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Author Topic: Focal Spirit Professional  (Read 7316 times)

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Tyll Hertsens

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #20 on: February 02, 2014, 06:58:18 PM »
I'd say it's a little tight.
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Anaxilus

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #21 on: February 02, 2014, 08:36:29 PM »
Quote from: Tyll Hertsens on February 02, 2014, 06:58:18 PM
I'd say it's a little tight.

We still talking about headphones?
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Armaegis

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #22 on: February 02, 2014, 11:51:02 PM »
I thought we agreed not to talk about last night...
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M-13

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #23 on: February 03, 2014, 12:09:54 PM »
Man, I'm so happy to see these are getting the praise they deserve. You're awesome MuppetFace for shining a light on these! ahoy

Tyll for sure these are WoF worthy. I compared them to the HD600 tonight and they sound remarkably similar and if I had to say, I would say the Spirit Pro is even more neutral and colorless.

The way I want to describe them is the way people describe the Paradox: you hear your music without headphone artifacts.

Also the pads break in nicely after about five days of use. I massage them with my fingers to speed up the process and they're a lot softer now. My ears do fit inside, barely and I find the comfort much improved and very acceptable for up to 2~3 hours at a time now.
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TMRaven

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #24 on: February 14, 2014, 09:03:24 PM »
Gonna copy what I posted over at head-fi here:

Got them in a couple hours ago, first impressions (I'll put the very first of my thoughts at the top, and go down with progressive thoughts with positives or negatives):
 
 
+very good packaging and presentation.  I like the detachable cables and customly-shaped foam of the travel box.
 
+picking the headphones up and they feel nice and sturdy for the weight
 
+they look very good considering their choice of paint texture
 
-the headband doesn't inspire confidence.  the headband adjustment sliders are plastic while the angle adjusters appear to be metal.
 
-oh my god these earpad openings are small
 
+the earpads feel very nice though, and are thick
 
+these have very great timbre.  a nice, lush and warm sound without bloat throughout the lower mids and upper bass
 
+the bass is in nice balance and the upper mids are in nice balance.  it doesn't sound as disjointed as the M50
 
-the bass isn't as punchy or viscerally impactful as the he-400... not even in the same realm
 
+the bass extends real nice, solid down to the lowest octaves
 
+this is a very smooth sound with no noticeable peaks, and not that forward sounding to me unlike Tyll's opinion
 
-there seems to be a general glaze or veil over the sound compared to my EQ'd HE-400, it could be from being a closed headphone or a lack of lower treble presence or air.
 
-it lacks the dimensionality and realism of the he-400.  it also lacks some tactility which I attribute to the he-400's speed.
 
 
 
 
I really like these headphones, their sound strikes me as having a slight warm tilt, a very controlled but slightly anemic bass, and a very even sound with no harshness.  What I don't like this headphone are earpad openings that are too small, a bass that isn't as punchy as I thought it would be, and a general veil.  The overall timbre and evenness of the sound is very beautiful though, perhaps the best I've heard besides an LCD2, although this headphone doesn't make me puke at times for being too mellow like the LCD2.
 
What I'd ideally like is a headphone with a general sound signature like this, but a more impactful bass, less veil in the lower treble and bigger earpad openings.  I think I'll look into an NAD Viso HP50 instead.  IF the earpad openings were a little bigger I'd think about keeping them, otherwise the problem is too big for me to consider them.  I feel it's a big enough problem that it shouldn't garner the wall-of-fame award on Innerfidelity.  If focal fixes the small earpad openings, then they're easily wall-of-fame candidates.





So based on those remarks, would the HP50 be a good candidate for me?
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Thujone

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #25 on: February 14, 2014, 10:02:18 PM »
Seems to me like you need to mod a pair of T50RP's.
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TMRaven

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #26 on: February 14, 2014, 10:19:07 PM »
I have had extended usage of the Mad Dog 3.2.  I think it's an incredible headphone.  It had a general tinge over its entire sound that made it a bit less acoustically transparent than I would have like it to.  Maybe the Alpha Dog improved upon in that area.
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Thujone

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #27 on: February 14, 2014, 10:40:01 PM »
I'd really like to try the Mad Dog at some point. I have a couple pairs of self modded pairs and I can at least say that I spent a long time trying to tune them to the Alpha Pads with little luck.

Has anyone ever opened up a Mad Dog to see the goodies?  :)p14
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TMRaven

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #28 on: February 15, 2014, 03:01:28 AM »
I have to take back what I said a little bit about the slight veil these have.  They don't really have any.  They don't sound like they're closed.

If I could get this sound in a closed-back without the small pads, I'd have a headphone I'd keep forever.
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AustinValentine

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Re: Focal Spirit Professional
« Reply #29 on: February 15, 2014, 06:20:48 AM »
Quote from: TMRaven on February 14, 2014, 09:03:24 PM

So based on those remarks, would the HP50 be a good candidate for me?


I definitely think you're a good candidate for the HP50's. I actually found the two remarkably similar. The HP50s have a bit better treble, slightly better imaging, and slightly more bass. They sound more spacious. The Focal's are punchier and have a slightly more forward midrange. Beyond that, they sound remarkably similar.
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