[kino lau]

Or perhaps never listen to them and only look at them. Can use the imagination to wonder how they sound.

Is that ok?

I mainly look at mine sitting on the stand. Lately, I've been feeling a bit guilty for not listening to them more. So I may put them in the case and the stand in the closet so that I don't have to deal with the feelings of guilt.

 

[Soundizer]

Last night I started burning in my new Focal Clear Headphones. So I did listen to them before this for 1hour via my Chord Mojo and they sounded very flat, not very dynamic compared to other Focal Clear I listened to.

I have seen on this thread that recommendations have been made from 100 to 200+ burn in.

I really hope they do change quickly. I leave them running in continuously at very low volume playing Han Zimmer movie soundtracks.

 

[gLer]

Last night I started burning in my new Focal Clear Headphones. So I did listen to them before this for 1hour via my Chord Mojo and they sounded very flat, not very dynamic compared to other Focal Clear I listened to.

I have seen on this thread that recommendations have been made from 100 to 200+ burn in.

I really hope they do change quickly. I leave them running in continuously at very low volume playing Han Zimmer movie soundtracks.

Let us know how it goes. I honestly doubt it’ll go from very flat to very dynamic just from burn-in. Which amp did you listen to the other Clears from?

 

[Soundizer]

Let us know how it goes. I honestly doubt it’ll go from very flat to very dynamic just from burn-in. Which amp did you listen to the other Clears from?

On both other occasions I listened via the Questyle CMA600I via standard 6.35mm jack and it was incredibly good.
I spent 4.5hours comparing to:
Mr Speakers Ether.
ZMF Headphones.
HD800S.
SENN HD660S.
HIFIMAN EDITION X.

My favourite was the Focal Clear.

I AM DETERMINED TO GET BACK THAT SOUND.


The other difference is better source which was TIDAL HIFI via Roon compared to my humble Apple Music Service at home. Will upgrade to TIDAL next year.

 

[gLer]

On both other occasions I listened via the Questyle CMA600I via standard 6.35mm jack and it was incredibly good.
I spent 4.5hours comparing to:
Mr Speakers Ether.
ZMF Headphones.
HD800S.
SENN HD660S.
HIFIMAN EDITION X.

My favourite was the Focal Clear.

I AM DETERMINED TO GET BACK THAT SOUND.


The other difference is better source which was TIDAL HIFI via Roon compared to my humble Apple Music Service at home. Will upgrade to TIDAL next year.

The CMA600i is leagues ahead of the Mojo in terms of power (and many other things too). Just a crazy ‘out there’ thought but perhaps if you want that sound you should get a CMA600i

 

[Phronesis]

Last night I started burning in my new Focal Clear Headphones. So I did listen to them before this for 1hour via my Chord Mojo and they sounded very flat, not very dynamic compared to other Focal Clear I listened to.

I have seen on this thread that recommendations have been made from 100 to 200+ burn in.

I really hope they do change quickly. I leave them running in continuously at very low volume playing Han Zimmer movie soundtracks.

Whether there’s any physical burn in is debated (IMO, any such effect will be minimal, if any). No one has good data on that from proper testing.

Your ears/brain may adjust to the sound over the course of dozens of hours, making it seem better over time. In that regard, other psychological factors can also substantially influence your perception of the sound. Give it some time.

The DAC/amp should make minimal difference, unless you’re using a unit which colors the sound or an underpowered amp.

The recording quality makes a huge difference. Some recordings will sound like crap on any system, others will make the Clear shine.

 

[Soundizer]

Whether there’s any physical burn in is debated (IMO, any such effect will be minimal, if any). No one has good data on that from proper testing.

Your ears/brain may adjust to the sound over the course of dozens of hours, making it seem better over time. In that regard, other psychological factors can also substantially influence your perception of the sound. Give it some time.

The DAC/amp should make minimal difference, unless you’re using a unit which colors the sound or an underpowered amp.

The recording quality makes a huge difference. Some recordings will sound like crap on any system, others will make the Clear shine.

Thank you for your input.

I haven’t quite understood your point about the DAC/amp only making minimal difference. Especially as you have a £1,700 Chord Hugo2.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Thank you for your input.

I haven’t quite understood your point about the DAC/amp only making minimal difference. Especially as you have a £1,700 Chord Hugo2.

Don't take someone else's word for it. Test out different DACs, and different amps to see if you're able to hear a difference.

The difference between Mojo and Hugo 2 for me was substantial. Not an "incremental" upgrade at all.

 

[gLer]

Thank you for your input.

I haven’t quite understood your point about the DAC/amp only making minimal difference. Especially as you have a £1,700 Chord Hugo2.

I was about to say the exact same thing. I agree with everything else @Phronesis wrote but that’s just not right. Amp/dac synergy with certain headphones has a huge influence on how they sound. Are you suggesting the difference between his Mojo and a large desktop amp/dac like the CMA600i should be ‘minimal’? Highly unlikely.

 

[gLer]

Don't take someone else's word for it. Test out different DACs, and different amps to see if you're able to hear a difference.

The difference between Mojo and Hugo 2 for me was substantial. Not an "incremental" upgrade at all.

Likewise between the Audio-gd R2R-11 and R-28.

 

[Soundizer]

Likewise between the Audio-gd R2R-11 and R-28.

Solution. Arranged to take my headphones in toa Dealer next week that has; QUESTYLE CMA600i and will also give the Hugo2 a run.

Unfortunately the Audio-gd doesn’t seem to be easily available in the UK of on demo anywhere. I can save up and buy the CMA 600i.

 

[gLer]

Solution. Arranged to take my headphones in toa Dealer next week that has; QUESTYLE CMA600i and will also give the Hugo2 a run.

Unfortunately the Audio-gd doesn’t seem to be easily available in the UK of on demo anywhere. I can save up and buy the CMA 600i.

Try out different combinations and see which one/s you prefer. Go there with an open mind and come home with an empty wallet

 

[Phronesis]

Thank you for your input.

I haven’t quite understood your point about the DAC/amp only making minimal difference. Especially as you have a £1,700 Chord Hugo2.

I bought the Hugo 2 because I thought it sounded better than the Mojo when I initially compared them, and then for months thereafter. But when I introduced controls into my comparison and used a switchbox so that I could switch quickly between them, all of the sound differences I had previously perceived disappeared. The Mojo wasn't warmer, the Hugo 2 didn't have more clarity, etc. It was a shocking result, but it is what it is. I can't rule out the possibility that there could be subtle sound differences between them which aren't apparent from my comparisons, but I think any such differences are a lot smaller than the differences between headphones. I'll send you a PM linking a thread where I discuss this in more detail.

In general, it's very easy for us to misperceive differences between gear, especially when we know what gear we're listening to (that creates "expectation bias"), don't match music segments and volumes, and allow several seconds or more of time gap when comparing gear (research shows that expectation bias only needs a few seconds to kick in). And we don't generally know or believe that we're misperceiving, because our processing of perception largely occurs at a subconscious level which is hidden from us. A good general read on this topic is the book Subliminal by Leonard Mlodinow.

 

[Soundizer]

Sharing an observation here.

I was at Canjam London a few months ago where FOCAL had a stand. They only had Questyle Amp/DACS with their Focal Headphones.

From left to right it started with entry level to very high end.

Entry was [Focal Elear] with blanced cable from Atlas to [Questyle 400i].
Then moving up there was the [Focal Clear] to [Questyle CMA600I].
At the top end was of course [Focal Utopia] to [a 3 or4 layer stacked top end Questyle System].

I guess an interesting point is that the manufacturer was happy to partner the Focal Range with Questyle. Surely this is like an endorsement from the manufacturer Focal that Questyle is a great match.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Sharing an observation here.

I was at Canjam London a few months ago where FOCAL had a stand. They only had Questyle Amp/DACS with their Focal Headphones.

From left to right it started with entry level to very high end.

Entry was [Focal Elear] with blanced cable from Atlas to [Questyle 400i].
Then moving up there was the [Focal Clear] to [Questyle CMA600I].
At the top end was of course [Focal Utopia] to [a 3 or4 layer stacked top end Questyle System].

I guess an interesting point is that the manufacturer was happy to partner the Focal Range with Questyle. Surely this is like an endorsement from the manufacturer Focal that Questyle is a great match.

I know the Questyle stuff is current mode amplification, which is known to sound a bit closer to a tube amp than SS. This may play a role in the synergy produced by the pairings.