If you’re in the market for TWS convenience, but unwilling to compromise on sound quality, you’re left with the question: how much are you willing to compromise on everything else? Peak sound quality can cost $600 or more, without delivering ANC or other features at the level of less expensive consumer models, while many mid-tier TWS options don’t come anywhere close to wired IEM quality, and also can’t match the features on popular brands. Noble Osprey aims to end your dilemma by focusing on sound quality, while also executing on core features. But is this too tall an order for $200 earbuds to accomplish?
Build and Design
Like Noble’s other TWS options, Osprey looks like a wired IEM, just minus the wires. It features a metal shell with a ceramic faceplate, with a level of build quality and visual design that matches up with Noble’s more expensive offerings like Rex5 and Amadeus. The case is also a similar metal, cuboid shape as Noble’s other cases. Noble includes a charge cable, a carrying bag, and a nice selection of eartips. The case can be somewhat finicky as to whether or not it will close or charge properly with standard IEM eartips, so having a large selection of ones that are guaranteed to work is nice. Internally, Osprey is a two driver hybrid: 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature.
Comfort is also similar to Noble’s other TWS with a fit similar to wired IEMs. The only potential comfort issue is that you can lose a little bit of security for lack of a cable with a heavier shell in this type of design. Typically though with the right eartips, you'll get a stable secure seal and fit which will stay in your ears through moderate activity levels. The nozzles are on the larger side, but not as large as some previous Noble models, which could be extremely difficult to get eartips onto.
Using Osprey
Osprey includes most of the standard wireless TWS features along with an app to manage and control its functions. The ANC and Transparency modes work well, with solid performance in most situations, even if they aren’t exceptionally strong for use in environments like on an airplane or public transit. Call quality is solid, but Osprey doesn’t feature strong noise cancelling on the mic, so the outgoing quality can be degraded in noisy spaces. Multipoint connections work reliably enough, allowing you to connect to more than one device at a time, and the touch controls are about average.
The included app provides controls for the ANC and Transparency modes, along with a 10-band EQ and an array of presets. The app also provides a hearing test designed to build a baseline EQ based on how well you hear each frequency. The hearing test works well, compared to similar features I’ve used, and gave me a profile that improved my listening experience compared to the default.
Sound
Osprey has some of the best sound ever delivered in a TWS. Out of the box, there’s a good balance that leans towards a Harmon tuning, with good bass impact, a nice soundstage, and strong detail. With EQ options, Osprey can deliver deep bass extension and airy highs as well. Using higher resolution Bluetooth codecs like LDAC or aptX reveals a level of detail and technical performance that would be impressive for any hybrid IEM in this price range.
Osprey’s EQ system and its ability to handle a wide range of tunings is also impressive. Elevating the subbass delivers rumble and texture, while in the upper regions, you get excellent microdynamics and air in the sound. With the default tuning, Osprey provides natural timbre and clear vocal presence, and vocals remain natural even as you elevate them.
Osprey’s soundstage is surprisingly spacious for a TWS, and imaging is convincing enough to create an immersive listening experience. Using EQ, you can add some air to increase that feeling of space, or enhance the clarity and separation in the imaging. Right out of the box, the sound is excellent for a TWS, and with a little bit of tuning, you can dial something truly exceptional.
Just with the default tuning, Osprey’s handling of Ryo Fukui’s deft piano playing on his rendition of Autumn Leaves is impressive, with the left hand getting a little extra body in a generally natural presentation of the piano. After the intro, the bass comes in with an enveloping warmth, alongside a weight kick drum, delivering a thick and steady groove. All of the elements are clean, with nice separation and a good sense of space on the stage, but with Osprey, you’ll find that underlying head-bobbing groove just a little more forward than the piano work.
On a track like “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, where the vocal is the most important element, Osprey does well at presenting an intimate, emotional performance. There’s a bit of color in the vocal, as it’s natural, but skews towards warmth and softness over intense detail. While there’s a bit of a bass emphasis, the rest of the band feels clean and never overtakes the vocal, though the imaging presentation is more cohesive and blended than strongly separated in the mix.
With a hard hitting rock anthem like “Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park, Osprey is right at home, delivering strong impact and punch with the driving beat and strong energy to the lead guitar. There’s just the right amount of edge to the lead guitar with enough smoothness at the top to keep it out of bright or strident territory. The rapped verses have good articulation, but the harsher vocal on the chorus is the real star on Osprey, as it’s delivered with loads of raw power and emotion.
Comparison: Noble FoKus Amadeus ($320) and Rex5 ($449)
Compared with Noble’s current TWS lineup, Osprey offers a very strong value proposition, but Noble has several other options in the line. Is Osprey good enough to make everything else obsolete, or do more expensive options like Amadeus and Rex5 still have a place in the lineup?
Amadeus comes out of the box with a warmer, more bass heavy tuning, while Rex5 delivers a little bit more detail and stronger treble. There’s also some level of technical difference, with Amadeus and Rex5 providing more tuning options through the app. Osprey can be tuned to match Amadeus very closely, but Amadeus seems capable of a little more texture and physicality in the bass. Rex5’s driver complement gives it the strongest capability in terms of treble and microdynamics in the sound.
Osprey absolutely delivers the most performance for your money, but if you’re looking specifically for a basshead TWS, that delivers both quality and quantity in the low-end, Amadeus has the edge. Likewise Osprey can match Rex5’s tuning via EQ, but it can’t quite keep up with the full range of technical prowess that Rex5 has.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking primarily for a TWS that delivers premium sound quality above all else, but don’t want to reach up into the $500 range for the best of the best, Osprey offers sound quality that exceeds every other wireless option at this level. While a number of mainstream brands might offer more features and stronger ANC, if your #1 focus is sound Osprey delivers strong enough features for general use, with unbeatable sonic performance.
