[nevrsumr]

Just received mine from the headphones .com sale. Wow these are special. I thought I was going to be disappointed in the bass department having the MDR-Z1Rs as well but these have a lot of bass. Very happy about that. I got a huge grin right after putting them on. These really sparkle.

 

[mikewr]

I just wanna chime in with some updated or maybe even final impressions of the Clear: At this point I'm listening to them more than my hd600's, and I sold the hd800S. I'm enjoying that big step in clarity or resolution from 1k down, or rather the hd600's sound a bit too dull (read: lacking resolution) there now in a lot of the genres I tend to enjoy (jazz, funk, psychedelic, some rock, newer R&B/soul). I think they are a bit too bright for metal, or any rock genre with a lot of high guitar notes and cymbal crashes.

I'm gonna echo my first impression being very impressed with the speed of the driver. It just sounds very fast, or maybe I'm confusing that for something else that contributes to higher resolution. I wanna say you can improve the metallic/bright tone or timbre of the clears with a laid back amp, or at the very least you should be cautious of amp pairing. The xlr output of the acro just too bright for me with the clears. I actually took out my big ol' burson v1 amp I had in storage and I think part of the reason I'm enjoying the clears more is because of that. My impressions of the amp are that its a bit laid back in dynamics, and maybe ultimate clarity/resolution, which I think actually help me enjoy the clears more.

 

[mikewr]

Just received mine from the headphones .com sale. Wow these are special. I thought I was going to be disappointed in the bass department having the MDR-Z1Rs as well but these have a lot of bass. Very happy about that. I got a huge grin right after putting them on. These really sparkle.

They sound great to me with R&B! Drums in general, across genres, are great too. I wanna say they sound very real, despite not having much experience with live music. They have that visceral impact I think is supposed to be there.

 

[PointyFox]

Having gone to several CanJams, there have always been a couple headphones that gave me the "wow" factor. Only the Clear did this out of all the Focal headphones (I've also owned the Utopia and thought the Clear was better). Other headphones that also did this were the Sony MDR-Z1R and the higher-end Stax headphones from the L500 up.

 

[nevrsumr]

I am finding these are putting pressure on the back of my jaws. This will suck if these become uncomfortable.

edit - That's funny I put my 6xx's on and they feel 10x more clampy. I think because the clears push a bit more on the bottom than the top and the 6xxs are an even pressure.

 

[Hamltnblue]

Having gone to several CanJams, there have always been a couple headphones that gave me the "wow" factor. Only the Clear did this out of all the Focal headphones (I've also owned the Utopia and thought the Clear was better). Other headphones that also did this were the Sony MDR-Z1R and the higher-end Stax headphones from the L500 up.

Did you break them in?
I’m on my tablet now and can’t answer your questions in depth. I realize that it’s quite possible that you don’t pick up or listen to the small nuances in hifi recordings. Not everyone does, and there’s nothing wrong with that. As a sonar instructor part of my job was to teach students how to pick out countless sounds from what seems like white noise. Its fun watching someone light up when they start to learn. From there the talent builds with every hour of experience. Some have it naturally but most have to be taught. If you did you would likely grasp this topic.
If I have time during the next couple of days, I’ll reword my original post as a new topic. It’s just distracting and off topic from this threads intent. It is a fun one.

 

[PointyFox]

Did you break them in?
I’m on my tablet now and can’t answer your questions in depth. I realize that it’s quite possible that you don’t pick up or listen to the small nuances in hifi recordings. Not everyone does, and there’s nothing wrong with that. As a sonar instructor part of my job was to teach students how to pick out countless sounds from what seems like white noise. Its fun watching someone light up when they start to learn. From there the talent builds with every hour of experience. Some have it naturally but most have to be taught. If you did you would likely grasp this topic.
If I have time during the next couple of days, I’ll reword my original post as a new topic. It’s just distracting and off topic from this threads intent. It is a fun one.

Thanks for assuming that I don't "grasp this topic".
You don't know anything about how well I can hear. Likewise I don't know anything about how well you can hear.
Being a "sonar instructor" doesn't mean anything to me.
You may have "heard things" trainees didn't pick up on, but I've heard noise floors, mains hum, etc. in many TOTL systems that other people thought were silent and can still hear out to about 18.3 kHz.
I could easily claim you don't "grasp this topic" since this topic involves physics and biology and I'm a biomedical engineer.
Or that you don't have music training while I have 27 years and play 10 different instruments.
Or that you haven't listened to enough high-end systems while I have reviewed and owned at least 50 headphones and probably spent $30,000 on headphones, amps, and DACs.
See where I'm going?
You can't just discredit people without evidence.
Saying "it must be true because I've heard it" isn't evidence.
Extreme self-confidence feeds confirmation and expectation bias.

 

[dontfeedphils]

About done measuring dicks or naw?

 

[Guidostrunk]

About done measuring dicks or naw?

 

[Forsaked]

Does anyone use the Clear with a Gustard H20 or a Singxer SA-1, if so how does it sound?

 

[PointyFox]

Just bought Focal Clear OG headphones again after selling them a while ago and going through the Focal Utopia, Focal Clear Pro MG, Sony MDR-Z7M2, and ZMF Verite. Damn these are good. Not quite the HD800 soundstage or Stax speed, but the tone and dynamics are better than most TOTL headphones.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

I just pulled my OG clears out of the drawer. Using them with the Woo WA8 creates an amazing synergy.

 

[BlueMountain]

Just bought Focal Clear OG headphones again after selling them a while ago and going through the Focal Utopia, Focal Clear Pro MG, Sony MDR-Z7M2, and ZMF Verite. Damn these are good. Not quite the HD800 soundstage or Stax speed, but the tone and dynamics are better than most TOTL headphones.

Wow quite the journey - but that is at least half of the fun I guess. You are obviously enjoying the OG Clears a lot! Would you pick them over the newer MG Version? One or two sentences would be really helpful. Thanks a lot and have a nice weekend!

 

[nevrsumr]

I got the Z1Rs and the clears within a few days of each other this week and having trouble taking off the clears.

 

[PointyFox]

Wow quite the journey - but that is at least half of the fun I guess. You are obviously enjoying the OG Clears a lot! Would you pick them over the newer MG Version? One or two sentences would be really helpful. Thanks a lot and have a nice weekend!

I like the aesthetics of the MG better, but prefer the OG. The MG (at least the one I had which was a Pro MG) loses some of the treble bite and perceived clarity, making it sound a little more closed-in and boomy. I didn't like the Utopia as much either. It loses some of the Clear's sound separation and sounds more forward.