[bgbkt]

Nice! The Clear is definitely a game changer. It just sounds so right.

Reading it more, some of the casualties are year end clean up, not sure if it’s because of Clear.

 

[joseph69]

The Clear is definitely a game changer. It just sounds so right.

Listening again to the Clear tonight. I only have a total of +/- 3hrs of listening, and I must say these are a pleasure to listen to!

EDIT:

I know everyone has their own sound preferences, but even with no burn-in on the Clear, I don't believe anyone could have a negative impression about their beautiful sound presentation, whether you prefer them or not, their sweet!

 

[TSAVJason]

Focal Clear is now on Tyll's Wall of Fame... and Utopia, Elear, LCD-4 and Stax SR-009 are now retired.

It’s a compliment to the Clear for sure! I don’t own the LCD4 and my son took over piloting audio with the Elear. I think the Clear is a great performer but on my small “wall” so to speak, I can’t remove the Utopia or 009’s YET! Cheers! I think the 009 is about to see some EStat competition from right out of San Diego California

 

[donlin]

Reading it more, some of the casualties are year end clean up, not sure if it’s because of Clear.

Not sure how you could reach that conclusion. He flat out says “Clear has reset the bar”.

 

[potkettleblack]

Some people have necks made of paper mache, manufacturer's can't fix that.

I've worn Elear and Utopia for 8+ hours straight with zero fatigue (to put this in perspective, I'm 5'9" 145lbs soaking wet).

I wanted to say that the recent Focal line are a little too heavy for me, but now I'm in fear of being neck shamed.

 

[bgbkt]

Not sure how you could reach that conclusion. He flat out says “Clear has reset the bar”.

For Utopia, Elear and LCD4 he mentioned Clear is the reason. But for 009 he compares it to Sonoma Model One and modded 007. Anyway, I think it really make sense that he decided to raise the bar for his WoF. Recently i felt he was going more with hype train and quick impressions.

 

[Jodet]

I'm comparing the HD800s (on a Quad VA-One tube amp), the Clear (Violectric V280) and Stax L700 (353X).

It's interesting. They're all great. The Stax seems to be in a league of its own.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Personally I feel like once you get into the TOTL range of headphones, which are meant to be used at home, there really is no excuse for not using a suspension system for comfort. These systems are objectively better at distributing weight, and about the only knock against them is they are large and silly looking, which isn't a problem if headphones are meant to be used at home, especially open backs.

Most serious audiophile focused TOTL headphone makers understand this and have switched to suspension systems. Noteworthy exceptions are Sennheiser and Focal, but I'm hoping they are going to come around. In all honesty it is one of the things that prevents me from buying their products.

I haaaaate suspension systems. Hate them. They're fine if you sit perfectly still, but moving around ALWAYS results in the earpieces shifting around and it's incredibly annoying. Plus, they loosen over time. There has not been a single suspension headphone that I felt comfortable with. Not one.

 

[Themordent]

I wanted to say that the recent Focal line are a little too heavy for me, but now I'm in fear of being neck shamed.

"Never Skip Neck Day: A Cautionary Tale"

Anyhow, the InnerFidelity WoF has really become a rarefied space in the wake of the Clear's entrance; virtually all multi-kilobuck flagship offerings summarily executed. Personally I don't intend to let my Utopia go any time soon (or the rest of the system I've gathered behind it), but the new Focals certainly seem pretty special...

 

[TSAVJason]

I wanted to say that the recent Focal line are a little too heavy for me, but now I'm in fear of being neck shamed.

LMAO .....Awesome! Have a great New Year!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Tyll's WoF always needs to be taken with a small grain of salt (well, maybe a big one). He tends to fall in and out of love with brands. At one point Sennheiser was all over it. At another point everything Audeze released was on there. Shortly after that, MrSpeakers dominated. Now we've entered the Focal era. His tastes waver and flop around as much as anyone's, and the fact that the Clear somehow axed the Utopia shouldn't be taken as anything beyond he's really enthusiastic about the Clear lately.

 

[ubs28]

I'm not so sure if his new WoF makes sense at all. The Aeon Closed is more neutral than the Aeon Open.

At the same time, the Focal Utopia is more neutral than the Aeon Closed (and thus also more neutral than the Aeon Open). Yet the Aeon Open is on his WoF?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm not so sure if his new WoF makes sense at all. The Aeon Closed is more neutral than the Aeon Open.

At the same time, the Focal Utopia is more neutral than the Aeon Closed (and thus also more neutral than the Aeon Open). Yet the Aeon Open is on his WoF?

His WoF doesn't make any sense currently. Don't forget that his original review of the Aeon was really negative and then suddenly it was up on the WoF.

Don't forget also that he immediately put the Utopia up, and then the measurements came out and his Utopia was messed up and didn't measure like any of the other units.

Additionally, if you trace his reasons for the Wall they tend to be both contradictory and muddled. His whole reason for having Audeze up was their smooth and warm presentation, but Focal has knocked Audeze out largely thanks to its more pronounced treble response, so to a very real extent we're seeing a personal preference change.

 

[donlin]

Not really sure if the WoF really has to “make sense”. It’s just his personal favorites at a variety of price points.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Not really sure if the WoF really has to “make sense”. It’s just his personal favorites at a variety of price points.

He's a professional reviewer, of course it has to make sense. The whole point of being a reviewer is that your ratings/rankings/etc have a clear reason to them and that you're not just vaguely saying "well I like it so there." The idea is that you're someone who can analyze a product and give a fair assessment of it.