Mid-fi Shootout - HD600 - HD598 - Focal Spirit One - Philips Fidelio L1
Mar 21, 2012 at 12:45 AM Post #46 of 68

Focal has stated that this headphone was aimed at a more general consumer audience, and that they will building more upscale models.
 
Here's the quote posted in a review on 6moons:
Focal's Pierre Maillard: "We are launching our first headphone set. It is a consumer-oriented model. It includes a remote for the iPhone. The retail will be €199. All of the design and tuning work took place at Saint-Etienne in France like all Focal speakers. The product itself is being manufactured in China. The Spirit One is the first of a whole new line of headphones. It's notjust another one-shot deal because all manufacturers do that now. Neither is it an off-the-shelf Chinese headphone with a Focal logo stuck on. We kick off our new line with the most affordable consumer model which will also be available in white. After that we will add audiophile and pro-audio models and move upmarket step by step (perhaps all the way to Utopia level - who knows?)."
Quote:
I doubt that a manufacturer like Focal would put out a bad headphone. Maybe the Spirit One is actually "correct" and the others are "wrong"? Nobody ever mentions tonality or musicality, it's always bass and treble. Does it feel like music or just a bass/treble/midrange delivery system?
 
Myself, I've always found that headphones that sounded great right away usually were bad in the long run, and ones that sounded "odd" initially turned out to be wonderful.
 



 
 
Mar 21, 2012 at 4:06 AM Post #47 of 68
Boxed up the Focals. They are going back. One further thing I found out last night was that the cable entry is not the best on the Focals. If you press the cord, even gently, to one side the right side speaker will cut out. This isn't done in normal use of course, but it makes me wonder about future durability of the connection.
 
Mar 21, 2012 at 9:16 AM Post #48 of 68


Quote:
Originally Posted by stuckonsound /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Here's the quote posted in a review on 6moons:
Focal's Pierre Maillard: "We are launching our first headphone set. It is a consumer-oriented model. It includes a remote for the iPhone. The retail will be €199. All of the design and tuning work took place at Saint-Etienne in France like all Focal speakers. The product itself is being manufactured in China. The Spirit One is the first of a whole new line of headphones. It's notjust another one-shot deal because all manufacturers do that now. Neither is it an off-the-shelf Chinese headphone with a Focal logo stuck on. We kick off our new line with the most affordable consumer model which will also be available in white. After that we will add audiophile and pro-audio models and move upmarket step by step (perhaps all the way to Utopia level - who knows?)."


 


"Focal Spirit Three Utopia....the worlds first $18,000 headphone. Everyone hates it but it sounds great!"
 
Anyway, since I can't get to demo the Spirit One, I'm going to wait for some of the audio mag reviews and see if there's a common thread of criticism or problem area.
 
 
Mar 29, 2012 at 6:00 AM Post #49 of 68
Great review!  I love the criteria and scoring.  Only thing I'd like to see added would be sound isolation scoring because I work in a noisey environment.  I've had some Philips Uptowns on order for awhile, but they're not due out until May.  Frustrated with the wait, I keep looking for alternatives and especially interested in L1 reviews since I assume that they're better than the Uptown's at half the price.  Very different beasts though, so I dunno.  So far the best noise isolating headphones I've heard have been the Sennheiser 280 Pro, but they're far from the best audio I've heard.  Keep looking for something better.  Thank you for the datapoints.
 
Mar 29, 2012 at 8:38 AM Post #50 of 68


Quote:
Great review!  I love the criteria and scoring.  Only thing I'd like to see added would be sound isolation scoring because I work in a noisey environment.  I've had some Philips Uptowns on order for awhile, but they're not due out until May.  Frustrated with the wait, I keep looking for alternatives and especially interested in L1 reviews since I assume that they're better than the Uptown's at half the price.  Very different beasts though, so I dunno.  So far the best noise isolating headphones I've heard have been the Sennheiser 280 Pro, but they're far from the best audio I've heard.  Keep looking for something better.  Thank you for the datapoints.



 
Unfortunately they're al open-backed except for the focals, so they wouldn't isolate at all.
 
Mar 29, 2012 at 9:42 AM Post #51 of 68
Yes, having 2 fully open, 1 semi-open and 1 fully closed headphone, I didn't think it would work to give points for isolation, but I did mention it in my review.
 
Apr 24, 2012 at 4:01 AM Post #53 of 68
I've never been diagnosed as having it. I do have many traits of Aspergers but there are several that I don't.
 
Apr 25, 2012 at 4:40 PM Post #54 of 68
I've met people with aspergers and I've met Maxvla.  I did not see any hints of social issues at all.  He's just extremely throughough and there is nothing wrong with anal attention to detail.  He is an alpha geek which I say as a compliment. 
 
Apr 25, 2012 at 9:36 PM Post #55 of 68
For what I gathered I believe Mazvla and myself are pretty similar. Thats why I asked. I don't have Aspergers, but I am bordering on a lighter autism spectrum diagnosis. I'm very logical according to tests , have pretty narrow interests and like structures and routines. If you met me the first time I doubt anyone could figure out my tendencies as I have average social skills. After being on head-fi some time now and meeting a few head-fiers I believe Aspergers is pretty prevalent around here as expected.  
 
Sorry for all the Off Topic. 
 
 
Apr 25, 2012 at 9:48 PM Post #56 of 68
No worries. Was an interesting off topic at least.
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 11:45 PM Post #57 of 68
Nice review!  I agree with the Senn ratings.  I had the HD600 for several years and liked them a lot.  Amazon had a great deal on the HD598s one day so I picked those up.  I was expecting at most a slight improvement but was blown away by how much better the HD598s sounded compared to the HD600s, even before the HD598s had been broken in fully.
 
Sep 13, 2012 at 8:43 PM Post #58 of 68
Great review, im planning on buying the hd 598 too, ive read though that they have a grainyness to the sound(some say changing the stock cable will get rid of that), have you expericenced that ? but a plus for the hd 598 is its forgiveness and its engagement in the music 
 
Sep 13, 2012 at 9:00 PM Post #59 of 68
I didn't find them grainy for the price point. Compared to high end stuff it's less smooth for sure, but still quite good. The HD598 is a great all-round can.
 
Sep 14, 2012 at 3:23 PM Post #60 of 68
Quote:
Great review, im planning on buying the hd 598 too, ive read though that they have a grainyness to the sound(some say changing the stock cable will get rid of that), have you expericenced that ? but a plus for the hd 598 is its forgiveness and its engagement in the music 

It's hardly noticeable and will certainly not distract you from the music. To me, what makes the 598 more engaging than the 600/ 650 is their vocals alongside a superior soundstage performance. Very speaker-like. Extensions are almost as good as higher end headphones, and that's pretty much the only inferior technicality. Personally I could not stand many other "hi-fi" headphones because of their treble, which is most likely boosted to render the illusion of greater detail. Think I will never bother to try out another dynamic driver can... will have to try ortho or e-stat. 
 

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