Noble Audio is rightly considered one of the leaders in the in-ear monitor (IEM) segment. The company's success is closely tied to the personality of its founder John Moulton, known in audiophile circles as the "Wizard."
John began his passion for high-quality sound at the age of eight when his father purchased a home stereo system from Fisher and a Toshiba turntable. Since Moulton Sr. worked as an otolaryngologist, he was very particular about the sound quality. When their television broke down, the stereo system became the family's main source of entertainment for a while. John recalls that he not only enjoyed listening to music but also loved to touch the beautifully lacquered veneer on the speakers. It was at that moment that he first realized the emotions that sound and design could evoke.
As John grew older, his passion for audio intensified, and he worked for free in stereo system stores. Initially, John's path would lead into electronics, but he chose to follow in his father's footsteps and focus on diagnosing and treating hearing, eventually specializing in audiology. He earned a Doctor of Audiology degree from the Arizona School of Health Sciences and a bachelor's degree in Applied Arts and Sciences, which proved invaluable when working on the design of his products.
Moulton claims that his interest in headphone design arose by accident. One day, his wife stepped on her phone's Bluetooth device. John took it to his hearing aid lab, and as he examined the construction, he thought, "This isn't that complicated. I could probably do even better...".
Noble Audio was officially founded on April 15, 2013. However, John Moulton traces its history back to 2008 when he started working at a hearing aid company in Thailand while simultaneously trying to create his custom in-ear monitors. It was a time of trial and error, John recalls: he would assemble, disassemble, even break, and then rework and improve his designs. At that time, he didn't have special equipment for creating metal or plastic housings, but he discovered that Thailand had a lot of beautiful hardwoods - so why not use them? Later, using precious woods for device finishes became one of the company's trademarks.
Noble Audio's first model was the Kaiser 10 (K-10) headphones, introduced in 2014, which was a groundbreaking design featuring ten balanced armature drivers and four crossovers per earphone. This model became a cult favorite among portable High-End enthusiasts and won the most awards in the company's history.
In 2017, the brand repeated its success by releasing the Encore model, successor to the Kaisers, gained refined mids and a wider soundstage. The Katana model, inspired by katana sword handles, was named "Headphones of the Year" and featured nine balanced armature drivers per earphone. The Hi-End model Noble Khan, featuring a unique design and a rare piezoelectric driver, won the "Headphones of the Year" award from Headphone.Guru and "Best Hi-End In-Ear Monitor" by TheMasterSwitch.
Despite John Moulton's belief that true audiophile sound can only be achieved with wired models featuring high-quality custom cables, he recognizes the market demand for fully wireless TWS headphones with high sound quality.
In 2019, the company introduced the Falcon TWS, which received numerous awards for its clear mids, crisp highs, deep lows, and wide soundstage. The device was equipped with an advanced Qualcomm QCC3020 chip and supported Bluetooth 5.0.
Noble Audio became one of the leading players in the audio industry, launching various sucessful headphones over the years, including FoKus Prestige, Falcon Pro, Sultan, Viking Ragnar and many others. Releevery model of the brand receives positive reviews from critics, and invariably causes heated discussions in the audiophile community.
Looking ahead, the company has promised its fans to continue developing custom wired models, hinting that more technological innovations are coming soon. Exciting offerings also await fans of uncompromising TWS headphones.
Another distinction of Noble Audio is its truly international team, both in terms of office locations and production. The company places orders at production facilities in Southeast Asia and the United States. The brand's products are widely represented in the United States, Canada, Europe, as well as Southeast Asia, including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. The company's products are also popular in Australia and New Zealand.
Noble Audio is a unique blend of professional knowledge about human hearing physiology, a meticulous approach to technology, and collaboration with leading designers who turn headphones into true works of art. In the IEM segment, this has indeed become a unique phenomenon, making the Noble Audio brand special and constantly attracting the attention of audiophiles worldwide.
