[LordBorg]

I decided to buy the Loxjie P20 balanced tube amp as it was so cheap to try how it sounds.

I must say the pairing with Focal Clear is amazing to me. I haven't yet compared with my SS amp Arcam rHead side-by-side as I've kept the Clear connected to P20 all the time. Though keep in mind I have no reference from tubes.

I'll be getting the SU-8 balanced dac to replace ifi nano BL next week so I can try a fully balanced chain.

I completely agree with your assessment of the LoxJie P20... it adds warmth to the Clear sound... quite addictive! And this is strange because the Clear don't pair very well with the DarkVoice 336SE nor the Cavalli Tube Hybrid.

 

[Mh996]

Pardon my question, as I'm still a little new to this hobby. I'm wondering about the longevity of Focal headphones, so long as they're handled carefully and used at moderate volume levels. I've had the Focal Clears, which I'm using with the Chord Mojo and Tidal/Roon/HQPLAYER, for about 2 weeks. I don't have any itch to offload these anytime soon, as I think they're truly my endgame for the foreseeable future. In fact, I'm going to be taking a break for looking across here and r/headphones to avoid the chance of getting that itch. So, assuming my absence lasts until some technical failure in my setup occurs, how long could I expect my Clears to last? Are they less durable than, say, my HD650s? Has anyone had Focal headphones that've failed, and if so how long did they last before that happened? And I'm speaking of driver failure, not cable or interconnect damage. I know this depends lots on care and volume; I'm both incredibly careful and listen as relatively moderate volume.

 

[up late]

i don't have the clear but i do have the utopia. however, i suspect that my answer to your question would be the same for both headphones, and it would be that i don't know. i doubt that anyone who has a clear or utopia that is working perfectly well (and there would be many) could answer your question. my unsolicited advice to you is to enjoy your clear rather than worry about its longevity.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Pardon my question, as I'm still a little new to this hobby. I'm wondering about the longevity of Focal headphones, so long as they're handled carefully and used at moderate volume levels. I've had the Focal Clears, which I'm using with the Chord Mojo and Tidal/Roon/HQPLAYER, for about 2 weeks. I don't have any itch to offload these anytime soon, as I think they're truly my endgame for the foreseeable future. In fact, I'm going to be taking a break for looking across here and r/headphones to avoid the chance of getting that itch. So, assuming my absence lasts until some technical failure in my set-up occurs, how long could I expect my Clears to last? Are they less durable than, say, my HD650s? Has anyone had Focal headphones that've failed, and if so how long did they last before that happened? And I'm speaking of driver failure, not cable or interconnect damage. I know this depends lots on care and volume; I'm both incredibly careful and listen as relatively moderate volume.

the Focal Clears are built much better than the sennheiser headphones in general. however! that being said, sennheisers are made cheaply almost entirely out of plastic. so if a part does break its cheap to fix/replace or even possible to be done by yourself if you acquire the right parts.
Focals are built not entirely out of plastic.. so if a part does happen to fail, you might need to send them back to manufacturer. treat your cans with love, and they will do the same in return. when you're not using them put them away in the zip case. whenever i dont use my headphones they go straight to their soft/hard cases. the only pair that doesn't are my B&O H6(2ndGen) because they never came with one. but thats fine because they're my outdoors/transit pair of headphones and not really home use

 

[gtbrown50]

Pardon my question, as I'm still a little new to this hobby. I'm wondering about the longevity of Focal headphones, so long as they're handled carefully and used at moderate volume levels. I've had the Focal Clears, which I'm using with the Chord Mojo and Tidal/Roon/HQPLAYER, for about 2 weeks. I don't have any itch to offload these anytime soon, as I think they're truly my endgame for the foreseeable future. In fact, I'm going to be taking a break for looking across here and r/headphones to avoid the chance of getting that itch. So, assuming my absence lasts until some technical failure in my setup occurs, how long could I expect my Clears to last? Are they less durable than, say, my HD650s? Has anyone had Focal headphones that've failed, and if so how long did they last before that happened? And I'm speaking of driver failure, not cable or interconnect damage. I know this depends lots on care and volume; I'm both incredibly careful and listen as relatively moderate volume.

I have Elegia, Clear and Utopia headphones. I don't abuse them, but among what I listen to is some nice bass electronica and hard rock. I also listen to many other types of music. My point is I'm likely pretty average in my music taste and do not baby any thing in my system. I haven't had any issue with any Focal headphone, except an assembly problem with the Uptopia which I fixed myself (extra screw rattling in the left earpiece which I opened and removed).

My advice; enjoy the Clears, treat them like any other high end electronic device and don't distract yourself worrying about failures.

 

[Phronesis]

Agreed on the comments above. I know people with $150K+ sports cars who're afraid to put miles on them and expose them to the elements, so they mostly just sit in garages being looked at like art objects. Cars are made for driving, and headphones are made for listening. My advice is to use them as intended, take care of them, and don't worry about durability.

 

[joseph69]

my advice to you is to enjoy your clear rather than worry about its longevity.

My advice; enjoy the Clears, treat them like any other high end electronic device and don't distract yourself worrying about failures.

Couldn't agree more.

Agreed on the comments above. I know people with $150K+ sports cars who're afraid to put miles on them and expose them to the elements, so they mostly just sit in garages being looked at like art objects. Cars are made for driving, and headphones are made for listening. My advice is to use them as intended, take care of them, and don't worry about durability.

I'll never understand why people buy something and don't use it as intended...this is a total waste. Why bother buying it then?

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Agreed on the comments above. I know people with $150K+ sports cars who're afraid to put miles on them and expose them to the elements, so they mostly just sit in garages being looked at like art objects. Cars are made for driving, and headphones are made for listening. My advice is to use them as intended, take care of them, and don't worry about durability.

I also know people with expensive cars including some of my own family members. the thing is there are two types of people in that respect.
people who can just afford the car, but barely enough to maintain it so they become frugal with use for the car.
where as you have people who can afford to maintain the car normally so they use the car more often because cost of upkeep isnt a concern for them.

when it comes to headphones it the same. people who can just just afford 1k$+ headphones might not have extra money in case they need repair or completely break and they need a new pair.
where as people who have better jobs barely feel a hit when it comes to buying 1k$ headphones. so if it breaks, who cares and they buy another or different pair at the same price point.

i'm going to assume, 90% of people in this hobby are the latter. people who can just afford to buy headphones and gear, but if it breaks might not be able to afford to repair them right away or in the near future. and just want to be careful with their gear or wanna make sure the investment is secure.

very few people on this site can drop pockets of money and if something happens, never loose sleep over it.

 

[Phronesis]

I also know people with expensive cars including some of my own family members. the thing is there are two types of people in that respect.
people who can just afford the car, but barely enough to maintain it so they become frugal with use for the car.
where as you have people who can afford to maintain the car normally so they use the car more often because cost of upkeep isnt a concern for them.

when it comes to headphones it the same. people who can just just afford 1k$+ headphones might not have extra money in case they need repair or completely break and they need a new pair.
where as people who have better jobs barely feel a hit when it comes to buying 1k$ headphones. so if it breaks, who cares and they buy another or different pair at the same price point.

i'm going to assume, 90% of people in this hobby are the latter. people who can just afford to buy headphones and gear, but if it breaks might not be able to afford to repair them right away or in the near future. and just want to be careful with their gear or wanna make sure the investment is secure.

very few people on this site can drop pockets of money and if something happens, never loose sleep over it.

I think you're right. And I would suggest that people not stretch too much to buy this stuff. Fun cars and good-sounding head-fi can be had for affordable prices, no need to stretch financially to try to buy the "best." I think my $300 Meze 99 Classics running out of my iPhone with Spotify is plenty good to enjoy music - the rest of my gear is indulgent toys which I enjoy but definitely don't "need". And to my ears, the Clear can certainly qualify as an end game headphone.

 

[Luke Thomas]

I stumbled across something interesting . My Clears sound better plugged straight into my dragonfly red dac.
No exterior amp. Kind of a bummer as I no longer need my $1500 violectric amp. This is obviously the result of the Clears needing minimal power to drive them.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I think you're right. And I would suggest that people not stretch too much to buy this stuff. Fun cars and good-sounding head-fi can be had for affordable prices, no need to stretch financially to try to buy the "best." I think my $300 Meze 99 Classics running out of my iPhone with Spotify is plenty good to enjoy music - the rest of my gear is indulgent toys which I enjoy but definitely don't "need". And to my ears, the Clear can certainly qualify as an end game headphone.

Absolutely, for me, i think my setup for the time being until i want more variety later down the line will be my RME ADI-2 DAC, DT1990 pros, LCD2C, B&O H6(2nd gen) and a DAP for outside use. that should be about it. don't think i'll need anything else until a year or two from now

 

[Tsukuyomi]

I stumbled across something interesting . My Clears sound better plugged straight into my dragonfly red dac.
No exterior amp. Kind of a bummer as I no longer need my $1500 violectric amp. This is obviously the result of the Clears needing minimal power to drive them.

I had a violectric amp, was fantastic, but sold it because it seemed to be too much for what i needed. i didnt need that much power for my current headphones. extremely well made amp tho, never saw anything as well made as that before.

 

[gLer]

I stumbled across something interesting . My Clears sound better plugged straight into my dragonfly red dac.
No exterior amp. Kind of a bummer as I no longer need my $1500 violectric amp. This is obviously the result of the Clears needing minimal power to drive them.

The Dragonfly Red is a dac/amp. So what you’re hearing is a preferred sound signature with the DR dac/amp. Don’t think it has anything to do with the power of the VE amp. Of course if it sounds better to you, great! Big saving there.

 

[Phronesis]

The Dragonfly Red is a dac/amp. So what you’re hearing is a preferred sound signature with the DR dac/amp. Don’t think it has anything to do with the power of the VE amp. Of course if it sounds better to you, great! Big saving there.

Correct on the DF Red being an amp also, though the amp section isn't particularly powerful. It may have enough power to drive the Clear, but I'm not sure it's enough for more power-hungry headphones like the LCD-3 and HD800S.

FWIW, with headphones for which DF Red has enough power, when comparing using controls on volume and music segment, I didn't notice any obvious difference in the sound of the DF Red versus the Mojo or Hugo 2. That lead me to conclude that, if there are any sound differences, they're subtle at most. May need to go with tube amps with higher output impedance to get enough coloration to produce a really different sound.

 

[Luke Thomas]

The Dragonfly Red is a dac/amp. So what you’re hearing is a preferred sound signature with the DR dac/amp. Don’t think it has anything to do with the power of the VE amp. Of course if it sounds better to you, great! Big saving there.

Didn't know it was an amp also.
So which option should sound better?
1. dac only, to a violectric amp. ( this option would be considered a single amp option.)
2. Dragonfly red (amp/dac) fed to the violectric amp. ( this option would be considered a "double amp scenario")