[maricius]

  Which one has the best comfort and build quality, the Classic or the Professional? 

The Classic is made out of more luxurious materials and is overall comfier and softer to the head. The Professional is a bit (though noticeably) lighter with greater clamp. It's better for walking around. I personally think the Professional is more rugged and will last longer. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I have. Reading your posts, I thought you may have something to add. I recall terms like "hair splitting"! While I think I might prefer the FSP for price / SQ (and a desire to own a focal product as they do so well in other areas), the smallish ear pads and QC issues may be deal breakers. My ears are something like 3 cm by 6 cm. If anyone had a similar size could comment on the fit. I believe the Focal's were more like 4 cm X 4 cm which would make them the smallest "over ear" cans I've tried by far.

 
Just received the Focal Spirit Professional! Haven't listened to it yet. I'm going to eat and get my energy drink ready, so I'm pumped up and energized during the first listening session. I'm wearing them right now. They fit fine. The snug fit is oddly comfortable. No major comfort issues for me! Thank goodness. They are still totally over-ear. I was a little worried before buying them, since many people with larger ears have had problems. Oh, and I measured my ears. They're about the same size as yours.

 

[bixby]

  Im on the fence as far as picking up a pair of these as well.
 
But now that I know that they are almost the same as the NAD HP50s and PSB M4U1's, I am torn as far as which way to go as they all seem like a great value. I measured my ears and current phones' and think that the Focals will not fit them well. Do people consider these "on ear" phones or what?

Yes, most definitely of the "what" variety with my ears

 

[Music Alchemist]

The Focal Spirit Professional is near-perfect. No joke. Full-length review coming soon. Stay tuned...

 

[zarmony]

   
Just received the Focal Spirit Professional! Haven't listened to it yet. I'm going to eat and get my energy drink ready, so I'm pumped up and energized during the first listening session. I'm wearing them right now. They fit fine. The snug fit is oddly comfortable. No major comfort issues for me! Thank goodness. They are still totally over-ear. I was a little worried before buying them, since many people with larger ears have had problems. Oh, and I measured my ears. They're about the same size as yours.

yup i was afraid aswell of the cup size but they fit me perfectly and they are comfy. 

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Im on the fence as far as picking up a pair of these as well.

But now that I know that they are almost the same as the NAD HP50s and PSB M4U1's, I am torn as far as which way to go as they all seem like a great value. I measured my ears and current phones' and think that the Focals will not fit them well. Do people consider these "on ear" phones or what?

Neither the HP50, FSP or PSBs have the same sound. If other people have said that in reviews then I'm definitely hearing things much differently. To me the Nads are the warmest and bassiest, with somewhat weird mids maybe some hollowness to them but ok otherwise, and there's a not so subtle lower treble forwardness that probably contributes to the odd mids and the treble extension is meh,also contributing to the relatively darker sound but the upper treble is still quite detailed and refined its just not very "airy". The fit is clampy and my pair creaks quite a bit -__- but otherwise no comfort issues. The PSB got instantly returned, they have way less bass than the Nads and they sounded much brighter, thinner and definitely not as smooth. Plus as much flack as the Nads get for their looks I thought the PSB was even uglier. The FSP has the worst fit, clamps more than the NAD and smaller earpads- not a good combo. But I found the sound to be more cohesive and nowhere near as laid back as the NAD, and rather of having an out of place lower treble peak the FSP instead have edgy upper mids but the mids are clean, resolving and pretty spot on timbre wise. Another great thing that I like about the FSP is that they sound really good at lower volumes, the Nads have to be driven harder to gain dynamics, the FSP are speedier and the bass is extremely clean and goes deeeeeep. Soundtage is also much better on the FSP.

So yeah I like the FSP quite a bit more. The FSP vs HD6x0 or 7520 is another story tho. But I think the FSP is a good compromise between my HD650 and 7520.

 

[maricius]

  Im on the fence as far as picking up a pair of these as well.
 
But now that I know that they are almost the same as the NAD HP50s and PSB M4U1's, I am torn as far as which way to go as they all seem like a great value. I measured my ears and current phones' and think that the Focals will not fit them well. Do people consider these "on ear" phones or what?

If isolation nor leakage is of no concern, concern the Philips Fidelio L2. I have no experience with the PSBs. The prefer the FSP over the HP50s in terms of sound quality, comfort, isolation, and leakage. The HP50 has more space for the ear as does the L2. The L2 has sound quality better than both the FSP and the HP50. 

 

[UnityIsPower]

The Focal Spirit Professional is near-perfect. No joke. Full-length review coming soon. Stay tuned...

Looking forward to how you hear the bass.

 

[maricius]

all black everything

 

[Music Alchemist]

Neither the HP50, FSP or PSBs have the same sound. If other people have said that in reviews then I'm definitely hearing things much differently. To me the Nads are the warmest and bassiest, with somewhat weird mids maybe some hollowness to them but ok otherwise, and there's a not so subtle lower treble forwardness that probably contributes to the odd mids and the treble extension is meh,also contributing to the relatively darker sound but the upper treble is still quite detailed and refined its just not very "airy". The fit is clampy and my pair creaks quite a bit -__- but otherwise no comfort issues. The PSB got instantly returned, they have way less bass than the Nads and they sounded much brighter, thinner and definitely not as smooth. Plus as much flack as the Nads get for their looks I thought the PSB was even uglier. The FSP has the worst fit, clamps more than the NAD and smaller earpads- not a good combo. But I found the sound to be more cohesive and nowhere near as laid back as the NAD, and rather of having an out of place lower treble peak the FSP instead have edgy upper mids but the mids are clean, resolving and pretty spot on timbre wise. Another great thing that I like about the FSP is that they sound really good at lower volumes, the Nads have to be driven harder to gain dynamics, the FSP are speedier and the bass is extremely clean and goes deeeeeep. Soundtage is also much better on the FSP.

So yeah I like the FSP quite a bit more. The FSP vs HD6x0 or 7520 is another story tho. But I think the FSP is a good compromise between my HD650 and 7520.

 
What do you like about the HD 650 and MDR-7520 more? (And less.)
 

Looking forward to how you hear the bass.

 
I can sum it up for you now. The Spirit Pro is definitely not for bassheads, nor does it sound like speakers, but I still find it to be more accurate in every respect than every other headphone I've heard, with the exception of spatial imaging that open headphones naturally excel at. I would not call it bass-light; it just only produces strong bass when it's in the recording. Just yesterday, on the first day I got it, I heard everything from no bass at all to very strong bass, depending on the song played. Plenty of other headphones have heavy bass that muddies up the entire sound, including most of the musical information in the lower frequencies. This is not an issue at all with this headphone.
 
Just curious: How long did you hear it? Did you listen to a lot of music with it? Which setup was used? I'm using a Schiit Magni 2 Uber (which outputs 1.5 watts RMS per channel into 32 ohms), so it's possible that my amp helps the bass.
 
(I plan on getting the JVC HA-SZ2000 next, since that one can function as a true bass cannon when I'm in the mood for it. It essentially has a woofer and tweeter on both sides!)
 
I think once the ear pads break in, it will be even better. I noticed that on videos, voices sounded a little thin sometimes, but when I gently pushed them closer to my ears, they became slightly more natural and full-bodied.
 
Although my full-length review may end up being rather long, here are more insights I posted to the headphones for metal thread:
 

  At any rate, the Focal Spirit Professional (which I received yesterday) is by far the best thing I have ever heard. It has a very neutral tonal balance, making it sound excellent with all genres. So when the recording is dark, it sounds dark, and when the recording is bright, it sounds bright. The mids are not recessed, so guitars, etc. are really nice, but at the same time uncolored. This is crucial because many other headphones have recessed mids that are also quite colored, covering up the true music. I'm sure there are more expensive headphones that sound even better, but also know that some people like the Spirit Pro even more than many headphones that cost thousands of dollars! It's definitely one of the best values available in the headphone world, since it's just $349, doesn't even require an amp, and can be used at home or portably. Those with large ears may have comfort issues, but they fit me perfectly.

 

[MrMateoHead]

The FSP has the worst fit, clamps more than the NAD and smaller earpads- not a good combo. But I found the sound to be more cohesive and nowhere near as laid back as the NAD, and rather of having an out of place lower treble peak the FSP instead have edgy upper mids but the mids are clean, resolving and pretty spot on timbre wise. Another great thing that I like about the FSP is that they sound really good at lower volumes, the Nads have to be driven harder to gain dynamics, the FSP are speedier and the bass is extremely clean and goes deeeeeep. Soundtage is also much better on the FSP.

So yeah I like the FSP quite a bit more. The FSP vs HD6x0 or 7520 is another story tho. But I think the FSP is a good compromise between my HD650 and 7520.

 
Most of the aspect of the sound, from speed to extension to neutrality appeal to me - I am guessing that I would prefer them SQ-wise well. The lack of comfort is a possible issue. I like to wear for long periods. I too would be curious to know what about the Sennheiser and what about the Sony you find to compliment / fall short on compared to the FSPs. The FSP would be my first closed phones in a real long time. Certainly the Sony's are not on my list as I have spent $400 on phones' before and would rather spend the $250-$300 range or less.
 

 
If isolation nor leakage is of no concern, concern the Philips Fidelio L2. I have no experience with the PSBs. The prefer the FSP over the HP50s in terms of sound quality, comfort, isolation, and leakage. The HP50 has more space for the ear as does the L2. The L2 has sound quality better than both the FSP and the HP50. 

Never hear of the L2s. Not sure I am as interested in phones with cell phone features built in. Isolation and leakage are not a top priority - only comfort and SQ. On that note the X2s might be a consideration if they were clearly superior to the FSPs. If it is superior, I'd like to know in what ways.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Most of the aspect of the sound, from speed to extension to neutrality appeal to me - I am guessing that I would prefer them SQ-wise well. The lack of comfort is a possible issue. I like to wear for long periods. I too would be curious to know what about the Sennheiser and what about the Sony you find to compliment / fall short on compared to the FSPs. The FSP would be my first closed phones in a real long time. Certainly the Sony's are not on my list as I have spent $400 on phones' before and would rather spend the $250-$300 range or less.
 
Never hear of the L2s. Not sure I am as interested in phones with cell phone features built in. Isolation and leakage are not a top priority - only comfort and SQ. On that note the X2s might be a consideration if they were clearly superior to the FSPs. If it is superior, I'd like to know in what ways.

 
Like I mentioned, my ears are about the same size as yours and the ear cups totally surround my ears. The only issue is when I'm wearing my glasses and the frames are pushed up against my ears. (That's pretty painful.) I just move the frames up and above the ear cups, which alleviates that problem and only slightly obscures my vision.
 
I can't say how the FSP sounds compared to those from direct experience, but based on my own research, I went for the Focal. I think the only thing it lacks is the effortless airiness of open headphones. Aside from that, it sounds far superior to every other headphone I've heard.

 

[Music Alchemist]

@UnityIsPower
 
If you heard my system right now, you would have no doubt that the Spirit Pro has plennnty of bass!

 
I could probably get it to basshead levels if I bothered with EQ, but honestly, it's sufficient as-is.

 

[UnityIsPower]

I used an iPhone 4 and had them for 2-3 days. Someone here said they are similar to the spirit one in bass but that HP gave this song thunderous sub bass that the pros I tried notacibly lacked. Whatever the song is suppose to sound like being beside the point, they weren't similar in my audition.

Song:

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/aHjpOzsQ9YI[/VIDEO]

I won the spirit one I tried at Inner Fidelity BTW.

Some more music I tried,
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/nlcIKh6sBtc[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/lh4brL7PC2E[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/LDbFR3kqGk8[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/84q70YHwOsc[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/8jL2DPylmhE[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/GO-s6IxxFoY[/VIDEO]

I tried a schiit amp during a meet and it gave my ASG 2 more sub bass?

 

[Music Alchemist]

I used an iPhone 4 and had them for 2-3 days. Someone here said they are similar to the spirit one in bass but that HP gave this song thunderous sub bass that the pros I tried notacibly lacked. Whatever the song is suppose to sound like being beside the point, they weren't similar in my audition.

I tried a schiit amp during a meet and it gave my ASG 2 more sub bass?

 
Well, of course. Different headphones certainly sound different. My own strategy is to just have an audiophile headphone, then a basshead headphone for when I want stronger bass. With lots of rock and metal music I've been listening to for the past day (I tried all the other genres I could as well), it has about as much bass as I would want. For some electronic music, I often want more bass than is in the actual recording.