bidn
100+ Head-Fier
Just curious, does anyone else who has had multiple Focal HPs (Utopia, Elear, Clear, Elex) notice a difference in clamping pressure for the Clear. I've only had the Clear for a week or so but it seems to clamp a lot harder than the Elear that I also have. Starts to bother me after about an hour. I'm pretty sure that I've seen some others on this or different forums who have also noticed a difference in clamping pressure.
Hi Ken,
I tried this with my Utopia, Elear and Clear for you.
In the same setting all three produce exactly the same clamping force.
However this clamping forces varies a lot depending on the setting:
- if I "completely" retract them (pads up) into the headband, the clamping force is at its strongest; even if I bang my head they will not move
- on the opposite if I "completely" extract, draw them out of the headband (pads down), they are fully loose.
I like this quite much because it allows to change and find the ideal trade-off between clamping force and comfort for different situations and uses.
It seems that many are not aware of this. I remember once seeing on youtube a review of the Utopia whereby the reviewer complained that they were loose on his head and could fall off. Yet he had them in a very, if not the most, extracted setting, apparently he had not realized he should not have extracted them this much, and should even have done the opposite for mobile, active use.
Swap the Clear pads to the Elear to see if the Elear seems like it clamps a little more. My understanding is the yoke on both are identical.
I agree with you, TSAVJason. At least the yokes of my Utopia, my Elear and my Clear seem to be exactly the same and they do function in an identical manner.
Re. those of you feeling that the different models have different clamping forces: are you sure you are comparing headphones with the exact same setting re. the extracting - retracting configuration?
hoping this help,
bidn
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