[Musiccc]

$20 on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/174976681122?var=474186091643

I've had mine for a couple weeks. Zero complaints, but I guess one may wonder how they'll hold up.

The stock pads made my head itch and, as you mentioned, didn't seem thick enough. I could feel the cup on the back of my ear. With these, I don't have either problem.

Looks like these pads are made rounded to provide more circumference and thicker (?) to provide more depth.
Perhaps they designed these pads for Focal owners with larger / protruding ears.

 

[Zeppmeister]

Looks like these pads are made rounded to provide more circumference and thicker (?) to make the cups deeper.
Perhaps they designed these pads for Focal owners with larger / protruding ears.

Thick indeed!

 

[Musiccc]

ooh! 24 oz juicy steak thick.
Thanks!

 

[Musiccc]

To @Musiccc: If you want deeper pads for Clear, you might try the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin earpads. I have used these on my Clear OG for 2-1/2+ years. I felt that the Focal ‘stock’ pads were too squishy, hard to keep pristine, and expensive! The Dekonis are somewhat firmer, deeper, easy to clean, not nearly the price! Plus, with Dekonis, the Clear bass is to me more extended & more linear. The Clear soundstage is wider, also.

Putting this on my consideration list. Thanks!

 

[Flognuts]

Anyone have a preferred amp they use with their Focal Clears?

I'm looking into tubes and the Clears sound good with the MCTH but I was looking at other options like the hybrid Liquid Platinum or Feliks Echo II (within that price range).

I just use the D90s + A90 Stack and it sounds incredible.
Been in this hobby for 14 years and ever since I bought the Focal Clear I haven't even thought about spending anymore money on headphones. They are incredible hey.....I do think they need a nice source and amp to excel though, they sound good but not great from something like a MOJO. A high quality balanced cable also takes them up a notch.

 

[Tuneslover]

I would never pay 135 canadian, plus taxes, duties, and brokerage fees for pads. If a canadian was dumb enough to ever buy these, it would end up costing them nearly 200 bucks. What a bloody rip off.

I have been complaining about pads prices for years going back to my Sennheiser 650’s for $50 Cdn. Let’s face it folks, there’s $10 of materials (at the most!) and unless Sennheiser (or whoever makes them) pays their employees really well to drive up the cost. Let’s be frank, the only number out of line must be PROFIT.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I have been complaining about pads prices for years going back to my Sennheiser 650’s for $50 Cdn. Let’s face it folks, there’s $10 of materials (at the most!) and unless Sennheiser (or whoever makes them) pays their employees really well to drive up the cost. Let’s be frank, the only number out of line must be PROFIT.

Yes, let's not allow a for-profit company to sell accessories that help them make a profit. I'm sure all that R & D work can be done by free interns we can just use over the summer....

You seem to forget that a product is more than the sum of it's parts, and there's more to producing said parts than you think. Pads also play a critical part in the sound, and pad rolling is as much a thing as tube rolling or cable rolling. If you want to bemoan the cost of accessories, maybe high-end audio isn't your thing.

 

[Tuneslover]

Yes, let's not allow a for-profit company to sell accessories that help them make a profit. I'm sure all that R & D work can be done by free interns we can just use over the summer....

You seem to forget that a product is more than the sum of its parts, and there's more to producing said parts than you think. Pads also play a critical part in the sound, and pad rolling is as much a thing as tube rolling or cable rolling. If you want to bemoan the cost of accessories, maybe high-end audio isn't your thing.

Of course profits are important to a business BUT so are THEIR CUSTOMERS. Gouging, oh yeah there’s plenty of that going around for a long time, waaaay before COVID and supply chain issues.

 

[jonathan c]

Anyone have a preferred amp they use with their Focal Clears?

I'm looking into tubes and the Clears sound good with the MCTH but I was looking at other options like the hybrid Liquid Platinum or Feliks Echo II (within that price range).

• I’m happy to see amp optimisation for headphones rather than vice versa!
• For tube h/p/a: the hybrid Liquid Platinum (sometimes on sale) is a good choice. Look into the Hegerman Labs Tuba ($789) - it’s fantastic with Clear OG.
• For SS h/p/a: HeadAmp Gilmore Lite II with Golden Reference power supply unit ($800), Flux Lab Acoustics FA-22 ($750).

 

[Arora]

i do like the look of those hart audio cables and may buy a set when i travel to the US after christmas. they seem to be fairly priced too.

in other news i have ordered the A90D and the D90LE which should arrive from hifigo next week. i am not sure they'll provide any sonic upgrade over my soon to be returned dx3 pro+ but knowing that i have enough power for a he1000v2/utopia is comforting.

 

[tyk103]

i am not sure they'll provide any sonic upgrade over my soon to be returned dx3 pro+ but knowing that i have enough power for a he1000v2/utopia is comforting.

You'll notice a difference with the A90D.

 

[Zlivan]

So I received a pair of dirt cheap pads for my Clears that recently appeared on Ebay and Aliexpress. For their price, $10 or less, I'd say they are quite decent. Sure, you can tell it's a much cheaper version but they look and feel decent.
They are slightly thicker than original pads and there is no inner fabric ring, but they are not perforated in that area, to mimic the sound signature, I guess. They do sound similar, perhaps a little bassier, and some peaks may have shifted slightly in the upper area, but I haven't really compared extensively.
I'd say they are very good for the money.
Here in the pictures, clones are on the right and on the top.
Once inserted they are very hard to pull out, so I was hesitant to swap multiple times. Hopefully, they'll last for a bit

 

[393699]

Yes, let's not allow a for-profit company to sell accessories that help them make a profit. I'm sure all that R & D work can be done by free interns we can just use over the summer....

You seem to forget that a product is more than the sum of it's parts, and there's more to producing said parts than you think. Pads also play a critical part in the sound, and pad rolling is as much a thing as tube rolling or cable rolling. If you want to bemoan the cost of accessories, maybe high-end audio isn't your thing.

Do you work for Focal ? I find it shocking that you are so adamant about defending obscene prices for pads. Charging 100-200 for pads is nothing more than highway robbery. Dekoni should be ashamed of themselves for pulling this garbage, and so should Focal.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Do you work for Focal ? I find it shocking that you are so adamant about defending obscene prices for pads. Charging 100-200 for pads is nothing more than highway robbery. Dekoni should be ashamed of themselves for pulling this garbage, and so should Focal.

No.

 

[jonathan c]

• Far from being ‘adamant’, CST’s position is reasonable - with a dash of sarcasm for illustrative purpose. CST is not defending the price of Focal / Dekoni pads per se but is suggesting that Focal / Dekoni pricing has cost recovery + profit as a goal.
• No corporate or entrepreneurial product undertaking is commenced with ‘breakeven’ as the upside. If a prospective buyer feels that the pricing / profit is ‘obscene’ - a reaction based upon expectations which have not been specified - the buyer is free to look elsewhere. If enough do so, the pricing / profit may come down to ‘clear the market’.