Focal Lensys

[yrstruly]

Thanks! Have you heard the Azurys for comparison? Do you hear any metallic timbre?

I’ve heard the Azurys and personally prefer the Lensys - it’s more insightful, accurate and balanced but if you want a warmer tuning with fuller vocals and dulled treble then go for Azurys.

I can understand the timbre comment somewhat - when I first heard the Lensys it was on a very revealing chain that accentuated the treble and I got some sibilance and harshness, but on my current desktop set up timbre sounds fairly natural *for a Focal* (I add this caveat as some people find Focals to have a “metallic” timbre in general). It does lean more analytical than the Radiance and Celestee and is less forgiving of poor recordings - bear in mind it’s intended to be used for professional monitoring - but with that said there’s a subtle and satisfying bass boost too to add a slight hint of fun.

 

[therealkey]

I am curious how these would stack up against the similarly priced Aeon Noire X. I recently just acquired my Lensys and pair it with my Hilo. Great stuff!

 

[spruce]

I’ve heard the Azurys and personally prefer the Lensys - it’s more insightful, accurate and balanced but if you want a warmer tuning with fuller vocals and dulled treble then go for Azurys.

I can understand the timbre comment somewhat - when I first heard the Lensys it was on a very revealing chain that accentuated the treble and I got some sibilance and harshness, but on my current desktop set up timbre sounds fairly natural *for a Focal* (I add this caveat as some people find Focals to have a “metallic” timbre in general). It does lean more analytical than the Radiance and Celestee and is less forgiving of poor recordings - bear in mind it’s intended to be used for professional monitoring - but with that said there’s a subtle and satisfying bass boost too to add a slight hint of fun.

I generally prefer a warmer tuning with fuller vocals and dulled treble but do enjoy reference tunings occasionally as well. I think if this headphone is possibly overlooked, it may be partially due to a lack of prominent reviews.

 

[yrstruly]

I generally prefer a warmer tuning with fuller vocals and dulled treble but do enjoy reference tunings occasionally as well. I think if this headphone is possibly overlooked, it may be partially due to a lack of prominent reviews.

Yes and part of the reason for the lack of prominent reviews is (so far as I understand) it’s being sold by Focals pro division not consumer division and isn’t being marketed in the way Azurys and other Focals have been.

 

[spruce]

I’ve heard the Azurys and personally prefer the Lensys - it’s more insightful, accurate and balanced but if you want a warmer tuning with fuller vocals and dulled treble then go for Azurys.

I can understand the timbre comment somewhat - when I first heard the Lensys it was on a very revealing chain that accentuated the treble and I got some sibilance and harshness, but on my current desktop set up timbre sounds fairly natural *for a Focal* (I add this caveat as some people find Focals to have a “metallic” timbre in general). It does lean more analytical than the Radiance and Celestee and is less forgiving of poor recordings - bear in mind it’s intended to be used for professional monitoring - but with that said there’s a subtle and satisfying bass boost too to add a slight hint of fun.

I see you also have the Bokeh Closed. How would you generally compare these around timbre and performance as I've heard some good things about the Bokeh but also more expensive...

 

[yrstruly]

I see you also have the Bokeh Closed. How would you generally compare these around timbre and performance as I've heard some good things about the Bokeh but also more expensive...

Sound-wise they are polar opposites and would make a good complementary pairing. Lensys is analytical, a monitoring tool. Bokeh is musical and definitely wins in terms of timbre being lifelike and emotional engagement. Bokeh has much bigger image size and more fleshed out, engaging mids. Worth noting the Lensys is much lighter and is genuinely portable, whereas Bokeh is pretty bulky (more "transportable" than portable).

 

[spruce]

Sound-wise they are polar opposites and would make a good complementary pairing. Lensys is analytical, a monitoring tool. Bokeh is musical and definitely wins in terms of timbre being lifelike and emotional engagement. Bokeh has much bigger image size and more fleshed out, engaging mids. Worth noting the Lensys is much lighter and is genuinely portable, whereas Bokeh is pretty bulky (more "transportable" than portable).

Thanks! I'm a real sucker for musicality and good timbre, although I also appreciate the Focal house sound, and may hold off and invest in the Bokeh closed. Seems like the Bokeh open may not necessarily be as good from what I'm reading, but of course opinions will naturally differ.

 

[yrstruly]

Thanks! I'm a real sucker for musicality and good timbre, although I also appreciate the Focal house sound, and may hold off and invest in the Bokeh closed. Seems like the Bokeh open may not necessarily be as good from what I'm reading, but of course opinions will naturally differ.

Tbh the Lensys isn't that much in line with the typical Focal house sound. It's quite a unique offering from them. But sound-wise I reckon the Bokeh could be the one for you.

 

[spruce]

Really appreciate your responses! I always find it’s hard to get accurate information about ZMF headphones due to so many ZMF fans, especially on those threads. Any thoughts on weaknesses of the Bokeh closed, as of course there are no perfect headphones! I saw one review where they did mention slight timbre issues, but that was only one person.

 

[spruce]

Tbh the Lensys isn't that much in line with the typical Focal house sound. It's quite a unique offering from them. But sound-wise I reckon the Bokeh could be the one for you.

Got the Lynses today, and with my first very early impressions, agree that they sound better than the Azurys by a good margin to my ears but the Hadenys will most likely remain my favorite of the three also by a good margin. I assume it’s the tonal balance that has me preferring the Lensys over the Azurys, I’m assuming they sound more accurate, smooth and balanced/proper to my ears. Although they are more reference, I do hear some nice bass/warmth down low and find them perfectly enjoyable for casual listening when I want to hear the music without significant enhancement. They fit my use case perfectly, which is listening to music on long walks. I personally do not hear any metallic timbre on any of these which I’ve noticed on my Focal Clears. No, it’s not the “house sound” of the Elex for example but these still have some of that Focal punch that I enjoy. As I’ve said and heard elsewhere it’s somewhat reminiscent of the Sennheiser and the typical Focal house sound combined.

 

[aid idealismus]

I am also interested in comparison with dt 1990, which I have. I wanted to get Clear mg, but many reviews about them being dark put me off. Has anyone had a comparison of lensys and clear?

 

[Liberte]

I am also interested in comparison with dt 1990, which I have. I wanted to get Clear mg, but many reviews about them being dark put me off. Has anyone had a comparison of lensys and clear?

I owned the Clear MG for a short while and they were a lot darker compared to the DT1990.

Hopefully we see some reviews and measurements for the Lensys soon. I don't however think they'll be anywhere the darkness of the Clear MG as they're studio/reference tuning, although the Clear MG Pro are apparently exactly the same as the MGs so you never know.

I'm currently tempted by the Hadenys as can keep using open backs for a while, I'm just not sure how good they will be for studio use so perhaps the Lensys will be more suitable and future proof due to being closed.

 

[aid idealismus]

Got the Lynses today, and with my first very early impressions, agree that they sound better than the Azurys by a good margin to my ears but the Hadenys will most likely remain my favorite of the three also by a good margin. I assume it’s the tonal balance that has me preferring the Lensys over the Azurys, I’m assuming they sound more accurate, smooth and balanced/proper to my ears. Although they are more reference, I do hear some nice bass/warmth down low and find them perfectly enjoyable for casual listening when I want to hear the music without significant enhancement. They fit my use case perfectly, which is listening to music on long walks. I personally do not hear any metallic timbre on any of these which I’ve noticed on my Focal Clears. No, it’s not the “house sound” of the Elex for example but these still have some of that Focal punch that I enjoy. As I’ve said and heard elsewhere it’s somewhat reminiscent of the Sennheiser and the typical Focal house sound combined.

How would you compare treble on lensys vs clear? In which of them do they predominate more?

 

[menacing]

Got the Lynses today, and with my first very early impressions, agree that they sound better than the Azurys by a good margin to my ears but the Hadenys will most likely remain my favorite of the three also by a good margin. I assume it’s the tonal balance that has me preferring the Lensys over the Azurys, I’m assuming they sound more accurate, smooth and balanced/proper to my ears. Although they are more reference, I do hear some nice bass/warmth down low and find them perfectly enjoyable for casual listening when I want to hear the music without significant enhancement. They fit my use case perfectly, which is listening to music on long walks. I personally do not hear any metallic timbre on any of these which I’ve noticed on my Focal Clears. No, it’s not the “house sound” of the Elex for example but these still have some of that Focal punch that I enjoy. As I’ve said and heard elsewhere it’s somewhat reminiscent of the Sennheiser and the typical Focal house sound combined.

I've been testing out the Lensys and can agree that while they are more reference-esque, they still retain a lot of the "fun" factor that Azurys provides (also they respond very well to EQ - added a bit more to the bass shelf and it's been fun listening).

 

[aid idealismus]

Ordered lensys. Will compare with dt 1990 soon.