[Sp12er3]

No. Far from it. Hardly any bass and I wasn’t satisfied with it. The Clear and Stellia have more solid punch. These weren’t for me. I’ll wait for the Celestee to arrive when they do. But so far, the best closed backs are the Sony MDR-Z1R and open back are the Focal Clear. The mids on the Radiance come out more and the highs and bass feel more recessed. Still not quite studio monitoring, but I’m sure there are people who like their sound. If no Celestee, the Clear will be the only Focal cans I own for years to come. At least I say money, which is always a plus in today’s economy

ah thanks, been looking for a comparison and you just gave it. an out for me also then.

The box that houses the Focal Radiance is a TANK.
You could break stones with it....
The revised "consumer" version will probably have a less spectacular box, but i'll still cost the same and it'll be painted a different color.
I hope, for the sake of all who waited, that they dont change the design of the outer shell, as its really pretty.

if that box is a tank, then MDR Z1R's box is The MAUS.

 

[chaz_flhr]

the dekoni's are deeper than stock pads.

I have a pair of the dekoni's for my Stellia but prefer the feel and fit of the stock pads as the opening is actually slightly larger than the dekoni.

 

[chaz_flhr]

ah thanks, been looking for a comparison and you just gave it. an out for me also then.

if that box is a tank, then MDR Z1R's box is The MAUS.

My experience is different I find the Radiance warmer with a slightly stronger bass presence and punch compared to my Stellia, best advice is to give them a listen they are great HP for the price.

 

[Mightygrey]

My experience is different I find the Radiance warmer with a slightly stronger bass presence and punch compared to my Stellia, best advice is to give them a listen they are great HP for the price.

Bentley branding aside, these are genuinely one of the best price-to-performance closed-back cans around. The sound and material upgrade over the Celestee is worth the price of admission, in my books.

 

[Sessair]

I find the Radiance has what the Clear does not: a fuller base presence and smoother highs. It's been a great compliment to my Sennheiser HD800s. Both have excellent SQ but very very different signatures without EQ (I actually EQ my HD800s into a base heads dream).

When I want to relax and watch the sunset with some Rum in hand, I reach for my Radiance.

 

[Coztomba]

I have a set on the way. Should be here tomorrow.

 

[Sessair]

I have a set on the way. Should be here tomorrow.

Good for you. I'll be interested in how you compare them to your current collection.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Bentley branding aside, these are genuinely one of the best price-to-performance closed-back cans around. The sound and material upgrade over the Celestee is worth the price of admission, in my books.

I don’t mind the branding as my last name starts with a B I just think of them as personalized HP like a robe or towels, but I do understand the branding and bling turns off some people, but I do feel it’s one of the best looking HP out there.
they are definitely a different sound signature than your normal Focal they are easy to drive and they scale well with better equipment.

 

[Gamerlingual]

ah thanks, been looking for a comparison and you just gave it. an out for me also then.

if that box is a tank, then MDR Z1R's box is The MAUS.

The bass isn’t there compared to the Focal Clear and MDR-Z1R. The mids stand out more than they need to, and second place does to the highs. Overall, didn’t work for me. The Utopia are good, but $4k? Not quite.

 

[immunoglobulin]

Hi all, just grabbed these phones ($1,170 USD from an authorized dealer). They sound real crisp and the bass is tight! Definitely an upgrade from my $20 Monoprice Retros Currently running with what seems like plenty of power through a Qudelix 5K (EQ on "Acoustic") with a Meze balanced cable for my mobile setup. Really nice for my taste of funk, jazz, and indie rock⁠—if you haven't listened to the album "Ecstasy" by Ohio Players on these yet, do so...it's a real treat.

Wondering if you folks have any recommendations for desktop DAC/AMPs⁠ pairings at about the $500 range?

 

[tudedude]

Hi all, just grabbed these phones ($1,170 USD from an authorized dealer). They sound real crisp and the bass is tight! Definitely an upgrade from my $20 Monoprice Retros Currently running with what seems like plenty of power through a Qudelix 5K (EQ on "Acoustic") with a Meze balanced cable for my mobile setup. Really nice for my taste of funk, jazz, and indie rock⁠—if you haven't listened to the album "Ecstasy" by Ohio Players on these yet, do so...it's a real treat.

Wondering if you folks have any recommendations for desktop DAC/AMPs⁠ pairings at about the $500 range?

I use the Qudelix as a dac/dsp. If you're into that sort of thing you can then spend the whole $500 on an amp, like the Schiit Lyr or the Rebelamp that headphone show guy keeps hyping up.

 

[Kevintj604]

Words can't explain how happy I am with this combo.

 

[Coolmoose]

Hi all, just grabbed these phones ($1,170 USD from an authorized dealer). They sound real crisp and the bass is tight! Definitely an upgrade from my $20 Monoprice Retros Currently running with what seems like plenty of power through a Qudelix 5K (EQ on "Acoustic") with a Meze balanced cable for my mobile setup. Really nice for my taste of funk, jazz, and indie rock⁠—if you haven't listened to the album "Ecstasy" by Ohio Players on these yet, do so...it's a real treat.

Wondering if you folks have any recommendations for desktop DAC/AMPs⁠ pairings at about the $500 range?

I'm using the Radiance with a Xduoo XA-10 DAC/amp at the office. Really great combo imo, incredibly musical and yet detailed at the same time. The XA-10 has a small form factor, plenty of power at 4W balanced, has XLR, 4.4 and 3.5 connections and blue tooth as well which fits my needs perfectly. The only downside is that you do get a bit of noise with sensitive IEMs.

 

[Zachik]

Words can't explain how happy I am with this combo.

Nice cable!

 

[Soundizer]

Words can't explain how happy I am with this combo.

NICE CABLE. From where?