I recently did two things of note:
(1) Finished reading this entire thread from top to bottom
(2) Purchased the Clears
Thanks to everyone here for the wealth of information that is on display in the prior 303 pages. In particular, I would like to give a shout out to Phronesis and MTMECraig (as well as others) for their excellent music suggestions throughout this thread.
I am quite new to the Head-fi world and any listening impressions I could give would pale in comparison to those already present in this thread. Nevertheless, the Clears were my first foray into high-end audio, and I want to share some aspects of my NOOB experience on the off-chance that it is useful to someone who is similarly considering making the jump to $1000+ headphones for the first time.
In my opinion:
(a) Yes, it is worth it.
(b) The Clears will help you explore music you never knew you liked.
(c) A really good DAP is worth its weight in gold if you (like me) are starting with no equipment whatsoever.
By way of context, when I started reading Headfi, my only headphones were a pair of Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators (which are surprisingly well reviewed by Tyll from Innerfidelity). No DACs, amps, or hi-res sources to be found anywhere. Three months ago, I got pair of Focal Listen Wireless HPs ($300) for travel and was blown away by the detail retrieval and imaging compared to my old phones. Despite being thoroughly enamored, I continued researching more expensive HPs and developed a strong interest in the Clears. Auditioning a pair only fueled my lust.
As a total NOOB however, I had a few issues/questions:
First, is it REALLY worth $1500 (or whatever $1000+ bargain one finds)? That is literally 5x more expensive than anything I had purchased previously. Obviously, $1500 means different things to different people, but I literally cried the first time I listened to Sarah Jarosz’s “Build Me Up From Bones.” And this is coming from a guy who used to listen to 90% metal and dubstep. I wasn’t aware music could sound that good. (Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I am a NOOB and am more easily impressed than many Headfiers. But still, holy smokes, they are good.)
Second, and relatedly, I did not listen to “traditional” audiophile music and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the Clears. If ALL you listen to is metal and electronic, then I think this concern is valid. Although it handles these genres perfectly well, you might be missing out on some of the Clear’s capabilities. Fortunately for me, I am actively looking to expand my musical horizons and the Clear just makes it way too easy. For example, acoustic guitar, Latin music, and jazz sound exceptional on the Clears, and I had never fully appreciated these instruments/genres prior to the Clears. It is just so easy and fun explore new genres when they are made to sound so good. I would imagine that this “ease of musical exploration” is not exclusive to the Clears, but it is worth mentioning.
Third, as a NOOB, I had never used anything other than a phone or a laptop to drive HPs. The truly vast number of Amp/DAC combos was extremely daunting and I was weary of making an expensive mistake. In the end, I opted for a quality DAP, the AK Kann. I believe that a high quality DAP is a good first step for a budding audiophile because it is flexible and simple. For example, the Kann can effectively drive almost any HP. It can travel (makes a significant difference in SQ on my Focal Listen Wireless HPs). It serves as a hi-res source that can play almost any type of file that a budding audiophile will come across as they begin to expand their music library. I’m sure there are much higher performance desktop setups, and I will likely purchase one eventually, but for now, I am enjoying my (entirely portable) bliss in every room of my house. I have no regrets, and would happily recommend this path to anyone who has no equipment, but wants to try out the high-end HP game while keeping complexity to a minimum.
