Spirit Torino Super Leggera
First Impressions
The Spirit Torino Super Leggera are open-back earphones with a rather natural and airy sound signature. I would not call them neutral per se but they’re close - more on that later.
Build quality
Spirit Torino don’t use plastic on their headphones. The 4 cans I received are all made of metal and real leather. The build quality is very very good, I love the craftsmanship that goes into those beauties!
The Super Leggera are very comfortable to wear, at least for me. The nicely padded headband and custom Dekoni earpads made from the softest leather are wonderful to touch and wear.
The stock cables made by Portento Audio Italy are pretty much the best stock cables I’ve ever seen on any headphone, period. The packaging is great too, but more on all those details in a full review.
Sound signature
Just like the Radiante, I immediately liked the Super Leggera. The two are very different though. The Spirit Torino Super Leggera has a much lighter and - as mentioned - airy sound signature with an emphasis on vocals and more extension in the treble. I did not notice any sibilance though and I am rather treble-sensitive. The bass/sub-bass to me is rather neutral - or in other words - not elevated. It’s rather flat but with a little bit of energy in it that helps support the midrange. Still, bass on the Super Leggera is a far cry from the Radiante.
The Super Leggera seem like they are made for vocal- and acoustic tracks and work best with music that was recorded at high quality. Guitars in particular sound so incredibly realistic and engaging, I can almost taste the strings - love it! I need to mention that they still work very well with every other kind of music too, in fact, I could not find anything that was not enjoyable with these cans.
Channel- and instrument- separation are excellent and I feel the sound stage presented is true to the recording conditions - Intimate recordings like Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged sound like they are recorded in a small club (which they were) with the band playing right in front of you. Playing Metallica’s S&M album, they let you relive the atmosphere at the Berkeley Community Theatre where it was recorded. There’s lots of space and three-dimensionality.
Amplification/Synergy/Tunability
Like the Radiante, the Super Leggera are quite source-dependent and also tuning-friendly. You can tailor the sound a lot to your liking depending on the used source, although not as much as with the Radiante.
Switching from my main source Burson Soloist 3XP to the Cayin N8 DAP in tube mode added a significant amount of warmth and a bit of bass extension while retaining an excellent resolution and smooth treble. The Super Leggera are rather easy to drive, so you can enjoy them on the go with a decent DAP too - in fact, Spirit Torino intended them to be their “mobile” model. Since their weight is reasonably low at 365g and they are very comfortable to wear, I can imagine using them outside in less busy environments.
Takeaway
After the few hours I had with the open-back Super Leggera, I can already say that I like them very much. There’s energy, there’s emotion, there’s passion, even without the massive bass of the Radiante - perfect for the quieter and more relaxed moments in life.
Comparison with Focal Clear OG (FC)
Build quality & Accessories
While both headphones have generally very good to excellent build quality, there’s still some plastic used on the Focal Clears earcups that I find a bit disappointing at the price point of (originally) 1500 €. The Super Leggera is made entirely out of metal and leather at a price of 1600 €.
The cable quality is vastly superior on the SL. The cable from Portento Audio Italy is far more flexible and thus easier and more pleasing to use. The FC on the other hand have a total of 3 different cables in the box and a very cool carrying case to boot.
Comfort
I have to say that the SL are actually more comfortable to wear for me. The padding of headband and earcups is superior to the FC plus the SL at 365g are much lighter than the FCs at 450g.
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera
Overall tonality
The overall tonality of both headphones is relatively similar. The FC is the overall more neutral and balanced sounding headphone of the two. You could say that the FC is the “Swiss” among headphones: Not emphasising anything too much and hold back a bit rather than polarise. It does not want to stand out in the crowd too much but remain neutral instead. There’s a reason why the FCs are my reference point for testing equipment.
The SC is not too far away actually. It’s a bit less neutral than the FC and instead dares standing out of the crowd a bit, when the time is right to add that bit more emotion and energy.
+1 Focal Clear
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera
Treble
Treble is more extended on the SL. The SL also has the edge in details and resolution over the FC. This becomes especially apparent when listening to acoustic- and guitar tracks. When I switched from the SL to the FC on Alice in Chains “Rooster” from their MTV Unplugged album, I felt like there was a veil over the whole scene, covering small details in the recorded guitars on the Focal Clear.
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera
Midrange
The midrange is rather similar on both headphones, at least to my ears. Vocals, female and male ones alike, are a bit more forward and direct on the SL resulting in a more intense listening experience on certain recordings. Like with the treble, when I switched between the two sets, I had a slightly veiled feeling on the FC that never occurred to me before.
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera
Bass/Sub-bass
The bass on the FC goes deeper with more impact and sub-bass extension than the Super Leggera (SL). This results in certain recordings sounding more balanced overall on the FC than on the SL. One could also interpret that in terms of bass reproduction that the SL is the more neutral headphone of the two. I leave this open for everyone to judge for themselves when they get the chance.
+1 Focal Clear
Channel- & Instrument separation
The channel separation is a bit better on the FC than on the SL. On certain tracks like “Hurt” from Nine Inch Nails, one channel just seems “dead” on the FC while the SL are still bleeding a bit of sound across from the other channel. To me this can at times be almost a bit uncanny, as I start thinking something is wrong with my headphones. But of course that is purely a matter of preference.
Due to the slightly elevated treble and upper midrange, the instrument separation is actually quite a bit better on the SL than on the FC. In busy tracks like AC/DCs “Thunderstruck” for instance, all elements of the recording are more distinguishable from each other without affecting the big whole. I have to give both cans 1 point each here.
+1 Focal Clear (channel sep.)
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera (instrument sep.)
Soundstage
This is another close one as I feel the soundstage on both headphones is rather similar. They’re a bit different in HOW the stage is rendered but I can’t really decide which is better. I would say that the stage on the SL is a bit wider and taller than on the FC, maybe even more 3-dimensional due to the better instrument separation.
The soundstage on the FC is smaller but more immediate (due to the added bass foundation) if you catch my drift. Sorry if I can’t make myself clear enough, but this is a tough one! All in all for me the SL has a little advantage especially in live recordings. But again: This one will depend on everyone’s own taste and impression.
+1 Spirit Torino Super Leggera
Comparison takeaways
Both are great headphones in my opinion. The Focal Clear (Original) certainly are the more neutral cans and hence possibly suited for a bigger audience.
The Spirit Torino Super Leggera (Long name!) surprised me quite a bit though. I never thought that they could surpass the FC in certain areas, at least for my personal taste.
The SL have one thing going for them that the Focal Clears don’t have:
They possess character and attitude while remaining rather balanced and natural headphones. I appreciate this quality a lot!