Focal® Lensys Professional Headphones

Avid readers will recall that Bass Gear Magazine awarded Focal® with a Best of Show Award at the recent 2025 NAMM Show for their new Lensys Professional closed-back headphones. This marks the first time that a Best of Show Award was given for a pair of headphones, but it was undoubtedly well-earned and had unanimous support among BGM staff. Impressed as we were, I asked Focal if it would be possible to get a pair in for review, and I am very happy to say that this day has come!

Let’s dig in and investigate what makes the Lensys Pro headphones so attractive and useful for us bass players (and, truth be told, for other musicians, as well).

Product Features

Opening the box, the first thing you find is the attractive, fabric-covered zippered carrying case. While it is lightweight and compact, it feels very sturdy when closed and inspires confidence that it will protect the headphones within. The phones themselves fold up nicely and also inspire confidence with their light weight, but robust materials and construction. Inside the case, you find two cables – one 4 ft. straight cable, and one 10 ft. coiled cable, both of which have 1/8” (3.5mm) connectors on each end – as well as a 1/8” to ¼” (3.5mm to 6mm) screwable jack connector. The Lensys Pros are priced at $699.00, and quite frankly, after first hearing them at NAMM, I was shocked that Focal wasn’t asking more for them.

I have a very large head, so I always have a bit of trepidation when it comes to trying on a new pair of headphones for the first time. Happily for me, the Lensys Professionals expand sufficiently to fit my large noggin. Along with a big cranium, I also have proportionate, and therefore larger than average, ears. The cups on some headphones don’t fit me well, so that is also an area of concern. Again, I was relieved to find that the cups on the Focals fit my ears nicely. Focal headphones are known for their comfort, and the Lensys Pros are no exception. Their 24mm thick memory foam earpads not only add to the comfort, they also help with regard to increasing isolation.

Considering that the Professional line is designed for “producers, sound engineers, musicians, and composers,” you may ask yourself how this line might differ from headphones designed for critical listening. As someone who enjoys quality headphones for a variety of use scenarios – watching a movie, enjoying some fine recordings, practicing bass, working on original compositions, etc. – to a certain extent, I can categorize my headphone usage either as a more passive encounter (when I am just listening to what someone else has done, and taking it in), or as a more active encounter (when I am trying to hear/learn a new bass line, or if I am trying to balance multiple instruments in a mix). The Lensys Professionals are especially adept at the latter (which is, indeed, their focus), but they are also refreshingly good at the former.

Choosing the right set of headphones is in some ways like choosing the right bass for the job. Just as you may choose a P-bass to punch through a mix, you might opt for a J-bass when you want some zing on top. Likewise, there are times when you might want the more open soundstage and less congested mix of an open-back headphone, and other times where you need the superior isolation, or the enhanced focus of a closed-back design. With the Lensys Professional headphones, Focal sought to provide that great isolation and focus, but they also wanted to address some of the common trade-offs associated with closed designs. Focal Pro Audio Director Joao Ferreira writes:

“The biggest challenge when designing a closed-back headphone is controlling all the resonances created by the sealed volume and acoustic impedance. Small pyramids break up and scatter waves coming from the back of the membrane, resulting in less resonance and low-frequency build-up. Dampened ports behind the logo of the ear cup are fine-tuned to enhance low-frequency response and reduce acoustic load, offering more linear bass response and dynamic range.”

Between the Ears

The technology behind the Lensys Pro headphones is unquestionably impressive, but the real question is, “How do they sound?” As I typically do with a headphone review, I start off by listening to some familiar songs, to try and get a feel for the character and voice of the headhphones in question. As mentioned, even though they were designed for the pro audio use scenario, the Lensys Pros do a very good job of accurately conveying whatever you feed into them, so they do quite well for critical listening. At first use, they seemed to be in the same general ballpark as some of my favorite headphones from other brands (in the same general price range), but after cycling through multiple sets of headphones and multiple songs, it became undeniable that the Lensys Professionals have a somewhat stronger upper midrange presence and a more aggressive articulation than most of the competition.

Firing up “Games People Play,” by the Alan Parsons Project, the strings and percussion come through exceptionally clearly, with more overall focus than my other headphones, and more upper midrange presence. Moving on to “Bang,” by AJR, I noticed more clarity and separation in the upper mids. The “tick/tock” of the metronome and the various percussive “clicks” were much more apparent, and the lows were tight and clear. I really love the bass tone on Big Data’s “Dangerous,” and the Lensys Pros certainly did the bassline justice. You could really hear the “windings on the strings,” as I like to say when the micro-detail in the tone of the bass can be heard.

At 26 ohms, the Lensys Pros are fairly easy to drive. I used them with a variety of amplification options – Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, Cavalli Tube Hybrid headphone amp (in conjunction with a Grace SDAC), iFi xCAN – and all of them had no problem pushing the Lensys Pros much louder than I would ever need. Just for kicks, I also tried the Lensys Pros directly out of my iPhone (13 Pro Max). The overall volume was more than fine, and the closed-back nature produced very impressive low-end heft. However, the more robust amplifiers definitely brought out more of the detail and separation. I did most of my “critical listening” with the Grace/Cavalli rig, and all of the bass playing was through the Scarlett 2i2 (which, unlike the other options, has an instrument input).

With Bass in Hand

After getting a good feel for the Lensys Pros while listening to prerecorded music, I was ready to try them with a bass guitar in hand. I have to say, as impressed as I was previously, this experience really showed me what these headphones can do. I’ve been practicing bass through headphones for years, as my best time to practice is typically when the rest of my family is sleeping. While I was initially rather unimpressed when trying to practice through headphones, as I traveled further along my “headphone journey,” I found some headphones which finally let me hear my instrument (while playing along with a mix). Later, I found some headphones which made the bass sound fairly similar to what it sounds like through a good rig – previously, I found the bass guitar to sound very artificial, even when it was at adequate levels. Finally, I found some headphones which actually showcased the different tonality between various instruments. With the Lensys Professionals, I not only experienced a natural, “rig-like” tone, with each instrument sounding properly like itself, but I also had the best experience yet with regard to note-to-note balance and articulation. In short, these are the best headphones I have found, to-date, for playing my bass along with a prerecorded track, and being able to hear everything just how I would like.

I have not had a chance to try the Lensys Pros in a mixing situation yet, but I am confident that this high level of articulation and balance will carry forward. These headphones really let you hear everything that is going on, from top to bottom, with a high level of detail throughout all frequency ranges. They do seem to be slightly more mid-forward than my other “go-to” headphones, but this is very easy to adjust to, and the more present mids do not seem to mask the lows or the highs; they mainly seem to add detail and focus, and the overall balance is very good.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a set of over-ear, closed-back headphones, the Lensys Professional headphones absolutely must be on your short list. They are sturdy, fold up nicely, and have a very nice carrying case, so they will travel well. Their isolation will help maintain the peace between you and the other passengers if airplane travel is in the cards, and they are efficient enough to be driven by pretty much any device, including a phone or iPad. If critical listening is your thing, and you crave hearing all the details hidden in your favorite recordings, the Lensys Pros will serve you very well.

However, as intended by their design team, where the Lensys Professionals really shine is when it comes to hearing live instruments in a mix, with great articulation and separation. This makes them exceptionally good for practicing bass guitar or learning new tunes. Do yourself a favor and give the Lensys Pros a listen. These headphones are not only extremely competitive in their price range, they compete quite favorably with headphones costing a good bit more.