Noble Audio has announced its new flagship in-ear monitors, the Kronos, with a price point that's firmly in cavernous-pocket territory.
Launching at $4500 / £4100 / €4750 (Australian pricing and release date are currently unavailable), the Kronos represents an evolution of Noble's limited-edition Chronicle model, originally created for the company's 10th anniversary.
According to Noble, strong demand from collectors prompted the company to develop this production version, with refined specs and premium materials.
The latter centres around precision CNC-machined titanium shells, paired with some rather funky, eye-catching titanium damascus faceplates – an exotic material choice compared to more conventional aluminium or resin materials found in most high-end IEMs.
It goes some way to explaining the price tag, at least.
Under the hood, Noble has engineered a complex nine-driver hybrid configuration within each earpiece, utilising a six-way crossover network with precision-matched drivers.
The system incorporates two dynamic drivers (7mm bass, 10mm sub-bass), a dual-membrane bone conductor, four Knowles balanced armatures covering mid and high frequencies, plus two Sonion electrostatic drivers handling ultra-high frequencies.
Noble states that this setup achieves sub-35 ohm impedance, ensuring compatibility with smartphones alongside dedicated digital audio players and portable amplifiers. The design also includes an integrated stainless steel wax guard for durability.
Each unit is hand-assembled, with individual driver matching by Noble's in-house team.
The package includes a custom hybrid cable featuring palladium-plated pure silver and OCC silver conductors, terminated with 4.4mm balanced connectors with a titanium yoke design and 2-pin connectors. A premium case and accessories are also supplied.
Overall, the Kronos represents the company's most ambitious pricing strategy to date, costing many times more than our current recommended pair of high-end earbuds – the Sennheiser IE 900.
Naturally, we’ll have to reserve judgement on its price-to-performance ratio until we get a chance to take it for a spin ourselves.
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