FocalHADENYS High-Fidelity Open-Back Headphones

Coming from a beyerdynamic amiron home, these are amazing. I can listen to these all day without having to EQ them and the comfort is off the charts. Theres enough bass for one of my favorite genres, electronic rock (blue stahli), without overtaking the mid-range because the bass is so clean. The mid-range is very natural sounding and has a lot of body. The treble is tamed down, which I appreciate because of my beyer experience, so it's not fatiguing. That reduces the soundstage a little, but I still find it good enough for gaming because the imaging is spectacular.I'm no audiophile, but after buying these I finally understand all those buzzwords those guys talk about. I had no idea what I was missing out on.

So a little background. I have the original Focal Clear headphones. So I decided to get the Focal Bathys (wireless) headphones for walking and traveling. I was so happy with the Bathys in DAC mode that I decided to give the Hadenys a shot. To my ears the Hadenys are more resolving than the Clear. What I mean is vocals and instruments are more detailed. The bass is actually punchy, more than the Clear. The treble is detailed but relaxed…not metallic or piercing like the Clear. Being only 26 ohms the Hadenys can be driven for hours with your phone. Focal just seems to keep getting better. I’m so happy with the Hadenys I’ve retired the Clear. I’m tempted to give the Utopia a listen…one day.

The ear cups were JUST small enough to be uncomfortable after like 20 minutes. I think my ears are normal-ish sized, maybe slightly larger than "average" but I just could not get them to sit inside the ear cups well enough to not bother me.It should also be noted that the headband is relatively thin, definitely thinner than what you would get with the Clear or some of the even higher priced sets. Not as uncomfortable as the ear cup issue, but was still present.Honestly these would be an incredibly comfortable set if my ears just fit inside the cups a little better, and they do sound FANTASTIC. I just cannot justify the cost of something I cannot listen to for any kind of extended period and had to return.4 stars because the sound really is excellent, almost enough to offset my discomfort but not quite.

Pros: comfortableCons: pleather headband, and sound quality was noticeably worse with EQ or stock using peace. Maybe they do benefit from extensive burn in, but running in a K9 Pro and trying different EQ profiles as well as stock, I was not impressed. Sounded worse than the Sennheiser HD 490 pros which are $200 cheaper.