[mroneto]

Thanks. I've seen some reviews saying it had a good full body so that's a surprise for me. Couldn't that be adjusted with the PEQ? I guess the settings are by output so I could dial some attenuation on mids/highs on 1/4 jack and still have the original signal on RCA out for my PRE, no? Regards

I had the Clears paired with my ADI-2 at first, and it was very good in terms of detail, tone, etc as they are not difficult to drive, so power is not an issue. I also tried EQ to kick up the lower treble/upper mids, but it didn't fit my preference as much as I thought it would.
I was later recommended to pair it with the Loxjie P20, a fully balanced hybrid tube amp for about $80-90, and I feel that it smoothed things out a bit overall, less 'clinical' and sterile, which is what a transparent DAC/AMP should sound like, but does not pair that well with something like the Clears, which are already too...clear

 

[phthora]

I had the Clears paired with my ADI-2 at first, and it was very good in terms of detail, tone, etc as they are not difficult to drive, so power is not an issue. I also tried EQ to kick up the lower treble/upper mids, but it didn't fit my preference as much as I thought it would.
I was later recommended to pair it with the Loxjie P20, a fully balanced hybrid tube amp for about $80-90, and I feel that it smoothed things out a bit overall, less 'clinical' and sterile, which is what a transparent DAC/AMP should sound like, but does not pair that well with something like the Clears, which are already too...clear

I am surprised to hear impressions like this. My Clears are paired with the Benchmark stack, the cleanest and most transparent upstream gear there is, and I certainly don't hear them as clinical or sterile. It's detailed, precise, clear, and resolving, sure, but why must "musical" mean smooth, distorted, and warm? Why buy an expensive, highly resolving headphone and pair it with a cheapo tube amp? Seems like such a waste and mismatch to me. If you have to got that route to get the sound you want out of the Clear, why not just buy a headphone that matches your preferences to begin with?

 

[Paulo Abreu]

I am surprised to hear impressions like this. My Clears are paired with the Benchmark stack, the cleanest and most transparent upstream gear there is, and I certainly don't hear them as clinical or sterile. It's detailed, precise, clear, and resolving, sure, but why must "musical" mean smooth, distorted, and warm? Why buy an expensive, highly resolving headphone and pair it with a cheapo tube amp? Seems like such a waste and mismatch to me. If you have to got that route to get the sound you want out of the Clear, why not just buy a headphone that matches your preferences to begin with?

Absolutely. Clear is a tiger, I don’t want to jail it in a zoo

 

[mroneto]

I am surprised to hear impressions like this. My Clears are paired with the Benchmark stack, the cleanest and most transparent upstream gear there is, and I certainly don't hear them as clinical or sterile. It's detailed, precise, clear, and resolving, sure, but why must "musical" mean smooth, distorted, and warm? Why buy an expensive, highly resolving headphone and pair it with a cheapo tube amp? Seems like such a waste and mismatch to me. If you have to got that route to get the sound you want out of the Clear, why not just buy a headphone that matches your preferences to begin with?

That is actually the reason I posted them for sale.
After I got the Edition X V2, I realized that my preference was not how the Clear had presented itself to me.
After going through the Elear and enjoying its dynamic response and tonal richness, I had decided to buy the Clears, which I felt was a definite upgrade in overall sound, but still not matching with the majority of my selection of music genres.

However, I still have not heard a headphone that reproduces well-recorded piano, guitar, and pipe organ timbres as realistically as the Clear.
It has been a journey of me discovering my type of sound signature, and I hope that the next owner of these will enjoy them to their full extent, regardless of their source.

I have zero regrets from my time with them, as I feel the Clear has set its standard for what a true dynamic driver should be capable of.
Some have recommended to try the Utopia to see if it would be more agreeable for me, but the used market in Canada is not as plentiful for such a high-end item, and buying new at this time is not something I could consider.

 

[Ichos]

cleanest and most transparent upstream gear

This does not necessarily imply cold or sterile or clinical.
RME is all the above.

 

[SilverEars]

I had the Clears paired with my ADI-2 at first, and it was very good in terms of detail, tone, etc as they are not difficult to drive, so power is not an issue. I also tried EQ to kick up the lower treble/upper mids, but it didn't fit my preference as much as I thought it would.
I was later recommended to pair it with the Loxjie P20, a fully balanced hybrid tube amp for about $80-90, and I feel that it smoothed things out a bit overall, less 'clinical' and sterile, which is what a transparent DAC/AMP should sound like, but does not pair that well with something like the Clears, which are already too...clear

Avg DAC, Avg headphone out. I don't get what the hype with it is.

 

[Ichos]

It's pro gear with a lot of bells and whistles.
And it measures well and now that's the vogue...

 

[mroneto]

Avg DAC, Avg headphone out. I don't get what the hype with it is.

It's a nice compact setup with a lot of value and included features. I hesitate to call it a 'budget' all-in-one, but there are definitely better sounding and more expensive options if one has the space and funds to do so.
I moved from a Modi Multibit V2 and Asgard 3/Valhalla 2 combo to the ADI-2, and while the old setup overall had better synergy with some of my gear, the ADI-2 evens the playing field for all of them now. I guess you could say law of averages in this case.

 

[Nostoi]

Excuse me if this has already been answered - I'm sure it has - but in short, are there any audible benefits of going balanced other than power with the Clears? I'm re-cabling soon and have the option.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

Excuse me if this has already been answered - I'm sure it has - but in short, are there any audible benefits of going balanced other than power with the Clears? I'm re-cabling soon and have the option.

I thing power is really the main thing, remaining Numbers although better are pretty insignificant in audible terms, IMHO.
I’ve been changing from bal to se in years, IEMS and Clear, currently my best combination is Clear SE to my DX220 with AMP9 tube amp
my 2 cents

 

[Paulo Abreu]

Avg DAC, Avg headphone out. I don't get what the hype with it is.

I got it. I see a range of similar DACs on the price up to 1500, small form factor, packed and racing features against each other’s like the RME ADI-2 DAC FS, Soekris DAC1541, Topping D90, Denafrips Ares 2, some higher priced like Chord qutest, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, etc - and I see another range of even lower priced DACs in more classical formats like Audiolab MDAC+, Marantz, Musical Fidelity, Cambridge Audio, etc. I‘m not in the will of spending more than 1200-1500 eur on a DAC, priority is home system matching the clarity of my just bought Harbeth speakers, I can’t do hearing tests so all I can do is read reviews and seek advice.
Thanks

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Excuse me if this has already been answered - I'm sure it has - but in short, are there any audible benefits of going balanced other than power with the Clears? I'm re-cabling soon and have the option.

That answer would depend on which balance amp you use for Clear, because not all amps with XLR output are real balance amp.

Btw, speaking of RME, it's indeed good product based on sound, features, compact size, and build. Sound quality alone, while it's definitely worth the price, unfortunately for me the hype is simply too much. It is not giant slayer or able to surpass more expensive dac+amp combo.

 

[Swisshead]

Btw, speaking of RME, it's indeed good product based on sound, features, compact size, and build. Sound quality alone, while it's definitely worth the price, unfortunately for me the hype is simply too much. It is not giant slayer or able to surpass more expensive dac+amp combo.

 

[roskodan]

@Swisshead when a picture is indeed worth a thousand words

@Nostoi that's more a question of what does your amp offer balanced vs single ended. If it's truly a balanced design, that's how it's meant to be used, and I'm sure it's been designed to sound best used as such. From a perspective of the Clear, I do find the increase in focus and separation, that is commonly experienced with balanced drive, do benefit them.

 

[Nostoi]

That answer would depend on which balance amp you use for Clear, because not all amps with XLR output are real balance amp.

Btw, speaking of RME, it's indeed good product based on sound, features, compact size, and build. Sound quality alone, while it's definitely worth the price, unfortunately for me the hype is simply too much. It is not giant slayer or able to surpass more expensive dac+amp combo.

I'm looking to pair with this amp as a semi-portable option.

I agree about the RME - for the money, it's outstanding in terms of features. Is the amp a slayer? No. It's an excellent solid state amp, but it benefits very much from an external amp. In my experience, you need to spend at least £1k on an amp to reap the benefits. I'm very happy with my Pathos Aurium/RME combo.