[Ichos]

Have you listened to the T1 3rd generation and then made an a/b comparison with the Clears?

 

[Forsaked]

Yes. It’s #9 Burgundy. I am really pleased with the cable quality.
It took about a week to get here.

Dang, now i want this color instead my black one.

 

[descloud]

Starting to wonder if your sample was defective. I've been listening to some tracks with a lot of soundstage and imaging challenges, and the Clears performed very well.
This album shows really good depth, width and imaging precision:
https://tidal.com/browse/album/36067757
And this track gives me goose bumps!
https://tidal.com/browse/track/15666682
Or this, the sound of the pencil on paper, panning smoothly from one side to another - very realistic and no holes in the soundstage.
https://tidal.com/browse/track/15666684

Treble sensitivity is a more personal preference issue, but for me the Clears hit the sweet spot perfectly to make them really good with anything I listen to, for classical I even experimented with a moderate treble boost PEQ and liked it. But I am sure they'd be very revealing of any issues with recordings.

Source: CHORD Hugo 2

It's a possibility, but I'm labeling it as unlikely given that center stage is only one factor that I find off out of everything else that I seem to find common with other's findings. I suspect the way the dynamics on the Clear works gives low volume pieces quick decay and my ears pick up that quick decay and possibly labeling them as holes in the stage. That's my interpretation at least on what I found. A defective Clear I would suppose has more characteristics that shows flaws than just one technicality.

I believe Resolve explains what I experience with the stage a bit better from this section of his Arya review:

"It doesn't have gaps in front-left and front-right. It doesn't have that immediate crossover when something pans from left-to-right or vice-versa. It's a very even and gradual distribution of the images."

 

[Stefanovic]

Hello All

New member here and fairly new to all thinks head-fi too.

I currently own an A&K Kann Cube. I am using my KC with a pair of 1more quad driver IEMs which I've had for a long time but am now looking to invest in something much better to match the quality of the KC. After much research I am seriously considering the Focal Clear but, unfortunately I have been unable to trial these due to travel restrictions/Covid-19 etc.

I would greatly appreciate if anyone here could advise on this or perhaps share any experience with a KC/Clear pairing. Presumably, the clear will extract a great deal more from the KC than the 1more does. In fact, I have sometimes listened to tracks on my laptop, then listened to the same tracks on the KC sometimes without any significant difference in SQ.

Regards

 

[starmartyr]

I hope you guys enjoy!

Focal Clear Professional headphone, the clear choice for incredible sound?

Excellent review! As always. Your reviews are very pleasing to watch and listen to, akin to Josh Valor's. Amazing production, and a cozy feel to them.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again since your footage of them drives it home even more: the Pro color scheme is just gorgeous, and I wish I had found some for near the price I got my grey Clears for, as it would have been a no-brainer.

Maybe someday I'll be able to trade someone for a pair of Pros or sell my OG's and pick these up instead... for one they would look even better with black aftermarket pads, and the stock red already looks great and would show discoloration less as you mentioned.

However I'm finding the worst symptom of the material Focal uses is the piling and wear on the pads, and less so the discoloration - for me so far anyway. Maybe because I have a fade haircut and the stubble around my ears rubs on the padding. Either way they definitely don't hold up well. I haven't even put that many hours on mine and they are starting to pile a bit. And that's with swapping to aftermarket pads half the time too.

Otherwise these headphones are definitely impressive and still stand among a few endgame sets for many.

 

[apaar123]

has anyone tried them with monoprice liquid platinum? Is it a good pairing? How's the experience?

 

[jonathan c]

has anyone tried them with monoprice liquid platinum? Is it a good pairing? How's the experience?

Of the four headphone amplifiers that I have (LP, GSX-mini, LehmannAudio Linear SE, Bottlehead Crack 1.1), the LP is my favourite for driving the Clears: great tube attributes with the grip of solid-state. Bass is firm and taut, midrange is sculpted, treble is extended and airy; the dynamics and overall tone are natural. Vocals and ambience are extremely well rendered. There is no metallic ‘sheen’ in the pairing. Sound differences between tube makes (rolling amongst various 6922s) are obvious with the Clears.

 

[apaar123]

Well that's good to hear

 

[Flisker]

Hello fellow Clear owners,

Anyone successfully paired Clears with WA2 ? I just love how it sounds together but can't figure out how to deal with the impedance mismatch that leads to boosted bass. It's fine in many songs, but then in bass heavy songs it's just too much bass.

I'm using EQ right now, to "EQ down the bass bloat" but still getting bit loose bass overall.

I was thinking maybe giving a try to WA6, which is transformer coupled and has low/high impedance switch, but I've heard that it's not as warm and pleasing as the WA2, so I guess that might not get me the result I want anyway. Or maybe Feliks Elise ? That should be OTL but for some reason it states that impedance range is 32-600 ohm. Anyone tried Clears with that amp ?

Any ideas or tips on this topic would be very welcome.

Thank you \ o /

 

[Guidostrunk]

Match made in heaven! Especially after the mods on the Platinum. Mine is fully maxxed with Elna Silmic ii cap upgrade, CBS Hytron 7730(with adapters) and Alps RK27 pot which required plate modification. The LP is probably the steal of the decade as far as amps go. Here's a pic of my modded LP.

has anyone tried them with monoprice liquid platinum? Is it a good pairing? How's the experience?

 

[Slim1970]

Match made in heaven! Especially after the mods on the Platinum. Mine is fully maxxed with Elna Silmic ii cap upgrade, CBS Hytron 7730(with adapters) and Alps RK27 pot which required plate modification. The LP is probably the steal of the decade as far as amps go. Here's a pic of my modded LP.

One of the best upgrades to an amp that one can make!

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

Excellent review! As always. Your reviews are very pleasing to watch and listen to, akin to Josh Valor's. Amazing production, and a cozy feel to them.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again since your footage of them drives it home even more: the Pro color scheme is just gorgeous, and I wish I had found some for near the price I got my grey Clears for, as it would have been a no-brainer.

Maybe someday I'll be able to trade someone for a pair of Pros or sell my OG's and pick these up instead... for one they would look even better with black aftermarket pads, and the stock red already looks great and would show discoloration less as you mentioned.

However I'm finding the worst symptom of the material Focal uses is the piling and wear on the pads, and less so the discoloration - for me so far anyway. Maybe because I have a fade haircut and the stubble around my ears rubs on the padding. Either way they definitely don't hold up well. I haven't even put that many hours on mine and they are starting to pile a bit. And that's with swapping to aftermarket pads half the time too.

Otherwise these headphones are definitely impressive and still stand among a few endgame sets for many.

thank you @starmartyr really enjoyed filming this one. The clear have amazing engaging sound!

 

[Ben86]

I am also having difficulties to enjoy my new Clears, even after burning them in for 5 days and spending some time with them every day.
And I also found out that they react very strongly to the source I connect them to, tested with a Chord Hugo 2, the Chord Mojo and a lowly HiBy R3 which I usually use as transport for the Mojo. The Clears sound bright but a little more open with the R3, quite good and smooth with the Mojo, but on the Hugo the mid bass is so prominent and punchy that it overpowers the mids and pushes vocals into the background, kind of creating a veil.
I was hoping for a natural, clear and transparent sound with the H2, my best source. They sound very enjoyable and natural with some tracks, especially simple acoustic setups, but with Rock or Orchestra I find them rather tiring. They don't make me feel like being at the concert but a bit like the music is forced into my ears.

I will spend some time in a headphone store tomorrow to listen to other HPs but I think I'll have to return the Clears.

I am also a new user for Clears, bought them from a local shop last week and out of the box they sounded really bright, with low base and not so wide soundstage...i was a bit dissapointed, cause before buying these i had a chance to listen the old demo Clear model at the shop and it was a heaven for me, just absolutely amazing and balanced dynamic sound with real magic. So I think you need to play them a lot to let drivers burn in for at least a couple hunder of hours. I can say now taht after almost 50 hours of burn there are significant changes: sound become softer, not so sharp, wider soundstage and more base impact, more balance...so i think it will change more with some time...

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

I am also a new user for Clears, bought them from a local shop last week and out of the box they sounded really bright, with low base and not so wide soundstage...i was a bit dissapointed, cause before buying these i had a chance to listen the old demo Clear model at the shop and it was a heaven for me, just absolutely amazing and balanced dynamic sound with real magic. So I think you need to play them a lot to let drivers burn in for at least a couple hunder of hours. I can say now taht after almost 50 hours of burn there are significant changes: sound become softer, not so sharp, wider soundstage and more base impact, more balance...so i think it will change more with some time...

I'm a new Clear owner too, maybe 100 plus hours on mine. My go to headphone before the Clears were Sennheiser HD650's. Totally different beasts. Definitely give them more time.

 

[Terriero]

Does anyone try or compare Clear with Beyerdynamic T1 3rd generation?

@albertmuc have done that and even he wrote a post: Beyerdynamic T1.3 or Denon AH-d9200 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org (head-fi.org)

You can see a sentence about in that thread: " A Focal Clear was recently tried out and I didn't like listening to a small part of its mid-range, at least on the RME I couldn't listen relaxed. The Focal Clear is out. "

He is comparing against the Denon AH-D9200 there, but he also had the Clear and finally returned them... I hope he see this and tell you something about...