[Raziel~]

When you buy a car, do you adjust the seat, mirrors, internal decorum, radio settings or do you leave everything "as is" in order to preserve the "intent of the designer".

What you pointed out is a nice analogy but more of akin to headband adjustments and pads or cables swapping, which can't actually damage the equipment.

I think a better analogy would be "do you tweak the engine with a reprogramming chip to go beyond what the engineers expected?", which in this case can damage the engine if there is excess, just as pushing the volume too high or adding too much bass can damage a speaker coil if the amplifier has too little power reserve and clips or distort. So be careful. See this Focal article: Why do voice-coils burn out?

What I just mentioned is arguably a bit over the top or far fetched since more suited to power speakers and doesn't really apply here, but there is still a logic behind not relying on EQ settings.
Just like car engines, there is a whole range of speakers which have varied performances and it's preferable to choose equipment suited to our needs rather than choosing an equipment known as "performance or quality" and the then adapt it to our needs, although a slight adjustment shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ifalna]

Said that, the Clear are the only headphones beside HD650 that really don't need EQ to my ears. Well, a little bass boost for movies and EDM perhaps.

I was happy with the Clear's sound on my 35Ω output impedance Titanium HD but Clear sounded definitely too lean for my tastes when I got my ADI-2 DAC FS.
So I measured it's response with the Titanium HD and EQ'd it to the same target in the ADI.

What you pointed out is a nice analogy but more of akin to headband adjustments and pads or cables swapping, which can't actually damage the equipment.

I think a better analogy would be "do you tweak the engine with a reprogramming chip to go beyond what the engineers expected?", which in this case can damage the engine if there is excess, just as pushing the volume too high or adding too much bass can damage a speaker coil if the amplifier has too little power reserve and clips or distort. So be careful. See this Focal article: Why do voice-coils burn out?

The driver won't be damaged. It will hit Xmax (which it will do on bass heavy tracks w/o EQ too if you pump it up a little, especially if you feed it 20Hz movie LFE effects). You would only damage the driver if you insisted on keeping it running, no sane person does that, so it is a moot point.

To be blunt: your music will sound horrible long before you are actually in the "driver gets damaged" territory, especially if you introduce digital clipping via overzealous EQ. EQ is there to fine tune it's a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Yeah you can to spectacular things to crappy drivers by sacrificing a lot of headroom but that is (thankfully) not required in this case.

Which is why you get a quality driver with a signature closest to what you like, so you can use the least EQ possible. On that one I agree with you 100%.

PS: if EQ was so dangerous if used by laymen, we would read about millions of blown drivers.

 

[Shooter41]

I've been listening to my Mg's for about a week now. Today I got the new Black Dragon premium cord I ordered. Wow! It's everything the Mg's are, just more. More bass, with no loss in tightness, more forgiving of individual recording shortcomings (which is surprising), more "smoothness" in the vocals. If anyone's wondering about this pairing, I'd say they are an excellent match. I'd only expect it to get better over time.

 

[andyfrut]

I've been listening to my Mg's for about a week now. Today I got the new Black Dragon premium cord I ordered. Wow! It's everything the Mg's are, just more. More bass, with no loss in tightness, more forgiving of individual recording shortcomings (which is surprising), more "smoothness" in the vocals. If anyone's wondering about this pairing, I'd say they are an excellent match. I'd only expect it to get better over time.

Thanks for your impressions. Did you notice if that black dragon change the original sound signature of the MG? is more warmer? I'm thinking in get both but I'm worried about make it too smooth/dark and less clear

 

[Shooter41]

Thanks for your impressions. Did you notice if that black dragon change the original sound signature of the MG? is more warmer? I'm thinking in get both but I'm worried about make it too smooth/dark and less clear

It may be a bit warmer, but I definitely don't think it changes the signature of the Mg. I'll just say I'm glad I went with the Black and not the Silver. The increase in bass is making me giddy. So much fun to go through recordings that I've always felt the need to add a little bass to and now, I just don't. Part of that is the Mg's themselves, but the Black Dragon definitely furthered it. And even if it did warm things up a tad, it doesn't feel like I gave anything up in the highs.

 

[der luda]

I picked up the MG personally from my dealers ... living room with great like-minded people. I love that, almost half a day

One of my personal first impressions is that the MG really goes more in the direction of warmth / bass ... the old Clear. The LCD X still lacks the details / clarity in the middle area a little. ..... however, it now has to be burned in for 60..100 hours.

I think we will become good friends

 

[ipodlover77]

Just got mine yesterday, absolutely ADORE them over the Clears I briefly had.
The only thing I don't like is the fact that my ears are slightly touching the inside
I might look into get some Dekoni pads which I really don't want to do but I gotta get some space between my ears and the actual drivers.

 

[dougq]

Just got mine yesterday, absolutely ADORE them over the Clears I briefly had.
The only thing I don't like is the fact that my ears are slightly touching the inside
I might look into get some Dekoni pads which I really don't want to do but I gotta get some space between my ears and the actual drivers.

I have the same problem. I’m tempted to get the utopia pads to try. I don’t seem to have this issue as bad with focal leather pads

 

[ipodlover77]

I have the same problem. I’m tempted to get the utopia pads to try. I don’t seem to have this issue as bad with focal leather pads

Never had this issue with the Clears. Its the top portion of my ears that are touching the drivers.
I think its due to the fact that the drivers aren't flat, but all curved/concaved.
Hopefully the fenestrated elite pads don't change sound too much.

 

[adydula]

Just completed a small project getting my UltraValve speaker amp hooked up to my PassLabs HPA1...using a voltage divider network, 5 watt resistors....listening to the MG Clears with it right now...its really awesome....very open airy realistic sound...been wanting to do this for a long time....Clears have never sounded this good here!! LOL.

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

Focal Clear MG Headphones Unboxing First Look

So far really enjoying these!

We also streamed today with the community for a great hangout and discussion! Have a great weekend everyone

Focal Clear MG Headphones First Impressions Live Stream

 

[shsh1]

Hey, wanted to ask and share a your opinion about SMSL M400 + SP400 with Clear MG. To my taste it sound wonderful, but maybe there are some better choices? Also does somebody have similar setup?

 

[cglin222]

Hey, wanted to ask and share a your opinion about SMSL M400 + SP400 with Clear MG. To my taste it sound wonderful, but maybe there are some better choices? Also does somebody have similar setup?

I am listening on my topping d90 a90 to determine how a particular headphone sounds eg lean, cool, warm
I think it’s a nice rig that doesn’t add much coloration
I have another rig with ares2 and sp400 that I like to listen in with lean or cool cans on
I don’t think I consider myself as an audiophile but I play instrument and just like listening to all sorts of the music and my 2 cents

 

[angpsi]

Focal Clear MG Headphones Unboxing First Look

So far really enjoying these!

Seriously, this might just very well be the most drool-worthy representation of the Clear MG's colour scheme I've seen so far! Makes me wanna buy blind! (...but still debating over this and the Arya)

 

[Mightygrey]

A bit random, but I have to say that the inside of the Clear MG cable box smells delicious. Anyone else experiencing this?