I've had these Clear MG’s (Clear2) for almost a week now, wrapping up my time now, so figured I’d start banging out a review. I wanted to thank Todd again for the opportunity to try this new set!
Systems
I’ve listened to these in four environments:
- MacBook Pro over USB ->
RME ADI-2 DAC FS v1 [1/4”, Hi-Power, no DSP]
-
Bluesound Node 2i over Coax ->
Khadas Tone 2 Pro over Balanced XLR ->
Schiit Jotunheim 1 Balanced 4-Pin
- MacBook Pro over USB ->
Schiit Jotunheim 1 MultiBit DAC Balanced 4-Pin
-
Bluesound Node 2i over Coax ->
Burson Conductor 3XR Balanced 4-pin [4x Burson Vivid v6 op-amps]
Most comments are in reference to the last system, unless otherwise noted. All 4 systems played the Clear2’s wonderfully with the RME leaning marginally more analytical than the Burson and the Jotunheim. The Burson was able to “control” the drivers the best, giving a perceived sense of tightness in the trailing edges of notes, but the Jot and RME were not fair behind. The Clear MG’s are a resolving set that is absolutely able to tease out differences differences between systems—though I probably would
not use these as a baseline listening headphone for reviewing systems [more on that later].
Background
To be entirely frank, I’m not
usually an over-ear headphones person, but I’ve been growing more into them these past few months. I’m coming mostly from the CIEM side of things, having tried a bunch of CIEM’s and UIEM’s, before settling down on the sets linked in my sig. These days though, I’m mostly using the Focal Celestee closed-back, but I’ve also listened extensively to the Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 in the open back side of things.
Build/Design/Comfort
If you’ve put on one Focal headphone, you’ll put them all on. These guys are built practically identically to my Focal Celestee and any current generation Focal. Everything down to the headband, yoke, and outer ear cup is the same, just in a very pleasing bronze/copper color. While I think I prefer the Celestee’s color scheme just a hair more, the Clear2’s styling is definitely growing on me. New to this model is the very stylish hexagonal grill on the ear cups. Focal claims this design along with the redesigned internal mesh lets the Clear be even more open and transparent to outside—something I certainly agree with. This is easily one of the most transparent designs I’ve heard so far. Without music playing, you can barely hear a difference with these on and off—a sharp contrast to the Celestees which are the most closed cans I’ve used.
While Focal can sometimes be plagued with build troubles, I did not notice anything wrong with the fit and finish this time around, mimicking my experience with the Celestees. Unfortunately, the headband and yokes do
creak a tiny bit when you move them around, but it’s not noticeable once these are on your head. I’m not sure of the exact reason behind this, but it’s fairly common from\m what I could tell.
As someone with a larger head, I’m usually quite sensitive to clamp force and comfort over time. Thankfully, these cans, like most of Focal’s designs, have been quite comfortable even after 5-hours of listen time [oops]. The clamp force on these were certainly not as a strong as the Celestees, likely due to these having broken in already before I received them. The headband didn’t cause any noticeable hotspots apart from the initial sensation of some weight which quickly disappears. The microfiber pads are very comfortable and rather breathable unlike some of Focal’s leather offerings which can quickly heat up and get clammy. However, only time will tell how well these pads hold up to long term use. It’s fairly tricky to clean the microfiber pads properly—a drawback compared to the leather. If you are worried about getting replacement pads, they run for around $200 [after the lovely Focal tax], or a spare set is provided in the Clear MG Pro version.
It’s been said probably about a hundred times now, but
“Focal cables suck.” I know these “redesigned” the cable this generation—Clear MG / Celestee—, but these includes ones are still the worst cables I’ve had the displeasure of using. Thick, unwieldy, memory-prone, inflexible are just some of the negative words I can use for them. "Bold and brash? More like belongs in the trash." Like
@sennfan83261 analogized, these feel more like courtesy power cords you get from source gear than headphone cables. I think my nightstand lamp’s power cord may have been more flexible.
For this review, I immediately went and swapped the stock cable with a custom cable from Hart Audio Cables, terminated in their modular system. Specs: OFC copper [Mogami] / 6ft / Neutrik Connectors on both source/cans side. I didn’t get to try some fancy gold/palladium/silver cables this time, since I don’t have any terminated in dual 3.5mm right now. Original cables were untouched and un-listened, and I recommend you do the same.
Sound
Bass (20Hz–250Hz)
Like most of Focal’s lineup, the Clear2’s extend easily to 20Hz without much rolloff that I could discern. There definitely is a bit of a mid-bass hump peaking around 150Hz tapering off around 250Hz. The Clear2’s certainly have a lively energy in bass-heavy tracks that actually feel similar to closed back beasts like the Celestee.
BLACKPINK, Ddu-Du Ddu-Du (Remix) at 1:20 drops like a bomb, though the mid-bass hump makes it seem to suffer a lack of clarity and detail. I don’t think this is a source problem since the passage presents similarly across the Burson Conductor and the RME [a notably analytic system]. That said, this DD bass is
absolutely better than what I’ve gotten out of the 600 and 800’s, hands down. It’s more vivid, energetic, and impact, regardless of source. The Clear2’s being intensely easy to drive allow the bass to shine even directly out of the Khadas Tone 2 Pro [which I’m not the biggest advocate of, but it works]. Compared to the 600’s, certain tracks sound more full-bodied and filling on the Clear MG’s (
Seori, Trigger;
Asking Alexandria, I Don’t Need You;
I See Stars, Initialization Sequence - New Demons [Remixes]).
I personally don’t notice any bass “bloat” or “bleed” in the Clear MG’s, remaining fairly distinct from the midrange, and not mangling the lower mids to any extent, even on my new usual test track for this problem. (
Dreamcatcher, Odd Eye (chorus)).
Midrange (250Hz–2000Hz)
I’m mostly going to evaluate mids from vocals, since that’s my primary reference there. The Clear2’s seem like a very mid-focused pair, countered a little bit by the slight dip in the 400Hz region. Female vocals come forward in most tracks with force and authority. (
Ailee, When We Were In Love 우리 사랑한 동안;
Seori, I Wanna Cry). At the same time, recordings do not take on a nasally or “horn”-y quality that sometimes happens with mid-accentuation. Instead, female vocals feel velvety where appropriate (
Seori, Hairdryer) and powerful when they should (
Dreamcatcher, Eclipse - 2:51). Compared to the Celestees, female vocals are noticeably more accentuated in the Clear2’s, but this isn’t a negative in my preference.
Male vocals benefit immensely from the 400Hz dip, allowing a clear separation from the bass region to maintain perceived clarity. However, they can take a bit of a back burner in the recording, probably due to the low-mid dip. (
VOLA, Straight Lines;
Hands Like Houses, Antarctica). While they don’t sound “veiled,” they certainly image a bit farther back and sound smaller than I personally would like.
Treble (2000Hz+)
While I usually would like to split out “presence” region info (13kHz+), I didn’t get enough time to really tease that out, since that take the longest time usually for me. Instead, I’ll be lumping everything past 2kHz together under “treble.” The Clear2’s are a rather warm sounding set with noticeable dips across the treble board. The most egregious dip seems to be about a 5-8dB drop going from 4kHz to around 7kHz—a fairly wide band. This sucks a little bit of life away from cymbal crashes (
Coheed and Cambria, Colors) and reduces the overall feeling of spaciousness in some more airy recordings (
Alan Walker, Different World - 0:00). While I know that Focal warmed up this set in response to consumer reception of the OG Clears, the Clear2’s feel slightly overstepped in this 4-7kHz dip in particular.
Past 7kHz, the Clear2’s seem to once again overstep around the 8kHz region, leading to certain sibilant characteristics to end up piercing at medium-loud volumes. (
Ava Max, Take You to Hell - 0:55–1:05;
ITZY, Kidding Me - 0:00–0:08;
Nature, Girls (chorus)). This was somewhat mitigated by proper source pairing, with the RME faring the worst in this regard, and the Burson the best.
Presence region extends liberally and has a “somewhat” natural rolloff starting at 10kHz. There is a
massive cut from what seems right around 10kHz [hard to tell by listening alone, though a sweep picked it up], but it rebounds back right away. A little bit unusual of a cut there, since it’s easily around a 20dB cut. While I don’t notice this significantly while listening to most tracks, it seems that some midrange harmonics get lost in the dip coming out a little bit tinny and hollow on the rare track (
Caravan Palace, Midnight - 0:18–0:24). This, again, seems to be fairly rare and not noticeable all that often.
While I seem to lay a pretty scathing review on the treble regions, the problems I called out above are all fairly minor, and I definitely enjoy the overall warm presentation of the Clears. The 8kHz peak is definitely noticeable at times, but again, source matching helps to mitigate, and it’s not always present, especially at lower volumes. However, this treble wonkiness takes the Clear2's off as a monitoring/reference set or even something to use as a benchmark set for reviewing. It's hard to tell what going on with the treble area is attributable to the set itself and what is the system.
Technicalities/Soundstage/Imaging
Resolution
The Clear2’s are a very resolving pair of headphones, fairly sensitive to the source side of things [
see supra]. On the “detail” front, the Clear2’s lose a bit of psychoacoustic perceived detail with their warm treble response, but the mid-detail is stellar. It outclasses the Celestee and a strong contender to the HD800’s. The 800’s beat it marginally, though on that front, I’m going off auditory memory. Not much else to say in this category
Soundstage
In my opinion, this is the one category that Focal headphones overall do not really excel at. While not as boxed in as the Celestee or IEM’s, even the Clear2’s don’t present a very wide image. Instead, it presents at around shoulder width in most tracks. Certain live-recorded tracks in orchestral halls do create more lateral and depth space (
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps Part 1-4. Spring Rounds - 0:30+), though even then, these cans don’t reach nearly as wide as I know is possible in the recording. However, if soundstage
distance isn’t of paramount importance, the Clear2’s performance adequately. Instruments are properly layered (
See id.) and front-back separation is maintained “clear”ly. [sorry, had to do it
once].
Imaging
One of Focal’s strong points here. Instruments are placed with laser-focused accuracy and I did not have trouble locating placement both laterally [L->R] as well as vertically [Up->Down], when the information was present. (
Audiomachine, Remember Not to Forget).
Conclusion
Coming from a familiarity with Focal’s newer offerings, I think the the Clear MG will make a fine open-back “matched pair” to the Celestee’s. While the Celestee’s are tuned very differently, their similar price bracket and technical performance make them good contenders. The warm tuning of the Clear2’s are relaxing to listen to and the vocal-forwardness shines tastefully in modern pop and rock music. While the Clear2 suffers a little bit with its funny treble, overall, sound profile is tastefully refined and a joy to listen to. At $1,490, it’s hard some stiff competition on both ends, but the Clear2’s easily outcompete anything lower and manage to punch with the big dogs well past its price range.