Short answer: the Noble Audio Kublai Khan. It ranks #787 of 1291 in-ear headphones by sound quality, rated 3.5/5, at $2,599; the Lime Ears Maris ranks #883, rated 3.4/5, and costs $2,799, so there is little reason to consider the other one.
Why pick the Noble Audio Kublai Khan: Upper treble lifts about 2.8 dB for extra air and sparkle. The tradeoff: Presence sits about 7.7 dB low with a 9.7 dB dip near 4.4 kHz, so vocals and instruments lose some bite.
Why pick the Lime Ears Maris: A flagship with coaxial dynamic woofers, six armatures, electrostatic tweeters and bone conduction drivers, with a solid Harman score of 66 across ten measurements. The tradeoff: Treble sits about 3.7 dB below target, so it sounds dark next to its price rivals, and it measures behind the cheaper Lime Ears Terra.
Buy the Noble Audio Kublai Khan. It is rated higher for sound quality than the Lime Ears Maris and costs less, so only choose the other one for a particular feature it does better.
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Upper treble lifts about 2.8 dB for extra air and sparkle.
Bloom Audio $2,599.00 eBay
A flagship with coaxial dynamic woofers, six armatures, electrostatic tweeters and bone conduction drivers, with a solid Harman score of 66 across ten measurements.
Lime Ears eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Specifications Side By Side
| Noble Audio Kublai Khan | Lime Ears Maris | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,599.00 | $2,799 |
| Ranked | #787 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones | #883 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
| Driver Type | Hybrid | Multi-driver |
| Drivers | 1 x 10mm dynamic + 4 x balanced armature + 1 x 10mm piezoelectric + 1 x bone conduction | 2 x 8mm coaxial dynamic + 6 x balanced armature + 2 x electrostatic + 2 x bone conduction |
| Impedance | 15.4 ohms | - |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 25kHz | - |
| Harman Preference Score | 68 (measured by HypetheSonics, via AutoEQ) | 66 (median of 10 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 2.51 dB standard deviation | 2.33 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.42 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | -0.97 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (-1.8 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+1.6 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Back | - | Closed |
Frequency Response Compared
Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.
Measurement data: the Noble Audio Kublai Khan from aden, bloomaudio, dchpgall and hbb; the Lime Ears Maris from aden, animagus, audioamigo, ducbloke, eliseaudio, jaytiss, koi, practiphile, pw and superreview, all via squig.link.
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