Headphones (focal spirit pro)

RatBastard

Inspired
I just bought a pair of focal spirit pro headphones because I need to play and mix while respecting everyone else around me. I received them yesterday, and when I play the sound is very low, but I can hear the reverb perfectly. My question is do I need a headphone amp now, or am I missing something? I am just plugging them into the headphone jack. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
When you use the VU meters in the AXE FX (under Utility), how much gain is on your amps (-12 db, 0db)? I found that I wasn't using the gain available to me in the AXE, and therefore my headphone volume was very low. I bought a few headphone amps (which are now all a bit superfluous) as I simply had the gain structures wrong. Once I fixed that, I had more than enough power to overdrive headphones (200 Ohms).

How many ohms are your headphones rated (impedance)?

Let us know what you think of the Focals. I generally really like their speaker elements for FRFR, but i heard the headphones are very uncomfortable as reviewers say they basically are "on ear" and they hurt after about 20 mins. I just ordered Mo-Fi (Blue) and look forward to trying them out this weekend.
 
type: closed back, circumaural headphones
impedance: 32 ohms
sensitivity: 102dB SPL/1mW @ 1kHz
THD: <0,3%/1kHz/100dB SPL
frequency response: 5Hz - 22kHz
Driver: matched 40mm (1 9/16) ; Mylar/Titanium

I tried messing with the gain on the amps through the VU on the utilities page and although it did make the volume go up the sound began to clip very quickly
 
[QUOTEI'm not sure what you're saying. Do you mean that the reverb volume is correct, but not the volume of your dry tone?][/QUOTE] I was just playing around with it, and even at 1.8% it seems like it's completely doused in reverb. And this happens with a lot of my presets. Presets that I've created with monitors sound like like they have entirely too much delay, reverb, etc. Also, when I take all of the effects off the presets will clip and feedback very easily. Am I missing something with my set up?
 
Am I missing something with my set up?
Most assuredly. It sounds like you're getting nothing but reverb. So you've got the reverb turned way down (1.8%, right?), so you've got a level turned up way hot somewhere to compensate. Then when you bypass the reverb, your normal-level dry signal comes blasting through.
 
It is possible to have a phase reversal somewhere that could extinguish the centre tone (the same in left and right) and leave only the signal that is different audible. Also the enhancer can have a similar effect. But it should only be a problem if the signal gets summed to mono somewhere after that.
So, if you have it, turn the enhancer block off. Check the chain for phase issues. Actually, turn every effect off except amp and mono cab, single IR. Turn them on one by one until the direct signal disappears. Check the standby settings on all of them (mute, through, etc.) and be aware of parallel effects in particular.

If that doesn't show anything, make a backup of the system file and an example preset and upload them here so someone can take a look. Specify the version AxeFx you have.

On my TV there is a stereo width function for surround sound which is similar to an enhancer. I only have stereo speakers on my TV. We were watching some singing competition and I was complaining the entire time that the sound was mixed wrong. The singers were hardly audible. Ruined the show for me. Couldn't understand that the sound was so bad and nobody did anything about it. Then I went to the sound on my TV and there was the surround enhancement on. Turned it off and there was the singers voice! The stereo function splits the stereo sound and sends the centre to the centre speaker in a surround sound system and reverses the difference in the rest. If you don't have a centre speaker that sound is gone.
Another story: a long time ago I was in a band, we'd bought a recorder and a mixing desk, we were mixing our CD. The other guitarist found a neat trick: he routed his guitar through one strip on the desk, then took the output and fed that into another strip and panned those wide, probably the recorder was in between too. Sounded thick. I said "Sounds great!" And then, being the callous bugger I am, pressed the mono button on the desk. Suddenly it turned all thin and nasal. The second track had delayed the signal just a tad and caused phasing problems.

In principle the headphone output gets the same signal as output1. Do the speakers on output1 behave similarly? Do you have a splitter cable from two mono jacks to one stereo female jack? You can use these in the normal outputs and plug in the focals and check if they're the same. 32ohms is not very high impedance so those outputs should be able to get enough volume to hear stuff. Generally the higher the ohmage the lower the volume with the same output signal. My DT770s are 250ohms, there's also a 600ohms version. Also generally headphones get more detailed with higher impedance. Do you have any other pair of headphones, ear buds, anything? Try those in the headphone output. Maybe the Focals are wired out of phase.
 
Last edited:
Do the speakers on output1 behave similarly?
No, the speakers are good. They are Yamaha HS7s, and they sound phenomenal.
Do you have any other pair of headphones, ear buds, anything?
I have tried the axe fx through some cheap Sony headphones as well as a pair of Apple ear buds, and the sound is okay...not great, but I didn't have the same problem with clipping, or the effects dominating.
Do you have a splitter cable from two mono jacks to one stereo female jack?
I am not sure if I have a splitter cable. I'll check.
Maybe the Focals are wired out of phase.
Would this be a defect?
 
Back
Top Bottom