Noble Audio FoKus Apollo evaluate: The excessive worth of pristine audio

I don’t evaluate lots of $650 headphones. That’s as a result of most audio corporations promote their top-of-the-line gear round $300-$400. Noble Audio isn’t like most corporations. The FoKus Rex5 earbuds, for instance, cram in 5 separate drivers the place a lot of the competitors makes use of two on the most. Noble was additionally among the many first to make use of xMEMS drivers in wireless earbuds in a bid to enhance bass efficiency.

Enter the FoKus Apollo, a $649 pair of energetic noise canceling (ANC) headphones with a removable increase mic and as much as 80 hours of battery life. The actual star of the present is the driver setup, which Noble says is the primary time this configuration seems in wi-fi headphones. The corporate is as soon as once more on a quest for the very best sound high quality, however it might sacrifice a little bit an excessive amount of alongside the way in which.

Sound high quality is the principle attraction

Noble Audio’s proposition is easy: the “world’s first” headphones that supply a hybrid speaker pairing of a 40mm dynamic driver with a 14.5mm planar magnetic driver. A dynamic driver is nothing new for a set of cans, however including the latter makes the FoKus Apollo’s audio setup distinctive. For the uninitiated, planar magnetic drivers have a skinny, flat diaphragm that sometimes provides a wider, extra immersive soundstage and enhanced element in comparison with dynamic drivers. Planar magnetic drivers are sometimes reserved for audiophile-grade headphones since they’re bigger and extra fragile.

With the FoKus Apollo, Noble capitalized on the most effective of each worlds for the inventory tuning. You get the bass energy of a dynamic driver with the readability of a planar magnetic driver. Since planar magnetic items can’t transfer sufficient air for the sturdy bass that almost all of us crave, and as dynamic drivers are restricted with mid- and high-range particulars, the corporate argues it has created the optimum answer.

From the primary second of the primary tune, I might inform the FoKus Apollo was constructed otherwise. The addition of planar magnetic drivers provides probably the most bass-heavy genres an nearly absurd quantity of element. Albums like Spiritbox’s Tsunami Sea that lack readability on different headphones tremendously profit from the treble increase, serving up extra nuance within the guitar riffs and texture within the kick drum blasts. The FoKus Apollo additionally excels with mellow kinds, permitting you to listen to each little bit of sound coming from the acoustic guitars, banjo, bass and extra on Julien Baker & TORRES’ “Sugar within the Tank.” Going from most over-ear headphones to the FoKus Apollo is like going from normal music streaming to vinyl. And I don’t suppose that’s hyperbole.

FoKus Apollo in-use: ANC, battery life and extra

Billy Steele for Engadget

A pair of $649 ANC headphones higher rattling effectively present some first rate noise cancellation, even in the event you’re primarily shopping for them for the audio efficiency. Noble opted for a hybrid ANC setup with three microphones on all sides and a Qualcomm QCC3084 chip. That processor offers the required digital sign processing (DSP) and algorithms to cut back background distractions.

Like lots of ANC headphones, the FoKus Apollo struggles with voices. Which means any hopes of silencing a chatty colleague received’t pan out. Nonetheless, the headphones do a strong job with fixed noise sources — followers, home equipment, noise machines, and many others. — in order that they do supply some reduction. The noise-blocking prowess isn’t nearly as good as the likes of Bose, however I discovered ample room to focus throughout my check classes. Whereas the ANC right here isn’t among the many finest, it’s completely serviceable in most environments.

Noble guarantees a whopping 60 hours of battery life with ANC enabled, with one other 20 hours of use in the event you flip it off. I discovered that these figures maintain true throughout my time with the FoKus Apollo. After 30 hours of music, podcasts and work calls with noise cancellation energetic, the headphones nonetheless had 57 p.c battery remaining — monitoring barely higher than the corporate’s acknowledged numbers.

The Fokus Apollo comes with all of the equipment you’d ever want proper within the field. Noble features a removable increase mic, 3.5mm to 4.4mm adapter, two-prong airline adapter, USB-C cable and three.5mm aux cable. The headphones can be utilized with both of these two cords, and the corporate recommends you accomplish that when using the microphone for optimum voice high quality.

For those who’re planning to make use of the Fokus Apollo for calls, you possibly can count on combined outcomes. In quiet areas with little echo, you’ll sound ok for knowledgeable presentation. Whenever you transfer to a room with some pure reverb, the mics on these headphones choose that up a little bit too effectively. What’s extra, they’re not nice at blocking background sounds, as followers, white noise machines and raucous home equipment have been all clearly heard on the opposite finish throughout my checks.

Design that matches the sound

The FoKus Apollo is basically costly, so Noble couldn’t simply give us a set of headphones constructed principally out of plastic and name it a day. Fortunately, the corporate selected a mixture of anodized aluminum, premium protein leather-based and a tender Alcantara headband. The leather-wrapped reminiscence foam ear pads are replaceable, which can prolong the lifetime of the headphones below heavy use. There’s additionally a pleasant textured fabric sample on the skin of the ear cups and headband that present each tactile and visible distinction.

Noble Audio offers bodily controls on the FoKus Apollo, so that you’ll by no means need to battle with faucet or contact gestures to make modifications. On the suitable facet, there’s a devoted button for ANC modes (on, off and transparency) with a three-control array slightly below it. Right here, the highest and backside buttons deal with the amount and observe changes whereas the middle one is used for energy, Bluetooth pairing, play/pause and to summon Google Assistant, Siri or another digital helper. On the left ear cup, a single slider means that you can mute all of the microphones, even the increase when it’s hooked up, with out reaching in your telephone or keyboard.

The dearth of superior options

The FoKus Apollo's main attraction is its sound quality, powered by a unique driver setup.

The FoKus Apollo is basically solely targeted on the fundamentals, so it doesn’t supply any of as we speak’s superior options. Heck, there aren’t even instruments which were on different units for years — like put on detection. Though you’ll get assist for Sony’s LDAC codec together with AAC, aptX, aptX HD and SBC, there’s no point out of Dolby Atmos or any type of spatial audio. You don’t discover any dialogue of adaptive audio or adaptive ANC that makes automated changes to each general sound and noise cancellation both.

Look, I’m effectively conscious the premise right here is pristine sound high quality above all else. However at $649, which is $100 greater than the AirPods Max by the way in which, I count on a point of comfort that enables me to maintain these headphones on for many of the day. Computerized pausing or put on detection ought to be normal at this worth and it could be good to have some further sound/ANC choices. I’m not choosy about whether or not these are the automated, adaptive kind, or whether or not they’re settings I’ve to toggle on within the app. Simply, please, give me one thing greater than EQ changes when your sound out of the field is already unimaginable.

The competitors

When you hit $500 and above, you’ve surpassed what most corporations cost for his or her flagship-level wi-fi headphones. You’re additionally in a worth vary the place I’ve solely reviewed a handful of fashions. If cash is not any object, the $699 Px8 from Bowers & Wilkins delivers wonderful sound high quality in a design that could be preferable to some people (there’s not less than a number of colour choices). Its ANC efficiency isn’t earth shattering both, and considered one of my greatest gripes with the corporate’s merchandise is the shortage of superior options just like the FoKus Apollo.

There’s additionally the AirPods Max and Dyson On-Trac, however neither of these are simple to advocate. Apple’s over-ear headphones have barely been up to date since they arrived in 2020, aside from an upgrade to USB-C and the upcoming addition of lossless audio. Dyson’s headphones have lengthy battery life and a novel design, however they didn’t impress me sound-wise, have common ANC efficiency and lack the trendy options I count on for $500.

I additionally want to say Master & Dynamic’s MW75 within the over-$500 dialogue. For those who’re after high-end appears to be like, no different firm constantly nails its trademark aesthetic like M&D. True to its lineage, the corporate pairs leather-based and metallic on these headphones, together with tempered glass panels on the skin of the earcups. I’ve at all times loved the stability of M&D’s inventory tuning and the ANC efficiency is strong. You received’t get any superior options right here both, however just like the Px8, there are a number of colour choices in the event you’re after one thing apart from Noble’s black and silver paint scheme.

Wrap-up

I’ve no doubts there are lots of people that can totally benefit from the FoKus Apollo. For those who crave the very best sound high quality available on the market, these headphones are the most effective I’ve examined in that regard. For me, to pay $649 I count on extra by way of options. The primary merchandise could be higher ANC efficiency, however I don’t really feel like spatial audio assist and put on detection are an excessive amount of to ask. Even with none of that, you do get a novel driver setup that produces some ridiculously detailed sound throughout numerous genres.

This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/noble-audio-fokus-apollo-review-the-high-price-of-pristine-audio-141521043.html?src=rss

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