[LNuneek]

No problems with mine at all.

That's good to hear! How long have you had them, and about how much time do you spend using them per day?

 

[remilio]

  No problems with mine at all.

Pads of mine are OK too - cracks are only at the headband 

 

[LNuneek]

I e-mailed Focal. They plain & simple said that the rumour of replacement ear pads is totally wrong. The ONLY replacements they are going to have is for the cables.

I also enquired about whether or not the cracking headband issue has been remedied and they didn't give me a direct answer. They said that the headband cracking issue represents just a small number of sales. Also not to confuse the FSP with the FSO or FSOP, and that the FSO has been discontinued a year ago due to too many problems.

Just thought I'd pass along the info.

 

[dL.]

My oh my, this is the best discovery ever. Thanks to @HiFiGuy528 
 
The FSP is the most neutral yet musical headphone I've ever heard. Normally there's something I can complain about the sound (i.e. too dark, too bright, too distant, too harsh, too cold, too detailed, etc.) I can't find anything to complain about the FSP in the sound department. The sound is simply perfect, and for a neutral can they sound very musical!
 
If only the build quality and comfort is improved, then this is seriously the one and only headphone I'll ever need to use.
 
Pairing this with the Woo Audio WA7 + WA7TP is an absolute dream.
 
dL

 

[Music Alchemist]

  My oh my, this is the best discovery ever. Thanks to @HiFiGuy528 
 
The FSP is the most neutral yet musical headphone I've ever heard. Normally there's something I can complain about the sound (i.e. too dark, too bright, too distant, too harsh, too cold, too detailed, etc.) I can't find anything to complain about the FSP in the sound department. The sound is simply perfect, and for a neutral can they sound very musical!
 
If only the build quality and comfort is improved, then this is seriously the one and only headphone I'll ever need to use.
 
Pairing this with the Woo Audio WA7 + WA7TP is an absolute dream.
 
dL

 
I agree for the most part, except I really wish it was open! Open-backed headphones easily surpass it in terms of spaciousness, imaging, effortlessness, and naturalness in some respects. I really want to get the HD 800 to compare to.

 

[remilio]

   
I agree for the most part, except I really wish it was open! Open-backed headphones easily surpass it in terms of spaciousness, imaging, effortlessness, and naturalness in some respects. I really want to get the HD 800 to compare to.

To build an open headphone is the whole different thing than to build a closed one, so it's not very fair to compare. BTW, these Focals can  even beat open headphones in ther price range, but comparing them to HD800... No chance - Senns just destroy them in terms of overall sound quality (It does this with pretty much every headphone under 1000$). The best way out is to own both, like I do

 

[Music Alchemist]

  To build an open headphone is the whole different thing than to build a closed one, so it's not very fair to compare. BTW, these Focals can  even beat open headphones in ther price range, but comparing them to HD800... No chance - Senns just destroy them in terms of overall sound quality (It does this with pretty much every headphone under 1000$). The best way out is to own both, like I do

 
They can beat many headphones in most areas, but not in the areas I listed that open headphones excel at, but the Focals can barely do at all, since they're closed. Even open headphones under $100 get the whole "spacious imaging and natural follow-through of notes" thing right, whereas the Focal feels much more closed-in. But yeah, I want the HD 800. Kind of tempted to get the entry-level STAX too.

 

[maricius]

   
They can beat many headphones in most areas, but not in the areas I listed that open headphones excel at, but the Focals can barely do at all, since they're closed. Even open headphones under $100 get the whole "spacious imaging and natural follow-through of notes" thing right, whereas the Focal feels much more closed-in. But yeah, I want the HD 800. Kind of tempted to get the entry-level STAX too.

I'm treading the planar route. You'd be amazed at how near closed planars get to sounding like open back headphones. They're no HD800 but they're deceivingly open. 

 

[musicman59]

That's good to hear! How long have you had them, and about how much time do you spend using them per day?

It is probably around a year and I use them at least 5 times a week while falling asleep in bed driven by a Violectric V200.

 

[Music Alchemist]

My friend @miceblue was kind enough to create this for me. Thought I'd share it.
 

 
(In case you hadn't guessed, these measurements are for the Focal Spirit Professional.)

 

[R0blo]

I have the FSC paired with a Burson Conductor es9018 and i really enjoy this combo.  I also have the Ultrasone 780, HD598 and Westone W3 and they dont get the amount of play the FSC does.
One thing i would like to share is that the FSC EQs like a champ, Its like it was purposely built with EQing in mind. They sound fantastic. Im thinking about getting the FSP or the HD650 to compare, but im in no rush 

 

 

[LNuneek]

  My friend @miceblue was kind enough to create this for me. Thought I'd share it.
 

 
(In case you hadn't guessed, these measurements are for the Focal Spirit Professional.)

I'm not too accustomed to reading and interpreting these graphs. What do the pink, blue, and faded grey lines indicate?

 

[maricius]

  I'm not too accustomed to reading and interpreting these graphs. What do the pink, blue, and faded grey lines indicate?

Red is right channel and blue is for left (I think). As noted, the top are averaged from the raw data measurements below and compensated as sound perceived by humans are different from uncompensated measurements (below) as the structure of the human ear alters the sound a bit from what measuring instruments would measure. The raw data below is from moving the headphone around in 5 different positions on the measuring apparatus to factor in seal, fit, and positioning as we probably all wear headphones slightly differently in terms of angle or what other positioning variation. Then as mentioned earlier, the data is averaged and is compensated for easier interpretation. Cheers

 

[Music Alchemist]

I am on a mission to make my Focal Spirit Professional as close to neutral as possible, using the instructions in these threads:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587703/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial-part-2
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress
 
It will require some effort, though, so in the meantime...does anyone have recommended parametric equalizer settings for the FSP?
 
(I tried looking at that graph I posted and guessing at things, but it ended up sounding terrible with the settings I used.)

 

[bixby]

  I am on a mission to make my Focal Spirit Professional as close to neutral as possible, using the instructions in these threads:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587703/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial-part-2
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress
 
It will require some effort, though, so in the meantime...does anyone have recommended parametric equalizer settings for the FSP?
 
(I tried looking at that graph I posted and guessing at things, but it ended up sounding terrible with the settings I used.)

I used a similar technique detailed on my blog HERE
 
You don't need to use the ios app in the article of course but the sinegen app worked well for me to identify potential correction areas.  My only advice would be to use as little eq as possible to get you close to the sound you desire.  Trust your ears.