[iMemphis]

Just recently purchased a pair of Radiances, and excited for them to come. In terms of Single End vs XLR, is there a preference on which is "better"? (Sorry if this has already been discussed)

 

[Music225]

Could not resist. The Radiance just arrived. Listening

 

[tudedude]

Just recently purchased a pair of Radiances, and excited for them to come. In terms of Single End vs XLR, is there a preference on which is "better"? (Sorry if this has already been discussed)

I personally prefer single ended only because it keeps things simple and compatible with my current devices.

 

[WaveTheory]

Just recently purchased a pair of Radiances, and excited for them to come. In terms of Single End vs XLR, is there a preference on which is "better"? (Sorry if this has already been discussed)

No worries about it being frequently discussed! New folks come on board all the time. If you have a few minutes, I did a write-up about balanced vs single-ended for headphones awhile back:

https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/is-balanced-better-pros-cons-of-balanced-vs-single-ended/21905

 

[Souldriver]

The Radiance goes real well with my PlusSound x8 copper

 

[Music225]

Hey guys, what songs you specifically enjoy with the Focal Radiance?
It saddens me to say this but, regarding sound, early impression is quite underwhelmed so far. I really want to love it ... I do but for everything else except for the sound.
Maybe I don't like the tunning. Maybe it's not suitable for the music I enjoy. Maybe DX160 is not a good match for it...
It's not bad, but it lacks authority, impact and slam, some songs I find not really enjoyable with how the sound is presented, like I pick up on the part of the vocal that should be more quiet.
Metal, post-rock, psychedelic or atmospheric songs sound weak, lacking impact, hollow and metallic. I don't find the intensity that I can find in my Audiosense T800 and MH40
I'm so disappointed that I just order a pair of Cascade yesterday because I find myself picking the MH40 over the Radiance. The vocal presentation from the Radiance makes me miss the HD600 which I had returned. Right now, with current impression. It doesn't have a position in my collection.

Want to hear more opinions from y'all.

 

[tudedude]

Hey guys, what songs you specifically enjoy with the Focal Radiance?
It saddens me to say this but, regarding sound, early impression is quite underwhelmed so far. I really want to love it ... I do but for everything else except for the sound.
Maybe I don't like the tunning. Maybe it's not suitable for the music I enjoy. Maybe DX160 is not a good match for it...
It's not bad, but it lacks authority, impact and slam, some songs I find not really enjoyable with how the sound is presented, like I pick up on the part of the vocal that should be more quiet.
Metal, post-rock, psychedelic or atmospheric songs sound weak, lacking impact, hollow and metallic. I don't find the intensity that I can find in my Audiosense T800 and MH40
I'm so disappointed that I just order a pair of Cascade yesterday because I find myself picking the MH40 over the Radiance. The vocal presentation from the Radiance makes me miss the HD600 which I had returned. Right now, with current impression. It doesn't have a position in my collection.

Want to hear more opinions from y'all.

I just looked at the freq response graph of the Audiosense T800 and dang talk about bass. It's all about the fatty. You won't get that kind of sound from most audiophile headphones. I don't listen to the type of music you do, I'm guessing the music you like benefits from boosted bass.

edit: was this an april foos thang? lol

 

[WaveTheory]

Hey guys, what songs you specifically enjoy with the Focal Radiance?
It saddens me to say this but, regarding sound, early impression is quite underwhelmed so far. I really want to love it ... I do but for everything else except for the sound.
Maybe I don't like the tunning. Maybe it's not suitable for the music I enjoy. Maybe DX160 is not a good match for it...
It's not bad, but it lacks authority, impact and slam, some songs I find not really enjoyable with how the sound is presented, like I pick up on the part of the vocal that should be more quiet.
Metal, post-rock, psychedelic or atmospheric songs sound weak, lacking impact, hollow and metallic. I don't find the intensity that I can find in my Audiosense T800 and MH40
I'm so disappointed that I just order a pair of Cascade yesterday because I find myself picking the MH40 over the Radiance. The vocal presentation from the Radiance makes me miss the HD600 which I had returned. Right now, with current impression. It doesn't have a position in my collection.

Want to hear more opinions from y'all.

I have a couple thoughts. IMO the Radiance is great for the types of music you're describing. However, some care must be taken. IIRC the DX160 is not particularly powerful and works best with IEMs. The Radiance is rather easy to drive - for a full-sized headphone. It's drivers are by nature going to be bigger and more massive than IEM drivers and thus require more energy to move and control (thanks, law of conservation of energy /s). That macrodynamic impact you're missing is one of the first things to disappear when a headphone is underpowered. Are you using the balanced output of the DX160? That will give you a bit more power, but of course you'll have to buy a cable as I don't think Radiance comes with a balanced cable...

The other issue might be with the Radiance itself. It's one Achilles heel, IMO, is that it can sound a bit tubby on some amps. If you match it with a warm, bassy amp, it can be a bit over-the-top in the midbass and sound slightly muddy and bloated. I think it works best with more truly neutral, maybe leaning-analytical, amps. By far my favorite pairing with it is the Chord Hugo 2. The H2 is very incisive and relentlessly neutral. It's also a bit tonally-lean which can balance out the Radiance's thickness some.

Do you have a desktop setup to try at all? You may have a different experience with Radiance. Otherwise, hey, not everything works as we expect it to. You can likely recover most of what you spent on the used market. Good luck!

 

[Music225]

I just looked at the freq response graph of the Audiosense T800 and dang talk about bass. It's all about the fatty. You won't get that kind of sound from most audiophile headphones. I don't listen to the type of music you do, I'm guessing the music you like benefits from boosted bass.

edit: was this an april foos thang? lol

No april foo. I even enjoy HD600 bass than Radiance. For me there is just no weight to it. I can hear it there, tight and controlled but weak and lacking. And I don't find it enjoyable.

 

[tudedude]

No april foo. I even enjoy HD600 bass than Radiance. For me there is just no weight to it. I can hear it there, tight and controlled but weak and lacking. And I don't find it enjoyable.

oh ok weird you like the hd600 bass more than the Radiance, that leads me to think something might be wrong. Are the pads on the radiance fully seated? Try pressing down along the pads to make sure they are locked in.

 

[Music225]

I have a couple thoughts. IMO the Radiance is great for the types of music you're describing. However, some care must be taken. IIRC the DX160 is not particularly powerful and works best with IEMs. The Radiance is rather easy to drive - for a full-sized headphone. It's drivers are by nature going to be bigger and more massive than IEM drivers and thus require more energy to move and control (thanks, law of conservation of energy /s). That macrodynamic impact you're missing is one of the first things to disappear when a headphone is underpowered.

The other issue might be with the Radiance itself. It's one Achilles heel, IMO, is that it can sound a bit tubby on some amps. If you match it with a warm, bassy amp, it can be a bit over-the-top in the midbass and sound slightly muddy and bloated. I think it works best with more truly neutral, maybe leaning-analytical, amps. By far my favorite pairing with it is the Chord Hugo 2. The H2 is very incisive and relentlessly neutral. It's also a bit tonally-lean which can balance out the Radiance's thickness some.

Do you have a desktop setup to try at all? You may have a different experience with Radiance. Otherwise, hey, not everything works as we expect it to. You can likely recover most of what you spent on the used market. Good luck!

I really appreciate your input. I do question the issue is because of not matching DAP. But I think the DX160 is powerful enough to drive the Radiance for sure. Here is the stats
3.5mm Single Ended Phone Out：
Output Voltage: 3.2Vrms
FR:10Hz~40kHz +/-0.15dB S/N: 125dB
THD+N: 0.0004% (no Load, 2Vrms)，0.0007% (32Ω Load, 2Vrms)
Crosstalk: -115dB

On high gain, the HD600, 80% is plenty enough for me, except for when it comes to more quiet instrumental tracks. Also on high gain, Radiance at 55% is very loud. I only increase the volume to hear more bass but at this level vocal starts getting shouty and some details get overpowering.
The DAP signature is neutral lean bright so I was rooting very much they would work some what fine with each other.

I have no desktop setup. The DX160 is my do-it-all. There is a focal naim shop I can go to demo. But then the DAC/AMP they have there will be at high end level. And I also don't intend to invest in DAC/AMP anytime soon. I want to find some hp that works with my current DAP.

I dont have problem with the bass being muddy or bloated. I just find it really lacking in weight, rumble, intensity and another big issue is the high freq seems to me very harsh sometimes piercing when I increase the vol higher. Although, trying some EQ with local files recently helps quite a bit, almost fix the harshness and add more weight to the bass. Although, I want to avoid EQ because mostly I listen trough Spotify 320kbps.
I gotta admit I'm not describing well what I'm hearing so it's also hard for other to help me check those problems.

Then again, it's not bad. Currently impression so far just is underwhelming, lacking and harsh metallic treble. With EQ, it's much more enjoyable at 60%, I can push the volume further to 80 just to test if it will pierce my ears, it will be very loud but it's fine. Without EQ, I can't go above 55%, it's not louder than EQ at 80 but the sound get so harsh it's unlistenable. The ending sound from vocal and cymbals becomes too apparent, noises seem to be emphasized.

I'm waiting for the Campfire Cascade on Monday to have another different frame of reference.

 

[Music225]

oh ok weird you like the hd600 bass more than the Radiance, that leads me to think something might be wrong. Are the pads on the radiance fully seated? Try pressing down along the pads to make sure they are locked in.

I checked and don't think this pair is faulty. The bass is present and controlled it's just lacking in many area. How I like the hd600 bass more is the overall presence of bass along with other spectrum. I dont have them now to compare but to me more enjoyable.

 

[padawan25]

I

I really appreciate your input. I do question the issue is because of not matching DAP. But I think the DX160 is powerful enough to drive the Radiance for sure. Here is the stats
3.5mm Single Ended Phone Out：
Output Voltage: 3.2Vrms
FR:10Hz~40kHz +/-0.15dB S/N: 125dB
THD+N: 0.0004% (no Load, 2Vrms)，0.0007% (32Ω Load, 2Vrms)
Crosstalk: -115dB

On high gain, the HD600, 80% is plenty enough for me, except for when it comes to more quiet instrumental tracks. Also on high gain, Radiance at 55% is very loud. I only increase the volume to hear more bass but at this level vocal starts getting shouty and some details get overpowering.
The DAP signature is neutral lean bright so I was rooting very much they would work some what fine with each other.

I have no desktop setup. The DX160 is my do-it-all. There is a focal naim shop I can go to demo. But then the DAC/AMP they have there will be at high end level. And I also don't intend to invest in DAC/AMP anytime soon. I want to find some hp that works with my current DAP.

I dont have problem with the bass being muddy or bloated. I just find it really lacking in weight, rumble, intensity and another big issue is the high freq seems to me very harsh sometimes piercing when I increase the vol higher. Although, trying some EQ with local files recently helps quite a bit, almost fix the harshness and add more weight to the bass. Although, I want to avoid EQ because mostly I listen trough Spotify 320kbps.
I gotta admit I'm not describing well what I'm hearing so it's also hard for other to help me check those problems.

Then again, it's not bad. Currently impression so far just is underwhelming, lacking and harsh metallic treble. With EQ, it's much more enjoyable at 60%, I can push the volume further to 80 just to test if it will pierce my ears, it will be very loud but it's fine. Without EQ, I can't go above 55%, it's not louder than EQ at 80 but the sound get so harsh it's unlistenable. The ending sound from vocal and cymbals becomes too apparent, noises seem to be emphasized.

I'm waiting for the Campfire Cascade on Monday to have another different frame of reference.

I wouldn't use high gain for the Radiance. They are very easy to drive. I would use low gain at 3/4 volume and see how you like the vocals.

 

[tudedude]

I checked and don't think this pair is faulty. The bass is present and controlled it's just lacking in many area. How I like the hd600 bass more is the overall presence of bass along with other spectrum. I dont have them now to compare but to me more enjoyable.

Ok, yeah then maybe these headphones aren't for you. My other suggestion would be to give them a longer listen and see if your ears can adjust to the sound. Your other headphones are bass cannons so it's only natural the Radiance will sound lacking until your brain adjusts after some time. Then there's getting aftermarket earpads like the dekoni sheepskins, but that might just be spending money on a lost cause.

 

[skeeb23]

I gotta throw my 2cents in on this subject. I too just bought the Radiance (found them new) and felt they were a bit underwhelming on first listen. I was coming from months of daily using the Arya Stealth. Very different sound going from open back Planar to a closed back Dynamic. So, after talking with some friends I decided I just needed to give them more time. Also, fwiw, Focal does recommend about 50 hours of burn in for new headphones. I'm not a personal believer in this as I also think doing so will eventually lead to brain burn-in.

Anyway, after owning these for over a week now and giving them more time...I am starting to get the "wow" factor I was hoping for. So, it could be possible about burn in. Could be possible the pads are conforming for a better seal. Could be possible my brain is forgetting the old sound and adapting to the new.

Either way, I am enjoying them now. I do find some shoutiness every now and then on certain tracks in the upper mids...but never too terrible.

I am powering mind on a Modius/Jotunheim2 stack.

I am looking to get my first tube amp just to check it out. Leaning towards a Liquid Platinum but we will see.

Bottom line - give them some time and don't judge too quickly. I would say after 25-50 hours if you are still not enjoying them, then move on as said above. Magic won't always happen after all.