Noble Audio has nailed it with a perfectly tuned, technically capable wireless earphone that can genuinely compete with high-quality wired options.
The Noble FoKus Rex5 stands out with its five-driver hybrid configuration—not only using five drivers but of three different types: Each earbud houses a 10mm dynamic driver, a 6mm planar driver, and three balanced armature drivers. While hybrid driver earphones are common in the wired market, they remain rare in the wireless space. To my knowledge, no other wireless earphones use this many drivers.
There are good reasons, however, why most wireless earbuds stick to a single dynamic driver: They take up less space, consume less power, are more cost-effective, and are easier to tune. However, with the Rex5, Noble Audio has managed to fit all five drivers, the necessary electronics, and a battery into a reasonably sized housing while still maintaining a battery life of seven hours—a remarkable feat for such a complex configuration.
The Rex5 features Bluetooth 5.4, supports the latest and most highly regarded audio codecs, and includes EQ and ANC. It offers multipoint connectivity, a Bluetooth feature that enables headphones and earbuds to connect to and maintain connections with multiple devices simultaneously.
NOBLE AUDIO FoKus Rex5 TWS SPECIFICATIONS
- Drivers: 1 x 10mm dynamic, 3 Balanced Armature, 1 x Planar
- Housing construction: aluminum and acrylic
- Charging case: aluminum with wireless charging
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Multipoint connection
- EQ app with Audiodo integration
The Rex5 earbuds were provided to us by Noble’s PR partner for the purpose of an impartial and unbiased review.
- Amazon: Noble FoKus Rex5
BUILD, DESIGN, AND TECH
The Noble Audio FoKus Rex5 is shaped more like a traditional wired IEM, avoiding the toothbrush-style design and other typical design features of wireless earbuds. Its design is simple yet stylish, featuring a green metal finish on the inside and a multicolored black and green acrylic faceplate adorned with the Noble logo in discrete gold engravement. The Rex5 also offers a comfortable fit.
However, one drawback is that there isn’t much to grip besides the faceplate and its edges, making it difficult to avoid touching the touch panels when inserting or removing the earbuds. That seems to be a general trade-off for having a compact discreetly designed wireless earbud, though.
The charging case shares the same green color as the base of the earbuds. Made of aluminum, it feels both elegant and sturdy. However, while it has a refined look, it’s not the most ergonomically shaped, meaning it doesn’t fit as seamlessly into pockets as some other charging cases. On the other hand it sits very nicely on your desktop, so it might be a pro, depending on your needs.
BATTERY AND CHARGING
The Noble FoKus Rex5 provides up to 7 hours of playback without ANC and 5 hours with ANC enabled. The charging case extends battery life by an additional 18 to 25 hours by charging the earbuds whenever they are placed in the case, as are usual with wireless earbuds. With fast charging, just 15 minutes of charging delivers approximately 2 hours of playtime. The Rex5 case supports wireless charging.
OPERATION
The standard TWS earbud touch controls are present and work well. However, due to the design of the earbuds, it can be difficult to take them in and out without accidentally triggering the touch controls. If you frequently remove and reinsert your earbuds, this might not be ideal. That said, the controls are easy to activate and respond quickly without requiring much pressure, which is very good once they are put in place.
Here’s how to operate the earbuds:
VOLUME
- Double click left earbud to turn volume down
- Triple click left earbud to turn volume up
NAVIGATION
- Single click either air bud to pause music
- Double click right earbud for next track
- Triple click right earbud for previous track
ANC Noise Control
- Long press/hold the left to cycle ANC modes
ASSISTANT
- Long press/hold the right to activate your phone’s smart assistant.
DIGITAL AUDIO
With wireless earbuds, everything happens in the digital domain until it reaches the earphones, where a tiny DAC eventually decodes the signal and makes it analog. The codecs used in the transmission process might have a great deal of impact on the sound. The Rex5 uses the most “audiophile” audio codecs, including aptX Adaptive, and LDAC, which should ensure the highest digital quality available.
One thing to be aware of is however that every phone as its own way of handling digital audio signals and this may affect the end results surprisingly much. I experienced this when I reviewed the Hifiman Svanar Wireless, an excellent but somewhat uneven performer. It sounded great with one phone but too bright and crisp with another, which made me research the topic.
The Rex5 does come with a well-designed EQ app, which can help fine-tune the sound to address any issues you might have. However, I doubt you’ll need it much—at least, I didn’t.
EQ, AUDIODO HEARING CORRECTION, AND NOISE CANCELLATION
The Rex5 can be used with the Noble EQ app. There are basically three ways to EQ your earbuds.
- 10 band equalizer with 5 presets
- 3 point EQ curve
- Personal EQ curve
Each type of equalizer lets you store your own custom EQ settings. I find the five standard presets to work quite well and are actually a nice way to quickly adjust your earphones if you feel the need. I did seldom actually have any type of urge to use EQ on the Rex5, though, because I find the tuning very good as is.
The most unique EQ option is the “Personal EQ Curve,” which utilizes Audiodo’s sound personalization software to tailor audio to each user’s hearing needs. The setup process guides listeners through a calibration test, playing test tones in each ear at various volumes and frequencies. Based on the user’s feedback, a personalized audio profile is generated. Essentially, it’s a hearing test that creates a profile reflecting how sensitive your ears are to different frequency levels. This feature is especially beneficial for users with uneven hearing. The results are stored directly on the earbuds’ integrated QCC3091 chip, allowing access from any device without needing an app after the initial setup.
In conclusion, I did not often feel the need to use the EQ app, but it is mostly well designed and the audio processing seemingly works well. As for the personal EQ Audiodo feature I did not find it to do much good for me, but this is very individual and many users might find it very helpful and a good feature.
My only real criticism of the app is that it lacks a dedicated button on the main screen to enable or disable the EQ. In my opinion, it should be immediately clear whether EQ is active as soon as you open the app.
The onboard memory feature of the Rex5’s QCC3091 chip can store EQ settings and personalized sound profiles directly within the earbuds, so users can utilize their performance audio settings across devices and without the need of Noble’s app.
NOISE CANCELLATION
The Rex5 offers the standard three noise cancellation modes: Active, Transparent, and Off. They work well, but as is often the case, both Active and Transparent modes introduce a slight background noise. Unless you’re in a noisy environment, it’s generally better to leave noise cancellation off. This isn’t unique to the Rex5—it’s common across many devices.
The Rex5’s QCC3091 chip features native noise cancellation for calls.
HYBRID DRIVER EARPHONES
As mentioned, the Rex5 is a hybrid driver TWS earphone. There are really not many hybrid driver TWS earphones out there, especially which are not originally wired headphones with a behind-the-ear TWS adapter connected. The Philips Fidelio T1 features a 10mm dynamic driver and a balanced armature, the 1MORE Evo does the same. There are some dual driver hybrids using MEMS as a supplement to a dynamic driver currently available, but they are few. To my knowledge, there are only two: Soundpeats’ Capsule3 Pro+ and Creative’s Ace 2. I reviewed the latter a few months ago and found it to sound quite good:
Noble Audio has also experimented with MEMS in the discontinued Falcon Max+. If you are not aware, MEMS is a type of driver that is very new in commercial products and often called ‘solid state’ drivers. xMEMS is the name of the leading manufacturer.
As far as I know, when it comes to using more than two drivers in wireless earphones, there are not many sound. Noble offers two three driver models: the FoKus Mystique and the Prestige. Both feature an 8.2mm dynamic driver paired with two Knowles balanced armature drivers. I have not yet tested either of these models.
Even though it’s still very rare, the Noble FoKus Rex5 is not the first ever five-driver hybrid true wireless earbuds. The world first, to my knowledge, is the AVIOT TE-ZX1, which I have not tested.
Both the AVIOT TE-ZX1 and the Noble Rex5 are five-driver tribrids, meaning they use three different types of drivers. In both cases they use a dynamic, a planar magnetic, and three balanced armatures. Each driver type offers distinct advantages, and it’s quite common in high-quality wired IEMs to combine them with a set of crossovers to maximize the strengths of each driver.
LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
Maple Noise by Greene Serene
This very dynamic improvisational jazz piece sounds great. It’s pleasantly warm and smooth, yet highly detailed, dynamic and spacious.
Vicarious by Tool
Crisp and clear yet smooth, punchy and tight yet full bodied. It sounds really great. No need for EQ at all.
Work Song For a Scattered Past by Fire!
This is a very groovy track with electric bass, acoustic drums, and an erratic saxophone. The Rex5 is full-bodied, smooth, dynamic and immersive.
Fading Sorrow by Marcin Wasilewski Trio
It sounds simply beautiful, and the Rex5 makes me want to lean back and fully enjoy the music. There’s a velvet-like, sweet character to the presentation, all while maintaining excellent detail and dynamics.
Tide of Trepidation by EST
The bass drum has great punch with nice texture. In general an excellently balanced presentation.
Mahler’s Symphony No 2 III by Paavo Järvi
The tonal balance is go9d, and the overall presentation is highly enjoyable. Without EQ, the sound is a bit dark and lush, but the classic preset works really well. However, I can’t get the sound as loud as I would like. That said, the mix is very quiet, which allows for a massive dynamic range.
Summer 3 Vivaldi Recomposed by Max Richter
Very nice tonal balance and good detail. The lead violinists stand out in a nice way. Here, no EQ is needed.
Escape Route by Boris Blank
The bass has the perfect amount of rumble, the trumpet is crisp without being harsh, and there’s a lovely sense of space and depth in the sound.
It Could Be Sweet by Portishead
The bass is full but not overpowering, the vocals are clear but not too crisp and sibilant. There is a nice sense of space.
Black Crow by Cassandra Wilson
Exquisitely balanced, with a lot of details and great imaging. The vocals are delicate and nuanced, never sibilant, yet still very clear and powerful.
Never Enough by Loren Allred
This track usually sounds a bit sharp and unpleasant with revealing earphones, but even though the Rex5 is quite enjoyable without EQ, it becomes even more enjoyable with some of the EQ presets.
Sunrise by Norah Jones
With some earphones, the bass can be overwhelming here, but with the Rex5, it’s perfectly balanced. The vocals stand out beautifully and are very present. No EQ needed.
WRAPPING IT UP
Sound Signature
The Rex5 is well-balanced, slightly laid-back, and smooth. It’s non-offensive yet never boring.
Treble
The treble is clean and smooth, detailed without being overly energetic.
Midrange
The midrange is well-balanced, placing instruments and vocals at the center when needed, with both nuance and presence.
Bass
The bass is perfectly balanced, with no noticeable bumps, and is well-extended.
Soundstage and Imaging
The soundstage is impressive for an earphone of this type, with imaging that is precise without feeling overly realistic.
Detail, Dynamics, and Timbre
The general detail level is very good across the board, dynamics are excellent, and the timbre is very natural sounding.
CONCLUSION
I usually do A/B comparisons, but in this case, I’ll simply say that the Rex5 is the best wireless earphone I’ve heard. While I’m far from having tried them all, I’ve listened to several highly regarded models.
Until I’m proven otherwise, the Noble Rex5 is in a league of its own. Their natural tuning, combined with a high level of detail, will, for me, be the benchmark against which all high-end earbuds are compared.
Beyond being the best true wireless earbuds I’ve encountered, the Noble Rex5 is also one of the most well-balanced earphones in any category. The Noble Audio FoKus Rex5 are truly impressive and comes highly recommended.
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