[wakka992]

Hi guys,

new to the tread and new owner of a Clear Professional. So far so good, still have to give them a good listen and compare them to my beloved HD 650.
Only problem I have is with the 5mt coiled cable: I don't like it at all.
As the stock Clear cable color scheme doesn't look good on the Professional, I just bought a Beyerdynamic "audiophile connection cable", that is 3mt long and is made of OCC 7N copper ( https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-3-0-m-textile.html ).
Aside from the 99.99999% purity of the copper (believe it or not), Beyer's customer service informed me that the copper conductor size is 28AWG, and this bothers me a little, as the stock cable is 24AWG.

Even thought the source I use has a stunning low 0,025 ohm output impedance (Chord Hugo 2), I'll pass from a DC resistance of 84.22mΩ/m (24AWG) to a higher resistance of 212.9mΩ/m (28AWG).
- Stock cable: 5mt, 84.22mΩ x 5m = 421,1mΩ
- Beyer cable: 3mt, 212.9mΩ x 3m = 638,7mΩ
If I remember correctly, the lower the resistance the better, so the longer 5mt stock coiled cable would be a better choice.

I believe I'm overthinking it, but wanted in any case to share my thoughts with the community and see if you have any feedback to provide in this respect.
Many thanks!

 

[Skyyyeman]

Hi guys,

new to the tread and new owner of a Clear Professional. So far so good, still have to give them a good listen and compare them to my beloved HD 650.
Only problem I have is with the 5mt coiled cable: I don't like it at all.
As the stock Clear cable color scheme doesn't look good on the Professional, I just bought a Beyerdynamic "audiophile connection cable", that is 3mt long and is made of OCC 7N copper ( https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/audiophile-connection-cable-3-0-m-textile.html ).
Aside from the 99.99999% purity of the copper (believe it or not), Beyer's customer service informed me that the copper conductor size is 28AWG, and this bothers me a little, as the stock cable is 24AWG.

Even thought the source I use has a stunning low 0,025 ohm output impedance (Chord Hugo 2), I'll pass from a DC resistance of 84.22mΩ/m (24AWG) to a higher resistance of 212.9mΩ/m (28AWG).
- Stock cable: 5mt, 84.22mΩ x 5m = 421,1mΩ
- Beyer cable: 3mt, 212.9mΩ x 3m = 638,7mΩ
If I remember correctly, the lower the resistance the better, so the longer 5mt stock coiled cable would be a better choice.

I believe I'm overthinking it, but wanted in any case to share my thoughts with the community and see if you have any feedback to provide in this respect.
Many thanks!

Wakka, I don't think you are overthinking it but certainly oversimplifying it. I'm no cable expert but there are factors other than resistance that characterize cables, such as capacitance, inductance and some others, all of which influence sound. These are a function of the metal in the wire, of course, but also the type of wrapping and insulation around the wire (which affect "skin effect") and the quality of the manufacture, including type of solder, quality of plugs, and other factors. The problem is that it's extremely difficult, almost impossible, to evaluate all these factors. As a result, it's usually necessary to hear the cable and maybe do a comparison with other cables, such as the stock cable you mention. Absent that, one is left to use other methods such as reputation of the manufacturer, cable reviews, price (as a very imperfect indication of quality), recommendation from dealers and friends, and the like.

While Beyerdynamic is a fine headphone manufacturer it is not a cable manufacturer per se, so it's difficult to assess their cables. Perhaps you might also consider a company dedicated to cable manufacturing, of which there are quite a few.

 

[FullBright1]

Maybe you should look at the new Heddphones. Some people are quite fascinated by their midrange.

Yes, thank you.
I did, recently.
Their weigh seems to be a real issue tho the tech seems excellent.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Well folks. I'm 3 weeks into these Clears and am astounded by what I'm hearing. One thing that surprised me is that once I got to the 100 hour mark. I didn't expect much change in them after that point. Well this past Wednesday evening I noticed that they opened up even more presenting an even more open and holographic presentation. Imaging has even more depth and layers. I was take back by the change. I've been monitoring them closely since then and it seems they may have finally settled in.

Who knows. Could be all in the brain lol. One thing for sure is that I can't find ANY faults in the sound! That's a first for me. Every can previously there would always be something that I would wish that particular can had one way or the other. More bass, more treble, more dimension, more or less of something. With the Clears , notta, zilch, zero.

Hopefully in the future I can upgrade my rig to see what these can really do. For now I'm extremely grateful and happy to own such a beautiful work of art!

 

[340519]

I love these cans with the bryston bha1. The dynamics are stellar. The only gripe I have with them is that the ear pads are already getting discolored from natural facial oils. That's a real bummer.

 

[MLGrado]

Given the sensitivity you mention to have I wouldn't suggest the Utopia.

Thank you for the heads up! I live in the 'sticks' so it is hard to get a decent demo of anything. Best bet around here is finding on online vendor with a generous audition policy of at least 30 days and a fair restocking fee.

 

[MLGrado]

Well folks. I'm 3 weeks into these Clears and am astounded by what I'm hearing. One thing that surprised me is that once I got to the 100 hour mark. I didn't expect much change in them after that point. Well this past Wednesday evening I noticed that they opened up even more presenting an even more open and holographic presentation. Imaging has even more depth and layers. I was take back by the change. I've been monitoring them closely since then and it seems they may have finally settled in.

Who knows. Could be all in the brain lol. One thing for sure is that I can't find ANY faults in the sound! That's a first for me. Every can previously there would always be something that I would wish that particular can had one way or the other. More bass, more treble, more dimension, more or less of something. With the Clears , notta, zilch, zero.

Hopefully in the future I can upgrade my rig to see what these can really do. For now I'm extremely grateful and happy to own such a beautiful work of art!

I don't think your experience is all 'in your head'. I am not a big believer in things like amps, cables, dacs, etc drastically improving with break in. But items like headphones and speakers? I absolutely believe something more is happening than our mind deceiving us.

I am also having difficulty in finding a real weakness(s) with the Clear's using my usual musical repertoire. If I were to point to a real potential fall, its the bass. Levels could be better, and transients could be quicker. Let me qualify that by saying I use a tube head amp. YMMV may vary with a different amp.

I have always had that suspicion, so I decided on a quick easy experiment one day. I took the headamp out of the equation, and used the headphone output of my DAC.. the RME ADI-2 fs. Yes, quite a bit more punch and tightness in the bass. Easily notable.

BUT, my ears with no doubt whatsoever preferred running through my Icon Audio HP8 Mk II. The RME dac is truly one the best DAC's currently available in the world around the 1k US price range, and exceeds the performance of some DAC's that cost quite a bit more. Especially if you take the time and deal with its steep learning curve. The Focals are revealing enough to expose the small weaknesses of the DAC, which are 'fixed' by the tube amp.

So there you have it. The Focal Clear headphones are an excellent window for the source to pass through. They can be ruthless in revealing weaknesses, yet at the same time can be as musically involving as any set of 'phones I have yet experienced.

 

[340519]

I don't think your experience is all 'in your head'. I am not a big believer in things like amps, cables, dacs, etc drastically improving with break in. But items like headphones and speakers? I absolutely believe something more is happening than our mind deceiving us.

I am also having difficulty in finding a real weakness(s) with the Clear's using my usual musical repertoire. If I were to point to a real potential fall, its the bass. Levels could be better, and transients could be quicker. Let me qualify that by saying I use a tube head amp. YMMV may vary with a different amp.

I have always had that suspicion, so I decided on a quick easy experiment one day. I took the headamp out of the equation, and used the headphone output of my DAC.. the RME ADI-2 fs. Yes, quite a bit more punch and tightness in the bass. Easily notable.

BUT, my ears with no doubt whatsoever preferred running through my Icon Audio HP8 Mk II. The RME dac is truly one the best DAC's currently available in the world around the 1k US price range, and exceeds the performance of some DAC's that cost quite a bit more. Especially if you take the time and deal with its steep learning curve. The Focals are revealing enough to expose the small weaknesses of the DAC, which are 'fixed' by the tube amp.

So there you have it. The Focal Clear headphones are an excellent window for the source to pass through. They can be ruthless in revealing weaknesses, yet at the same time can be as musically involving as any set of 'phones I have yet experienced.

I concur completely. Listening to Dave Gilmore's Live at Pompeii on the Benchmark dac 3 through the Icon Audio hp8 mk2 to the Clears is divine. I love that tube amp.

 

[SilverEars]

I love these cans with the bryston bha1. The dynamics are stellar. The only gripe I have with them is that the ear pads are already getting discolored from natural facial oils. That's a real bummer.

Yeah, white wasn't the best choice in color.

 

[340519]

Yeah, white wasn't the best choice in color.

My wife's seats in her Venza are the same color as the clear's cloth. Worst. Choice. Ever. Next time will be black seats.

 

[easo91]

So after 2 years almost of owning these, I’ve decided is time to back to the good ol reliable 650. I’ve loved this can, and in most circumstances I don’t have issues with it, but the second I want to really crank something for fun for a few tracks, I run up to the clipping issue. I know it’s only at levels that I couldn’t sustain for long sessions, but it’s still something I think about every time I reach for the volume knob. Is this going to put me over the edge? It’s not even always consistent and I swear them being jostled is enough to change how easily they can be overdriven.

I went from thinking I had a hair in the driver to discovering the “compromise” focal made in the design and learning to live with of, to not being annoyed, to constantly wondering if I’m getting it or not when tracks start to get busy. I don’t want to be constantly wondering if I’m hearing things or if it’s my imagination. If I want to put my headphones on and never have to worry about any sort of usage factors that might hurt my enjoyment.

At the same time, I’m afraid of selling them on the resale market because I want to be really transparent about the pair and don’t think people outside of these forums would understand that the clipping is actually working “as intended.”

plus I can’t post in the for sale forums yet, so that leaves me with the clusterf*** that is selling on eBay. I’m never doing that again for hifi sales.

It’s a shame because it’s the closest I’ve come to something that is a 650 replacement that addresses all the shortcomings of the 650.

edit: also I got into the speaker game, and now have a set up that trashes any headphone I’ve heard at any price point, and so don’t really see the need to have super expensive headphones that still don’t touch my 2.1 setup.

 

[Guidostrunk]

I haven't heard any clipping in mine yet. Then again I run my cans at 80db peaks. It's skull jarring at that level. Any louder and the imaging and space starts to collapse.

 

[adydula]

I have listened at very high levels for short periods and never have experienced any clipping period.

If you clipping then your listening at levels that will harm you hearing over time....beware!!!

I have 12 headphone amps, one has clipping indicator circuits and displays, never heard the heaphones make any mechanical noises are getting into an area of physical limiting on part of the
headphone....

I think you have a defective set or are driving them way too hard....there are hundreds of folks that do no experience this issue and have thousands of hours of listening without this issue.

I am not saying the headphones dont have an internal protect mechanism, its just gosh for you to reach the physical limits of these cans your really pushing it!

Alex

 

[Ichos]

Never heard any kind of clipping at very loud levels and with complex symphonic music.

 

[Tekunda]

Easo91, I am almost sure you have a defective pair. I just tried my Clear at soundpressure levels, I thought my eardrums are going to rupture, no clipping.
Do you know that you have 5 years of warranty, don't you?