descloud
100+ Head-Fier
Maybe I should've praised that more appropriately - "some of us don't listen to music in mono setting".(some of us do listen to mono recordings!). My point is that if you get a solid, narrow center image with a mono recording, you'll know that any perceived problem with a solid center image is NOT caused by the headphones.
Honestly, your proposed test doesn't make much sense from being able to deduce this perception of the center stage for the Clear. Comparisons for a few of the same tracks on my other headphones already verified that panning in the center image. If the mono recording shows a "narrow center image", what does it prove? That it is NOT caused by the headphones? So what are the other possibilities then?
I listen to a variety of tracks from Spotify, Tidal and my own FLAC collection. That being said, I can only think of a few other possibilities based on your preconceived conjecture:
- All my other headphones and ones I've had before (HE-500, Audeze Sine, Alpha Dog, Oppo PM-3, TH-X00, Koss ESP950, HD650) have poor imaging or center imaging - which is highly unlikely unless you're implying every headphone listed above are unable to render center image properly? A bold claim to say the least.
- My hearing is poor - possible, but inconclusive to say the least given the consistent imaging from other sources I've listed above, and how I don't find any issues in center imaging from various other setups like car speakers, home theater, desktop speaker