[SilverEars]

Clear Pro now available @ HeadAmp for BF special price of $1199 while supplies last!

https://www.headamp.com/products/focal-clear-professional-open-back-dynamic-headphones

Wasn't there a deal at $800 awhile back? I was hoping it becomes the new price or even better, goes down in price further.

Focals starts off steap. As the past trend shows.

We need to get back at reasonable headphone pricing that are stable.

 

[johnandbodhi]

Anyone of Clear users got anoyed over time by them?
I put them back on my head first time in this month and they are shouty and fatigue to listen...
Two days in a row i get same feeling...
I got Dennon D9200 on loan from my friend and they was much brighter but lest shouty than Clear.

no not at all .. i enjoy them thoroughly and look forward to each listening and leave satisfied, and usu longer than anticipated .. time flies w these

 

[Tekunda]

no not at all .. i enjoy them thoroughly and look forward to each listening and leave satisfied, and usu longer than anticipated .. time flies w these

Me too. I can't get enough of my Clears. I equalized them a bit, in order to get a pinch more subbase, decreased the treble around 5400Hz, now I have a no-sibbilant silky smooth treble and again a mild increase around 10kHz to give the Clear some more openness or airiness.

 

[CreditingKarma]

Anyone of Clear users got anoyed over time by them?
I put them back on my head first time in this month and they are shouty and fatigue to listen...
Two days in a row i get same feeling...
I got Dennon D9200 on loan from my friend and they was much brighter but lest shouty than Clear.

Not at all I really enjoy them. It does take a bit of time to adjust to them after listening to my Abyss. I mostly use the clears when moving around the house with the sp1000cu or for gaming. They are a great headphone .

 

[vonBaron]

Thanks all for reply.
Do you guys think Norne Draug3 will be good pair for Clear?

 

[Blotto80]

Yes, I have to say that overall the Clear is so good it’s boring (from a hobby perspective, not a sound). There’s no tweaks, mods, EQs, amp pairings, etc needed. It’s plug it into whatever (good quality) amp you have, put it on your head, and enjoy.
Every other Headphone I’ve had has always needed something. LCD2 had comfort issues, HD800S needed EQ, Denon D2000 needed the MarkL mod, HE400 needed pad modding, HE500 needed grill modding, hell even the venerable HD650 needed some very specific amp considerations.
The Clear has none of that just music. I’m pretty smitten.

 

[adydula]

I agree the Clears pretty much work well out of the box...and dont need any eq'ing at all for me here.

Not boring at all when listening with them, I dont fiddle with settings etc...they just work so well....

Compared with T1's, T90s, DT 1350's, MSR7s, Grado 325is, LCD 2's, HD600s, ATHM50's...etc all nice in their niche...
but the clears just have such a nice overall tonality...

If you music is "shouty" well you will get "shouty"...

Garbage in is still garbage out with a set of Clears...

Alex

 

[441879]

Exactly, which is the reason why I didn't pull the trigger on the Dekoni pads, which don't have the inside 'diffusion' fabric. Although the site that cannot be named recommends them as being better than the stock ones for the Utopia.

The Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads sound great to me on the Elex. I don’t like how they sound at all on the Clear. Boomy and muddy upper bass.

 

[441879]

Anyone of Clear users got anoyed over time by them?
I put them back on my head first time in this month and they are shouty and fatigue to listen...
Two days in a row i get same feeling...
I got Dennon D9200 on loan from my friend and they was much brighter but lest shouty than Clear.

Taste is a personal thing, so if they’re not for you then they’re not for you. I still love mine and periodically they still stun me with how good they are.

Re cables- I’m not a big believer in cable magic but I did think the Litz silver plated OCC copper sounded better. It’s probably all in my head but it seemed to improve imaging and added a little treble sparkle that I did not notice in the non plated OCC copper. That said, Norne seems awful proud of their silver plated copper. YMMV of course but over $600 for the cable is not something I would ever spend.

 

[adydula]

Ha!

I ought a set of silver Litz cables 20 years ago and paid a;most $200 for them, when I was young and naive!!

Still have them, still use them, but my blue jeans cables sound or dont sound just as nice for $40.

Using them right now with an AGDR ODA amp....from a Bifrost MB to clears...awesome.

Alex

 

[441879]

Thanks all for reply.
Do you guys think Norne Draug3 will be good pair for Clear?

I’m not a big proponent of cable magic, but I do think they sound a

Ha!

I ought a set of silver Litz cables 20 years ago and paid a;most $200 for them, when I was young and naive!!

Still have them, still use them, but my blue jeans cables sound or dont sound just as nice for $40.

Using them right now with an AGDR ODA amp....from a Bifrost MB to clears...awesome.

Alex

I buy aftermarket cables for their physical properties (flexibility, low microphonics, color, durability) and think they can definitely be worth the money. I also think that a lot of the enjoyment we receive from headphones isn’t necessarily about just the sound. Aesthetics, tactile aspects, quality of construction, etc also contribute and can make a high end cable worth it.

That said, if improved sound quality is the goal, there are other ways that generate a bigger bang per dollar.

 

[powerincarnate]

Some good deals going around this holiday/black friday weekend so I am asking for some assistance. I know this is the Clear forum, so I do expect a slightly bias; but I can't go around posting the same message to all the forums. I also chose to post on the Clear forum since for now; it's is tied in the lead for my choice to buy.

Question:
How would you guys compare the Clear to Hifiman Arya, ZMF aeolus/Auteur; Sendy Aiva; Mrspeakers Ether flow Open, and maybe Audeze LCD MX4. If you had to choose; or Rank them, how would you rank them.

Other than sendy aiva's all are about roughly the same general price point (LCD MX4 has a B stock at $1500).

I'm tempted to get Arya for it's big wall of sound/sound stage and relatively even sound across the board.
ZMF's headphones are a work of art and is the best competitor to Clears in the Dynamic headphones other than HD 800s.
Sendy Aiva is 500 bucks right now with the holiday sale. And many reviewers had stated it punches above it's weight. Very detail, clean sound. Plus the cables look great. It would save me $700-1000 going this rought.
Ether Flow Open: for whatever reason; people stopped discussing this headphone several years ago. I know Ether 2 was kind of a disappointment, but the flow looks great, large cushion, every says it is comfortable. So what exactly is off about them?
Clear: The only negatives I hear is somewhat metalic timbre; narrow soundstage and positioning the sound in your head vs outside. But by all acounts it appears to be a very neutral headphone; good for many genres. Also this, Ether; and ZMF have the best build quality, while still being fairly light.
Audeze MX4: well; you get double sided magnet; about 150g less than LCD4; but still 100g above Clear in weight. supposedly neutral; and easy to drive. Yet; there is way way way fever reviews of this headphone compared to other, which again makes me wonder if something is off?.

 

[roskodan]

@powerincarnate is that how you hear those phones, or impressions of others' that you read?

 

[powerincarnate]

sorry for not clarifying. This is the general sense I get from many written and video reviews on the internet. I last year had gotten the RME ADI 2 Dac; and have descent speakers; but still have an old Mr. Speakers Alpha dog headphone and now am ready to get new headphones. Please feel free to correct me, or add your take in how these headphones sound. I will take whatever additional information people have and eventually decide on which headphone I will order.

Thanks.

 

[roskodan]

Maybe you have a general idea of what direction you would like the sound to depart from the Alphas sound/presentation.