[Phronesis]

All of which could be annoying at times.

On top of everything else, sometimes we're not as much in a mood to listen to music as we think we are, so that could diminish enjoyment of music - even to the point of it being annoying - regardless of the characteristics of the sound system.

 

[FastForward]

This is the reason I have muliple cans. The Clears are a very involved listen. If I need to do focus work or want to just relax and melt, I use a less involved headphone like my HD6XX or Meze 99 Classics.

 

[LordBorg]

This is the reason I have muliple cans. The Clears are a very involved listen. If I need to do focus work or want to just relax and melt, I use a less involved headphone like my HD6XX or Meze 99 Classics.

Same here. Depending on the genre, the quality of the recording, my mood, and how much attention I'll be paying to the music, I'll choose a different pair. That said, I absolutely LOVE the Clears and consider them to be my best pair of headphones. I can't wait for Focal to release a closed back version.

 

[Luke Thomas]

On top of everything else, sometimes we're not as much in a mood to listen to music as we think we are, so that could diminish enjoyment of music - even to the point of it being annoying - regardless of the characteristics of the sound system.

Agree

 

[puretokyo]

I recall some time back online sellers had Clears listed below RRP, but no-one appears to now. Can anyone recommend a retailer to get in contact with to find the best deal?

 

[Paulo Abreu]

Same here. Depending on the genre, the quality of the recording, my mood, and how much attention I'll be paying to the music, I'll choose a different pair. That said, I absolutely LOVE the Clears and consider them to be my best pair of headphones. I can't wait for Focal to release a closed back version.

Very True. But in my case I'll live just with Clear and my IEMS for home and OTG. Mostly because of financial reasons - I like good stuff but can't afford to have "too much" of "too good", unfortunately ...

 

[Phronesis]

I think energetic is a poor word because it can mean different things to different people. Here are some synonyms which might be used in place of energetic:

agressive
punchy
bright
dynamic
fast
edgy

The problem is that you could find folks who would dispute that xxx isn't what energetic means, while you could find others who would say that xxx is what energetic means, but yyy isn't. I guess what I'm saying is that the word comes across as vague and too broad to be a useful term for describing a sound signature.

I think we're always going to have some ambiguity when we use words to describe perceptions of sounds - and when we use such words, others will draw different meanings that we what we had in mind (which may not even be clear to ourselves).

From your list, my use of energetic doesn't quite fit aggressive, bright, or edgy, but fits well with punchy, dynamic, and fast.

After comparing the Clear with the LCD3 yesterday, I can see why words like aggressive, bright, and edgy could be used for the energetic quality of the Clear. And I think I'm getting a better idea of how the Clear achieves its sense of energy + neutrality. Comparing again with the LCD3, the LCD3 has a 'fatter' sounding bass and slightly recessed highs, whereas the Clear bass has a slightly more narrowly focused 'punch' combined with a touch more brightness which gives a bit more 'in your face' presence. It's interesting how subtle sculpting of the frequency response and acoustics can create a qualitatively different listening experience without deviating too far from perceived neutrality. For you guys who like the Clear, I recommend checking out the LCD3 as a complementary headphone - they're different enough, but also similar enough.

 

[Ken G]

I recall some time back online sellers had Clears listed below RRP, but no-one appears to now. Can anyone recommend a retailer to get in contact with to find the best deal?

I’m pretty certain that authorized retailers can’t sell for under the MSRP unless Focal specifically allows them like they’ve done several times for the Elear. You might be able to find some Open Box under MSRP at Moon Audio or via some authorized retailers (World Wide Stereo, etc) on EBay.

 

[Phronesis]

I’m pretty certain that authorized retailers can’t sell for under the MSRP unless Focal specifically allows them like they’ve done several times for the Elear. You might be able to find some Open Box under MSRP at Moon Audio or via some authorized retailers (World Wide Stereo, etc) on EBay.

My understanding is that authorized dealers can't advertise under MSRP, but they can sell below MSRP - you just have to ask. I got my Clear below MSRP from an authorized dealer.

 

[gLer]

After comparing the Clear with the LCD3 yesterday, I can see why words like aggressive, bright, and edgy could be used for the energetic quality of the Clear. And I think I'm getting a better idea of how the Clear achieves its sense of energy + neutrality. Comparing again with the LCD3, the LCD3 has a 'fatter' sounding bass and slightly recessed highs, whereas the bass has a slightly more narrowly focused 'punch' combined with a touch more brightness which gives a bit more 'in your face' presence. It's interesting how subtle sculpting of the frequency response and acoustics can create a qualitatively different listening experience without deviating too far from perceived neutrality. For you guys who like the Clear, I recommend checking out the LCD3 as a complementary headphone - they're different enough, but also similar enough.

+1. It’s rhe reason I paired my LCD-3 with an Elear (open dynamic) and Atticus (closed dynamic). All engaging and rewarding in their own way but different enough from each other to be complementary over a broad range of genres.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Also when it comes to “fun” or “in your face” (however you want to describe it) the Clears fast transients plays a MAJOR role in contributing to that.

You can have a fun headphone because of the bass being pronounced. You can also have a fun headphone if they are capable of having fast transients mixed with that bass. That’s where the Clear sits for me

 

[Ken G]

My understanding is that authorized dealers can't advertise under MSRP, but they can sell below MSRP - you just have to ask. I got my Clear below MSRP from an authorized dealer.

I wasn’t aware about the “ask” part but that sounds about right. Good to know.

 

[Dnguyen926]

I recall some time back online sellers had Clears listed below RRP, but no-one appears to now. Can anyone recommend a retailer to get in contact with to find the best deal?

If you're still looking there is a pair of Clears currently on sale right now on Ebay for $1.2k by World Wide Stereo. It was a customer return though but so far that's the only one I've seen priced below msrp. Otherwise you would have to contact the dealers.

 

[llamaluv]

I wasn’t aware about the “ask” part but that sounds about right. Good to know.

"Schmooze" or more like "haggle" would be equally apt.

I got the Utopias back in January from a well-known local dealer for good deal less than MSRP. I wasn't a regular customer of theirs at the time or anything. I don't know if there's some explicit or unwritten rule here about taking about such things concretely (and if there is, I doubt it would be based any rationale that I'd be inclined to agree with), so in case there isn't, I got them for 25% off. They were also offering a deal on the Clear, though I didn't ask for details. My understanding is that offering in-store deals below MSRP is totally the norm for dealers selling Focals.

 

[Phronesis]

"Schmooze" or more like "haggle" would be equally apt.

I got the Utopias back in January from a well-known local dealer for good deal less than MSRP. I wasn't a regular customer of theirs at the time or anything. I don't know if there's some explicit or unwritten rule here about taking about such things concretely (and if there is, I doubt it would be based any rationale that I'd be inclined to agree with), so in case there isn't, I got them for 25% off. They were also offering a deal on the Clear, though I didn't ask for details. My understanding is that offering in-store deals below MSRP is totally the norm for dealers selling Focals.

As a regular customer for my local shop, at my asking, I was offered 20% off on the Utopia and 15% off on the Clear. I expect that I could have gotten 20% off on the Clear also, but didn't ask for a further discount beyond 15% because my shop was so accommodating in letting me borrow the Utopia and Clear multiple times, including both at the same time. Plus, I recognize that physical stores have significant overhead expenses, so some of the markup is needed to cover overhead and isn't really 'profit'.