[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I agree, I always pass the unverified over when reading reviews on Amazon. I also don't read the reviews where the products was given to people for their input. No disrespect to Illmatic9108 !

I purchased my Focal's I didn't receive them for any input. I figured since I was the first owner of them in the states I'll post some impressions of them. I posted a picture too, so it's not like it was some fake crap people spew on Amazon.

 

[Ekul61]

To break into the inevitable upcoming hype on these, Elear was one of the biggest disappointments for me in high end headphones.

I made a thread about disappointing headphones, and Elear was the "clear" winner - many others besides me felt this way too. Elear's value also dropped quite a bit on the market in a short amount of time.

Not to say that Clear isn't better, however, careful on the hype train guys. $1,500 gives you lots of options.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

My video review is now live:

Nice. But the short 3.5mm cable is not 2 meters like stated in the video, its 1.2 meters, almost half the length

Regards

 

[Mediahound]

Nice. But the short 3.5mm cable is not 2 meters like stated in the video, its 1.2 meters, almost half the length

Regards

Yep, that's what I meant to say.

 

[lugnut]

I purchased my Focal's I didn't receive them for any input. I figured since I was the first owner of them in the states I'll post some impressions of them. I posted a picture too, so it's not like it was some fake crap people spew on Amazon.

I did not say you did ! You have misinterpreted what I said. I even stated "No disrespect to Illmatic9108", and you still misunderstood what I said. I was just making a point about amazon reviews.

 

[Mediahound]

I did not say you did ! You have misinterpreted what I said. I even stated "No disrespect to Illmatic9108", and you still misunderstood what I said. I was just making a point about amazon reviews.

It's sorta pointless to only believe reviews of those with verified purchases on Amazon. As if someone could not have possible bought the headphones elsewhere?

 

[lugnut]

It's sorta pointless to only believe reviews of those with verified purchases on Amazon. As if someone could not have possible bought the headphones elsewhere?

Ok that's your opinion. I have mine, let's just let this go. It was not my intention to upset anyone about amazons review system.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I did not say you did ! You have misinterpreted what I said. I even stated "No disrespect to Illmatic9108", and you still misunderstood what I said. I was just making a point about amazon reviews.

Sorry, I didn't mean anything by what I said, I was just explaining that my set was not a free product for review basis. My apologies.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

It's really easy to misinterpret/misunderstand by way of writing over the internet than a face to face conversation lol

 

[givemetacos]

If you are going to check Amazon reviews I would highly recommend you gather a reviewmeta.com report first. It will do all the stats on the reviews to show you the likelihood of fake ones and give you an idea of how trustworthy good ones are.

 

[givemetacos]

After listening to the Clears today here are my short impressions:

Gear used- Chord Dave, Mass Kobo 394ii.
I will use the ZMF Auteur to compare against the clear, as it is my go-to balabced headphone.

Excellent detail retrieval here, on par with auteur here, with 60% of the tracks, the Auteur edges out. I do notice that the highs are not as extended on the clear. The clear has a,well, clearer instrument presentation, clean and precise. Thinner than the Auteur, but it is no HD800. Soundstage and imaging is a notch up from the Auteur as well, well defined instrument boundaries and delineation, with a slightly etherial-estat-like presentation; a rather impressive feat, compared to the auteur which has a fatter presentation - each instrument takes up more space on the stage and sometimes overlap. The soundstage depth is as deep/even deeper than the auteur.

Impressive dynamics- macro and micro. I heard some artifacting from the clear at loud volumes, could be the amp, YMWV. Very punchy sounding headphone, good impact, slightly edges out the Auteur. Transients are faster here, with quicker decays. I prefer the more natural, slower decay of the Auteur.

Tonality- As mentioned, clean, grain-free. Slight mid-bass and treble hump. Bass is well extended and the slight emphasis in mid bass can be quite pleasing. Sub bass rumble is not as satisfying as Auteur. Clear sometimes lack the natural timbre of instruments such as violins, guitars and it is especially apparent in piano recordings because of its refined presentation, but gains in clarity of delivery. Woodwinds and drums lack body just slightly, compared to the Auteur which has more body and oomph to each note. Depending on your preference on how organic you want your music to be, I prefer the Auteur. The treble is well balanced on the Clear, but on poor recordings it can make you wince a little, which is not the case with Auteur. Mids are more laid back, versus the more aggressive mids of the Auteur, i had to reach for the volume knob on the clears more often.

Overall, a great headphone at this price range, striking a good balance between Elear and Utopia. Amazing comfort and accessories set. This headphone will appeal to those looking for a HD800S with better imaging and more forgiving tonality at a slightly lower price. Its flexibility with various genres also makes this appealing. In the end, I Will still reach for the auteur given my penchant for slightly darker headphones but damn the clears come close. Both headphones being worth the money, it is only a matter of chocolate or vanilla.

I was also a ZMF Auteur reviewer and those are my main headphones along with ZMF Atticus, HD800, and HD6XX. I got a chance to audition Clear and I agree with this assessment. I think Auteur and Clear are both worth their respective prices and I think they are complements to each other rather than competing against each other. The Auteur to me follows along the general feel and vibe of the HD6x0 series. It is really about that smooth, musical, and natural sound. Very thick with body and coherent in tone with a ton of resolution and technicalities that are present, but not in your face. It really nails that forward mid range and vocals with excellent timbre and refined tonal balance.

The Clear sounds very much in line with the Elear and Utopia's Focal house sound, and similar to how I hear Beyerdynamics. The focus is more on that quick speed that creates a dynamic and punchy sound. Some people might consider that thin, but I think of it more as crisp and edgy. It isn't as natural sounding as Auteur but it is more exciting and fun. Those characteristics make it a visceral experience. It is a far more aggressive type of sound, though less so than Elear.

I think if you are a fan of the Sennheiser HD6X0 series headphones, the Auteur is much more of a direct upgrade to that line and I think it is one of the only headphones I have heard that sort of does everything those do, but even better, and the first headphone that makes me not feel the need to own an HD6X0 in my collection. But if you like those headphones and want a complement that does something different, the Clear is a better choice. Similarly, if you found the HD6X0s to be too laid back and boring, you would probably favor the sound of Clear over Auteur. And just like the HD6X0 headphone gets recommended so much because it is just a really pleasing listen and a safe bet, that is how I feel the Auteur is. I think the Clear could be a more polarizing headphone in sort of the same way the HD800 is. But for those that do like that sound, they will love it. If I could only own 1 headphone as an all rounder I would probably choose Auteur. But I am planning to pick up a Clear myself if they drop under $1k used as it would be a great complement to my collection.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

If you are going to check Amazon reviews I would highly recommend you gather a reviewmeta.com report first. It will do all the stats on the reviews to show you the likelihood of fake ones and give you an idea of how trustworthy good ones are.

Lol, I actually went to that website you posted and emailed them. They are stating false information in regards to my review. I don't like that. I posted a picture next to my review which obviously shows I own these.

 

[givemetacos]

Lol, I actually went to that website you posted and emailed them. They are stating false information in regards to my review. I don't like that. I posted a picture next to my review which obviously shows I own these.

I mean I definitely appreciate what you are trying to do and am glad you are trying to make a positive contribution, but from an outsider perspective that isn't familiar with head-fi and who you are, I think they have every right to be skeptical of your review. As reviewmeta.com points out that is your only review on Amazon, you aren't a verified purchase, and you gave it 5 stars. As smart-minded, vigilant consumers, we should all take that with some amount of skepticism. But even reviewmeta.com rightfully points out their assessment is in no way 100% fact:
"1 of the 4 reviewers has only reviewed this product. While this is more One-Hit Wonders than we'd expect to see, the discrepancy in ratings between the One-Hit Wonders and reviewers who have posted more than one review isn't significant enough to rule out the possibility of it being due to random chance."

So yeah, I don't think there is any need to be upset that your review might not come off as trusted as anyone else's. And I think reviewmeta.com is spot on with how they describe the precautions of your review. Personally, I am quite skeptical myself of Amazon reviews that aren't verified purchases. And showing a picture doesn't really mean much to me as those can be grabbed from anywhere on the internet. Now showing a validated timestamp with your username and date handwritten in the photo would carry more weight in my opinion.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I mean I definitely appreciate what you are trying to do and am glad you are trying to make a positive contribution, but from an outsider perspective that isn't familiar with head-fi and who you are, I think they have every right to be skeptical of your review. As reviewmeta.com points out that is your only review on Amazon, you aren't a verified purchase, and you gave it 5 stars. As smart-minded, vigilant consumers, we should all take that with some amount of skepticism. But even reviewmeta.com rightfully points out their assessment is in no way 100% fact:
"1 of the 4 reviewers has only reviewed this product. While this is more One-Hit Wonders than we'd expect to see, the discrepancy in ratings between the One-Hit Wonders and reviewers who have posted more than one review isn't significant enough to rule out the possibility of it being due to random chance."

So yeah, I don't think there is any need to be upset that your review might not come off as trusted as anyone else's. And I think reviewmeta.com is spot on with how they describe the precautions of your review. Personally, I am quite skeptical myself of Amazon reviews that aren't verified purchases. And showing a picture doesn't really mean much to me as those can be grabbed from anywhere on the internet. Now showing a validated timestamp with your username and date handwritten in the photo would carry more weight in my opinion.

How do I go about getting that changed to a verified review????

 

[givemetacos]

How do I go about getting that changed to a verified review????

You can't. You have to buy it from Amazon to be a verified review. The thing with Amazon reviews is that they want to allow outside purchases to also contribute information. But the risk is that if anyone can leave a review they can't stop fake reviewers that work for or are paid by the product company, or conversely, a competing company that wants to leave fake negative reviews. There is actually a lot of stats and data analysis on these problems and it is a very real and prevalent thing in Amazon. So by using the "verified purchase" tag, they are able to at least allow the public to see who has 100% for sure bought the product themselves (off Amazon). It is a compromise. But I respect that choice and while I don't filter out non-verified purchase reviews, I have to treat those with a healthy skepticism and take that into consideration.

I don't want to derail this thread any further, but if you (or anyone else) has other questions or comments about this feel free to PM me.