Focal Lensys Professional

The features

First of all, I can confirm that this product, which is priced lower than the Focal Clear Mg Professional (reviewed here), is just as robust, of the same high quality and has a decorative, modern design. The construction consists of a padded, length-adjustable aluminium headband and swivel and tilt ear cups with comfortable memory foam padding and a breathable fabric cover. Two interchangeable single-sided cables are supplied, terminating in a 3.5mm jack plug and can be supplemented with a 6.3mm screw-on adapter (included). A carrying pouch is included to protect the headphones during transport.

The design

The Focal Lensys Professional is designed and manufactured in France. At the heart of the system is a proprietary, patented 40mm dynamic driver with an aluminium/magnesium diaphragm and an M-shaped dome, designed to deliver precise, linear sound reproduction. Aluminium is used for strength and magnesium for damping.

The drivers have been angled in the earcups to follow the ergonomics of the ears, which Focal says should improve stereo reproduction and also allow extended bass reproduction, which the Lensys Professional does indeed have in abundance. A quick aside: the Focal Lensys Professional seems to be the studio version of the Focal Azurys, which I was not able to test.

In practice

The Focal Lensys Professional is designed as a tool for sound and music production. It is suitable for evaluating mixes and recordings and, thanks to its closed design, can be used in the recording room as well as for mobile applications. With its advanced driver technology, it is also designed to meet high standards of sound reproduction.

I can describe the wearing comfort as high. The Focal Lensys Professional sits securely and comfortably. The memory foam pads fit snugly over the ears. At around 300 grams, the construction feels pleasantly light – a good prerequisite for long recording sessions and mixes. In my case, however, they did start to press a little too hard on my ears after a while, but that is the case with most over-ear models.

Sound quality

For a list price of 699 euros, you can expect a lot. First of all, the passive isolation is impressive and provides a good seal against external noise. Conversely, the outside world is also spared from leakage noise, which is essential in a recording room, for example. I used the RME ADI-2 Pro FS R (reviewed here) and the portable Shanling M3X as players, both of which did an excellent job.

The direction is clear from the first piano chords of Robbie Williams’ chart-topper ‘Feel’: a warm sound, lots of detail and a black bass range. It’s always nice to suddenly see the daily listening impressions of compact, wireless in-ears in a three-dimensional, glossy version and to be able to reorientate your sound reference.

My favourite reference song, the Celestion Echo by Boris Blank and Malia, is also a direct challenge for the Focal Lensys Professional. The bass of the headphones goes down deep without losing its contour or overpowering other frequency ranges. Malia’s voice is also intimate, detailed, clean and perfectly integrated into the mix. The test unit performs well in the time domain, immediately revealing any doubling of the vocal recording to the listener.

The treble is open and fast, without any harshness. Thanks to its speed, the Focal Lensys Professional also reproduces the artificially created space and the remarkable panorama of this production.

The headphones also deliver an impressive dynamic performance of Holly Cole’s ‘Train’, which is also true of the reproduction of classical orchestral works. The realistic timbre of acoustic instruments is also evident.

The Focal Lensys Professional also knows how to turn up the heat. During rock tracks by AC/DC, Meshuggah, Alice in Chains and Slayer, the Focal Lensys Professional demonstrated its mastery of the complex interplay between drums, bass, vocals and the different timbres of distorted guitars. It is also adept at walking the line between desired mix and unwanted harshness. In terms of sound engineering, it always allows you to assess tonal colours and understand interventions in the mix and editing.

The Focal Lensys Professional continue to be pleasantly stable, but even at low listening levels the sound is clean and full – your ears will thank you. In short, I have no doubts that the Focal headphones are perfectly suited to audio engineering work, but that you can also enjoy audiophile music with them.

The bottom line

Well done! With the Focal Lensys Professional, the French manufacturer has shown that it is worth spending a little more money on a good pair of wired headphones. I would divide the sound classification into two parts. Objectively, these headphones are well ahead of cheaper or even Bluetooth models. In fact, the market for explicitly high-quality, closed-back, dynamic studio headphones under a thousand euros is not necessarily densely populated. As a result, Focal’s Lensys Professional can easily compete with the likes of the Neumann NDH 20 (see review) or the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO MKII (see review). Focal has its own sound signature in this upper segment. The closed-back design sounds equally high-resolution, defined and warm. There is no lack of pressure or good external isolation.

The Focal Lensys Professional is therefore highly recommended for use in control rooms, editing suites, recording studios and on location.

Editor’s note: In a few weeks’ time, we will provide measurement data such as frequency response and contact pressure, as well as detailed photos.