[Ohhellyea]

has anyone paired the clears with singxer sa1? thinking about getting that amp

Yep. And as far as I'm concerned it is as good as it gets, the SA-1 compliments the Clear perfectly. It is really really reeeeally good.

 

[David222]

has anyone paired the clears with singxer sa1? thinking about getting that amp

I see some other feedback on your question re: Singxer. If additionally useful, I've paired the Clears with the following:

Burson 3XP
RME ADI 2 (built-in Amp)
Hagerman Tuba
RNHP
Zen Can

All were fun, my $0.02 --> the Tuba pairs best with Clear (OG). Hands down. If you're willing to experiment with tubes...the Clears will reward you greatly.

Also, suggest being mindful with your DAC with the Clears...anything hyper-analytical (like an RME-ADI 2 or D90), or ESS chip based, could potentially be an issue depending on your sound/texture preferences. Point being, the Clears are well balanced, but extremely detailed on their own, so you may benefit from considering a softer/musical upstream component in your chain.

 

[jonathan c]

Also, suggest being mindful with your DAC with the Clears...anything hyper-analytical (like an RME-ADI 2 or D90), or ESS chip based, could potentially be an issue depending on your sound/texture preferences.

Spot on! A R2R (resistor to resistor) DAC is a wonderful pairing with the Clear OG, in my setup. Also, using pure silver headphone cables as well as sigma/delta chip-based DACs may exacerbate ‘hyper-analytical’ tendencies. Copper/silver blend or pure copper headphone cables may alleviate those tendencies.

 

[Coolmoose]

Thanks for the response guys. This will be an office setup, so I was thinking Ares II ->SA1 -> clears

 

[David222]

Thanks for the response guys. This will be an office setup, so I was thinking Ares II ->SA1 -> clears

I've not heard the Ares before, but people seem to dig it. If I'm not mistaken the Ares is not true NOS, but again not super familiar with this unit.

Budget depending, you may want to consider MHDT Orchid, Border Patrol or Soekris.

 

[Akogingu]

Anyone have recommendations for any good balanced cables just under $100?

These Meze 99 OFC balanced cables unfortunately are just getting too annoying. Someone else mentioned they fit just fine, but it's seriously anything but in my experience. They barely are hanging in, almost feels like a very weak magnetic connection, and just turning my head completely cuts off the sound. They fall out and I gotta put them back in if I dare try to move around much. Even the wind blowing hard enough can knock the connection loose. I really need cables specifically made for the Clears that fit completely all the way in there, not these tiny cable ends that just poke the hole but don't cover the whole the whole area of the cable plug.

It sucks having to be conscious of not moving my head much just to ensure the connection doesn't come loose. So disappointed :/

 

[jtallaj]

Anyone have recommendations for any good balanced cables just under $100?

These Meze 99 OFC balanced cables unfortunately are just getting too annoying. Someone else mentioned they fit just fine, but it's seriously anything but in my experience. They barely are hanging in, almost feels like a very weak magnetic connection, and just turning my head completely cuts off the sound. They fall out and I gotta put them back in if I dare try to move around much. Even the wind blowing hard enough can knock the connection loose. I really need cables specifically made for the Clears that fit completely all the way in there, not these tiny cable ends that just poke the hole but don't cover the whole the whole area of the cable plug.

It sucks having to be conscious of not moving my head much just to ensure the connection doesn't come loose. So disappointed :/

Try these ones. I've had good experience with them:

https://hartaudiocables.com/collect...lanced-headphone-cable?variant=32619617943633

 

[Silver Wolf]

I have the Hart Audio, a Koala Audio and a $20 Openheart off AliExpress silver plated/copper mixed braided. Not a single issue with any, I have a preference for the Heart Audio and Openheart as they are the most floppy/soft. I've had good luck with a few affordable (nice word for cheap) handmade cables off AliExpress

Hart Audio link in above post.

Openheart cable, it's on half price sale very often...it is again right now lol... Lovely cable and when on sale can be less than $20....madness
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001642424244.html?pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"12000016947595447","ship_from":"CN"}&gps-id=pcStoreLeaderboard&scm=1007.22922.122102.0&scm_id=1007.22922.122102.0&scm-url=1007.22922.122102.0&pvid=1c697c75-3d9c-4e2b-943b-cbabc775d961&spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.smartLeaderboard_1167174427.1005001642424244

Koala Audio
https://koalaaudiocables.com/

 

[LoryWiv]

GUCraftsman are a bit more $ but very well-made. I have their 6N silver cable for Clear MG and recall it was around $150. Punches well beyond that weight class.,

 

[jonathan c]

And for those who do not wish to spend top USD (or EUR or GBP or JPY or…) but want top flight performance and workmanship, I’ll say Forza Audio Works Noir Hybrid. It is a wonderful match to my Clear OG and Gjallarhorn JM Edition.

 

[jriems]

Anyone have recommendations for any good balanced cables just under $100?

These Meze 99 OFC balanced cables unfortunately are just getting too annoying. Someone else mentioned they fit just fine, but it's seriously anything but in my experience. They barely are hanging in, almost feels like a very weak magnetic connection, and just turning my head completely cuts off the sound. They fall out and I gotta put them back in if I dare try to move around much. Even the wind blowing hard enough can knock the connection loose. I really need cables specifically made for the Clears that fit completely all the way in there, not these tiny cable ends that just poke the hole but don't cover the whole the whole area of the cable plug.

It sucks having to be conscious of not moving my head much just to ensure the connection doesn't come loose. So disappointed :/

I would also recommend Hart Audio. I added a special request for larger barrel connectors, and while they're not exactly as large in diameter as the stock Focal, they're much closer in look/feel to the originals. This pic isn't great, but you can zoom in on the connectors to see what I mean.

 

[Cuthbert 80]

Hi guys,

I have a Gustard X16/H16 stack which I purchased roughly 6 months ago. I also have an OG Focal Clear Pro which I've had for just over 1 year.

For all the time that I've used my X16/H16 stack with my Clear....I've had my H16 amp on mid gain which has always sounded great since day one.

Out of sheer curiosity, I recently tried the H16's high gain setting with my Clears and.....well, ermmmm....it sounds A LOT better. I mean....we're talking almost a night and day difference here. The dynamics are absolutely insane. I seemingly hear more spacial information, giving the impression of a wider soundstage and improved imaging. The bass....THE BASS So much more fuller sounding and punchier. Can hear more sub bass down to 30 or 20hz now.

I tried my best to volume match mid and high gain settings to make the comparison relatively fair and my conclusion appears to be that.....there is no comparison. My Clear Pros now sound ALIVE in high gain on the H16 and I've never heard this degree of clarity and dynamics.

I was always hesitant before to use higher gain settings on the H16, my old Fiio K5 Pro or basically any amp because of the research I did here on Head-Fi and other outlets. I had good reason to believe this too cause, for a practical exercise, when I tried using my K5 Pro on high gain with my Phillips Fidelio X2HR headphones...imho it sounded objectively worse cause I heard distortion. Clear Pro + High Gain on H16....couldn't hear any audible distortion...just gorgeous, full range audio.

I'm guessing the Focal Clear Pros just like more juice to make it sound closer to it's full potential? I dunno....I'm still a noob at this bloody hobby lol maybe someone else has answers, heh

 

[roskodan]

Hi guys,

I have a Gustard X16/H16 stack which I purchased roughly 6 months ago. I also have an OG Focal Clear Pro which I've had for just over 1 year.

For all the time that I've used my X16/H16 stack with my Clear....I've had my H16 amp on mid gain which has always sounded great since day one.

Out of sheer curiosity, I recently tried the H16's high gain setting with my Clears and.....well, ermmmm....it sounds A LOT better. I mean....we're talking almost a night and day difference here. The dynamics are absolutely insane. I seemingly hear more spacial information, giving the impression of a wider soundstage and improved imaging. The bass....THE BASS So much more fuller sounding and punchier. Can hear more sub bass down to 30 or 20hz now.

I tried my best to volume match mid and high gain settings to make the comparison relatively fair and my conclusion appears to be that.....there is no comparison. My Clear Pros now sound ALIVE in high gain on the H16 and I've never heard this degree of clarity and dynamics.

I was always hesitant before to use higher gain settings on the H16, my old Fiio K5 Pro or basically any amp because of the research I did here on Head-Fi and other outlets. I had good reason to believe this too cause, for a practical exercise, when I tried using my K5 Pro on high gain with my Phillips Fidelio X2HR headphones...imho it sounded objectively worse cause I heard distortion. Clear Pro + High Gain on H16....couldn't hear any audible distortion...just gorgeous, full range audio.

I'm guessing the Focal Clear Pros just like more juice to make it sound closer to it's full potential? I dunno....I'm still a noob at this bloody hobby lol maybe someone else has answers, heh

Using the single ended or balanced output?

Reading your post I got curious about the H16 amp. It has separate power amplifier stages for balanced and unbalanced. Usually it's just a balanced amplifier made from two inverted single ended ones.

In my experience I usually prefer my OG Clear driven at low gain. But the H16 single ended output is pretty lowish, so I guess high gain must be better for the Clear.

 

[Tassie Devil]

I have a pair of these Clear Mg Professional headphones on the way and will be inrterested to decide how they compare to the Focal Utopia ones already here. They will ultimately reside in a third headphone system with Roon feeding from a Aurilac G1 to a modded LKS DA-004 -> SMPL SP400 amp. But I'll see how they sound in the no. 1 system with an Audio-gd R8 DAC & Master 9 headamp.
Up to now this this 3rd system has used a Sennheiser HD800S and the music (mostly classical) is VERY nice but lacks the sheen of the Utopias. I had been on the lookout for a third pair of Utopias but they are scarce as hens teeth, still expensive and the clear should do what I want. We shall see!!

 

[jonathan c]

On a Clear day you can see forever hear for hours…