Welcome, Nutter! Feel free to stop by our new members thread and make a proper introduction. http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1784.264.html

Since this thread has been bumped, I'll give a small update: I still love these phones. Since I wrote them up I purchased the Senn HD600. They're great but I live in a fairly noisy environment which means the times where I can truly enjoy an open headphone are somewhat limited. The 600 definitely has the edge in treble, air, "outside-the-head" soundstage and overall natural or effortless presentation. However, the Focal is always in my work bag and I use it all the time to listen to my students' work, or Spotify or a podcast. They sound perfectly adequate out of my iPhone's headphone jack but when hooked up to my Geek Out 1000 they really sing. One area where they really trump the 600 is in the slam of the bass. I generally find them more satisfying than the HD600 when it comes to electronic music or hip-hop with a lot of bass content. In summary, they manage to be neutral but still "fun" - an easy, nonfatiguing listen that still provides enough detail and information for analytical or critical listening. Add in the fact that they fold up, are easy to drive and are closed and you have a really excellent general purpose headphone.