I had a very difficult time deciding between these and the V-Moda Zn. I was listening to both back to back, and also switching over to the Panasonic Ergofit every now and then as another point of reference. These were amazing and sounded just as good as the hype, but I ultimately chose the Zn's.
Everything you hear is true: these are ultra clear and crisp and do very well to capture voices and live music. You do hear artifacts in low quality recordings, and high quality recordings are amazing. These were clearer and crisper than the Zn's and the Ergofit. The bass was decent, and did require a "burn in", but was weaker than the Zn's, and slightly better than the Ergofit.
These were comfortable, as you have a lot of tip options to chose from. I'm unique in that my right ear is slightly larger than my left, but the options still worked out. One minor bit is that the earbuds have to be in a specific orientation to sit in your ears, but I think this may be by design as it gets cradled in the shape of the ear. One bit I did not like was the sound bleed. People next to you will be able to hear what you are listening to pretty clearly. On the other hand when you pause your music you can hear the outside without having to take the earbuds out.
The carrying case is a nice touch. Has a zipper and is a hard, and enough room for the earbuds. The Zn's case is lacking in that it is a leather pouch, doesn't add as much protection and can hardly close with the earbuds in. The Sphear case is nice.
So why did I choose the V-Moda Zn over the Focal Sphear? Sphear's potential for good sound was higher. My lossless collection of acoustic music and live concerts was amazing and better than the Zn's. However, the majority of my music is not like that, mostly mp3's of a wide variety of genres. The Sphear's had a weaker bass and revealed artifacts from lesser quality music that the Zn's smoothed over; The Sphear's felt too specialized while the Zn's felt more versatile.
I'm giving 5 stars because I believe these are perfectly engineered music devices that do what they are designed to do: produce clear, crisp, beautiful sound. I may not have kept these in the end, but that is not because these are poor devices, these just aren't what I was looking for. I was looking for a luxury daily driver, and these were fined tuned specialized track car.
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This Item  Focal Sphear S High-Definition In-ear Earphones, Black |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | -5% $71.62 Typical: $75.54 | $219.99 | $299.99 | $24.99 | $999.00 | $699.00 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
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| Quality of material | ||||||
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| Sold By | Amazon.com | Linsoul Audio | S-Waves Electronics | Final Audio USA | GRAMOPHONE | GRAMOPHONE |
| connectivity tech | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wireless, Bluetooth 5.1 Multipoint, Wired, USB-C |
| headphones form factor | In Ear | In Ear | Over Ear | In Ear | Over Ear | Over Ear |
| connector type | 3.5mm Jack | 3 5mm Jack | xlr-4 | 3.5mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack | usb-c,wireless |
| noise control | sound isolation | — | — | sound isolation | sound isolation | active noise cancellation |
| headphones jack | — | 3.5 mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack, 6.35mm Jack | 3.5 mm Jack |
| cable feature | Retractable | Detachable | Detachable | Retractable | Detachable | Without Cable |
Reviews with images
excellent soundstage, balance sound
Focal Sphear -Detailed,dynamic,bright and punchy bassBowers and wilikins C5 series 2 - detailed, laid back sound,lots of bassBang and olufsen h3 2nd gen -Detailed, high mid/vocal presence, decent bass1more Quad driver - Detailed, excellent soundstage, balance sound, clarity is the best, best sounding of the 4Sound1more Quad > B&O H3 > Focal Sphear >B&W C5ComfortB&O H3 > Focal Sphear > 1more Quad > B&W C5
Top reviews from other countries
Peter
the delivery service was excellent. The free service managed to have the product ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2016Owen Randell
An excellent product in the mid-range in-ear headphone pricepoint
Reviewed in Canada on February 29, 2016