[phthora]

Thanks for the reply. It helped me zero amount haha. I really don't know what one though. I've always had nuetral to bright cans. Maybe it's time for a bit of warmth.

Honestly don't know.

It's hard to go wrong between the two really. The Clear impresses me more because I typically haven't loved bright signatures and haven't heard the Clear's level of detail in a dynamic. I was frankly amazing by them at a meet-up and bought a pair immediately. The X is great, but I'm a planar guy in general, and I love them for all the standard reasons that I love planars. No surprises there.

iFi BL runs the X nicely too?

Eh.... I mean, technically, yes. Of course. But, I don't think it's a great pairing. Switching to the BL from the Audio-gd, I just miss too much detail, too much control, and depth of sound. The still sound very good on the BL, but they don't sound nearly as amazing as they could. Seems like a waste. So, I run the X almost exclusively on the Audio-gd.

 

[mixman]

I thought about my signature not matching what I'm saying when I posted, but it's supposed to be just for current favorites. Check out my profile page for all my gear. It's very... thorough.

I've never heard the AFC blow me away. But, I do love them.

The X has incredible speed and resolution, more so than the Clear, which is no slouch. It can render echo on instruments with wild realism and extremely clear vocals in the backing chorus during complex passages. It's pretty amazing in that regard. The X also has some of the very best bass I've ever heard. Super deep extension, detail, and control in that bass. Really, it smokes the Clear when it comes to sub-bass, and that is despite the Clear having excellent sub-bass for a dynamic. The X has a richer, bigger, more weighty sound, despite not veering too far from neutral. It's more sumptuous and romantic sounding, but also rewards analytical listening with intense detail. Like many planars, its treble lags behind when it comes to quality, though it is still very good. But the treble is a bit too polite and uneven, especially when compared to an excellent dynamic.

Overall, Clear has incredible clarity and balance, with excellent speed, resolution, and imaging. There doesn't seem to be any aspect of sound that falls behind the others in terms of quality, which means it does everything at least very, very well. Its overall signature is brighter and the Clear has comparatively more roll-off in the bass than the X (but what doesn't?). On mids, both have about the same amount of presence, but the Clear excels in realism where the X wins on detail. The Clear wins in treble, boasting the best treble I've heard. What the X does for bass, the Clear does for treble.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to pick between the two and, combined with the Auteur for their insanely great mids, they make it really difficult to seriously consider getting another pair of headphones.

Difficult. Not impossible. I mean, come on.

Great comparison between the Clear and the LCD X. I have the Elex, which I am selling, but I am conflicted by whether to buy the Clear or go to the Utopia. I tend to think the Clear is too close to the X, just a different flavor, but the Utopia is superior, just a little bright for my taste. The Stellia is a decent middle ground, but for a while the Utopia would be the better buy.

 

[Benno1988]

Thanks for taking the time pthora. I like my Aeons. But they aren't exciting. They are like the DT250. Everything done well. Good value.

I can try the LCD X at a store I think, Clears I can't. Brisbane AU has one headphone store, and they don't stock much.

 

[CreditingKarma]

Great comparison between the Clear and the LCD X. I have the Elex, which I am selling, but I am conflicted by whether to buy the Clear or go to the Utopia. I tend to think the Clear is too close to the X, just a different flavor, but the Utopia is superior, just a little bright for my taste. The Stellia is a decent middle ground, but for a while the Utopia would be the better buy.

It depends on what you are looking for sound wise. I have the clears and LCD X. I find them different enough that I own both the clears have better treble and more true to life sound to me. I liked the clears more than the utopia when I auditioned both. To be honest though now that I have the lcd4z I really don't use the clears or lcdx much. If you are willing to spend the money for the utopia I would recommend trying the lcd4z, and empyrean as well. They can all be had for a similar price here in USA not sure about Australia. It is hard to beat audeze in terms of warranty and customer service.

 

[mixman]

It depends on what you are looking for sound wise. I have the clears and LCD X. I find them different enough that I own both the clears have better treble and more true to life sound to me. I liked the clears more than the utopia when I auditioned both. To be honest though now that I have the lcd4z I really don't use the clears or lcdx much. If you are willing to spend the money for the utopia I would recommend trying the lcd4z, and empyrean as well. They can all be had for a similar price here in USA not sure about Australia. It is hard to beat audeze in terms of warranty and customer service.

I am looking for an analytical HP, to complement the LCD's and Hifiman. That is why I am leaning a bit more to the Utopia as opposed to the Clear. I am intrigued by the 4Z though. My dealer is trying to get me into either the LCD4 or 4Z but the 4's sound even though it is good, isn't quite what I am looking for. I did read that the 4Z has a little more treble and a touch more bass, in addition to being lighter. That is a winning combo. Unfortunately, it has a little higher street price than the 4 too.

 

[audiobean]

We will see when the CLEAR P.......... comes Lol

NOMAX

Wow reading pasts post and Nomax was on point, the clear pros...then hd 820s came out after being called fake news by some.
LOL entertaining.

 

[Benno1988]

LCD4z is almost $2000 AUD more than the Utopia. And the Utopia is still a rip at $4000 ish AUD. LCD4z $5600.

Clear is $2200, LCD X Creator is $1700.

Go Australia!

 

[Focux]

LCD4z is almost $2000 AUD more than the Utopia. And the Utopia is still a rip at $4000 ish AUD. LCD4z $5600.

Clear is $2200, LCD X Creator is $1700.

Go Australia!

Perhaps u can consider LCD2C?

I am buying from AUS as well since shipping to NZ is abt AUD25 and tax free

 

[Benno1988]

Yeah. We have AddictedToAduio and MiniDisc. I've found Wing at Minidisc the most helpful, he usually gives a good price too.

 

[SilverEars]

It's hard to go wrong between the two really. The Clear impresses me more because I typically haven't loved bright signatures and haven't heard the Clear's level of detail in a dynamic. I was frankly amazing by them at a meet-up and bought a pair immediately. The X is great, but I'm a planar guy in general, and I love them for all the standard reasons that I love planars. No surprises there.



Eh.... I mean, technically, yes. Of course. But, I don't think it's a great pairing. Switching to the BL from the Audio-gd, I just miss too much detail, too much control, and depth of sound. The still sound very good on the BL, but they don't sound nearly as amazing as they could. Seems like a waste. So, I run the X almost exclusively on the Audio-gd.

Clear would be consider bright, but not in a harsh way IMO. We can say something is bright, but not necessarily negatively so. I think it's due to the treble having more of a lift, and with this, headphones can get harsh, but for my ears Clear seems to avoid it. When you get to the Sennheiser 6 series brightness tones down with Clear sounding more energietic.

 

[jeffreyw311]

LCD4z is almost $2000 AUD more than the Utopia. And the Utopia is still a rip at $4000 ish AUD. LCD4z $5600.

Clear is $2200, LCD X Creator is $1700.

Go Australia!

You just gotta bargain hunt. Tivoli Hi-Fi, for instance, always has hefty no questions asked 20% discounts around Christmas and 10% discounts if you sign up to their newsletter from memory. Addicted to Audio has 20% off eBay promotions occasionally, a lot of their products are on their eBay page and eBay gift card can be bought at 10% to 15% discounts. From memory, I bought my Focal Clear for $1700 AUD from Tivoli Hi-Fi. The exchange rate is crap right now but that's still $1200 USD and $300 USD cheaper than the current Amazon pricing. I'd argue that's pretty good.

You never buy anything luxury in Australia at MSRP because its always heavily discounted somewhere somehow.

 

[Focux]

You just gotta bargain hunt. Tivoli Hi-Fi, for instance, always has hefty no questions asked 20% discounts around Christmas and 10% discounts if you sign up to their newsletter from memory. Addicted to Audio has 20% off eBay promotions occasionally, a lot of their products are on their eBay page and eBay gift card can be bought at 10% to 15% discounts. From memory, I bought my Focal Clear for $1700 AUD from Tivoli Hi-Fi. The exchange rate is crap right now but that's still $1200 USD and $300 USD cheaper than the current Amazon pricing. I'd argue that's pretty good.

You never buy anything luxury in Australia at MSRP because its always heavily discounted somewhere somehow.

A search on Tivoli’s web yielded no Focal headphones

 

[Dulcebeat]

Hi guys,
I've been reading this thread for a long time.
I'm willing to buy a Clear headphone and my question is simple.

Everybody tends to agree that the 2 following amps are the best ones for these cans :
ifi idsd BL
Questyle CMA 400i

Is questyle really better than the black label ?
More resolving perhaps ? More efficient at driving them than the BL ?

 

[Doctordoom16]

Selling my focal clear for $900. If interested pm and I'll post pix

 

[Dulcebeat]

Thanks but no. I reside in France and want to buy them new
Just want opinion on the BL and questyle CMA to decide which combo I'm gonna purchase