Review: Focal Spirit Classic Headphones

With roots in Saint-Etienne, France, Focal are a world-renowned audio company designing and manufacturing loudspeakers for home, car and studio use. With over 30 years of experience in the field of audio, they have an incredible breadth of knowledge for acoustics and have recently ventured into the competitive headphone industry.
The first in Focal’s trilogy of headphones was the Spirit One S, an urban headphone boasting superior comfort with a well-defined neutral signature. The next in line were the Spirit Classics, a chic portable headphone boasting a neutral and yet elegantly tuned sound profile. Completing the line-up, the Spirit Professionals were soon to follow, primarily developed for use in studio monitoring and other professional environments.
The review here will be focusing on the Focal Spirit Classic headphones, a closed-back and over-ear configuration featuring 40mm titanium/mylar transducers. At a modest price of $599 localy, the Classic shares competition with the Master & Dynamic MH40, MW60 and V-Moda Wireless Crossfade headphones. The promising features and years of company experience, however, make the Focal Classics an appealing product and one set for endurance within the crowded arena of mid-fi gear.
The Packaging
Perhaps Focal could have selected the outside colour scheme to match that of the headphones, but it is still a very professional and slick-looking package regardless.
The matte black box employs a magnetic latch which opens up to reveal the Focal Classic headphones resting on a foam insert alongside the 2 different lengths of cables (a 1.4m and 4m one).
Design & Build
The design of the Focal Classic Headphones is simply outstanding with a hot chocolate metallic finish that exudes premium finesse. The bold and chamfered edges highlight the angular design and the brushed aluminium attachments compliment the sleek bronze housings.
The sliding headband mechanism is smooth with an adequate number of placeholder positions to suit a wide variety of head shapes and sizes. I have felt that whilst adjusting the headphones on the head, the sliding mechanism did not give way too quickly nor was it too stiff to adjust. The headphone cup adjuster, however, was a bit stiff to use but there is another pivot point at the centre of the housings to allow for more of an optimal fitting. Finally, the padded headband is constructed from a leather material which ties in nicely with the colour of the metal housings.

Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
Posted in: Headphones
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