Noble Audio FoKus Artemis Review: Flagship Hybrid Headphone

The long-awaited Noble FoKus Artemis headphone has arrived at Audio46. Noble Audio's first foray into the over-ear world was the FoKus Apollo and the updated Apollo Pro, but now they've upgraded both the look and sound into a flagship model. The Artemis boasts stylish comfort and high-quality sound, thanks to its tribrid system of dynamic, planar, and balanced armature drivers. Today, we're taking a look at all the details of the Artemis to help you decide if it's worthy to add to your Bluetooth collection.

The Noble Artemis takes on a new design for over-ear that we haven't seen from the brand before. It's a slimmer shape with seemingly small earcups. The narrow design is great for people who look for a subtle design that doesn't stand out too much during use. The grey and black colors are ideal for neutral accessory lovers. Noble gives the Artemis its own unique design choice by making the grey earcup a bit textured with their signature swirled design. The headphone itself is very lightweight and doesn't have the strong clamping force you would expect. Still, it has a fairly good seal that makes listening immersive and comfortable. The earcups are rather deep is a good fit for any ear size. 

The Artemis is easy to adjust to your head shape, as the axis where the earcups sit spins quite freely to make it easily adjustable. I found that the lightweight build and super smooth rotation of the earcups made the Artemis feel a bit flimsy in my hands, and the loose clamping force wasn't as stable on my head as I would have thought. Though my head is a bit smaller, I could see this being very snug and well-fitted to others' comfort. I was definitely a fan of how it didn't push on the stems of my glasses and made longer listening sessions more comfortable. It was easy to wear the Artemis for hours and not feel like my head was weighed down or clamped on too tightly. 

Like most other Noble FoKus products, the Artemis has quite a few features you can utilize for optimal listening settings. First and foremost, this headphone has 50 hours of battery life and active noise cancellation, which is becoming the standard in any wireless headset. The ANC on the Artemis is fairly strong, but what makes it even better is the ability to set how strong you want your noise cancellation to be. From low to high, I found the Artemis to effectively cancel out ambient noise. 

Additionally, the Noble FoKus app opens the door to a lot of features for customizable sound. The 10-band EQ comes with some preset filters based on music genres, but also the ability to make a custom filter yourself. For those who just want a simpler EQ adjustment, you have a simple EQ scale that allows you to make the signature brighter or heavier based on your preference. I liked this quick customization, and the even more exact personalization with the Audiodo Personal Sound feature. You can create filters based on your hearing profile and adjust the sound from there. 

Custom equalization is a great feature for those who are very particular about their sound, and the Artemis also allows for a lot of different ways to listen. You have Bluetooth connectivity with the latest Bluetooth 6.0, but you can also listen with a wire via USB-C. The Artemis comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable as well as a USB-C to 3.5mm cable so you can easily listen from any device. 

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

All the included features are well and good, but what does the Artemis actually sound like? My initial impression of the Artemis signature was not what I expected, which is a common theme for this headphone. I was expecting a punchy bass with shining detail in a very forward presentation, but I was met with quite the opposite. The Artemis was relaxed, spacious, and had an evenly balanced signature that was perfect for analytical listening. The soundstage was very wide horizontally, and it wrapped around you to immerse you in your listening. The imaging was truly a highlight, where separation was stark to give each element its own room to breathe. The depth was also extremely impressive, where elements were pushed backwards as well as outwards so as not to crowd the signature. 

The signature of the Artemis was definitely treble-forward. I was expecting the noise cancellation and dynamic driver to really accentuate the low end, but I was pleasantly surprised when that wasn't the case. The Artemis is bright and spacious, something that is hard to do in a Bluetooth headphone. If you're not a fan of brighter tunings, the Artemis may not have the sound you're looking for: the dryness of the signature lends itself to some very sharp instrument reproduction that more sensitive ears may not enjoy. Luckily, with the Noble FoKus app, there are plenty of ways to customize your listening to make the Artemis sound just the way you like. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

Even though the Artemis has a bright signature, I would not discredit the bass entirely. It definitely has a punch that makes the low end stand out, but it isn't overwhelming in any regard. You get a detailed bass sound that pays more attention to the texture of instruments. The Artemis does a good job in making sure the bass gets a good amount of depth and weight in the signature, which gets accentuated when you have higher noise cancellation. The extension into the sub-bass is subtle and not as pronounced, but there is a good slam in those higher-energy tracks that makes listening engaging and interesting. In more relaxed genres like smooth jazz or indie pop, you can tell that the bass does stay reserved and lets tonal elements come through more than anything. The Artemis provides a good bass response for those who don't want a low-end that overpowers everything, though if you are chasing after a powerful bass, you may find you want to tune it up a bit. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange in the Artemis was not as forward as you might expect it to be. This frequency range takes a step back and sounds slightly veiled behind other elements, which almost made it sound recessed. I thought this was a strange tuning at first, and I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the Artemis because of it. Despite the midrange sitting further back, it still showcased incredible detail and precision in the imaging and timbral details of the tracks. I was slowly becoming more and more of a fan as I kept listening, and over time appreciated the use of the soundstage's depth and space. The sound was fairly dry in this range and well-balanced, with natural sound reproduction that was more clinical than anything else. The clarity was not as crisp as I would have liked for a range that holds so many main melodies, but the spatialization between all these midrange instruments really made the difference in creating an engaging profile.

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

The treble is the strongest part of the Artemis's sound signature. It is sharp and calculated, where the piercing qualities spill over to the midrange and bass to make them just as detailed as the very top. If you're sensitive to those high and ultra-high frequencies, you may find the stock tuning of the Artemis to be overwhelming. Still, despite how strong and forward the treble was, there was an excellent balance of space and detail given to make the treble enjoyable throughout listening.  Because the treble was so prominent, it made the signature as a whole feel more open. The ultra-high frequencies had space to ring out and dissipate naturally, so you felt less compressed or closed-in during your listening. I could see this range being a bit overly bright for the sensitive ear, but the Noble FoKus app makes this an easy problem to solve so you can listen comfortably. 

With so many other Bluetooth headphones in the market right now, it's hard to tell what the Artemis competes with. In the same price range, you have models like the Focal Bathys and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. The Artemis holds the most similar physical qualities to the Px8 S2, with a slim profile and deeper earcups. Sonically, you'll find that the Px8 S2 is bassier and more forward with detail. The Artemis is more relaxed and has very good depth and spatialization. The Px8 S2 is richer in its sound reproduction as a whole, and the Artemis is drier and feels a bit thinner. The midrange is more forward, and the soundstage feels narrower on the Px8 S2. The Artemis has a wider soundstage that highlights the details of each range fairly evenly rather than jumping to the bass. The Px8 S2 has softer earpads, so it is very comfortable on the ear; however, the clamping force is much tighter than that of the Artemis. 

The Focal Bathys have a very similar balanced profile to the Artemis, but again the difference is the power of the bass. Where the Artemis lacks punch and body in the low end, it makes up for it in precise detail. That being said, you can find other balanced headphones that do produce that thicker bass sound you may be after. Against other flagships, you might jump up to the Dali IO-12 or the Focal Bathys MG. The Dali IO-12 had a similar sense of depth to the Artemis, where the midrange stayed a bit back to utilize the space in the sound signature. Dali IO-12 has more color to its signature and warmth, making it a better balance than the treble-forwardness of the Artemis. The jump in price is significant between the two, but you may find that each serves a different purpose for your listening needs. 

The Noble Audio FoKus Artemis is a great headphone for the detail-hungry listener. The sleek build, deep earcups, and comfortable wear style are all factors that make you want to keep wearing the Artemis for hours. I know the bass may be lacking for some low-end lovers and the detail could be overwhelming, but if you love to sit and listen analytically, this headphone is sure to win you over. It took time for the Artemis to win me over, and I can certainly see that this headphone is a good match for those who want pristine detail and separation, like engineers who need something to travel with when they want to do some quick editing on the go. The best way to know if the Artemis is for you is to try it out, as your ears will be the best judge as to whether this should be in your Bluetooth connection. 

You can get the Noble Artemis at Audio46.