Noble FoKus Apollo headphone review: An audiophile’s dream

Noble Audio is perhaps best known for their in-ear monitors, especially their custom ones. But this year, Noble released a new pair of over-ear wireless noise-cancelling headphones, the Noble Fokus Apollo, which boast being the first wireless headphones with hybrid 40mm dynamic and 14.5mm planar magnetic drivers. This was pretty big news for audiophiles, and naturally I wanted to test these out to see how they sound.

I was lucky enough to get a pair, which as of writing are now sold out, and I got to see how this hybrid driver setup sounds in practice. To be sure, these headphones are the most unique I’ve ever tried in my career so far, so I was excited going in, and they did not disappoint.

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Noble FoKus Apollo

The Noble Fokus Apollo have fantastic sound quality on account of hybrid dynamic and planar magnetic drivers, and wonderful noise cancelling. The headphones are a bit bulky as a result, but the comfortable ear pads and headband remedy this.

Pros

• Incredible sound quality
• Great ANC
• Wireless and wired options
• LDAC and aptX HD support

Cons

• Bulky and heavy
• Microphone could be better

Price, specs, and availability

A truly exceptional pair of headphones for audiophiles

The Noble Fokus Apollo is a pair of hybrid driver noise cancelling headphones. It has a 40mm dynamic driver paired with a 14.5mm planar magnetic driver, the first of its kind with those specific driver specs. The headphones can be used wireless using Bluetooth, as well as wired using a 3.5mm cable or a USB-C cable, both of which come with the headphones. The headphones use Bluetooth 5.3, and support the SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, and aptX HD codecs. The headphones also support multipoint connection.

Other accessories that come with the Noble Fokus Apollo are a removable boom mic, a 1/4 inch adapter, an L-shaped 3.5mm to 4.4mm adapter, and a two-pronged airline adapter.

Design-wise, the headphones have an anodized aluminum housing, with memory foam ear pads encased in leather, and a memory foam headband encased in Alcantara fabric. The headphones have onboard volume buttons, a power/Bluetooth button, a noise control button, and a mute switch for the microphone.

The Fokus Apollo has a battery life of 80 hours without noise-cancelling turned off, and 60 hours of play time with noise-cancelling on.

It has an accompanying app, the Noble Fokus app, which is available on iOS and Android.

The Noble Fokus Apollo is $649, and is available from Noble, Bloom Audio, and other audiophile equipment retailers.

What I liked about the Noble Fokus Apollo

Fantastic sound paired with wonderful design

The most obvious thing to cover about the Noble Fokus Apollo is how they sound. Sure enough, these headphones sound downright fantastic. The default sound profile leans fairly bassy, which is to be expected since the majority of people tend to lean toward more bassy sound profiles. The sub-bass frequencies feel lovely, without being too intense or overwhelming the slightly higher bass frequencies. Those bass frequencies are punchy without being overbearing.

The highs and mids both sound wonderful too, with the treble frequencies being bright and pleasant, and not at all tinny or harsh on the higher end. Mids aren’t ignored by any means, and don’t get lost amid the highs and lows.

The Noble Fokus app allows you to adjust the sound profile with a 10-band equalizer, which is always a great option to have if you don’t necessarily like the default sound profile, or want to customize it for different genres. It has several presets, like default, classic, pop, jazz, and rap, and you can customize the EQ to your liking too and save your own custom presets. The app also has a hearing test that plays tones throughout the frequency spectrum to see where you might need a bit of a boost, and you can save that as a personalized custom preset.

The Fokus Apollo’s noise-cancelling is impressive, with the noise-cancelling being powered by six microphones within the headphones. When I have the headphones on with noise-canceling turned on with no music on, I can’t hear any droning noises from things like traffic, my dryer, or my very loud refrigerator. I would compare the noise cancelling to that of my Sony WH-1000XM4, which is incredibly good. Taking these on a commute on a train or bus would surely be a smooth experience if you’re looking to block out external noise on the way to and from work or school.

In regard to the build, the headband and ear pads are really comfortable. Both are cushioned with memory foam, which makes for a really comfortable listening experience, especially over longer periods of time. This is especially important given how heavy the headphones are, so I really appreciate the effort put into comfort.

I always appreciate multiple ways of connecting headphones, and in this case, I really appreciate that I can listen wirelessly using Bluetooth or wired with the 3.5mm cable or the USB-C cable. I also appreciate all the Bluetooth codecs supported by the Fokus Apollo, especially since LDAC and aptX HD allow for higher quality audio than AAC and SBC.

What I didn’t like about the Noble Fokus Apollo

While I can identify a few qualms, there are no dealbreakers

By virtue of the kind of headphones these are, the Fokus Apollo is quite heavy and rather bulky. Planar magnetic drivers require more space and parts than regular dynamic drivers, so the fact that these headphones have both kinds of drivers means they’re naturally going to be heavy and bulky, especially compared to headphones with smaller dynamic drivers and plastic housing. The weight is thankfully supported by a comfortable headband and ear pads, so it’s not a huge drawback, but it’s worth noting.

On a similar note, the Fokus Apollo also isn’t water-resistant, which is to be expected from a pair of headphones like this. Most noise-cancelling headphones aren’t water-resistant, nor are most audiophile headphones or planar magnetic headphones. This means that you can do some serious damage to the Fokus Apollo if you get caught in the rain wearing them or spill a drink on them, so you should take extra precautions considering how much they cost.

The built-in microphone as well as the detachable boom mic weren’t the best mics I’ve heard from a pair of headphones, which was a bit disappointing for a pair of headphones this expensive. That’s not to say the microphone isn’t usable, it’s perfectly acceptable, and I can hear my voice clearly in recordings. But I found the mics picked up higher frequencies a bit too much, making sibilant sounds like “S” and “T” very hissy. Again, the built-in mic and detachable boom mic are completely fine for calls and won’t cause any issues, but I do wish the mics sounded better given the price of the headphones.

Should you buy the Noble Fokus Apollo?

If you’re an audiophile with a spare $650 to fork over, the Noble Fokus Apollo is a very fine choice. The hybrid drivers allow for fantastic sound quality, the noise-cancelling is very good, the headphones are comfortable and well-built, and the fact that they can be used wired or wireless makes them extremely versatile.

These headphones are not for people who are not already dedicated audiophiles, since chances are, you won’t necessarily be able to hear much of a difference without more of a trained ear. If you want to make a foray into the audiophile universe, there are other, less expensive headphones that are a better stepping stone. And if noise-cancelling headphones are what you want, there are a lot of them under $300 that will serve you well and sound fantastic still.

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Noble FoKus Apollo