qiujiaheng
New Head-Fier
One of the most beautiful headphones out there
Focal Clear Mg Review & Measurements
- Thread starter jude
- Start date
One of the most beautiful headphones out there
Totally agree! Really beautiful headphone!
Nice photo!Totally agree! Really beautiful headphone!
These look indeed absolutely stunning. Even better than Stellias and Utopias imho. Thought I'd never go past the 1000€ mark for headphones but now I'm starting to question myself ...
the time hath come
Dionysus
1000+ Head-Fier
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My daily driver over the pass couple of years have been the HD800s and last month I added the Hd660s to use as an alternative to plug into my SP1000 for on the go. Very happy with the HD800s. And the Hd660s have been a nice alternative as welll.
But from a far, I always wanted to check out the Focal Clears. Recently when I saw that the Clear PRO MG was released I thought this might be the right time to pull the trigger. But, So, I waited a bit for reviews and that maybe too, we might get a Clear MG non Pro.
Then rumors surfaced and a few photos leaked and so, I decided to pull the trigger as soon as they became available to buy and I Love the aesthetics.
In the short time I’ve spent with these new Clear MG, I’m very happy with their sound signature.
In the short, they are everything the HD800s are but with better note weight, not as peaky or brittle in the high frequency with a much smoother fuller treble. It has more soul to the music, more musicality with just as much detail as the 800s but with more soul in the music. Just as much detail to pull from the music and just as transparent, the 800 still are the king of soundstage most will admit. the MG have great pin point accuracy and have a great air between notes. I’ll continue to add as I spend more time, but these are my first impressions.
But from a far, I always wanted to check out the Focal Clears. Recently when I saw that the Clear PRO MG was released I thought this might be the right time to pull the trigger. But, So, I waited a bit for reviews and that maybe too, we might get a Clear MG non Pro.
Then rumors surfaced and a few photos leaked and so, I decided to pull the trigger as soon as they became available to buy and I Love the aesthetics.
In the short time I’ve spent with these new Clear MG, I’m very happy with their sound signature.
In the short, they are everything the HD800s are but with better note weight, not as peaky or brittle in the high frequency with a much smoother fuller treble. It has more soul to the music, more musicality with just as much detail as the 800s but with more soul in the music. Just as much detail to pull from the music and just as transparent, the 800 still are the king of soundstage most will admit. the MG have great pin point accuracy and have a great air between notes. I’ll continue to add as I spend more time, but these are my first impressions.
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jchandler3
100+ Head-Fier
Received mine yesterday and listened for about 3 hours last night after 3 hours of pink noise (I don’t claim to know anything conclusive about burn-in, so I just do it to cover my bases).
My most expensive full-size headphones prior to these are the HD650, which I’ve used for 10 years. I’ve wanted a top-tier headphone for years but I don’t have access to trying anything and due to my inexperience, I’ve never been able to pull the trigger on $1000+ headphones. I came so close on the original Clears after Tyll’s review, but honestly I’ve always hated the silver aesthetic of the OG.
Then came the Clear Mg looking gorgeous with most-likely-improved sound, and I just had to buy. OK, preamble over.
No pun intended, the clarity on these are amazing for me. Not an ounce of muddiness to be found. Imaging is quite amazing, too, having enjoyed some binaural Amber Rubarth.
My only concern going into it was the potential lack of bass response, but I’m so pleasantly surprised with the performance. Certainly not bass-heavy like many closed backs, but it just feels capable. Deep sub-bass, ample (but not overpowering) mid-bass, with great texture and detail throughout.
Highs are smooth with no shrillness to my ears.
Mids are lush, silky and present. To me, this is where they really shine. While they aren’t mid-forward, they present vocals with such a beautiful tone.
For those of you with more experience and bigger budgets than me, certainly feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t have other direct competition to compare them to (nor have I heard them). Going from mid-fi to hi-fi has been a good experience for me
My most expensive full-size headphones prior to these are the HD650, which I’ve used for 10 years. I’ve wanted a top-tier headphone for years but I don’t have access to trying anything and due to my inexperience, I’ve never been able to pull the trigger on $1000+ headphones. I came so close on the original Clears after Tyll’s review, but honestly I’ve always hated the silver aesthetic of the OG.
Then came the Clear Mg looking gorgeous with most-likely-improved sound, and I just had to buy. OK, preamble over.
No pun intended, the clarity on these are amazing for me. Not an ounce of muddiness to be found. Imaging is quite amazing, too, having enjoyed some binaural Amber Rubarth.
My only concern going into it was the potential lack of bass response, but I’m so pleasantly surprised with the performance. Certainly not bass-heavy like many closed backs, but it just feels capable. Deep sub-bass, ample (but not overpowering) mid-bass, with great texture and detail throughout.
Highs are smooth with no shrillness to my ears.
Mids are lush, silky and present. To me, this is where they really shine. While they aren’t mid-forward, they present vocals with such a beautiful tone.
For those of you with more experience and bigger budgets than me, certainly feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t have other direct competition to compare them to (nor have I heard them). Going from mid-fi to hi-fi has been a good experience for me
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Fantastic write-up/review. Please don't sell yourself short - I see the potential for a first rate Head-fi reviewer waiting to fully flower. Enjoy!Received mine yesterday and listened for about 3 hours last night after 3 hours of pink noise (I don’t claim to know anything conclusive about burn-in, so I just do it to cover my bases).
My most expensive full-size headphones prior to these are the HD650, which I’ve used for 10 years. I’ve wanted a top-tier headphone for years but I don’t have access to trying anything and due to my inexperience, I’ve never been able to pull the trigger on $1000+ headphones. I came so close on the original Clears after Tyll’s review, but honestly I’ve always hated the silver aesthetic of the OG.
Then came the Clear Mg looking gorgeous with most-likely-improved sound, and I just had to buy. OK, preamble over.
No pun intended, the clarity on these are amazing for me. Not an ounce of muddiness to be found. Imaging is quite amazing, too, having enjoyed some binaural Amber Rubarth.
My only concern going into it was the potential lack of bass response, but I’m so pleasantly surprised with the performance. Certainly not bass-heavy like many closed backs, but it just feels capable. Deep sub-bass, ample (but not overpowering) mid-bass, with great texture and detail throughout.
Highs are smooth with no shrillness to my ears.
Mids are lush, silky and present. To me, this is where they really shine. While they aren’t mid-forward, they present vocals with such a beautiful tone.
For those of you with more experience and bigger budgets than me, certainly feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t have other direct competition to compare them to (nor have I heard them). Going from mid-fi to hi-fi has been a good experience for me
dsrk
Headphoneus Supremus
Are they as airy as the HD650s? and how is the staging compared ?Received mine yesterday and listened for about 3 hours last night after 3 hours of pink noise (I don’t claim to know anything conclusive about burn-in, so I just do it to cover my bases).
My most expensive full-size headphones prior to these are the HD650, which I’ve used for 10 years. I’ve wanted a top-tier headphone for years but I don’t have access to trying anything and due to my inexperience, I’ve never been able to pull the trigger on $1000+ headphones. I came so close on the original Clears after Tyll’s review, but honestly I’ve always hated the silver aesthetic of the OG.
Then came the Clear Mg looking gorgeous with most-likely-improved sound, and I just had to buy. OK, preamble over.
No pun intended, the clarity on these are amazing for me. Not an ounce of muddiness to be found. Imaging is quite amazing, too, having enjoyed some binaural Amber Rubarth.
My only concern going into it was the potential lack of bass response, but I’m so pleasantly surprised with the performance. Certainly not bass-heavy like many closed backs, but it just feels capable. Deep sub-bass, ample (but not overpowering) mid-bass, with great texture and detail throughout.
Highs are smooth with no shrillness to my ears.
Mids are lush, silky and present. To me, this is where they really shine. While they aren’t mid-forward, they present vocals with such a beautiful tone.
For those of you with more experience and bigger budgets than me, certainly feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t have other direct competition to compare them to (nor have I heard them). Going from mid-fi to hi-fi has been a good experience for me
After many hours....much smootherThe Clear MG definitely needs break-in. Fresh out of the box, its upper mids were quite forward, I would even call them aggressive. It needed break-in with punchy bass-heavy tracks at quite high volume to settle down. Now it sounds full, clean, dynamic and also relaxed and non-fatiguing. This is the first dynamic headphone, which I ever experienced that burn-in was definitely needed to sound at its best. I had the chance to listen to a second new pair of these headphones recently, and it had the same issue, maybe a bit less pronounced. My Clear MG after burn-in sounded clearly better than the new unit. So best feed your Clear MG with music with punchy bass for a few dozen hours at high volume levels (around 100db), and I am quite sure that this issue is gone. I like my Clear MG a lot now.
Cheers,
Bernie
...and the transducer is also stronger as from the first clear NOMAX
PS.lol
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Le Open-back-ness See-through Demo
Airy as the 650s? Lol since when was the 650 ever airy..
Deceneu808
500+ Head-Fier
Anybody tried these on tubes ? I'm looking to add another dynamic for tubes
I listened to them after a dinner of Penne and I noticed a fuller sound.
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