[chaz_flhr]

Yes, sorry. do you listen to jazz or acoustic with it and would you say that it is more enjoyable than with the clear. some headphones just sing with different kinds of music.

I don’t own the clear I only listened to it for a hour but I was impressed, I was listening to classic rock on it at the time. It’s difficult to compare open back and closed back headphones against each other and unless you need, want or prefer a closed back usually open backs seem to be favored by many and understandably so.
My musical taste prior to quality headphones was listening to mostly classic rock some jazz or blues and new age / ambient.
Since I have gotten these quality headphones I have started to listen to more acoustic styles of music and artists, Shelby Lynne with her just a little loving album, Jennifer Warnes with way down deep, Mikhala Jene with mad bitches, Chris Jones with his moonstruck album, Niles Lofgren with his Acoustic live album, Carolin No with her Favorite sin album, Allan Taylor with his All is one album, Eugene Ruffolo with his the hardest easy album and many others. Listening to the Radiance I don’t feel like I’m missing anything and that they sound great but once I put on the Stellia or Arya then I notice differences, not differences that make you think the Radiance is bad just differences that make you realize they are better. Given a choice my preference for quality music listening at home is Arya or Stellia first with my Radiance being my travel and general purpose home headphone. Is the difference between the Radiance and Stellia worth almost 2k, only listening to both can answer that personal question. After emptying my wallet the best advice I can give is to listen to as many different HP as you can to determine what sounds good to you in your price range, fair warning set a price and stick close to it as the TOTL headphones are addictive and difficult to unhear.
The Radiance is also easy to drive and they scale well with better equipment they sound good from my Btr5 balanced, better from my M11 pro balanced, even better from my mirco idsd BL and amazing with any of my desktop amps.
Quality Headphone sound is very subjective hence why we have so many different choices with sound signature flavors and technical prowess.

 

[moffatmimi]

I don’t own the clear I only listened to it for a hour but I was impressed, I was listening to classic rock on it at the time. It’s difficult to compare open back and closed back headphones against each other and unless you need, want or prefer a closed back usually open backs seem to be favored by many and understandably so.
My musical taste prior to quality headphones was listening to mostly classic rock some jazz or blues and new age / ambient.
Since I have gotten these quality headphones I have started to listen to more acoustic styles of music and artists, Shelby Lynne with her just a little loving album, Jennifer Warnes with way down deep, Mikhala Jene with mad bitches, Chris Jones with his moonstruck album, Niles Lofgren with his Acoustic live album, Carolin No with her Favorite sin album, Allan Taylor with his All is one album, Eugene Ruffolo with his the hardest easy album and many others. Listening to the Radiance I don’t feel like I’m missing anything and that they sound great but once I put on the Stellia or Arya then I notice differences, not differences that make you think the Radiance is bad just differences that make you realize they are better. Given a choice my preference for quality music listening at home is Arya or Stellia first with my Radiance being my travel and general purpose home headphone. Is the difference between the Radiance and Stellia worth almost 2k, only listening to both can answer that personal question. After emptying my wallet the best advice I can give is to listen to as many different HP as you can to determine what sounds good to you in your price range, fair warning set a price and stick close to it as the TOTL headphones are addictive and difficult to unhear.
The Radiance is also easy to drive and they scale well with better equipment they sound good from my Btr5 balanced, better from my M11 pro balanced, even better from my mirco idsd BL and amazing with any of my desktop amps.
Quality Headphone sound is very subjective hence why we have so many different choices with sound signature flavors and technical prowess.

 

[moffatmimi]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I have a fully balanced Ayre system in my main set up, using the amazing QX 5 as my dac/headphone amp being fed by an Aurender. For this I use my Senn HD800 phones. I’ve always liked their comfort, sound stage and detail retrieval. But it tethers me to this one room. I have had some good IEM’s for travel with probably the Campfire Audio Jupiter as my go to and I have a cottage where I use a Naim Nova with some older Grado 325i phones.

What I’m looking for is a closed back over ear so that I can listen around the house without bothering others and will be easy to drive with my ipad, Tidal hifi and a firefly red dac/amp. I totally get that you can’t unhear TOTL headphones, I know enough to stay away from listening to phones past my budget I have not had the chance to listen to the Focal’s in person. Between covid and where I live, its hard to demo anything in person these days.

My tastes are towards jazz, acoustic singer/song writer and some classical over electronic, hip hop or pop which while I can enjoy and appreciate, but mostly I find the recording quality too loud and too v shaped to really enjoy anyway. Give me a Nick Cave or a Steely Dan track any day!

I‘d like a closed back that is comfortable, well made/not too fussy or heavy, and easy to drive. I can pick up a radiance used or I can wait for a celestee to be available new and they work out to around the same price and are at the upper end of my budget. There are a few other closed backs I’ve been looking at like the Klipsh HP3 (partial), Audeze EL 8, Fostex Purple Hearts, Beyer T5, Cascade, Meze 99, night owls, aeon closed and ether closed. But I find with my mid budget, a lot of the reviewers are not listening to jazz or acoustic as their main testing tracks.

 

[donlin]

I had been mostly using the Arya for close to a year before getting the Radiance and prefer the Radiance. Have since sold the Arya. Everyone is different.

 

[chaz_flhr]

I had been mostly using the Arya for close to a year before getting the Radiance and prefer the Radiance. Have since sold the Arya. Everyone is different.

that is what makes this hobby / passion so difficult to quantify to others who are looking for the “ Best “ it’s very subjective and dependent upon too many factors, if I never had the Stellia I would have been perfectly happy with the Radiance as I really like it’s sound signature.
I almost sent my Arya back due to being overly bright to me even after 100 hrs of break in now after 200 hrs they are here to stay and no longer bright. The only thing I dislike about my focal’s is long term listening session discomfort on 1+ hrs of straight listening chilling in the bed with the wife before bedtime.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I have a fully balanced Ayre system in my main set up, using the amazing QX 5 as my dac/headphone amp being fed by an Aurender. For this I use my Senn HD800 phones. I’ve always liked their comfort, sound stage and detail retrieval. But it tethers me to this one room. I have had some good IEM’s for travel with probably the Campfire Audio Jupiter as my go to and I have a cottage where I use a Naim Nova with some older Grado 325i phones.

What I’m looking for is a closed back over ear so that I can listen around the house without bothering others and will be easy to drive with my ipad, Tidal hifi and a firefly red dac/amp. I totally get that you can’t unhear TOTL headphones, I know enough to stay away from listening to phones past my budget I have not had the chance to listen to the Focal’s in person. Between covid and where I live, its hard to demo anything in person these days.

My tastes are towards jazz, acoustic singer/song writer and some classical over electronic, hip hop or pop which while I can enjoy and appreciate, but mostly I find the recording quality too loud and too v shaped to really enjoy anyway. Give me a Nick Cave or a Steely Dan track any day!

I‘d like a closed back that is comfortable, well made/not too fussy or heavy, and easy to drive. I can pick up a radiance used or I can wait for a celestee to be available new and they work out to around the same price and are at the upper end of my budget. There are a few other closed backs I’ve been looking at like the Klipsh HP3 (partial), Audeze EL 8, Fostex Purple Hearts, Beyer T5, Cascade, Meze 99, night owls, aeon closed and ether closed. But I find with my mid budget, a lot of the reviewers are not listening to jazz or acoustic as their main testing tracks.

Sounds like you are well setup with quality equipment. The Radiance checks most of your boxes for a closed back and sounds great with Steely Dan to me. Not sure how it sounds from a dragonfly red but it sounds surprisingly good from a BTR5 balanced which also drives the Arya ok it’s a very portable solution that I utilize quite often when I want something different from my work buds the JH16 or Soundcore pro liberty 2 / helm BT solution. Comfort around my ears is my only issue with the Focal’s guess I have big jutting ears lol.

 

[moffatmimi]

Sounds like you are well setup with quality equipment. The Radiance checks most of your boxes for a closed back and sounds great with Steely Dan to me. Not sure how it sounds from a dragonfly red but it sounds surprisingly good from a BTR5 balanced which also drives the Arya ok it’s a very portable solution that I utilize quite often when I want something different from my work buds the JH16 or Soundcore pro liberty 2 / helm BT solution. Comfort around my ears is my only issue with the Focal’s guess I have big jutting ears lol.

The comfort issue is concerning as I wear glasses but I have a small head. Not sure how that equates to a reasonable seal/comfort. I’m keeping myself in check about my wish list because I can go off the rails pretty easily and chase Sound quality. I like the ease and portability of the firefly red and my iPad to move around the house so I need to make sure I pick something that plays nicely within these restrictions...

 

[chaz_flhr]

The comfort issue is concerning as I wear glasses but I have a small head. Not sure how that equates to a reasonable seal/comfort. I’m keeping myself in check about my wish list because I can go off the rails pretty easily and chase Sound quality. I like the ease and portability of the firefly red and my iPad to move around the house so I need to make sure I pick something that plays nicely within these restrictions...

Yes glasses are always a concern and you are correct it’s all to easy to go over budget with this stuff, that said a portable like the BTR5 or equivalent or even a DAP would also give you the freedom of movement beyond being tethered to the IPad when I tested the Arya and BTR5 it went 4 hrs straight before needing a recharge. I have 2 places that are listening zones with amps set up in each space in my house, quite zone for Arya, Stellia or Radiance then bedroom for Stellia or Radiance.

 

[Sessair]

I have the Radiance, Sennheiser HD800s, and the Hifiman Ananda plus some TOTL IEMs (Unique Melody MEST, Audeze LCDi3), oh, plus some marvelous Genelec speakers.

I am realizing over time that some folks have very strong preferences that don't change over time. They must have a certain signature. Others are excited by something new and their preferences will change to whatever they have on their head or in their ears. I count myself in the latter group.

An example. One contributor said the HD800s sounded like something analytical inside a toilet bowl. Wow, glass half empty kind of guy. For me the HD880s reminded me when I was 7 years old and first entered into a Planetarium and they turned off the lights to show the stars. The WONDER of seeing these bright points of light in a deep black background. I was spellbound.

The Radiance was love at first sound. Deep rich base and warm as hell. Very intimate. I love solo piano again and marveled at the relaxing nature of slow Jazz.

I love all my headphones and constantly change between them. It keeps each of them fresh and exciting. I don't have a preference. I feel sorry for those that have very fixed and unmovable preferences, so much less joy.

Unfortunately for my pocketbook I am always looking for the next big thrill. My criteria? It must be different from what I currently have, the more different the better.

 

[chaz_flhr]

I have the Radiance, Sennheiser HD800s, and the Hifiman Ananda plus some TOTL IEMs (Unique Melody MEST, Audeze LCDi3), oh, plus some marvelous Genelec speakers.

I am realizing over time that some folks have very strong preferences that don't change over time. They must have a certain signature. Others are excited by something new and their preferences will change to whatever they have on their head or in their ears. I count myself in the latter group.

An example. One contributor said the HD800s sounded like something analytical inside a toilet bowl. Wow, glass half empty kind of guy. For me the HD880s reminded me when I was 7 years old and first entered into a Planetarium and they turned off the lights to show the stars. The WONDER of seeing these bright points of light in a deep black background. I was spellbound.

The Radiance was love at first sound. Deep rich base and warm as hell. Very intimate. I love solo piano again and marveled at the relaxing nature of slow Jazz.

I love all my headphones and constantly change between them. It keeps each of them fresh and exciting. I don't have a preference. I feel sorry for those that have very fixed and unmovable preferences, so much less joy.

Unfortunately for my pocketbook I am always looking for the next big thrill. My criteria? It must be different from what I currently have, the more different the better.

Great description of the Radiance it’s also great with guitar solo.

 

[Billheiser]

...
I‘d like a closed back that is comfortable, well made/not too fussy or heavy, and easy to drive. I can pick up a radiance used or I can wait for a celestee to be available new and they work out to around the same price and are at the upper end of my budget. There are a few other closed backs I’ve been looking at like the Klipsh HP3 (partial), Audeze EL 8, Fostex Purple Hearts, Beyer T5, Cascade, Meze 99, night owls, aeon closed and ether closed. But I find with my mid budget, a lot of the reviewers are not listening to jazz or acoustic as their main testing tracks.

I've owned a few of those on your list - the Fostex, Nightowls, and Aeon Closed 2. Of those, the Aeon is my clear favorite. Until now - my new Radiance beats all those. Radiance has the best bass (depth, impact, level, clarity, detail) of any headphone ever in my house, and the rest of the frequency range is perfect for me. Very clear and detailed but no edginess or harshness. And very good soundstaging/imaging for a closed headphone. I'm standing on my personal Everest with this one. I'll sell it to you, but I would ask triple the retail price.

 

[ubs28]

I've owned a few of those on your list - the Fostex, Nightowls, and Aeon Closed 2. Of those, the Aeon is my clear favorite. Until now - my new Radiance beats all those. Radiance has the best bass (depth, impact, level, clarity, detail) of any headphone ever in my house, and the rest of the frequency range is perfect for me. Very clear and detailed but no edginess or harshness. And very good soundstaging/imaging for a closed headphone. I'm standing on my personal Everest with this one. I'll sell it to you, but I would ask triple the retail price.

That is good to hear. Is everything beter on the Radiance in comparison to the Aeon Closed 2? If so, then I am interested despite not driving a Bentley.

And did you happen to try the Celestee (or whatever it is called) also?

 

[Billheiser]

I still like my Aeon C 2 a lot, but overall I like Radiance more. I just got them about 2 weeks ago, so I have NTS (new toy syndrome).
I didn't try the Celestee but I read about it. I like its blue color and the design. Radiance is, visually, a little too blingy for my taste, but I didn't buy it to look at it.
Apparently Celestee doesn't solve the slightly anemic bass of the Elear/Clear, but the Radiance sure does.
Hey, coincidence, I don't drive a Bentley either! What are the odds.

 

[shreyanzh]

Hi guys ........ I have been very interested in the Radiance as my travel headphone......i have the LCD X ......how would you guys say the sound compares to that.........also I am also currently considering one other competitor to Radiance that is ZMF ATTICUS .......has anyone tried both of them.....if so how would you say they compare to each other.......
Any advice would be great
Thankyou
P.S : I do love me some thick and deep BASS which is the best for that???

 

[tudedude]

Dekoni Hybrid Pads - Bass response is so much better on these than the fenestrated or stock pads. The fenestrated requires eq to bring the sound back in line. The hybrids work great out of the box. Separation, imaging, and lows are much better than the stock pads. The stock pads that came with my Radiance actually aren't that great. I think they leak too much and have barely any bass as a result. I highly recommend these over stock or fenestrated.