Noble Audio FoKus Artemis Review

Design

• Machined aluminium with a designer finish
• Repairable, not disposable
• Buttons, not touch panels

Lift the FoKus Artemis out of its sturdy, soft-brush carry case, and they look every penny of the asking price. Where the outgoing Apollo drew sniffy comparisons to Bowers & Wilkins’ Px8, this pair has flair.

The earcups are machined aluminium, each wearing a rippled, watermarked pattern borrowed from Damascus steel, trimmed with soft Ultrasuede. Also in the box you’ll find fabric USB-C-to-USB-C and USB-C-to-3.5mm cables.

They’re no lightweights at 324g, a fair bit heavier than Sony’s plastic-shelled WH-1000XM6, but that’s the toll for a metal build and an extra driver. Regardless, they settle in comfortably enough for a full working day or long-haul journey.

Given the price, it’s reassuring they’re seemingly built to go the distance. The battery and magnetic earbuds are easily replaceable, while IP52 dust and splash resistance covers any caught-in-a-shower commutes, which is more than many over-ears manage.

Every control is a physical button, so no prodding of touch panels. There’s no headphone jack on the cups, but the supplied USB-C-to-3.5mm takes care of that.

Features

• Covers every hi-res codec
• Bluetooth 6.0 ahead of the pack
• Hearing test personalisation

Wirelessly, the FoKus Artemis cover LDAC, aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless for Android listeners, ACC for iPhone, and SBC as a fallback. Connect by USB-C, and they become a plug-in DAC for a laptop. Switch to 3.5mm, and they’ll work switched off, so a separate amp or DAC can drive them directly.

Bluetooth 6.0 delivers a rock-steady signal in busy environments, increases power efficiency, and leaves some bandwidth for future firmware updates. Software runs through the Noble FoKus app with a 10-band EQ, an Audiodo hearing test for tailored sound, and Audiosphere spatial mode for a roomier presentation.

Multipoint keeps you connected to a phone and laptop, six-mic ANC includes ambient and transparency modes, while wear detection is dependable and among the better versions I’ve used.

Battery life

• Well over a week between charges
• Swappable when it ages
• Quick top up when short

Noble rates the FoKus Artemis at 55 hours with noise cancelling off and roughly 35 with it enabled, which tallies. That’s also more than Focal, Bowers & Wilkins and Mark Levinson can manage. Flat to full takes around 90 minutes.

The headphones carry a 600mAh cell, no doubt aided by the added power efficiency from Bluetooth 6.0. As alluded to, an exhausted battery can be replaced fairly easily.

The caveat is this is a clear step down from the Apollo they replace, which ran to 80 hours, and 60 with ANC, so the extra driver and Audiodo’s processing evidently take a toll.

Noise cancellation

• Adaptive six-mic hybrid system
• Adjustable ANC and transparency
• Superb sound isolation

Shutting out the world was reportedly a weak spot on the Apollo, bettered by headphones half their price. FoKus Artemis puts that right.

They lean on a hybrid array of six microphones adapting to whatever is around you, and on a walk taking in traffic-heavy highways, roadworks and the occasional bin lorry, hushed nearly all of it.

The rumble of cars isn’t quite the same as the London Underground or an airliner, but on this early showing, I’d stick my neck out and say they earn their place among the front-runners in this field.

You get more than a blunt on/off switch, too. The app lets you pick from a strong, medium or weak ANC setting, alongside the pivot to ambient or transparency mode when you want to catch a platform announcement.

With a healthy dose of passive isolation in place, too, Noble is poking the ANC big boys here, while call quality across mobile and video also stands up.

Sound Quality

• Balanced tuning suits everything
• Big, open presentation
• Polished over punchy

Noble has opted for balance over showmanship, making the FoKus Artmis an easy listen whatever the genre. The standout trait is scale, with the triple-driver array delivering a wide, breezy soundstage sealed noise-cancellers seldom pull off. Play something dense like Bonobo’s Kerala and its many layers stay neatly placed.

Bass lands with shape and motion instead of a blunt thud. The throb of James Blake’s Limit to Your Love keeps clear of the hi-hats, though bassheads may wish for more welly. For a sedate transatlantic flight, most will appreciate the tuneful and controlled approach.

Midrange is where they shine, producing convincing vocals. Billie Eilish’s When the Party’s Over sounds honest, with intimate breaths and layered harmonies intact. The Apollo stumbled here as its dynamic and planar magnetic drivers battled it out, but the introduction of a balanced-armature tweeter brings peace to the galaxy.

To that end, treble stays crisp without tipping into harshness, so long stints don’t leave your ears ringing, bar the odd sharp ‘s’ on a vocal or spoken word.

What you won’t get is drama. Cue Tame Impala’s Let It Happen, and the FoKus Artemis remain poised where some might wish for fireworks. They’re more frontman than hype man, and for plenty of listeners that neutrality will be the draw.

Should you buy it?