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Focal SPIRIT PROFESSIONAL Impressions thread
Feb 19, 2014 at 10:35 AM Post #211 of 1,765
I would almost agree ^
Quote:
ballard3 said:
I'm debated between Yamaha 220 and Focal Pro. Would you please answer the following questions?
- in your opinion, which of the two reproduces vocals and piano more accurately ?
- it seems that Focal pads are glued, are 220 pads easily removable?
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for me that is a really hard one. 
 
because the yamaha still has the edge on the pro in soundstage depth and width the piano strikes can be more captivating in placement it would depend on the notes played. Both have very great tones which I think sets them apart from their competition because they are very real. A piano strike would sound equally hard on both with good decay and tone but the low midrange notes would sound better on the pro and the upper midrange notes would sound better on the yamaha. Given that the pro upper mids are not recessed I would say that the tonal balance of the pro may be a tad more accurate but the yamaha lower mids only sound recessed next to the pro and sony 7520. 
 
the 220 are really easy to come off and have more pad swapping options.
 
I am really liking both headphones and thought one would have to go very soon but I want to keep both of them now. The yamaha is holding up very nicely against the pro but the pro balance is great.
 
The yamaha would be more suitable for modern studios and the pro less so. 
 
I would tune a bass line on the pro but make sure it isnt too loud in the mix with the yamaha. Then go back on the pro and make sure it isnt too soft
 
Feb 19, 2014 at 6:53 PM Post #213 of 1,765
grizzlybeast said:
  so far and what is noticed right away:
(didnt take alpha pads off yamaha)
- I can hear the pro's have a slightly fuller lower midrange
- the pro is NOT bass light and would agree with M-13.
- the yamaha has no reason to be scared anymore though they are a lot closer than I thought they would be.
- isolation is good but not the best out there
- build feels better than yamaha
- responds to eq well for more bass
- yamaha sounds more open and spacious
- similar bass textures pro maybe a smidge tighter with less impact
- pro has more balanced highs and the balance is spot on I mean spot on!
- pro is a slightly smoother listen, yamaha a tiny bit more raw, crisp. I wouldnt want smoother than the pro. I think it is spot on in timbre. The tones of the yamaha are just as clear and awesome though.
- I clearly prefer the pro over the sony though. The sony to me had a lot of things it did better than the yamaha mainly bass resolution which basically made me just say that the sony had better resolution. But both the yamaha and the pro have better timbres and tones sounding more realistic and life like. I also did that comparison before the yamaha which needs a lotttt of burn in. The sony was burned in. The space around the pro and yamaha instruments are great. When i do a review/full write up or whatever I will be a lot more accurate in my assessments.
 
but M-13 was right in making an appreciation thread for the PRO there is tons to appreciate about it.
 
before I said the sony was more transparent than the yamaha but that was pre-burn in.
 
lastly @Dreyka is certainly not an audio professional but a good writer with great ears just a bit too expectant of perfection in aesthetics. I can immediately tell these are for the Studio and may or may not keep them in the home studio I am setting up after heading them up with the yamaha more. 
 
I can say that If I pick the yamaha it may be because they are more than good enough and the pro didnt fully win me over and I want to use the pro money for something else. Not because the yamaha is the better tool. <++++that is a forecast and self speculation...
 
The problem is that i really want the crack and hd650 or pandora hopeVI so I will see.
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Really appreciate your descriptions and comparisons, as you did with the Yamaha/Akg/Sony, very informative with a reference point that make it easier to evaluate.
Thanks
 
BTW I think that you will keep the Yammies in the end just because they perform so well for their price, plus those Alpha pads might seal the deal 
wink_face.gif
 
 
Feb 19, 2014 at 7:08 PM Post #214 of 1,765
When I first got the Spirit Pros I said there was lots of things to get excited over, but that I would probably keep the 7520. I think I said something similar like 3 days in to it after an initial smackdown between the two. Exactly about 10 days later the 7520 was up for sale. ROFL.
very_evil_smiley.gif

 
It's doing quite well sandwiched between the $1500 K812 and the $1300 Sig Pro. I use it to cleanse my ears of coloration every so often.
 
Feb 19, 2014 at 7:52 PM Post #215 of 1,765
m-13 said:
  When I first got the Spirit Pros I said there was lots of things to get excited over, but that I would probably keep the 7520. I think I said something similar like 3 days in to it after an initial smackdown between the two. Exactly about 10 days later the 7520 was up for sale. ROFL.
very_evil_smiley.gif

 
It's doing quite well sandwiched between the $1500 K812 and the $1300 Sig Pro. I use it to cleanse my ears of coloration every so often.
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well the  reason I kept the yamaha over the sony is because the bass qty and the awesome soundstage and timbre.. 
 
here it is more difficult because the yamaha and the pro have great timbres and  imaging. the pro is a little more thick in the mids. But the yamaha has some ss's and t's only a slightly bit more annoying than the pro but again the bass impact of the yamaha with the alpha pads is so satisfying. 
 
fwiw I am leaning more towards the pro as it leans more towards my ideal hd650 and the yamaha more towards a shure product. However I know a shure fan and He has both and is keeping the yamaha and getting rid of the pro. But for him comfort is a factor. 
 
I have to keep the pro though... I wont be surprised if it outlasts the yamaha because besides bass impact it is closer to my fav signature.
 
it also SMACKS KICKS AND STOPS just about every headphone I have had in balance. Its like it is truly flawless. Other things in perspective to it are just preferences.
 
This is a benchmark headphone in about everything from space, to timbre, clarity,detail.. When it first came out I was a huge skeptic but now I am a believer.
 
Feb 20, 2014 at 8:30 PM Post #218 of 1,765
I have to say I'm rather enjoying these phones and only have 30m in so far. I might want a bit more sub bass but I can live to like this. From memory, I think the spirit one had more rumble. I wonder if joker has given these a listen yet?

They completely cover my ears and feel snug/comfy so far as well...

I wonder how the measurements compare to momentum's.

I'm using a iPhone 4 BTW.
 
Feb 20, 2014 at 9:47 PM Post #220 of 1,765
More songs eaten and I feel the lows can use some impact and rumble. I don't know that these lorde songs should sound this weak in the lows but I'm not the audio engineer that mixed them.

Everything else sounds purty good but I'm a lean towards Ravens impressions[1]. Very comfy for me and a pleasant listen.

[1]
tmraven said:
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.  this headphone is still very clear for a closed-back though, and the glaze is nothing as bad as the mad dog.

-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.
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Feb 20, 2014 at 9:50 PM Post #221 of 1,765
grizzlybeast said:
they measure wayyy better than the momentum which have a huge dip in the treble.
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I found the momentum's too clouded sounding so I guess that makes sense. I also find these sound rather smooth but still just short of too smooth or mellow. The pads feel very nice but not a fan of the build/finish/materials/design.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 2:18 AM Post #222 of 1,765
So I did a smackdown between the Spirit Pro vs. Signature Pro, and as expected the Sig Pro won in every technical category, like transparency, transient response, clarity, dynamics, extension, and overall refinement etc, etc, everything you would expect from a $1300 headphone. And then I put the Sig Pro away and listened to the Spirit Pro for four hours without pause or even thinking about the Sig Pro once.
 
I think the Spirit Pro wins in its own way
biggrin.gif
. Haha. When I'm listening to the Spirit Pro I have no desire to listen to anything else.
 
In terms of tonality it's just endgame for me, songs from many genres sound just so damn spot on, just so right, music flows through such a colorless window it's orgasmic. If Focal could make a more transparent open-backed version of the Spirit Pro I'm seriously logging off Head-Fi and never coming back. The K812 is almost this, but not quite. it's balanced and linear like no other Flagship I've ever heard though and is probably the next best thing to my hypothetical Focal flagship.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 10:57 AM Post #223 of 1,765
Anyone used a Beyer DT770 AE? Looking for a general use closed headphone and wondering how the spirit pro compares to that. Seems as if this is a very detailed and flat headphone, which I do like.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 11:19 AM Post #224 of 1,765
tramtox said:
Anyone used a Beyer DT770 AE? Looking for a general use closed headphone and wondering how the spirit pro compares to that. Seems as if this is a very detailed and flat headphone, which I do like.
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The DT770 AE is an overall fun headphone with slightly recessed mids and mid-bass bloat. The only way that it bests the FSPro is in comfort. The FSPro is neutral, detailed and way more technically impressive than the DT770 AE. 
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 11:33 AM Post #225 of 1,765
m-13 said:
  So I did a smackdown between the Spirit Pro vs. Signature Pro, and as expected the Sig Pro won in every technical category, like transparency, transient response, clarity, dynamics, extension, and overall refinement etc, etc, everything you would expect from a $1300 headphone. And then I put the Sig Pro away and listened to the Spirit Pro for four hours without pause or even thinking about the Sig Pro once.
 
I think the Spirit Pro wins in its own way
biggrin.gif
. Haha. When I'm listening to the Spirit Pro I have no desire to listen to anything else.
 
In terms of tonality it's just endgame for me, songs from many genres sound just so damn spot on, just so right, music flows through such a colorless window it's orgasmic. If Focal could make a more transparent open-backed version of the Spirit Pro I'm seriously logging off Head-Fi and never coming back. The K812 is almost this, but not quite. it's balanced and linear like no other Flagship I've ever heard though and is probably the next best thing to my hypothetical Focal flagship.
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simply the best balance of any hp I have had period. I do prefer a bit more low end but it is sufficient for sure even with the hip hop i listen to. 
 
That open back thing you mention would be SICK YO. if it retained the same low end qty of the pro and was fully circumaural I would prob do the same. its been getting the most head time. 
 
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