Hifi Pig

Noble Audio has launched Prestige: a 10-driver bespoke monitor crafted from a choice of exotic solid materials (from £1,650)

Prestige is a high-end progression of Noble Audio’s flagship custom K10 and universal-fit K10U IEMs (£999). Like its K10 siblings, Prestige also employs Noble Audio’s 10 driver balanced armature technology.

But, Prestige is an CIEM with a difference! Instead of beginning the manufacturing process with the liquid medium that’s traditionally used, Prestige pieces are hand-crafted entirely from solid mediums. Prestige offers the choice of 30 exotic finish options from a range of solid-construction materials including exotic woods, carbon glass, genuine honeycomb and aluminium webbing.

The Prestige process begins with digitising acrylic moulds of the inner ear using one of the most “advanced 3D-scanning processes available”: over 2.5 million points of data are collected and manipulated per ear. Once digitised, the pieces are painstakingly shaped from a solid medium in a process that can take up to 30 hours per ear. Each piece is then hollowed-out by hand to accommodate the driver assembly and internals, before being finished with a hypoallergenic lacquer and buffed.

Finishes Include:

Exotic wood

Hand-picked and graded for quality, the exotic woods include a curated selection spanning the United States, tropical Africa and South East Asia

Wizard’s wood

Exotic woods combined with colour(s) to create palpable textures and finishes

Dyed wood

Neutral-coloured woods dyed either a single colour, or a progression, enhancing figure and character

Honeycomb

Genuine honeycomb cast in various colours creating an organic, naturally occurring, geometric landscape

The Matrix

Similar to honeycomb in terms of pattern, The Matrix consists of an aerospace-grade aluminium webbing that is rigid in structure, but profiles nicely with the contours of the ear

Carbon Glass

Pieces of stiff 12mm carbon fibre infused with various colours and metallic finishes producing a glass-like appearance

Specifications:

10 balanced-armature drivers per side

2 precision-tuned bass drivers

2 precision-tuned mid-frequency drivers

2 precision-tuned mid-/high-frequency drivers

2 precision-tuned high-frequency drivers

2 precision-tuned super-high-frequency drivers

4-way design

Impedance <35 ohms

Detachable cable with industry-standard 2-pin configuration

Hand-crafted from solid materials

Prestige is available now, priced from £1,650

Named after classic songs, clad in carbon fibre and Kevlar, and featuring the “most sophisticated in-ear headphone design yet” – Astell&Kern’s new Layla and Angie earphones certainloy look the part.

The Astell&Kern earphones are engineered by Jerry Harvey Audio (JH Audio), designer of in-ear monitors (IEMs) for musicians as diverse as Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Pitbull and The Rolling Stones. Its founder, Jerry Harvey can claim to have made the first ever 2-way, custom-fit earpieces, created when he was a sound engineer touring with Van Halen.

LAYLA

The flagship Layla model, named for the Eric Clapton song, contains new fewer than 12 custom-made drivers, plus what Jerry Harvey describes as the most sophisticated crossover network used in an in-ear design.
He says: “the proprietary quad drivers deliver audio quality that will truly put you at the mix position in the recording studio, whether it’s hearing exactly what the mixer/producer and band wanted you to hear, mixing your own tracks or performing live.”

Key Layla features:
Full carbon-fibre body with burnt titanium bezel
All new proprietary driver designs
12 drivers: four bass; four mid-range; four high-frequency
Stainless Steel Tube Waveguide
Adjustable bass
Multiple sizes of eartips so you can find the ideal fit
3.5mm unbalanced and balanced 2.5mm 4-pole cables
Carbon fibre and black aluminium carry case
Available now, priced £1999

ANGIE

Little sister to Layla – and named after the Rolling Stones song – Angie, has the same ground-breaking crossover design and eight custom drivers.
Jerry Harvey says Angie delivers “a very accurate representation of whatever source it has to reproduce. The audio signature is reference quality.”

Key Angie features:
Unique red and black Kevlar shell, with machined black aluminium bezel and inset carbon fibre
All new proprietary driver designs
8 drivers: two bass; two mid-range; four high-frequency
Stainless Steel Tube Waveguide
Adjustable bass
Multiple sizes of eartips so you can find the ideal fit
3.5mm unbalanced and balanced 2.5mm 4-pole cables
Machined aluminium carry case
Available now, priced £899

Henry Park, CEO of iriver, parent company of Astell&Kern says, “We are honoured to partner with one of the biggest names in the audio industry.  Jerry Harvey and his team are known worldwide for producing the very best in-ear monitors. Every top musician uses Jerry’s IEMs when performing.  Music lovers everywhere can get the best sound possible using Astell&Kern players and Jerry Harvey Audio IEMs.”