try as many IEM’s
I left the Grand Maestro until the end of the day.
Sound Impressions:
BASS: Thick, Fast and Deep. The GM has what they call NOAH modules that can be swapped out to change the Bass frequency response, without impacting the upper frequencies, bringing the mids and treble appear to be more forward, through less bass (blue module). This impacts the sub-bass most and leaves the slam of the mid bass region intact. The black module, which comes stock, gives the most sub-bass. This is what many reviewers consider a “Basshead” sound. Having listened to the Scarlet Mini in comparison, I would say the Mini is a “Basshead” set. The GM is, however, not…just a Basshead set.
MIDS: I found midrange to be very well balanced, with both female and male vocals very clear and engaging. Giving the sound signature a slightly warm feel. But this is where Fatfreq has another trick up their sleeve. There’s a toggle switch just behind the 2pin connector. It sticks up about 1mm and allows the listener to turn the bass down on the fly and bring the midrange and treble slightly forward. My listening preference is always slightly warm, but for certain tracks and artists this setting is preferred.
TREBLE: The treble is crystal clear and very well extended, but never fatiguing.
TIMBRE: This is where the GM sets itself above all others I’d heard. The quality of the sound across the entire frequency range was best in class. Every instrument could be isolated with all the details present. 10/10
TONALITY: The balance of the instruments to the vocals is, again, the best I’ve ever heard. It’s like some little man (the crossover) inside working his soundboard, and making the IEM completely in control of the concert in my head. Getting the most out of every last bit of sound detail and making sure no part over powered another. 10/10
SOUNDSTAGE: Ok, this is some next level shit! We’re not talking about a soundstage that was ultra wide. Rather something I’d never experienced before and directly related to the timbre and tonality. Instead of having visualisation of the instruments playing on a stage, it feels like I’m sitting on the stage and Stevie Nicks is singing next to me, Mick Fleetwood is playing behind me and on my other side is Lindsey Buckingham playing his guitar with smooth precision.
SIBILANCE: I’m ultra sensitive to sibilance and have test tracks I use to see just how controlled an IEM is to lower it. Without a doubt the GM is the least sibilant of any IEM I’ve heard.
MASKING: This was probably the biggest and single most distinguishable difference between the GM and anything else I’ve heard on the market. Similar to the experience in soundstage, the instruments and isolated to themselves, making all the details present. On busy tracks that would normally sound like a bunch of different things happening on top of one another, but GM has a magical way of creating a space or protective zone around each musical element. If I could explain this another way, imagine hearing a track recorded in the late 60’s, with its hiss and imperfections, where it sounds like there’s a fog or layer of pollution present that makes everything sound just a bit layered into everything else. Now imagine you take the full stage in dip down into a pool that cleans all of that away, raise it back up and now you hear only the instruments as they were originally intended. The GM takes old tracks and “remasters” them. And takes remastered tracks and makes them even better! 10/10
BUILD QUALITY: Just look at the photos. I was also lucky enough to get the gold upgrade cable thrown into the deal for free! 10/10
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I had heard some stories about problems in the past, but after reaching out to Fatfreq post sales and asking for certain things that were missing from the sale, because it was a floor model and being contacted by Ben himself, I was very happy with how they handled everything. I used to live in Singapore and can tell you the people are amazing!!!
I think some of this has to do with just how much power these IEM’s really need. More than any that I’d tried on the day. Now remember I was driving these with a FiiO M17, a BEAST of a DAP that puts out round 1,500mW on the 4.4mm plug @32ohms. These IEM’s are power hungry! They take every bit of that and deliver it with surgical precision. I spoke with Ben, the CEO of Fatfreq and he told me the M17 is a great pairing for the GM and that they have a few at their HQ in Singapore. They also have a technology called Linear Impedance, which I believe levels the playing field for the different drivers in the set. I think the impedance of this set is 32ohms, but it sure seems like it takes more to drive it than other 32ohm sets I have. This higher impedance and power requirement also contributes to eliminating the background noise, giving a cleaner listening experience.
Tighter bass. Black background.
Premium build ..great sounding Dac ….great user interface….a true cayin product
Well built perfect size and weight, easy to carry for everyday use ... And sounds amazing, clear and powerful for its size. Cayin user interface looks great an is easy to use… n3ultra looks and feels very premium like its big brother the n8ii ….
I've had the Mest II for a month at this point, and it is truly worth the price for the experience. It excels at more instrumental music like rock or jazz, but electronic music is a good experience as well, you just have to crank the volume up a bit.
