[ozz]

Since getting the Clears none of my other headphones get any time with the exception of my ATH 50x for real late night listening as not to disturb the wife.

 

[descloud]

Does anyone have ananda as well?
differences between clear and ananda, which is better?

Since this is a Clear thread, there might be more people inclined to tell you that the Clear would be better and so on and so forth. I'll give my two cents from what I've gathered about the Ananda either way.

The Clear seems to have the advantage in detail retrieval, as there are multiple reports of the Ananda losing in that aspect against the Arya. The difference in head stage I can't say, they seem to be fairly similar from what I've gathered. Bass in the Ananda seems to be more linear than the Clear, so the Clear may appear as having more "mid-bass" bump between the two, but extension should be fairly similar. The Clear (and other Focal lineups for that matter) would have the edge on dynamics in comparison to the Ananda. Another thing to note, there are peaks in the Clear (6kHz and 8kHz) that renders some consonant range in some recordings as being sharp or have an edgy quality, which is more noticeable when you listen at higher volumes (> 70dB estimate). In terms of timbre, I can't say about the Ananda. The Clear's timbre is accurate in being speaker-like in presentation to my ears - take that as you will.

As always, if you can try before you buy, the better.

 

[PointyFox]

Just got Focal Clear Professional and compared it to my HD820.
Here are my thoughts:

Clear has less bass and much more mids and more treble.
HD820 is smoother sounding with less harsh consonants.
HD820 has wider and deeper soundstage.

Scoring 0-10, 10 being among the best I've heard.

Isolation
Clear: 0
HD820: 6

Bass Extension:
Clear: 7
HD820: 8

Bass Impact/Dynamics:
Clear: 4
HD820: 6

Comfort:
Clear: 5
HD820: 8

Bass evenness:
Clear: 10
HD820: 8

Mids evenness:
Clear: 9
HD820: 7

Treble evenness:
Clear: 5
HD820: 7

Soundstage:
Clear: 4
HD820: 9

Imaging/Separation:
Clear: 7
HD820: 9

Openness:
Clear:7
HD820:7

Averages:
Clear: 5.8
HD820: 7.5

Let me know if you want me to look at anything specific or think I should re-evaluate or explain something.

I'll be selling the loser.

Still burning-in the Clear/my head.

The Clear has excellent energetic mids, similar to Grado.
The HD820 had comfort, isolation, large soundstage and laid-back sound.

 

[cirodts]

Since this is a Clear thread, there might be more people inclined to tell you that the Clear would be better and so on and so forth. I'll give my two cents from what I've gathered about the Ananda either way.

The Clear seems to have the advantage in detail retrieval, as there are multiple reports of the Ananda losing in that aspect against the Arya. The difference in head stage I can't say, they seem to be fairly similar from what I've gathered. Bass in the Ananda seems to be more linear than the Clear, so the Clear may appear as having more "mid-bass" bump between the two, but extension should be fairly similar. The Clear (and other Focal lineups for that matter) would have the edge on dynamics in comparison to the Ananda. Another thing to note, there are peaks in the Clear (6kHz and 8kHz) that renders some consonant range in some recordings as being sharp or have an edgy quality, which is more noticeable when you listen at higher volumes (> 70dB estimate). In terms of timbre, I can't say about the Ananda. The Clear's timbre is accurate in being speaker-like in presentation to my ears - take that as you will.

As always, if you can try before you buy, the better.

thanks, and for a metal thrash listen would you recommend clear or elear?

 

[descloud]

thanks, and for a metal thrash listen would you recommend clear or elear?

If you read Aornic'c review about the Clear and the comparison with the Elear, it would seem that while he found the rendition of electric guitars more "realistic" in the Elear, whereas it's more toned down on the Clear. So if you're mostly listening to metal, the Elear may have the edge here. But from reading his review further, the Clear is still the overall winner for a good all rounder.

 

[cirodts]

If you read Aornic'c review about the Clear and the comparison with the Elear, it would seem that while he found the rendition of electric guitars more "realistic" in the Elear, whereas it's more toned down on the Clear. So if you're mostly listening to metal, the Elear may have the edge here. But from reading his review further, the Clear is still the overall winner for a good all rounder.

thanks.

 

[PointyFox]

Has anyone tried the Clear with the "Loudness" function enabled on the ADI-2 DAC?
It works so well with the Clear that I can't listen to either my Clear or HD820 without it now as both sound like I'm listening to music underwater.
It doesn't really work with the HD820 though. It just makes them sound weird.

It boosts the bass and treble by an amount proportional to how much you lose listening to lower volumes since the ear's response to different frequencies is volume dependent and not equal among themselves.

 

[Slim1970]

Has anyone tried the Clear with the "Loudness" function enabled on the ADI-2 DAC?
It works so well with the Clear that I can't listen to either my Clear or HD820 without it now as both sound like I'm listening to music underwater.
It doesn't really work with the HD820 though. It just makes them sound weird.

It boosts the bass and treble by an amount proportional to how much you lose listening to lower volumes since the ear's response to different frequencies is volume dependent and not equal among themselves.

I did when I had the Clears and it was my preferred way of listening to them. I now keep the loudness feature on all the time on my RME.

 

[semtexxl]

So I got curious and wanted to know the source of the rattle/loose screw sound coming from the left side of my Clear.
I opened up the left cup. Really easy process by the way...

The source of the rattle is coming from the clip circled in the pic below. It's moving freely when I shake it. Hope this clears (no pun intended) up the rattle issue for everyone. Nothing related to the driver at all.

Has anybody using Clear Professional experienced the rattle issue like some Clear users have here?

Many, many thanks kdphan for this valuable post. You saved me from returning them for repairs. (Still under warranty). The process is pretty lenghty and who knows how would they treat my cans....
I actually have Clear Pro version with the same problem. Exactly the same left side and the same issue. All you need is torx t6 screwdriver and a bit of patience. Be really careful when opening the cup because the cables are still attached to the terminal.
The clip was in exactly the same position as yours almost off the holder floating from left to right. The only thing to stop it from falling off completely was the screw hole in plastic ring. (it was still on the very edge) I checked the other side and while it has the same principle applied there is one little difference here. The screw is closer to the clip preventing it even from moving around and making that rattling sound. I am not quite sure why not add a “limiter” or simply anything to prevent it from moving freely. Design flaw or overlooked detail? I am still not quite sure what is even the fuction of the clip...preventing from over-rotation?! Because it is clearly not the source for the spring loaded mechanism. It is still working even when you open the driver.
For those who commented not having any problems I believe it may come in the future. It became very annoying after 6 months of use clearly getting worse each time I was taking off the pads for exchange/cleaning. btw When I opened the driver I actually discovered that one of the 3 black torx 6 screw holding the actual driver in place has fallen righ in my hand......

This is my third pair after numerous problems...each completelly new pair exhibited some mechanical or cosmetic issue:
1st pair - left driver clipping way too soon in comparison with right,
2nd - rattling silver Focal logo on the left side
3rd - driver and Focal logo ok, now the issue discribed above - rattlig clip on the left side - 6 months in use

Now don't tell me I have bad luck in electronics..I already knew ...I absolutelly love these but the amount of problems which could be solved by better QC on Focal side is pretty bad for 1,5k headphone.

 

[DaYooper]

That so called "clip" actually looks like a spring. I haven''t had to take mine apart yet but I bet if you took apart the other side you would see how it's supposed to be installed.

 

[Deaf Leopard]

So after a bit of back and forth I decided to pull the trigger on the clears and should get them this week.

 

[semtexxl]

So after a bit of back and forth I decided to pull the trigger on the clears and should get them this week.

Congrats. I can only concur. This thing is extremely addictive. Just consider/decide between the regular silver or pro version - same cans with different color scheme and accesories. Regular silver Clears shows pads degradation way more easily than Pro red pads.....Just look at the hassle I went through in post above I still won't give up them...

 

[Deaf Leopard]

Congrats. I can only concur. This thing is extremely addictive. Just consider/decide between the regular silver or pro version - same cans with different color scheme and accesories. Regular silver Clears shows pads degradation way more easily than Pro red pads.....Just look at the hassle I went through in post above I still won't give up them...

Thanks and while a do worry about QC issues and pad issues I can handle any issues that may come my way. I decided to go with the grey clears. I do honestly prefer them to the black and red, everyone has there own preferences. I’m going to get some dekoni pads as well and do a bit of pad swapping. I’m looking forward to getting hours of pleasure from my music library.

 

[semtexxl]

Thanks and while a do worry about QC issues and pad issues I can handle any issues that may come my way. I decided to go with the grey clears. I do honestly prefer them to the black and red, everyone has there own preferences. I’m going to get some dekoni pads as well and do a bit of pad swapping. I’m looking forward to getting hours of pleasure from my music library.

Fair enough. I am thinkin' about Dekoni pads too - Elite Velour based on Headphone Show/Resolve reviews recommendations. Maybe even more about “Dekoni Audio Nuggets” for headband. That one looks pretty neat and effective and comfy based on the reviews. The only issie seems to be the pretty lame/weak adhesive.

 

[roskodan]

Btw guys, don't forget these are high-end headphone, and therefore very revealing of the overall chain signature, on a level that reminds me of the HD800, but unlike those, the Clear will sound pretty decent out of anything. However, a synergetic setup will simply make the Clear otherworldly.