Focal Clear headphones
Nov 17, 2017 at 11:34 PM Post #646 of 12,501
Is the connector on the Clear the same as it is on the Utopia?
If you are referring to the cable connector than no it's completely different. The Clear has the same connector as the Elear.
 
Nov 17, 2017 at 11:34 PM Post #647 of 12,501
Is the connector on the Clear the same as it is on the Utopia?
No. Utopia has Lemo type of connector. Clear/Elear has 3.5mm plug.
 
Nov 18, 2017 at 1:53 AM Post #648 of 12,501
Thanks for the info above.
 
Nov 18, 2017 at 3:09 AM Post #649 of 12,501
I had a chance to audition the Utopia and the Clear today. To be honest I really preferred the Clear to the Utopia. My initial impression was that the bass was nicer on the Clear while the Sax was mind blowing on the Utopia. Overall the Clear felt like a better balanced headphone to my ears so I ended up getting them. The Utopia pads were very soft and to be honest I really wondered if putting the Clear pads on them would help with the bass. Overall I thought of the Clear as very similar to the HD800 but with a more intimate soundstage. I love the HD800 but I think the Clear affords me portability as I can drive them reasonably well off the iPhone at 3/4 volume.
 
Nov 18, 2017 at 3:31 PM Post #650 of 12,501
Round 1 fight.... All Focal headphones is good with my Wa7d

20171118_174044.jpg
 
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Nov 18, 2017 at 4:29 PM Post #651 of 12,501
Round 1 fight.... All Focal headphones is good with my Wa7d

So, after 1 round who landed the harder punches? :) Those 3 items are looking like a good fight in the making.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 3:40 AM Post #653 of 12,501
Just checked UPS. My Clears are about twenty five minutes from my house right now. Delivery Monday afternoon. Can. Not. Wait.

Great! Give it a few hours listening for working out the suspensions. I see you own the HD800S and Violectric V280, curious to know how they compare and how Clear matches V280 - I was almost closing a deal for one but considering I didn't want to spend a considerable amount on DACs/Amps I finally decided for a whole in one package Questyle CMA400i - a decision I would like not to regret... receiving it next week.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 9:27 PM Post #654 of 12,501
Anyone have comments relative to the new Aeon Flow Open?

I'm undecided between AFO, HD800, and Clear. I listen mostly to classical and solo acoustic instrumentals, some jazz/rock/pop/country. My priorities are tonal accuracy, balance, and stage. Bass is a plus for occasional rock/pop/country. I really don't want recessed mid to treble. Good comments on the bass and balance seem to stand out for Clear but I don't think I've heard much about the character of mids/treble. I'm looking forward to reading more impressions. Clear looks very tempting :)
Hmm, an open-box utopia is out of the question?

I like classical too and what I have found out by trial and error is that classical is very demanding. This is because large orchestral recordings are very hard to reproduce. They require a very neutral, transparent, and fast headphone and a very capable and neutral DAC/amp. For example, a headphone with a bass boost like the Elear will make the timpani thunder and dominate and the violins dimmed.

I haven't heard the Clear but everybody says that its tonality is between the Clear and the Utopia. If so, some bass boost will be there. I don't know if will be too much or not for you. I have read the Aeon Flow Open is a warm headphone (unlike the closed version which is neutral). If so, it will not be as accurate as the HD800 or the Utopia.

If classical is most of what you listen to you probably cannot go wrong with the HD800. In my case, I was going to get either the HD800 or the Utopia but the latter one impressed far more and it is much easier to drive.

If you are coming from a mid-fi headphone, I would say that any of the AFO, HD800, and Clear will impress you and sound a lot better than what you are used to. So, if possible, I would try to listen to all of them at a store. Well worth it.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 9:41 PM Post #656 of 12,501
I received my Clear right before the weekend. It's been about 30 hours now.
To my surprise, I prefer Clear to my Utopia. I mostly listen to jazz (piano trio and female jazz vocal).
Technically, Utopia is better than Clear in all SQ departments (e.g. resolution, separation, imaging, etc.). However, to my ears, Utopia is a bit too polite compared to Clear. Clear has the balance that I just want. Don't get me wrong, when I say "balance" I'm talking about "my" ideal tonal balance. I think Clear has more bass quantity although the bass quality is slightly inferior to Utopia. Mid range is nice and smooth and has just the right amount of presence. Treble is not soft but not too sharp. That's my kind of "balance".
Also as a whole package, Clear comes with a nice portable case with 3 different cables, while Utopia has one long, hefty, and bulky cable, and no case. I know some purists would argue that the best SQ is all it counts. But to me, overall balance is very important, including the price.
So I will most likely part with my Utopia to have a room for something new and different. Clear and Utopia shares too many sound signature traits to keep both.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 9:50 PM Post #657 of 12,501
I tried the HD800 yesterday, and the AFO and Clear today. The Clear sounded fine, but somehow not very engaging. The AFO is good, but sounded recessed in the mids to me, in contrast to the Ether Flow. I didn't like how that sounded, as if there's someone standing between me and the instruments. The HD800 I liked, the soundstage is just the best I have ever heard. Quite enjoyable with acoustic music, less so with electronic music (the 660S is more fun for that, a very complete package). I then tried the HD800S and the treble was noticeably cleaner - so their fix worked. But it somehow wasn't nearly as engaging to me as the HD800, a bit sterile sounding.
I also tried the Hifiman Edition X v2 and was impressed. In terms of comfort, they match the HD800 - nothing was touching my ears. Simple sub bass they do really well, almost like a subwoofer. More complex sub bass isn't quite as clean as on the Ether Flow, and the highs are a tad more shrill. The Ether Flow is more punchy still. It is punchy across the board, making it very engaging, as if someone is actually playing a guitar close to you. It had the most HBM (head bops/minute) for me, so I finally decided to go for it.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 10:26 PM Post #658 of 12,501
I received my Clear right before the weekend. It's been about 30 hours now.
To my surprise, I prefer Clear to my Utopia. I mostly listen to jazz (piano trio and female jazz vocal).

This is exactly how I felt after the initial listen. I was listening to Jan Garbarek and his collab with Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and the tabla was very refined on the clear and slightly muted on the Utopia. The Sax was very in my face on the Utopia but the Clear found the right balance for me.
 
Nov 19, 2017 at 10:46 PM Post #659 of 12,501
I received my Clear right before the weekend. It's been about 30 hours now.
To my surprise, I prefer Clear to my Utopia. I mostly listen to jazz (piano trio and female jazz vocal).
Technically, Utopia is better than Clear in all SQ departments (e.g. resolution, separation, imaging, etc.). However, to my ears, Utopia is a bit too polite compared to Clear. Clear has the balance that I just want. Don't get me wrong, when I say "balance" I'm talking about "my" ideal tonal balance. I think Clear has more bass quantity although the bass quality is slightly inferior to Utopia. Mid range is nice and smooth and has just the right amount of presence. Treble is not soft but not too sharp. That's my kind of "balance".
Also as a whole package, Clear comes with a nice portable case with 3 different cables, while Utopia has one long, hefty, and bulky cable, and no case. I know some purists would argue that the best SQ is all it counts. But to me, overall balance is very important, including the price.
So I will most likely part with my Utopia to have a room for something new and different. Clear and Utopia shares too many sound signature traits to keep both.

It might be too early for you to say but how does the Clear compare to the Klipsch HP- 3? Do you prefer one over the other based on an initial impression?
 
Nov 20, 2017 at 12:00 AM Post #660 of 12,501
It might be too early for you to say but how does the Clear compare to the Klipsch HP- 3? Do you prefer one over the other based on an initial impression?
I have just started the comparison between Clear and HP-3. You are right that it is a bit too early to make any conclusion. But my impression so far is that both Clear and HP-3 have their own sound signatures that are different enough. Both present musical and organic presentations. HP-3 has more life-like music reproduction, while Clear has energetic but more organized presentation. I love both. So I will probably keep both.
 

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