Focal Spirit Classic & Spirit Professional – Review

Hello everybody,

I have been waiting for this for a while now. If you remember, I have been very impressed with Focal’s first headphone, the Spirit One .

From that moment on I was really curious to see what Focal will come up with next in the headphone department.

Well, the time has come, as I have both new models from Focal on my desk, the Focal Spirit Classic and Spirit Professional.

This review is dedicated to the first one, but at the end I am making a short comparison to Spirit Professional.

Both look very nice, but the Spirit Classic is something else. They have an extraordinary finish with a luxurious feel. The headband is softer, the ear cups are bigger & the clamping force is not so strong as with the spirit one, bringing the comfort to another level.

Both headphones come with a gold plated 3.5 to 6.35 jack, a 1.4 m detachable cable for phone usage that also includes a microphone and another 4 m detachable cable (spiral for Pro).

In terms of isolation both do a great job, Spirit Professional coming a little on top here as it has a better grip letting less sound getting in or out.

Listening Impressions

The tests have been done with Decware Taboo MK3, Focal Spirit One, Focal Spirit Classic, Focal Spirit Professional , Simaudio Moon 300D v2,  Burson Conductor, Audiobyte Hydra-X.

Amplification

While you could listen to them from a phone, I wouldn’t recommend it as both need more power than a normal phone can provide. FiiO E17 did a fine job with both of them, but they scaled pretty nice with Conductor and Taboo.

Mike Oldfield – Cochise

What I noticed immediately was that the soundstage was deeper and the sound was smoother. The bass has more weight and goes deeper than on the Spirit One. The treble was kind of sweet and very pleasant. Doesn’t have the same attack of Spirit One, but the sound is more refined and smooth  reminding me  of HD650.

Robbie Williams – Feel

I love the bass on the Classic. It is more detailed than on Spirit One. It also goes deeper and it’s fuller. The voice was is better textured on Classic and better extended.

Hugh Laurie – Six Cold Feet

Wow the drum is just amazing with the Classic. It really has an impressing impact showing a very strong and quality mid-bass. The sound was very pleasant and laid back. I could listen to them them for hours and hours. Again, the voice was more present  and better extended. I also loved the smooth presentation of the trumpets. Even if the plucks are more apparent on Spirit One, the extension of the chords is better with classic.

Coldplay – Sparks

Again the bass had a wonderful and sexy body. The guitar plucks have more attack and impact on the Spirit One, but the extension is better on the Classic. The bass on the Classic reminds me of LCD-2.

Infected Mushroom – Ration Shmatio

The bass on the Classic is amazing.  It knows how to hit hard and deep with excellent control and speed. Never heard a better bass in a closed headphone before.

Leonard Cohen – Here it is

I love the voices on the Classic. They have a better presence and texture. They are also better extended. Compared to it, the Spirit One leaves the impression of incomplete voices, which in the chorus were better layered and easy to distinguish.

Mozart – The Magic Flute – Overture

This headphone sounds quite good with classical music. It has a good soundstage for a closed headphone. The instruments don’t blend in the same layer as there is enough air between them.

Summary

Bass

The bass on Spirit Classic is awesome. It goes very deep, it has very good control, punch and speed. I never felt it bled into the mids like with Sennheiser Momentum for example. It gives a wonderful full sound that  reminds me of LCD-2.

Mids

The mids are very smooth and pleasant. The voices are well extended and are more present than with Focal Spirit One. I also think that the upper mids are better and don’t fade out like on it’s smaller brother. The instruments don’t have the same attack, but they have a better extension.

Treble

The treble doesn’t have the spark as on Spirit One, but I feel that it has better extension and is more balanced and linear.

Soundstage

The soundstage is bigger than on it’s little brother and I really think it is quite decent for a closed headphone.

Instrument Separation 

The instruments have enough air between them and don’t blend in the same layer. They are not as well contoured as on it’s brothers but it does a fine job.

Fast transients with exploding attack

These headphones have excellent transients with exploding attack. Sometimes I feel like the instruments , especially drums and guitars are inside the headphone.

Smooth without being slow

It also has a smooth & sweet presentation that I could listen for hours, but this doesn’t make them slow headphones.

Focal Spirit Professional small comparison

I find it very interesting that Focal launched 2 headphones that are quite different in their sound signature. The Classic doesn’t have too much of Spirit One’s signature but the Professional does,  and it sounds like a very good evolution from it, while Classic is a ramification in another direction.

The Pro version sounds more aggressive with faster transients and better attack.

The treble is more present on it, with more spark and better extension leading to a more opened sound as there is more air on top.

I feel that Classic has is fuller and deeper bass  while Pro has a stronger punch.

The male voices have a better presence and texture on Spirit Classic  while female voices are cleaner and crispier with the Spirit Professional.

Spirit Professional didn’t get the name for nothing, as it has better imaging and is better detailed.

On long listening sessions the Spirit Professional tends to get a little tiresome while with Classic I can listen for hours.

Conclusions

I always felt that Focal did a very good job with their first headphone and I expected their new products to be very good. I was not mistaken.

Both headphones are very good and I loved them both.

If I had to pick one, I think I would go with Spirit Classic as I love it’s refined and euphonic sound with deeper and fuller bass.

It has a smooth presentation reminding me of Sennheiser HD650 with added energy, extended treble and a full sound with a wonderful, deep and full bass that reminds me of LCD-2

On the other hand Spirit Professional has a more transparent and detailed sound with better imaging & treble extension.

These headphones have excellent transients with exploding attack. Sometimes I feel like the instruments , especially drums and guitars are inside the headphone.

I love the Spirit Classic so much that I couldn’t resist and I bought a pair for myself!

Focal Spirit Classic

Pros:

• Excellent, fast deep punchy bass
• Excellent transients with exploding attack and quick decays
• Smooth, detailed and very pleasant mids
• Very good extended vocals with good texture and presence
• Well extended and linear treble
• Smooth without being slow
• Good soundstage (quite bigger than Spirit One’s)
• Excellent build quality and looks
• Much more comfortable than Spirit One
• Good price for what it offers

Cons

• I think the cable is too long. What am I going to do with 4m? That cable is everywhere on my desk.

Focal Spirit Professional

Pros:

• Excellent, fast deep punchy bass with more impact than Classic but less body
• Very detailed
• Good transparency
• Excellent transients with exploding attack and quick decays
• Good clean female voices
• Better imaging than Classic
• More present treble with more spark and better extension
• Bigger soundstage than both it’s brothers
• Good build quality
• Ergonomic cable
• Good price for what it offers

Cons

• Can get a little tiresome after a while

Both of them have worked their way up in the top of my closed headphones department.