Noble FoKus Prestige Encore: TWS So Good, They Did It Again

From Mystique to Amadeus to Rex5, Noble Audio has created some of the best true wireless earbuds that audiophiles have seen. Is there any way for them to improve? The answer is yes. Based on their previous flagship, the FoKus Prestige, the Noble FoKus Prestige Encore does exactly as the name suggests. Noble took the beloved Prestige and did it again, with upgraded features and sound quality. Is this truly an upgrade, or is it just clever marketing? How do these earbuds compare to other Noble IEMs? We’re going to dive deep and look at all the features and qualities that make the Prestige Encore so amazing. 

Noble Audio didn’t change much physically from Prestige to Prestige Encore. The immediate difference is in the color aesthetic, which is dark blue with grey and black highlights. The wood finish is the same as that on the original Prestige, with the company logo in shiny silver on each side. The earbuds themselves are still quite bulky and thicker than your standard earbud. The housing on the Prestige Encore is a little smaller than its predecessor, but if you have smaller ears, then you might find these still to be a bit too big. The earbuds are lightweight and don’t cause any fatigue in terms of weight. The case itself also has the same color aesthetic and the Noble Audio logo right on top. 

It was easy to change out these eartips and make sure the fit was exactly what was most comfortable to my ear. Not only were the included eartips a big help, but third-party eartips were compatible as well. I wore the Prestige Encore for hours and was impressed with the good ear seal and comfort that lasted for my entire time listening. 

Like any true wireless earbud, connectivity and usability are important elements. The Prestige Encore connects seamlessly to any phone; I opened the case and pressed the button on the inside of the case, and the earphones showed up as an option on my device. The Prestige Encore also has touch controls on each earbud, which were sensitive to touch and made it easy to avoid picking up my device every time I wanted to change the song or adjust the volume. In the Noble app, you can change the controls on the earbuds so it is more catered to your needs and how you use those features. 

The original Prestige didn’t come with many features apart from some basic EQ, good passive isolation, and a fairly long battery life. The Prestige Encore knocks this right out of the water. This new earphone comes with Active Noise Cancellation, as well as true wireless mirroring and multipoint pairing. The EQ customization is more precise, with a 3-band parametric EQ for more precise adjustment. Also included with the Prestige Encore is the Audiodo Personalized Sound feature, a feature also seen in the Rex5 and the Amadeus. These features make the Prestige Encore a culmination of all the great things from previous earphones, plus its own added flair. 

The added ANC is really what has turned heads with these TWS earphones. The ANC on the Prestige Encore is strong, and even passively, the ear seal creates great isolation. The microphones are great for picking up your outside environment, and the Ambient mode lets them pass through clearly without changing the quality of your sound. 

• Driver system: 
  • 1 × 8mm Dynamic
  • 2 × Balanced Armature 
  • 1 × 6mm Planar Magnetic
• Chipset: Qualcomm® QCC3091
• Bluetooth: 5.4 with TrueWireless Mirroring and multipoint support
• Codecs: aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, LDAC, AAC, SBC
• Noise control: Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling + HearThrough mode
• Calls: Dual-mic cVc™ noise suppression
• Battery life: 10h (ANC off) / 7h (ANC on), up to 35h total with case
• Charging: USB-C + Qi wireless charging; 10min quick charge = 2h playback
• Design: Smaller housings, triple-vented metal nozzle, refined wood finish
• Personalisation: Audiodo per-ear calibration with on-device storage
• App: Custom EQ, touch mapping, OTA updates, multilingual interface

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

This is the part everyone is waiting for: how does the Prestige Encore sound? My initial impression wowed me. I was blown away by the amount of detail that was immediately presented. The soundstage was wide and expansive, and the sound truly wrapped around my head to create a very immersive soundstage. Each instrument was expertly placed in the sound field, so it truly felt like all orchestras, rock bands, and vocalists were in the room with you. I liked how height and depth were used to create a more 3-dimensional sound, as opposed to just staying flat. There is a distinct separation between elements in tracks, so each part was reproduced naturally.

The overall sound signature was incredibly balanced, but still dynamic to make tracks entertaining. You can definitely do a lot of analytical listening with the Prestige Encore, but also casual listening. I can see these earbuds being used for the audiophile who needs something super portable and convenient, or just any music lover who wants the best of the best. The Prestige Encore gives you music at fairly loud levels, so people who love to blast their music and get lost in the listening will appreciate that element.

BASS FREQUENCIES

The bass in the Prestige Encore is powerful and inviting. Where some earphones have an overly strong bass response because of the addition of ANC, the Prestige Encore keeps things tame and controlled. It takes up a lot of space in the low end, so everything gets to build up from it. Even with the bass maintaining a thick body and warm tonality, the detail cannot be understated. The bass is punchy and tight in those fast-paced genres that need more drive. This makes it easy to distinguish different textures and tones in the Prestige Encore’s bass, which is great for more modern genres like EDM or hyperpop. You get to hear the tones of the sub-bass with ease, and when it reaches those ultra-low frequencies, you can feel the rumble just as much as hear the texture. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange was my favorite part of the Prestige Encore. There is so much detail in this range with excellent separation and clarity, so you’re not missing a single thing. The width of the soundstage is most noticeable in this range, with the way instruments filter outwards and around you while you listen. I was entranced by all my favorite tracks, finding details and hidden layers that my other earphones weren’t able to uncover. The midrange comes slightly forward in the signature, with the vocals taking up the very front and center to be right in the middle of everything. It’s like vocalists are singing directly in front of you, with instrumentalists filtering around them. The Prestige Encore isn’t giving you exactly reference sound, but it is highly detailed and textured to allow you to pick apart those individual elements. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

At the top end of the sound signature, the treble comes in the lighten everything up. The Prestige Encore is excellent at maintaining a grand sense of space, and that’s thanks to the treble being light and spacious. Treble instruments have great clarity and detail, and they are sharp without being harsh. I really enjoyed the forwardness of this range, especially in the way it comes out in other ranges. The treble makes appearances in other ranges through textures and timbres. Another notable element is the amount of space this top end gives you. It’s easy for ANC earbuds to sound compressed or awkwardly cut off because of the limited space in an earphone (especially as opposed to a headphone). The Prestige Encore is excellent at creating a lot of top-end space for the frequencies to dissipate out in. 

The Noble FoKus series is an iconic line of true wireless earbuds, all with varying qualities that make them unique and cater to every type of listener. If you’re someone who already has the original Prestige or you have the Rex5, you might be wondering if the Prestige Encore is worth the upgrade. What makes them so different anyway? Let’s get into it. 

Listening to the Prestige Encore against the original Prestige, the immediate difference lies in the bass. The bass on the original Prestige is very strong and takes most of the sound signature, with the treble and midrange coming in to balance it out collectively. The Prestige Encore, on the other hand, has a strong bass that is more refined and controlled. It stays punchy and deep when it needs to, but it doesn’t overpower the whole signature. It is balanced with the treble and midrange, holding the same detail that you get in the original Prestige with added refinement. Both have incredibly wide soundstages that are immersive and deep, though there is an added layer of clarity in the Prestige Encore that makes it a step above the original.

In their specifications, you’ll see that the Prestige Encore is actually most like the Rex5. The Prestige Encore is a 4-driver configuration, with 2 balanced armatures, 1 dynamic, and 1 planar magnetic. The original Prestige is the same without the planar magnetic driver, while the Rex5 adds one balanced armature to that mix. Listening to all three, I was able to hear how the Prestige Encore matched the Rex5 in terms of balance. However, the Prestige Encore beats out the Rex5 in terms of detail and immersive quality.

The Noble FoKus Prestige Encore is truly an excellent true wireless IEM. Noble Audio has always produced excellent in-ear monitors, both wired and wireless, and the Prestige Encore definitely earns its place in that lineup. The wide soundstage, paired with incredible detail in every range, makes the listening experience elevated from your standard earbud. The FoKus Prestige Encore is feature-rich and has all you need for customizable, personal listening that will last you all day and then some. It’s the perfect accessory for audiophiles looking for the next best thing. 

You can try the Noble Prestige Encore at Audio46.