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After reviewing hundreds of earbuds, the Noble FoKus Amadeus has got to be one of the best sounding, and one of the prettiest-looking because I like the red, and there aren’t many red buds around. Noble also provides both single and double flange silicone tips. I like the double-flanged tips because those feel better than the default.

And the reason for that is because the nozzles are pretty wide and long, so they felt very tight in the ear canal with the default. But with the smallest double-flange tips my ears don’t feel as sore. The eartips also come in a very nice hardshell case. Usually these eartip boxes are disposable trash, but not this one. It’s protective, solid… I’m going to use it for my own eartip collection.

Features-wise, they’ve got the basics down such as multiple ways to customize their sound with presets, a graphic EQ, and using your unique sound profile created by testing your hearing sensitivity. Battery life is pretty decent, up to 8 hours with ANC if you’re using AAC codec, but if you’re using other codecs it supports like LDAC or aptX Adaptive, your mileage could vary.

Like I said, having used them for a bit, they are one of the best sounding earbuds, but it has some cons aside from the pros and I’m going to talk about that, as well as their performance such as mic pickup, active noise canceling and transparency, so buckle up!

Microphone Quality

In terms of microphone quality, their background noise reduction can be cleaner, voice pickup can also be better amplified, but they are pretty decent in terms of legibility. As in whether in quiet or noisy conditions, whoever’s on the line with you can make out what you’re saying.

In that sense, it’s not bad, and actually better than its more expensive sibling the Rex5, because on that one, noise filtering was so bad you can hardly make out what I was saying. Nonetheless, I gave the Amadeus a Rank C, but if my voice was amplified louder, and if noise filtering was a little cleaner, it would easily have been B-Rank.

👉🏻 Have a listen to the mic quality samples

Active Noise Cancelling

In terms of active noise canceling, it’s serviceable, as in it will do a decent job canceling mid-range noises, but it’s not the most effective. And as you can see in my rankings, there are others across different price points which deliver deeper silence. Even the FoKus Rex5, which has Rank C noise canceling, is more effective in the bass region compared to the Amadeus.

And because it’s jutting out of the ears quite a bit, the easily mics pick up the flipping noise of wind. I know it’s the mics because as soon as I turn off the noise canceling, that flapping noise of wind is gone. Anyway, if you want to know which are the best earbuds for noise canceling, check this video, but suffice to say that this isn’t the Amadeus’s strongest suit.

👉🏻 Have a listen to the ANC quality samples

Transparency Mode

In terms of transparency mode, the Amadeus is actually pretty good. Crisp and clear in the ambience with very little muffling against far-field sounds, so it’s easy to hear public service announcements, important sounds like sirens and traffic, and I can even have face to face conversations. There are not many complaints there about its transparency mode.

Sound Quality

As for sound quality, like I said, the Amadeus is awesome. One of the best earbuds I’ve tested, and this is true even on its default EQ settings. Impeccable separation of tracks, clean and smooth, bass has very nice bounce, impact and tactility so you get all the different shades and textures in the low frequencies. It also has an airy soundstage, soaring highs, and super clear and crisp vocals.

It does lean a bit brighter in the upper mids than I’m used to, and it can be a bit too much at higher volumes, but it’s not a problem because I’m usually at 40% volume. These are plenty loud enough at that level, which is comparable to 60% volume on most earbuds. Furthermore, as I said, you can tweak its sound in the Noble app to your preference. For me, I just kept it at default.

Now, if you’re wondering how this compares to the flagship Rex5, the Rex5 is still the best sounding earbuds I have. It’s not just about the 5 drivers working in tandem so the separation is one step above the Amadeus, but it’s more about the track layering and depth of the soundstage which feels a bit more ‘real’ than a flatter 2D presentation.

The Amadeus is a little more V-shaped than the Rex5 so there’s more emphasis on bass, upper mids and treble, and it also has a tighter presentation that the relaxed signature of the Rex5. But overall, if the Rex5 were number 1 on my list, this would easily be in the running for the number 2 spot.

👉🏻 Have a listen to the sound quality samples

Conclusion

So aside from their noise canceling and mic performance, their controls need a bit more work. For example, you can’t customize the long press gesture, it’s locked to ambient controls on the left side and voice assistant on the right. Switching between ambient modes using the long press gesture takes a lot of time, about 5 seconds, so I would rather the long press be something else, like ramping down the volume, and ramping up volume for the right earbud. But it’s not possible to do that.

The other thing is the size of these buds. These are not small. They’re actually bigger than the Rex5 which aren’t small themselves so if you have small ears, these may not fit very well, and even I’ve had to use the smallest double flange tips because of the nozzle size being thicker than the buds I’m used to. Speaking of thick, the case is one of the thickest cases around. If they’re in my pocket, they’re very noticeable, and this makes it less likely for me to bring them unless I’m carrying a bag.

But if all you care about is the sound quality, I have to say again that the Noble FoKus Amadeus is one of the best sounding earbuds I have ever tested.

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Noble FoKus Amadeus - https://amzn.to/4vDLssL
Noble FoKus Rex5 - https://amzn.to/4egKnik

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