jcs Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 First video monitored and mixed with the Focal Listen (multilayer sound effects toward end of video): These headphones are so well damped it's like they have active noise cancellation. The sound is detailed, clear, with smooth highs and a wonderful sound. Super comfortable too. The Focal Listens are a fantastic upgrade ($249) from the already excellent Audio Technica ATH-M50 ($149) which is a nice upgrade from the Sony 7506 ($89). If you like the sound of the 7506 and/or ATH-M50, the Listens are worth a demo. I had not heard of Focal before, and listened to the Listens at CanJam 2017, thanks again @HockeyFan12 for the tip! (my experiences here, including with many dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic, and the $55,000 Sennheiser HE-1 headphones: https://brightland.com/w/the-best-headphones/). More reviews here: https://www.amazon.com/Focal-Listen-Closed-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B01H2NDPZY/ Focal Listen page: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones/headphones/listen/listen. Their top of the line headphones, the Utopia is $4000: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones/headphones/utopia/utopia, https://www.headamp.com/order/focal-utopia-open-back-dynamic-headphones/ The Listen headphones are designed for mobile, and also have a mic and remote button. The supplied cable is a bit short for production work, so I ordered one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LM4ON3I/ which works great. A longer cable can be used as the included cable is detachable (the UGreen brand will work as the connector housing is narrow enough). At CanJam I auditioned the Audeze LCD-X on my iPhone, then ran over and tried the Listens again on the same track- the Listens sounded much better! I'm sure the results will be different when using a high end amp, however the Listens will sound better too. The last headphones I listened to that got me this excited were Stax (which I finally ordered from Japan after the show). Written descriptions and a video mixed with them won't show you how they sound- you'll need to demo them in person. These are the kind of headphones that make you want to go through your music collection again, which I've been doing when not working on audio-related projects A+ bang for buck! jonpais, andrgl and Dan Wake 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrgl Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 7 hours ago, jcs said: First video monitored and mixed with the Focal Listen (multilayer sound effects toward end of video): These headphones are so well damped it's like they have active noise cancellation. The sound is detailed, clear, with smooth highs and a wonderful sound. Super comfortable too. The Focal Listens are a fantastic upgrade ($249) from the already excellent Audio Technica ATH-M50 ($149) which is a nice upgrade from the Sony 7506 ($89). If you like the sound of the 7506 and/or ATH-M50, the Listens are worth a demo. I had not heard of Focal before, and listened to the Listens at CanJam 2017, thanks again @HockeyFan12 for the tip! (my experiences here, including with many dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic, and the $55,000 Sennheiser HE-1 headphones: https://brightland.com/w/the-best-headphones/). More reviews here: https://www.amazon.com/Focal-Listen-Closed-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B01H2NDPZY/ Focal Listen page: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones/headphones/listen/listen. Their top of the line headphones, the Utopia is $4000: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones/headphones/utopia/utopia, https://www.headamp.com/order/focal-utopia-open-back-dynamic-headphones/ The Listen headphones are designed for mobile, and also have a mic and remote button. The supplied cable is a bit short for production work, so I ordered one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LM4ON3I/ which works great. A longer cable can be used as the included cable is detachable (the UGreen brand will work as the connector housing is narrow enough). At CanJam I auditioned the Audeze LCD-X on my iPhone, then ran over and tried the Listens again on the same track- the Listens sounded much better! I'm sure the results will be different when using a high end amp, however the Listens will sound better too. The last headphones I listened to that got me this excited were Stax (which I finally ordered from Japan after the show). Written descriptions and a video mixed with them won't show you how they sound- you'll need to demo them in person. These are the kind of headphones that make you want to go through your music collection again, which I've been doing when not working on audio-related projects A+ bang for buck! Always wanted Hi-fi monitors, never interested in doing the research tho. Ordered them just now, on sale. Hope they're as awesome as you claim. jcs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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