The soundstage of the Focal Clear and Audeze LCD-X is not good. Focal headphones are known for having an "intimate presentation", which is a euphemism for we can't do a spacious soundstage. To put it bluntly, the Focal Clear sounded like an ordinary headphone on steroids to me, not the sort of thing a normal person would expect at $1500 (...perhaps incorrectly assuming I'm a normal person). People tend to describe the LCD-X as having some soundstage but it's only notable in that on its own it doesn't sound cluttered (it can sound that way versus the HD800(S), which on the flipside sounds dry with seriously inferior vocals by comparison, nice separation though). Frankly, in terms of soundstage I'm not entirely certain there is any significant difference between the LCD-X and the HD650. Sonarworks EQ acted as a decrappifier for the LCD-X. If you're going to argue that EQ minimizes the differences between headphones then you might as well start arguing that the market shouldn't exist due to EQ. I've heard what happens when you more properly power a headphone even though you may be able to get the volume more than high enough otherwise. I had a Jotunheim paired with an HD800S and unbalanced the result was poor, there for instance being a cavity in the "presentation"/soundstage. It should be the sort of thing where people would say there's a wide soundstage but poor positioning and imaging. Balanced made a big difference for the HD800S. The HD650 is a very different headphone due to its sensitivity, and it doesn't have the soundstage the HD800S makes its name on. Anyway, if the Solaris is between the LCD-X and Focal Clear in terms of soundstage too that's ordinary but at least iems deserve some forgiveness for practicality. I really don't understand prices in this niche higher-end headphone market for the return and I hope it's not a simple case of producers exploiting an unwitting group of people with disposable income. Then again I think Focal sell speakers for much more money.
I'll probably end up buying the Solaris in a few weeks when I have the money and hear what happens. Worst case scenario I resell them here or return them, best case scenario it's a clear, detailed, impactful in proper moderation sound that is portable with sufficient sonic space and good positioning for refined enjoyment. I am expecting more in terms of definition than the HD650. Initially I won't have a dap and don't know if I'll be using the Magni to plug them so I might just go through my computer and ipod, hopefully nothing awful happens with output impedance.