[mainguy]

I have the same pads, any idea how to give them a good condition?

I still have a pair of Dekoni Stellia pads, but prefer the Utopia pads.
I was comparing the Clears with Stellia pads against the Utopia (in a shop) and was surprised by how muffled the Clears sounded, quite different to a comparison I had done a year prior with the OG pads on the Clear, where I found the differentce to the Utopia rather small.
So I swapped the pads between the Utopia and Clears and this time the Utopia sounded muffled.
I did run another comparison test, just cycling through the Clear OG, Dekoni Stellia and Utopia pads at home and still came to the same conclusion.

To my ears the OG pads sound like a room with lots of acoustic treatment (sound absorbers), the Utopia much more more neutral, more "open" and detailed with a slight bass boost, but overall maintaining and even enhancing the neutral nature of the Clears. The Stellia pads take it a bit too far with the bass for my taste and something is happening to the clarity.

Just want to share this experience to show that pad preferences seem to depend a lot on personal preference!

Cheers!

Yeah I have the Stellia pads (Dekoni) and Clear OG.

The OG pads sound just a bit more effortless and open. The Dekoni pads change it up a fair bit and add a splash of warmth to the mid range thanks to the extra bass.
Both are great tbh, and different enough its worth having onhand.

 

[adeadcrab]

I found the Utopia pads shallower than the stock Clear Pro earpads, with slightly boosted low end (less than the Dekoni Stellia, which is a plus to the Utopia pads) but the top end seemed rolled off to me. I don't mind the 'muffled' sound the midrange takes on; to me it sounds more like the Audeze LCD-X 2021, which I think is flatter and more linear than the Clear.

It's obvious the stock earpads for Focal headphones are designed with their respective headphones in mind, and likely the drivers themselves are tweaked to sound best with their stock earpad.

If you are open to a change of the Focal Clear's house sound, I think the Dekoni Stellia is the best change to make.

 

[polymathic]

On my Clear OG, I have been comparing the Dekoni Stellia to the stock pads, and the Dekoni seem like an improvement to me. Better bass without going overboard. I also noted an increase in volume, which is nice if you are using a low power dongle like a Violectric Chronos or an Apple dongle. But I do like the original too.

 

[Luckyleo]

On my Clear OG, I have been comparing the Dekoni Stellia to the stock pads, and the Dekoni seem like an improvement to me. Better bass without going overboard. I also noted an increase in volume, which is nice if you are using a low power dongle like a Violectric Chronos or an Apple dongle. But I do like the original too.

Excellent!!! Glad things worked out. Thanks for sharing.

Leo

 

[bcaulf17]

I've been seeing recently that a lot of people enjoy the Clear on tubes over solid state, kind of curious about trying it but I know nothing about tube amps lol. If it adds a touch of warmth and roundness to the Clear sound though I might enjoy it. I've just always been a solid state guy, just to allow the amp to provide more power and volume.

 

[pbarach]

I've been seeing recently that a lot of people enjoy the Clear on tubes over solid state, kind of curious about trying it but I know nothing about tube amps lol. If it adds a touch of warmth and roundness to the Clear sound though I might enjoy it. I've just always been a solid state guy, just to allow the amp to provide more power and volume.

I don't have any tube equipment, but yesterday I listened to a familiar recording with my Clears using a Burson HA-160 amp, which is 100% solid state and 100% Class A power. The bass was deeper and stronger. Maybe a bit too much. I don't have that happening with the other amps I use with these headphones (Marantz HD-DAC1, THX Drop 789).

 

[bcaulf17]

I don't have any tube equipment, but yesterday I listened to a familiar recording with my Clears using a Burson HA-160 amp, which is 100% solid state and 100% Class A power. The bass was deeper and stronger. Maybe a bit too much. I don't have that happening with the other amps I use with these headphones (Marantz HD-DAC1, THX Drop 789).

Yeah, the THX 789 is the amp I use with mine as well. Drives the headphones loud and clear, no complaints. But I thought if I was gonna change it up a bit, it might be better to try a dedicated tube amp instead of trying a bunch of different solid state amps.

 

[OrangeStar257]

Is treble of this harsher than HD 600?

I am considering ZMF auteur or this as the upgrade in the future

 

[adeadcrab]

Yeah, the THX 789 is the amp I use with mine as well. Drives the headphones loud and clear, no complaints. But I thought if I was gonna change it up a bit, it might be better to try a dedicated tube amp instead of trying a bunch of different solid state amps.

Depends on the output impedance of the tube amp; if it's too high (needs to be quite low for the 80 ohm Focal Clear) the bass will be bloated and not sound great. If it has a low impedance (I believe for example, the Felix Elise or Envy should be reasonable) you will hear only the warmth from the tubes which is quite pleasant.

My Focal Clear is strictly fed a diet of signal from the THX 789 until I purchase the Burson Soloist GT. Tube amp is reserved for HD800S and also the LCD-X (which doesn't really change sound based on an amp's output impedance)

 

[Shane D]

Yeah, the THX 789 is the amp I use with mine as well. Drives the headphones loud and clear, no complaints. But I thought if I was gonna change it up a bit, it might be better to try a dedicated tube amp instead of trying a bunch of different solid state amps.

The Little Dot amps are nice with Focal headphones, although I haven't tried my newest Focals on my new one yet.
In the past I liked my Elex's on my Little Dot MKIII.

I must try the LD MK9 with the Clear's and Radiance.

I have a Violectric V220 amp that feels and sounds tubey to me. I find it warm and soft. It is Rocking my Clears very nicely. The last few days I have been using my hybrid iFi amp, but the V220 is much more tube-like to me.

 

[YtseJamer]

The Clears are Awesome! But my landed cost was more than ten times higher than the X2.
Landed prices, with taxes in Canada were $115.00 and $1,350.00, so I wouldn't think of comparing them.

Did you buy them from headphones.ca ?

Because the total should have been $1128 CAD with the taxes and shipping included. (You should ask them to refund you the difference)

 

[Shane D]

Did you buy them from headphones.ca ?

Because the total should have been $1128 CAD with the taxes and shipping included. (You should ask them to refund you the difference)

No, that is not the right amount. Exchange rates change daily and PayPal takes their cut for converting.
Do you not know how shipping works into Canada? My total from Headphones.com was $987.57US, including taxes. That is converted to Canadian funds and the total is what I listed. The extra cost is added by the shipper to cover the border crossing.

 

[YtseJamer]

No, that is not the right amount. Exchange rates change daily and PayPal takes their cut for converting.
Do you not know how shipping works into Canada? My total from Headphones.com was $987.57US, including taxes. That is converted to Canadian funds and the total is what I listed. The extra cost is added by the shipper to cover the border crossing.

Ok it's because you bought them from the "headphones" US store, they also have a Canadian store (link below). You would have saved $222. (I'm also in Canada)

https://headphones.ca/collections/all-products/products/focal-clear-over-ear-open-back-headphones

 

[Shane D]

Ok it's because you bought them from the "headphones" US store, they also have a Canadian store (link below). You would have saved $222. (I'm also in Canada)

https://headphones.ca/collections/all-products/products/focal-clear-over-ear-open-back-headphones

I looked at the .ca website several time in the past and they never had anything decent listed in Canada so I stopped checking it out.

 

[Shane D]

Yes, the price on the Canadian website is $1,049.99. With tax, that is $1,206.00. That is not nothing and I will ask them about it.