Sphear of destiny

Focal, the French loudspeaker manufacturer, has developed its first in-ear headphones starting from first principles. The result: Sphear breaks with conventions and “proves that high-fidelity in-ear headphones can be used for hours without discomfort”. Light and practical, discreet and attractive in terms of sound, until now, in-ear headphones have often been considered very intrusive. Uncomfortable after a certain amount of time, tiring on the ear due to the excessive amount of bass, they have generally failed to fulfil their promise. Focal’s idea with Sphear is that in-ear headphones can provide high-fidelity acoustics worthy of the best of standard headphones, while avoiding any discomfort during prolonged listening. After 2 years of development, Sphear represents a new chapter for in-ear headphones.
Memory foam tips on the front adapt naturally to the ear; an extended housing at the back shifts the weight of the headphones to the inferior auricle of the ear. This relieves the ear canal from excessive volume and weight which generally results in temporary discomfort. Even better, the engineers at Focal took advantage of this revolutionary design to change people’s vision of in-ear headphones.
Sphear’s rounded shape makes it possible to have a larger 10.8mm driver that’s faithful to Focal’s historic acoustic signature, the “Spirit of Sound”, with a particularly rich mid-range. Moreover, the bass level on Sphear has been very slightly increased for mobile use in noisy environments. Focal also offers a sound which is precise and clear, and extremely faithful to the original music. Finally, these unique in-ear headphones offer harmonic richness from the low end to the high end, for true listening pleasure. “It is generally accepted that a loudspeaker has to have a frequency response curve which is as flat as possible. This is not the same for headphones which emit sound right into the ear canal, bypassing the external parts of the ear and body. Now, our engineers have succeeded in tuning Sphear’s curve to obtain incredible tonal balance” explains Gérard Chrétien, Focal’s exclusive consultant.
Accessories supplied:
3 pairs of silicone tips (sizes S/M/L)
3 pairs of memory foam tips (sizes S/M/L)
Aeroplane adapter
Carrying case
Available early July £99.95/€129