Why Buy Focal listen headphones?

So listen, hear, real quick... What do you do with headphones... You listen. Here in lies the very reason why you might want to buy Focal listen headphones.

For those of you who don't know the French company Focal. You should probably know they been around for around 40 years making high end audio equipment... Based out of Saint ettiene in France. Focal have designed these the premium Focal listen headphones just for you.

The design

The Focal listens are largely made of durable, flexible plastics with brushed metal ear cups. Across the headband is fair bit of Focal branding and on the earpieces and a really nice metallic focal logo, which looks good to me. Also it has small print across the earpieces for those of you who like the finer details.

I really like the look of the earpieces on these. The red finish on the material that covers the drivers gives it a really nice contrast.

The headphone jack screws in locking it tight & I think this will reduce any damage if you happen to snag the cable by accident. I had some beats by dre once that got messed up like that. The cable is very stylish and feels really premium and robust. It has a built in omni directional mic with a chrome trim and separate multi function remote control... Which I really like the look of.

The Focal Listens are designed to used on the go and the fact that they compact down nicely to fit into its nicely designed neoprene pouch makes it very easy to travel with. One little improvement I think these could use is having the left and right markings a little easier to see. Apart from that a tres bon design here.

Comfortability

So the listen has nice design features that should comfort you. It has a soft touch headband and heat-sensitive, very high-density memory foam earpieces. Which should enclose your ears ENTIRELY offering a sort of noise cancelling effect.

And Of course you adjust the height of the headband to fit you perfectly. I've been using these for while now and I must say they are quite like weight and seem to have a firm grip. Which could make them good for casual exercise. The location of the omnidirectional mic is perfect and I've never encountered a problem with it getting in the way.

On the sound quality.

So if you're a WhatGear subscribers you probably already know I have had quite a few headphones lately. So I think I've got a pretty good ear for them now. The Focal Listens have 40mm mylar titanium coated drivers. Do they sound good... well yes they do... They sound very to me. The fact that the earpieces really isolate your ears so well really helps you focus on the finer details of the music. You get a really dynamic sound from each one of these drivers. I guess you could call them a dynamic duo.

But listen for those of you who love heavy bass you won't be disappointed here. Although focal have really focused more on tonal balance as opposed to amped up low end frequencies. I like to listen to all kinds of music. and I must say the listens sound good all round and especially crisp when playing high res audio.

Orbitsound One P70 - Does it sound good?

So I hear that P70 might just be the one when it comes to an all in one Soundbar. However this ain't just an ordinary speaker in box. No this speaker has Orbitsound's trademark patented AIRSOUND speakers on the sides.

Why would you have side facing speakers. Well I actually got to meet with the Managing Director of Orbitsound who explained it to me... All I can say is airsound tech will blow your mind. I won't try to explain but just know this. Imagine if no matter where you sit in front of your P70 will be delivered the perfect balance of left and right audio channels.

Design

The One P70 has quite a large footprint in comparison to Soundbars with separate subwoofers. This can be placed in front of your TV. However you might have to make some shelf space. The design of the P70 also allows it to flipped upright for self standing or wall mounting. Which really helps if you have limited space.

Also you can pop out the Orbitsound logo disc and flip it around depending on its orientation. A nice little touch for those of you with a little ocd. I'm sure an upside-down logo would drive you crazy.

Usability

If you watched my Orbitsound Bar A60 video review you will see why I love the remote. It's exactly the same remote with the P70. Check that video out here : (Orbitsound A60 Review) The P70 does have a very minimal on board display. Orbitsound have kept it simple here and that's a good thing. All you really need to know is what mode you are in and what the current volume, bass and treble levels are...and the P70 will tell you.

The on board controls are also kept to a minimum. Volume up, volume down and input mode selection. Exactly what you need. I actually own a Sony Sound base the HT XT1 and it sounds awesome but... No on board volume controls which is really frustrating. On the P70 you have exactly what you need to proceed listening will full control.

Now onto the inputs. The Orbitsound One P70 has the option of an analogue audio jack input or an optical cable input. Be that this is a stereo speaker an analogue cable will do the job. Although I think optical is the way forward. A little word of advice here. Be careful which cable you buy if you need to replace the ones in the box. As I had a problem with the connector part of my optical cable being too large. Which caused it not to be able to sit flat, I simply flipped it upright problem sorted.

Sound Quality

The Orbitsounds One P70 sounds nothing short of impressive. You get that perfect audio sweet spot wherever you sit. If you want a little more explanation of how that works you can check out this video or follow this link to Orbitsound's website.

WhatGear Final Thoughts

The P70 doesn't have quite as much raw power as the A60 largely due to it being an all in one. Although what the P70 delivers... Is a convenient design perfect for home theatre or office presentation rooms. The reproduction of music is very good and I have tested this with movies. The stereo balance is perfect no matter where you sit. Making this ideal for families.

Check out ORBITSOUND official website here!

The JBL Flip 4 a force to be reckoned with!

So why buy the JBL flip? Who is this speaker for? Well if you're the adventurous type or you're going on holiday this might be the perfect portable speaker for you and let me tell you why.

THE SOUND QUALITY

The Flip 4 delivers a surprisingly powerful punch. I won't lie the first time I heard one of these I was amazed at its impressive clarity and its overall well balanced sound. Particularly across the mid range frequencies, and low ends. The Flip 4 has been improved from the flip3. It's s quite impressive really for a compact speaker that you can carry around in one hand like a beer can.

The flip 4 s bass is impressive and not too overpowering. I personally think that this a good thing. It delivers smooth quality bass thanks to its passive radiators at either end. Which I might add are pleasantly pleasing to watch. So when you're on the beach or by the pool it's definitely going to turn a few heads.

WHATEVER THE WEATHER

And this thing has a water resistant rating of IPX7 which basically means it can be submerged in up to 1 meter. But if your at sea and your ship goes down you'd better be ready. Because it will sink... but at least you can still enjoy good music until the bitter end. Lile that scene in the titanic. Maybe that's  why JBL added this wrist strap.

FIRST THOUGHTS

Anyway as for the Flip 4s design. My first impressions out of the box are... it feels incredibly durable. The Flip 4 is encased in tight weave fabric and rubber. The rubber strip runs across the back edge and this houses the power button, connect plus button and inputs which are tightly sealed under this flap. And the strip also serves another purpose... it actually stops It from rolling around. And this is useful because flip 4 is designed to sit horizontally but can be flipped upright... And maybe that's why it's called the flip.

MULTIROOM AUDIO WITH JBL CONNECT+

The Flip 4 also now has the JBL Connect + feature. Which means you to join forces with other JBL connect + compatible speakers. For example if you have two of these you one play left and the other play the right audio channels... Or you can connect up to a hundred of these that play simultaneously ... And I actually witnessed a new world record being broken. When I heard a thousand of these portable powerhouses all playing from one source... And It was awesome... I have know idea how they did it though

And I really like this... using the JBL connect app you can reconfigure the play button to fire up Google assistant or apples siri. So your flip 4 can kinda work like an amazon Alexa. OK Google.

And you can also answer your telephone. Just so long as don't mind everyone else around you listening to your phone call. The JBL flip 4 has improved battery performance of up to 12 hours... Which is how long this video is going to end up if I keep going on about it. So what do I think. Well highly recommend this one... Sounds good to me, and it's good sound investment.

More from JBL Audio. It's the Everest Elite 700 WhatGear Unboxing...  

The BEST JBL Headphones - JBL Everest 700 Elite

JBL are awesome and why do I say that I hear you say. Well first off the make awesome audio equipment and second of all. They sent me a bunch stuff to review just for you guys the WhatGear subscribers.

So this is it the top of the range at present. The JBL Everest 700 Elite are taking on the likes of the Sony MDR1000x and Bose quiet comfort. So how they match up? Having heard both I would say... Very very well.

Design

The initial look and feel of these headphones instantly gives you a sense of a premium product. On closer inspection it stays consistent. These headphones are incredibly sturdy. The shape of the JBL Everest 700 in nothing out of the ordinary but I really do love the low key stealthy style. I'm not into the big flashy branding seen on some other well known brands so these are perfect for me.

The hanger on the headphones is nicely padded. It's not the most padding I've ever seen on a headphone but it does the job whilst keeping the band as thin as possible. It also has an interesting locking system so that once you set the size of the band it will not accidentally slip. A good feature I must say.

Comfortability

The ear cushions are very soft and cup your ears comfortably. Although when these are brand new they can feel like they apply a fair bit of pressure... I guess this depends on the size of your head. Although after a bit of wearing in it becomes no longer a problem. Apart from that they are excellent

Sound Quality

In comparison to other headphones in the same price bracket I would argue that JBL 700 Elite might be one of the best. The focus for JBL on the Everest 700 seems to be audio clarity. The low levels are good but I have heard deeper bass from other brands. I personally prefer well balanced audio and clarity over heavy bass. I guess it really comes down to what you are looking for. Of course the active noise cancelling can affect your music quality slightly. So if you want to really hear what these are all about listen with the anc off.

Usability

So at first you need to figure out the button locations, and once you got that in the bag they are very user friendly. The voice audio cues will let you know what mode you're in & the light indicators will let you know when you running out of juice or in pairing mode. Due to these headphones being wireless of course it has a USB b input and just for backup it has an analogue input. The JBL application has some interesting features such a tweaking the anc levels. There is also a software option that adjusts the sound according to how you wear the headphones. I really have know idea how that feature works exactly but it sounds like a good feature to me. Overall usability is good!

WhatGear Final Thoughts

The style is perfect for me. The stealthy matt finish with just a little aluminium showing on the hanger just looks cool. The JBL Everest 700 Elite headphones are well built. If you were to chuck them in a suitcase or bag you can be confident they won't break. The sound quality is clear and loud. A good sound investment I must say. Follow this link if you'd like to pick up a set CLICK HERE

Check out the WhatGear Review video on the JBL Flip 4