[erockg]

They are small right? No proprietary tips, etc right? I may snag them for the hell of it

No proprietary tips. I personally think they’re small. I don’t have them anymore I gifted them all after purchasing at that price. Considering grabbing a pair again because I did love the sound they put out. That price is hard to pass up.

 

[erockg]

If I had one gripe with them it’s that they stuck out of my ears a bit further than I would have liked.

I can see that. I took off the wing tips because they fit my ears better without them.

 

[Canabuc]

As great as it seems the Fokus are, any earbuds with no ANC and ambient mode in 2022 seems to defeat the purpose for me.
At that point might as well use IEM and ear by adapter and get an even better sound and will be even less expensive.

 

[xSDMx]

As great as it seems the Fokus are, any earbuds with no ANC and ambient mode in 2022 seems to defeat the purpose for me.
At that point might as well use IEM and ear by adapter and get an even better sound and will be even less expensive.

Not only that, but, in the case of the TW2... you also still get ambient mode!

 

[jant71]

If anyone interested in getting Fokus Pro, I suggest getting what you can find now. There’s an open box at audio46. This is from Noble website:
“UNFORTUNATELY PRODUCTION OF THE FOKUS PRO HAS BEEN SUSPENDED DUE TO KNOWLES BEING UNABLE TO SUPPLY THE BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS NEEDED FOR THE FOKUS PRO. THE KNOWLES FACTORY THAT PRODUCES THE REQUIRED DRIVERS WAS DAMAGED BY A SUPER TYPHOON IN THE PHILLIPINES. WE EXPECT THAT PRODUCTION SHOULD RESUME IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH OF 2022, BUT THAT WILL OF COURSE DEPEND ON KNOWLES.”

Tell them to stop whining and just get some Sonion instead.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Tell them to stop whining and just get some Sonion instead.

Right! There are other options

 

[erockg]

As great as it seems the Fokus are, any earbuds with no ANC and ambient mode in 2022 seems to defeat the purpose for me.
At that point might as well use IEM and ear by adapter and get an even better sound and will be even less expensive.

Funny though, all I seem to be listening to this week are earbuds with no ANC and Ambient! The NFPs are special, but mine are collecting some dust for a week +. Maybe the market/demand for them will rise and I can make a nice profit?

 

[erockg]

Funny though, all I seem to be listening to this week are earbuds with no ANC and Ambient! The NFPs are special, but mine are collecting some dust for a week +. Maybe the market/demand for them will rise and I can make a nice profit?

Oddly enough, I put the Noble Fokus Pro tips on the Mangrid Tea with the KZ AZ09 Pro and I'm good. Good stuff. The KZ adapters are so effin tiny. It's like wearing nothing at all. Hey now.

 

[tinyman392]

As great as it seems the Fokus are, any earbuds with no ANC and ambient mode in 2022 seems to defeat the purpose for me.
At that point might as well use IEM and ear by adapter and get an even better sound and will be even less expensive.

I think we had a debate about this before regarding TWS with no additional features besides TWS. It move more funding towards generating a better sounding IEM since it doesn't need additional bells and whistles. Think of it like buying a performance version of a car, a lot of the time you end up sacrificing luxuries to get said performance. However, for a similar price, you can get all the luxuries and the minimal performance needed. Then you can enter the space where you are given both (which would be the luxury performance segment) where you pay an arm and a leg to get the best audio quality and all the bells and whistles with it. This segment tends to be super pricey though (to the point where people will complain).

 

[erockg]

I think we had a debate about this before regarding TWS with no additional features besides TWS. It move more funding towards generating a better sounding IEM since it doesn't need additional bells and whistles. Think of it like buying a performance version of a car, a lot of the time you end up sacrificing luxuries to get said performance. However, for a similar price, you can get all the luxuries and the minimal performance needed. Then you can enter the space where you are given both (which would be the luxury performance segment) where you pay an arm and a leg to get the best audio quality and all the bells and whistles with it. This segment tends to be super pricey though (to the point where people will complain).

What he said

 

[dmphile]

Fiio FH5, TRI I3 pro, fiio fd5 if you can find a sale, Kato, Hana 2021, Tanchjim Oxygen (big brother to Hana), final audio e5000 (harder to drive), ikko oh10. These are a start, there is a bunch more but I don't want to throw too many at you and of course what @erockg said...Mangird Tea if you can go higher. I'd check some reviews as all of these have plenty of reviews out there

Thanks for the list. If only I could take the treble down a few notches on the Timeless, it would be perfect. The sound is so detailed and clinical that it gives me goose bumps on certain tracks but on others it becomes too harsh. Anyhow, I pulled the trigger on the OH10's and cancelled my Aria's. lol I may consider the Mangird Tea if OH10's do not satisfy. This forum is bad for my wallet.

 

[guitarizt]

These had gone back up to regular price but are now back on sale for an insane price IMO: https://www.akg.com/Headphones/Earb...1&sfmc_id=3202334&utm_id=463669et_rid=3202334

Ha, beat me to it! Also on sale at harmanaudio.com, same price and same free shipping. Idk if there's a diff between the two sites.

 

[erockg]

Ha, beat me to it! Also on sale at harmanaudio.com, same price and same free shipping. Idk if there's a diff between the two sites.

Yeah, same company. Samsung owns Harman & AKG.

 

[Tommy C]

As great as it seems the Fokus are, any earbuds with no ANC and ambient mode in 2022 seems to defeat the purpose for me.
At that point might as well use IEM and ear by adapter and get an even better sound and will be even less expensive.

The Sennheiser CX 400BT are like that and I really enjoy their sound but they lack features. They have mellow, spacious signature with very balanced sound but with that being said they are friction of the price. Bought them at Shoppers as I had plenty of reward points and they were like $70 USD and they have multipoint-ish so you can toggle connections from the app which is very user friendly with multiple devices and work well.

 

[Ceeluh7]

Thanks for the list. If only I could take the treble down a few notches on the Timeless, it would be perfect. The sound is so detailed and clinical that it gives me goose bumps on certain tracks but on others it becomes too harsh. Anyhow, I pulled the trigger on the OH10's and cancelled my Aria's. lol I may consider the Mangird Tea if OH10's do not satisfy. This forum is bad for my wallet.

This hobby is bad for your wallet. Did you check out reviews on the oh10. It is a legend set for sure. I think you made a great purchase.... Let's hope you think you've made a great purchase. It's good to start a bit lower and work your way up. The thing is more money does not quantify to better all the time. In fact sub 350 I don't think it matters as much so long as you keep the price respectably close. The oh10 is a fantastic set.