A byword in the home and automotive audio industry, Focal of France entered the local market last year with its line of earphones, headphones and home audio systems. The earphones and headphones reflect the company’s core values that combine technological innovation, audio excellence and quality that has made the brand a benchmark in the audio industry.
With production based in Focal’s state-of-the-art lab in Saint-Etienne, France, the Listen, like its iconic Sphear, Spirit One S, Spirit Classic and Spirit Professional siblings, is the result of a risky challenge: to offer an audio experience worthy of the brand’s high-fidelity loudspeakers through these lines of premium headphones. Focal design and audio engineers crafted the line of new audio products to individually meet the requirements of the target market. Thankfully, the products deliver—and then some.
Who “Listens?”
Focal’s Listen headphones are ideal for the discerning on-the-go music lover. These headphones provide impressive noise isolation while delivering superb audio quality even in environments with varying ambient noise (i.e. in a hushed airplane cabin or in a noisy airport departure area).
Tech-laden design and proven performance
The Listen boasts Mylar/Titanium drivers to create immersive sound with sparkling crystal-clear highs, energetic and soulful mids, and tight, full bass. It’s not positioned for the fun, youthful “tugz, tugz” market but more for a mature and more discriminating audience. Yet the bass kick is surprisingly deep when listening to tracks with powerful drumbeats. It’s also lightweight, which makes it heaven-sent when you want to bring it along to tune out from a noisy MRT ride or a talkative Uber driver sharing too much information.
VERDICT
A worthy addition to the growing number of premium hi-fi headphones on the market. And an excellent choice if you want to stand out from those who use more “common” high-end headphones.
