[phthora]

I don't think it's crazy at all to enjoy the Clear more then the Utopia. I'm a firm believer when it comes to headphones that price does not equate to quality. One headphone having better technical characteristics then another doesn't make it more enjoyable or more valuable to me personally.

Funny... I just finished PM'ing someone those exact sentiments. An appealing tuning goes a long way, even when the technicals have real problems. On the other hand, the Stax I've heard left me cold, despite being technically very impressive.

But, that's why I think the Clear is worth its MSRP (which is a high compliment from me). To me, it has a perfect tuning and it has marvelous technical prowess. No trading one for the other here. Doesn't it make sense that such a headphone would be worth paying a premium?

 

[mixman]

Funny... I just finished PM'ing someone those exact sentiments. An appealing tuning goes a long way, even when the technicals have real problems. On the other hand, the Stax I've heard left me cold, despite being technically very impressive.

But, that's why I think the Clear is worth its MSRP (which is a high compliment from me). To me, it has a perfect tuning and it has marvelous technical prowess. No trading one for the other here. Doesn't it make sense that such a headphone would be worth paying a premium?

I see in your sig you had the Elex. Now you have the Clear. What do you feel the differences are between the two?

 

[GearMe]

Just listened to Clapton - Unplugged on these...very nice; then ELP Trilogy...like these cans!

 

[parimento1]

I also tried the Clear and Utopia and fell in love with the Clear.

 

[CreditingKarma]

I also went for the clear over the utopia. The clear is really good with the utopia pads now that dekoni is making a similar pad that is more affordable it may be worth a try. I really enjoy the clears I like the sound signature more than my LCD-X. The only issue I have with the focal line up is the soundstage. It sounds closed in to me. They clears also have a good amount of clamp not anywhere near the amount of the Sonoma. The Sonoma is like putting your head in a vice. I don't really use the clear or LCD-x much now that I picked up the AB1266 PHI TC. The sound is just so much more clear than either the clears or LCD x. The soundstage is also the largest I have heard in a headphone.with the exception of the hd800 but they sound artificially large to me. The abyss looks like they are a torture device but they are pretty comfortable once you get the fit dialed in and used to the fact that there is no clamp

I might be selling the clears and LCD x if anyone is going to the jds labs meet in July and interested let me know. They aren't being used with the exception of the x for gaming which is awesome by the way.

 

[lambdastorm]

I also went for the clear over the utopia. The clear is really good with the utopia pads now that dekoni is making a similar pad that is more affordable it may be worth a try. I really enjoy the clears I like the sound signature more than my LCD-X. The only issue I have with the focal line up is the soundstage. It sounds closed in to me. They clears also have a good amount of clamp not anywhere near the amount of the Sonoma. The Sonoma is like putting your head in a vice. I don't really use the clear or LCD-x much now that I picked up the AB1266 PHI TC. The sound is just so much more clear than either the clears or LCD x. The soundstage is also the largest I have heard in a headphone.with the exception of the hd800 but they sound artificially large to me. The abyss looks like they are a torture device but they are pretty comfortable once you get the fit dialed in and used to the fact that there is no clamp

I might be selling the clears and LCD x if anyone is going to the jds labs meet in July and interested let me know. They aren't being used with the exception of the x for gaming which is awesome by the way.

One thing I've always loved about the abyss is that they don't have much redemption value aside from sound quality. Yet the SQ is so great it makes any inconvenience acceptable.

 

[CreditingKarma]

One thing I've always loved about the abyss is that they don't have much redemption value aside from sound quality. Yet the SQ is so great it makes any inconvenience acceptable.

I couldn't agree more. They don't look that great but the sound is second to none.

 

[8bitmark]

I also went for the clear over the utopia. The clear is really good with the utopia pads now that dekoni is making a similar pad that is more affordable it may be worth a try. I really enjoy the clears I like the sound signature more than my LCD-X. The only issue I have with the focal line up is the soundstage. It sounds closed in to me. They clears also have a good amount of clamp not anywhere near the amount of the Sonoma. The Sonoma is like putting your head in a vice. I don't really use the clear or LCD-x much now that I picked up the AB1266 PHI TC. The sound is just so much more clear than either the clears or LCD x. The soundstage is also the largest I have heard in a headphone.with the exception of the hd800 but they sound artificially large to me. The abyss looks like they are a torture device but they are pretty comfortable once you get the fit dialed in and used to the fact that there is no clamp

I might be selling the clears and LCD x if anyone is going to the jds labs meet in July and interested let me know. They aren't being used with the exception of the x for gaming which is awesome by the way.

What changed to your ears with the Utopia pads on the Clear? I love my clears, but was thinking about trying the Utopia pads just to switch it up.

 

[pbarach]

Mine so far have no rattles. Had them for 6 months. Probably not the greatest idea to buy these from eBay as you likely know.

Mine (purchased new from an authorized dealer) developed a rattle in one side after a couple of months. Dealer exchanged them, and no problems of any kind since thewn.

 

[Soundizer]

Anyone know if the 5m coil cable for the Clear Professional fits the standard Clear?

 

[strojo]

Anyone know if the 5m coil cable for the Clear Professional fits the standard Clear?

Yes

 

[esauseesaw]

Anyone know if the 5m coil cable for the Clear Professional fits the standard Clear?

Yup, exactly the same connections.

 

[Soundizer]

Yup, exactly the same connections.

Do you sell it? I need a 5m cable for my Focal Clear headphones.

I am in the uk

 

[BassicScience]

It sounds like you're taking a pretty similar approach, but starting with price and thinking about what kind of quality that headphone would need to have in order to justify the price, whereas I am starting with the quality of the headphone and then determining how much I would be willing to pay for that headphone.

I've had a similar experience when I was thinking about which Focal to buy. I thought the Utopia sounded great, but I would only be willing to pay about $1800 for it, all things considered. Good luck with that. It would have to be much better somehow to get me to think it's worth $4k. Rather than over-pay (from my perspective) for the Utopia, I went with the Clear. Since, as I said, I would pay $1500 for the Clear but got it for less than that, it was a much better value to me. That way of thinking makes it easy for me to figure things out. But, that 20% more in cost doesn't mean that I think that the sound is 20% better. I don't understand what that would even mean. Plus, I actually like the Clear better than the Utopia, despite being willing to spend more on the latter. Crazy, I know.

I think about things differently than either of you. When I bought my Utopia a couple years ago, I auditioned the Elear at the same time. I was psychologically ready to own the best headphone I could afford, and I had the luxury of having plenty of disposable income at the time. If the Utopia had been a small incremental upgrade over the Elear, I might have saved the $3k and waited for something even better to come along, but it really wasn't in the same league at all. Was the Utopia 4x better? No, it was infinitely better, because the Elear gave me nothing of the same experience (try dividing by zero). I was at an age where I wasn't willing to compromise anymore, especially if spending the money wouldn't require any other sacrifices to be made.

Fast forward to this year's SoCal CanJam. I listened to the Clear and all of the newer Focal headphones. My opinion hasn't changed. Utopia is clearly the best phone they make, with only the Stellia even in the near distance. There's something about a Beryllium driver, and I think it's the resolution and fidelity to the source that it offers. I'm a huge believer in high fidelity. Personal sonic preferences can be layered on top of a high fidelity component by other means, but if a component is producing distortions, it's really impossible to get rid of those. People are free to prefer component X over higher fidelity component Y, as long as they realize that it's a personal sonic preference, and don't assert that X is "better" than Y.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

I think about things differently than either of you. When I bought my Utopia a couple years ago, I auditioned the Elear at the same time. I was psychologically ready to own the best headphone I could afford, and I had the luxury of having plenty of disposable income at the time. If the Utopia had been a small incremental upgrade over the Elear, I might have saved the $3k and waited for something even better to come along, but it really wasn't in the same league at all. Was the Utopia 4x better? No, it was infinitely better, because the Elear gave me nothing of the same experience (try dividing by zero). I was at an age where I wasn't willing to compromise anymore, especially if spending the money wouldn't require any other sacrifices to be made.

Fast forward to this year's SoCal CanJam. I listened to the Clear and all of the newer Focal headphones. My opinion hasn't changed. Utopia is clearly the best phone they make, with only the Stellia even in the near distance. There's something about a Beryllium driver, and I think it's the resolution and fidelity to the source that it offers. I'm a huge believer in high fidelity. Personal sonic preferences can be layered on top of a high fidelity component by other means, but if a component is producing distortions, it's really impossible to get rid of those. People are free to prefer component X over higher fidelity component Y, as long as they realize that it's a personal sonic preference, and don't assert that X is "better" than Y.

I'm not sure how you quantify something being "infinitely better". I'm not sure I really understand "this headphone was a better experience then this other one so that completely negates one of them". Nothing wrong with feeling that way, but it doesn't personally make much sense to me. I don't even think the Utopia is twice as good as the Elear, even less then that compared to the Clear. I've auditioned the Utopia twice now and both times found them to be too bright for me to enjoy. I couldn't say another headphone is infinitely better then the Utopia though.