I don’t always do reviews on Headphones but when I do, I do try to make sure they have some sort of WOW factor to them. In fact I am usually very fussy with this type of product due to my musical background, which to put it bluntly means I will not own “run of the mill audio” be it Car, Musical Instruments or Home Audio!
Knowing how beautiful Focal’s Home and Car Audio Speakers sound I couldn’t say no to taking a set of the Focal Spirit One Headphones home to review, but first I had to unpack them and have quick look/hear.
Again lets start from the beginning, the packaging is simple but elegant which makes it appealing to the general public. However, this to myself isn’t important but to a lot of people (But not all) it is how they make on the fly decisions on purchases.
Once the box had been opened it revealed the “Deluxe, Hard Storage Case” which was a great surprise since there is not much worse than opening your suitcase or travel bag to find your Headphones have been destroyed/crushed on your commute rendering you music-less for the rest of your journey.
The “Deluxe, Hard Storage Case” is very simple in design but looks/feels as it could take a solid hit or drop (Not that I recommend you do so). The storage space inside is suffice, everything seems to have its place and you will not find it an issue/hassle to pack everything back into its original spot.
The design of the Focal Spirit One Headphones are simple, functional, strong but not too bulky. The adjustable head-strap can be adjusted to fit the largest of craniums (Like myself) at full extension to the smallest of heads when retracted, I was surprised that when fully retracted the Spirit One even fit on my three year old daughters head.
The matte black plastic (which can also come in Red and White too) blends really nice with the brushed aluminium giving it a real balanced look. The supplied cords connects to the Spirit One singularly on the left hand side which is great since it is a pet hate of mine since I’m not a fan of cluttered cables.
The Sound Quality of the Focal Spirit One Headphones out of the box were quite impressive considering I was only using them on a iDevice. Like all Audio Reviews I do I like to give the product some time to run-in, thus allowing them to show their full potential before finishing this segment of the Review. With this in mind I played the Focal Spirit One’s every night for two weeks till I was happy I could do so.
I played everything ranging from 60’s-80’s Rock, Underground Hip-Hop, Dubstep even to Bass orientated Music that have bass notes playing into the low 20Hz range. From this I got a good grasp of what the Spirit One’s could do and what they couldn’t, with this in mind playing anything in the 20Hz range isn’t something most people usually do while using Headphones.
The clarity in the higher ranges was nothing short of phenomenal, even a lot of the lower notes played nice and strong. however when playing in the 30-20Hz range they did struggle a touch but in saying that I don’t think there are many Headphones in the the market that would play that low to start off with!
Even my daughter seemed to enjoy listening to Pink Floyd on the Focal Spirit One’s, which to get her to stay still is a feat in itself. She enjoyed it so much that when I took them back to carry on Reviewing them I had a hissy-fit to deal with… So not only do they get my approval, they also get my daughters (I WANT THEM!) approval too!
What’s supplied in the box? Well usually when you buy a set of Headphones you only get them and if your lucky a cloth carry bag, Focal how ever have put a little amount of thought into it and have supplied the following below:
- Focal Spirit One Headphones
- Moulded Carry Case or “Deluxe, Hard Storage Case” as Focal put it
- Cloth Carrier Bag
- Removable Cord with remote control
- Removable Cord without remote control
- Aeroplane Connector
- 3.5mm/6.35mm Jack Adaptor
Technical Specifications
- Type: Closed back, circumaural headphones
- Impedance: 32 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 104dB SPL / 1mW @ 1kKz
- THD: <0.3% / 1kHz /100dB SPL
- Frequency Responce: 6Hz – 22kHz
- Driver: 40mm (1 9/16″) ; Mylar/Titanium
- Net Weight: 0.5lb (225g)
I feel the Focal Spirit One Headphones have great versatility due to having two different Cords and a Aeroplane Adapter supplied, this alone would allow you to use them for everything from listening to music while going for a run, recording a track at the studio/home to watching a movie while on the plane.
My overall opinion of the Focal Spirit One Headphones are that they are a great Headphone if you travel a lot due to having a very durable carry case, numerous cords and plugs and great noise cancellation. Very classy looking with a nice simple design that is still sturdy enough that you wouldn’t worry if you dropped them once or twice, beautiful sound that only increases if you listen to them on an amplified system.
Well worth the price point and the fact I still haven’t brought the Reviewed Spirit One’s back to the office says something in itself!