I'm currently reviewing the Noble Fokus Prestige Encore, buds that cost a very large (and intimidating) $699. That's over double most of our best earbuds, which top out at around $300 or so. Even the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8, another pair of premium earbuds, only reach the heady heights of $499.
I'm having a great time, I must say. They sound amazing, look spectacular, and like something well worth their lofty asking price. But there's just one small issue — as a part of their testing, I have to take them... outside. And, dear reader, as you might imagine, with something that costs as much as these, it's very, very stressful.
Lovely buds
Look, the Noble Fokus Prestige Encore are stunning. They're some of the most attractive wireless earbuds I've tested, thanks to their wooden construction and thick lacquer covering. They look like they're worth a million bucks.
Then you pop them in your ears, and you hear everything they've got to offer sonically. They're expansive, they're detailed, they're dynamic. Just about unlike anything you'll have heard before. A pair of earbuds to get lost in.
Their features are good too. There's Audiodo audio tuning so that they sound good to everyone, along with a healthy dosage of ANC to keep noise at bay. LDAC and AptX connections bring higher quality audio from compatible devices. 10 hours of battery life is very good, and they're pretty comfortable to boot.
Everything points towards them being a pair of buds that you'd want to take with you on your travels — but I just can't do it.
They're kinda... intimidating
$250 is a lot of money. $300 is even more money — and that's how much the top-of-the-range buds from Sony and Bose cost. I have no problem taking those with me in my pocket, but there's still an awareness that they're very... loseable.
Wireless earbuds are small. Even the largest still have to fit into your ear, so they're comparably much smaller than a pair of headphones. That, obviously, makes them a lot easier to misplace. And depending on where you do it, that'll be game over.
Gone forever.
Testing them has been nerve-racking.
There's nothing quite like a high price tag to make you realise how much losing something really sucks. It also makes you more reluctant to take them out of the house, given that it's going to be close to a week's rent in a house share you'll have to fork out to get a new pair.
The Noble Fokus Prestige Encore are buds that I'd love to use while I sit in a train seat. That I'd really like to take to an office, or a cafe, and listen to my music while I watch the world go by. But I just don't want to do it. I can't face it. I like them too much, and I can't afford the $699 necessary to replace them should one fall out of my ear and into the gap between my seat and the seat next to me.
Testing them has been nerve-racking. After all, as much as I don't want to use ANC when I'm out and about, there are plenty who do — and so I need to test to ensure that earbuds and headphones excel in a range of environments.
And, as I walked around my local suburbs, testing that the ANC kept all the noise at bay, half of my thoughts were on making sure I knew where they were at all times. And that ruins the fun.
They don't seem to want to leave the house, either
Thankfully, there are signs that the Fokus Prestige Encore aren't meant to leave the house. The case, for example, feels more like something you leave plugged in on your desk thanks to its pocket-unfriendly shape and size. The buds themselves are large and conspicuous, perhaps not something you'd want to wear around.
They're portable by nature of being earbuds, and the battery lasts for a long time, should you want to use them anywhere other than your desk. But it feels like they're to be moved from one spot to another to be used in relative safety.
"Isn't that kind of pointless?" Well, in some ways, yes. Wireless earbuds are supposed to be portable, so that you can listen on the go without getting tangled up in wires. But also, like, no. I think there's a very definite point — and it'll all depend on where your wired and decoration sensibilities go.
The Fokus Prestige Encore are for minimalists. Those who want an incredible earbud experience at their desks or while swigging an expensive scotch, but who don't want wires cluttering up the place.
Leave the case on your desk on a wireless charging coil, and you'll have perma-ready buds at a moment's notice. Pop them out to enjoy those sick tunes, and away you go. You don't have to worry about them being lost because they live on your desk, away from danger. Like the bubble boy.
They're a niche product, and I'm certain that some people with more money than I will have no problem using them on the A-train to Central. But mine are going to live on my desk, where the train seat gremlins can't get at them.
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