[Luckyleo]

The Clear on an OTL has impedance matching issues. Go hybrid, or Solid state to get the best out of them.

Thanks! Sounds great with my SP2000. Jot2 on the way with a Bifrost Dac.

 

[jonathan c]

Focal Clear with accessories: headband cover (various types are available on eBay), Dekoni fenestrated earpads, Arctic Cables Palladium Series. Result?

 

[Luckyleo]

Per the discussion above. I see it now. Thanks again for your help

I've found that the Clears shine on the OTL amp when we have well recorded Americana, Classical, Jazz, and most Rock. The horrible sound I was experiencing came while listening to live Grateful Dead recordings that were not the best recorded to begin with, with heavy drums and bass portions. Live and learn

 

[Jlink18]

I'm experiencing on occasion intensely loud pops upon inserting my Clears cable into the RNHP amp. Its a brand new amp and even had rupert neve designs take a look at it and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Any idea of what it may be? Perhaps static electricity build up? I'm concerned for my hearing and also the clears as the pops are quite loud and uncomfortable. This also happens on my Elegia's

 

[Jlink18]

Focal Clear with accessories: headband cover (various types are available on eBay), Dekoni fenestrated earpads, Arctic Cables Palladium Series. Result?

looks great! how are you liking the Dekoni fenestrated pads??

 

[jonathan c]

looks great! how are you liking the Dekoni fenestrated pads??

For me, the Dekoni are . I chose the fenestrated ones to emulate the design of the stock pads. I felt that the stock pads were too squishy and wanted something a little firmer. I had my doubts about the longevity and later appearance of the stock pads. With the Dekoni, a light wipe down with a barely damp cloth with soap is all the maintenance needed. As for sound, I have not sensed any real shift in frequency response or balance. The soundstage, which I feel is very good, is a bit wider: the added physical thickness of the Dekoni versus that of the stock pad pushes the Clear speakers further from my ears. All the above, for me, reinforces the notion that the replacement price of the Clear stock pads is absurd. As in all things audio, your “earage” may vary...

 

[Guidostrunk]

I did a search for that cable. Is it really $1600 ? Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing lol.

Focal Clear with accessories: headband cover (various types are available on eBay), Dekoni fenestrated earpads, Arctic Cables Palladium Series. Result?

 

[jonathan c]

I did a search for that cable. Is it really $1600 ? Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing lol.

For 5 feet (1.5 metres), with the XLR amp termination, yes, the PS is shown as $1634. One offsetting factor, to my mind, is that the Clear terminations work for the Kennerton Gjallarhorn.

 

[jonathan c]

That last thought could get me on the headphone cable industry standard soapbox....Sennheiser & Foster connectors look alike...interchangeable?. Why does Utopia have LEMO? Why does Audio-Technical have A2DC? Beyerdynamic has their own extended 3.5mm connector...and so on...

 

[jonathan c]

That last thought could get me on the headphone cable industry standard soapbox....Sennheiser & Foster connectors look alike...interchangeable?. Why does Utopia have LEMO? Why does Audio-Technical have A2DC? Beyerdynamic has their own extended 3.5mm connector...and so on...

Fostex

 

[dontfeedphils]

That last thought could get me on the headphone cable industry standard soapbox....Sennheiser & Foster connectors look alike...interchangeable?. Why does Utopia have LEMO? Why does Audio-Technical have A2DC? Beyerdynamic has their own extended 3.5mm connector...and so on...

You're right, everyone should standardize on LEMO

 

[kyotousa]

I've found that the Clears shine on the OTL amp when we have well recorded Americana, Classical, Jazz, and most Rock. The horrible sound I was experiencing came while listening to live Grateful Dead recordings that were not the best recorded to begin with, with heavy drums and bass portions. Live and learn

That's weird, OTL amps have high impedance correct?

 

[jonathan c]

That's weird, OTL amps have high impedance correct?

I agree with @kyotousa. A typical output impedance reading for an OTL headphone amp would be 120 ohms. The static impedance for the Clear is 55 ohms. A very rough rule-of-thumb for non-aberrant headphone frequency response has been: headphone ohm => 2x-3x headphone amp ohm. I would not expect a favourable pairing between OTL and Clear. My two favourite h/p/a for driving the Clear are the Liquid Platinum and the Violectric V280. The output impedance for these, respectively, are 0.140 ohms and 0.165 ohms. These h/p/a are favourites for Clear for reasons well beyond compatibility.

 

[Guidostrunk]

I suppose 0.3 on the Mjolnir 2 on low gain is good?
Speaking of Mjolnir 2 . I sent mine away to Keith for modding lol. Just like I played guinea pig with the LP.

I agree with @kyotousa. A typical output impedance reading for an OTL headphone amp would be 120 ohms. The static impedance for the Clear is 55 ohms. A very rough rule-of-thumb for non-aberrant headphone frequency response has been: headphone ohm => 2x-3x headphone amp ohm. I would not expect a favourable pairing between OTL and Clear. My two favourite h/p/a for driving the Clear are the Liquid Platinum and the Violectric V280. The output impedance for these, respectively, are 0.140 ohms and 0.165 ohms. These h/p/a are favourites for Clear for reasons well beyond compatibility.

 

[jonathan c]

I suppose 0.3 on the Mjolnir 2 on low gain is good?
Speaking of Mjolnir 2 . I sent mine away to Keith for modding lol. Just like I played guinea pig with the LP.

0.3 is “electrically” good in that pairing 99.9+ percent of headphones with the Mjolnir 2 will not result in a significant measured deviation from flat frequency response. FFR is only one part, though, of overall sound quality.