RECORDING November 2024 - 10

REVIEW
Focal Lensys
Professional
Headphones
Premium closed-back studio
headphones for tracking,
mixing and production
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.
T
he Lensys Professional is a new set of premiumgrade
studio-focused headphones from Focal.
This latest closed-back offering is a step up from
the previously released Listen Professional and builds
on the company's legacy of high-fidelity headphones
for audiophiles and professional audio engineers.
The Focal Professional Headphone
Family
Focal offers an impressive selection of
headphones. In its high-fidelity category,
there are seven options (six wired/one
wireless), from the closed-back Azurys to
the humbling upper echelon open-back
Focal Utopia.
Focal released its inaugural set of headphones
aimed at the professional audio
engineer, the Spirit Professional closedback
headphones, in 2012 (reviewed
November 2013).
In 2018, Focal refreshed its studiofocused
lineup with the closed-back Listen
Professional (reviewed October 2018),
replacing the previous Spirit Pro and a
new upscale open-back offering, the
Focal Clear Professional (reviewed August
2018). This was refreshed three years later
as the Clear MG Professional, which
I had the pleasure of reviewing in April
2021-still one of my favorite dynamic,
open-back headphones.
The new Focal Lensys Professional lives
between the Listen Pro and Clear MG Pro
models but it tips closer to the Clear MG
Pro on the sonic and price scale.
10 RECORDING November 2024
Through the Lens(ys)
Focal loves to choose cool and artsy
names like Azurys, Hadenys and Bathys.
These names imply a certain meaning, even
though they are entirely invented. I will assume
Lensys is a play on the word " lens. "
Look at the Lensys
Lensys Pro is a circumaural (around
the ear) closed-back design. For reference,
it has a general 7.75 " tall x 6 " wide
(non-extended) profile and weighs 11 oz.
Dressed in a sleek black and grey color
scheme, Lensys Pro breaks with the red
and black look of past Professional models.
They are primarily made of metal and
have a gorgeous magnesium yoke.
The flexible padded headband combines
breathable fabric with black leather
accents. The earcups, while not collapsible
like the Listen model, offer a generous
range of swivel, and the .75 " thick memory
foam ear pads are covered in a breathable
woven fabric, that is easily replaceable.
The outside of each earcup features the
signature Focal circular-patterned grilles
found in similar closed back offerings like
the Azurys. Unlike the acoustical honeycomb
grilles in the company's open-back offerings,
this stylish-looking pattern is purely
aesthetic. Also, like many recent Focal
headphone offerings each earcup is angled
to aid in comfort and sound.
Familiar Style, New Improved
Sonics
Astute Focal headphone fans will
notice that the physical body and general
design of the Lensys Pro are identical to
the high-fidelity Hadenys and even more
so the close-backed Azurys. However,
unlike the Clear MG and Clear MG
Professional models, which are, in fact, the
same headphone only in differing color
schemes,
the 40mm 'M'-shaped Al/
Mg (aluminum/magnesium) driver in the
Lensys Pro has been purposely designed
and completely re-voiced for studio use.
Lensys Pro boasts a 26Ω impedance
that is perfect for everything from smartphones
to audio interfaces and high-end
headphone amps, a 100dB SPL / 1mW
@ 1kHz Sensitivity, a 0.3% @ 1 kHz /
100dB SPL TDD, an impressive 5 Hz-22
kHz Frequency Response, and 23dB(A)
of Ambient noise isolation.
RECORDING November 2024

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