A set of IEMs that costs $4000 means it is facing a hard battle to win any value for money awards. In the price range the Noble Audio Viking Ragnar is in, the typical customer already has more disposable income on hand than most others and is also a big fan of personal audio in that they'd either want to have excellent sound on the go or simply not have the room for speakers/headphones or just prefer the presentation of IEMs over anything else. More likely than not, they would also have a better idea of exactly what music genres they prefer and what they do not. A safer tonality in itself is not necessarily a selling point here, as long as what you get appeals to your tastes and does it quite well. Keep this in mind, in addition to my own interests, and see if you can either demo the Viking Ragnar in person or at least check out multiple reviews from others to get a general picture of what it is like to use.

This is especially handy with a set that is also part jewelry and craftsmanship. The Viking Ragnar, at least in the international version, goes with a hand-forged Damascus steel design which is based off the original, even more expensive Viking that was a limited-edition set. It takes a few days to make the shells and face plates for the Viking Ragnar and that's not including the ones that don't make the cut-off. Given also how Noble Audio sells its accessories for extremely reasonable prices, it's hard to say that there is anything explicitly over priced here either even though it is easier to do so and dismiss this set as something for the richest among us only. All I'll say is the Viking Ragnar at least looks and feels special, and this is backed by personal service from an extremely small, US-based family-run business. These are all factors influential towards the purchase decision in the multi-thousands of dollars market.

The most important factor remains the sound experience though and here I am not sure I am happy with what the Viking Ragnar provides for the money for the out-of-the-box experience. Yes, I understand that this goes for a purposely colored tonality to better appeal to some music genres, and it does so well at that. But at the same time I can't help but feel there was an opportunity to do better given the ease with which I could make the Viking Ragnar sound even better with a simple bass shelf to compensate for the bass tuck it has. The upper mids also feel somewhat compressed and it doesn't have the weight behind vocals that it could otherwise have achieved, although the biggest issue for me is the heavy treble presence which can shift the user experience towards an unpleasant one. The EST tweeters, which are likely the most expensive drivers used here, feel like they could have been more balanced out—at least based on my experience with some sets I've seen which cost less. The Noble Viking Ragnar is a set that no doubt many will like, and even love given the craftsmanship employed, but for me there are a few more misses than ideal to merit a general recommendation for everyone. But if you are amenable to EQ, and knowing how technically proficient the Viking Ragnar is, I can't think of anything else I've reviewed or listened to critically for enough time that can best the sound signature it can provide. In this regard I can actually see people purchasing the Viking Ragnar as a viable end-game set given I'd much rather have a set of IEMs that may be tuned different from what I'd like but have the best drivers and acoustic engine inside which I can then easily mold to my preferences.