[nlowran]

Agreed, I adore mine. They do well both with tubes and SS amps, too.

They are not perhaps the bargain a $400 pair of Elears are (ridiculous value/performance ratio, especially with upgraded cables and a good amp)- BUT for about a $1,000 pre-owned/mint condition you get a big chunk of Stellia performance AND better looks? Come on!

That said, some folks may take umbrage to the strong mid bass- but that’s part of the fun for many. The ZMF Atticus units that show up pre-owned disappear in minutes for a reason- and while I have never compared the Radiance to the Atticus, all listening notes indicate they are very, very similar in sound signature.

I haven't even amp'd them really yet just using my e1da doggle, I did do a little eq'ing to get rid of that weird mid shelf.

 

[AudioDuck]

I haven't even amp'd them really yet just using my e1da doggle, I did do a little eq'ing to get rid of that weird mid shelf.

They will really take off with good amplification. Enjoy!

 

[tudedude]

Trying out this cheap tube amp, the One Little Bear. It has this interesting extended bass signature and an over all more loose and relaxed sound. Not sure if it's a good thing, I'm new to tubes, but I like it. Also tried it as a preamp with the schiit Magni but it lost some of those interesting characteristics.

Paired with Dekoni hybrid pads.

 

[sladewilson411]

Hi guys, i have spent almost a month with this beautiful baby. The Radiance scale very well with tube amp, i am very surprise with the sound of this headphone.

I owned the XC in the past and this headphone surpass the XC in my opinion. Radiance's timbre is very unique, unlike any closed-back headphones i have heard and owned. It has a warm and has a unique sub-bass punch, i think this is what define Focal signature tuning. The bass is there but they did hell of a job to separate it from the mid and high. The separation is awesome for such a punchy as Radiance.

This headphone has its own unique sound signature that you have to actually hear to feel it, it is like i am in a black suit, sitting in a Bentley with a glass of champagne and simply enjoying some jazz music. Its sound is "fancy", that is the only word i can think of whenever i put this baby on

My tube amp makes the Radiance shine even more with its neutral sound and sprinkle a little bit of tubey warmth on top of it.

It is very unique that you have to try even once or twice in your headphones journey.

 

[immunoglobulin]

Just chiming in that I also got the Dekoni hybrid pads and found that they moderately open up the phones, add some to the soundstage (maybe 20%), and overall make it more pleasing for my non-analytical ears . The pads are definitely deeper, but have a little less room on the inside to move your ears relative to the driver.

I've also been experimenting with PEQ on the Qudelix 5K and have enjoyed the following configuration:

• Headroom = -6 (no EQ pre-gain change)
• 4.0 Peak @ 125 (Q = 0.5)
• 2.0 Peak @ 2000 (Q =1.4)
• LPF @ 20000 (Q = 0.7)

 

[nlowran]

I ended up getting rid of mine and went with the stellias. Hell of a price jump but was hard to go back to the radiance after having the stellias on my head

 

[Mightygrey]

I adore the Radiance in terms of both design and sound, but just about the only minor quibble I have with them is the slight creak in the yokes when worn - particularly when moving around.

Do you guys have this experience? If so, have you found a way to fix this?

 

[Coztomba]

I adore the Radiance in terms of both design and sound, but just about the only minor quibble I have with them is the slight creak in the yokes when worn - particularly when moving around.

Do you guys have this experience? If so, have you found a way to fix this?

I don't notice any creek while wearing them, but I do notice it when I take them off / put them on / in general move them around. In fact my Clears and Elears both are worse. I've seen other people have had success with dry / carbon lubricants, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

 

[Coolmoose]

I adore the Radiance in terms of both design and sound, but just about the only minor quibble I have with them is the slight creak in the yokes when worn - particularly when moving around.

Do you guys have this experience? If so, have you found a way to fix this?

Mine had this problem, they would creek sometimes when i move or turn my head. But after a couple month the problem just went away on its own.

 

[Anouk]

Hi everyone,
Looking for a new portable rig touse with iphone and apple hires. The dac/amp will be the sparrow and i am thinking about either the aeon 2 closed or noir or the focal radiance (with balanced cable).
I find it hard though to find any good comparisons of these headphones. Headfonia or headphonics had some brie fmentions but not much.
Has anyone compared these or can anyone compare these?
Thanks in advance
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Mightygrey]

Hi everyone,
Looking for a new portable rig touse with iphone and apple hires. The dac/amp will be the sparrow and i am thinking about either the aeon 2 closed or noir or the focal radiance (with balanced cable).
I find it hard though to find any good comparisons of these headphones. Headfonia or headphonics had some brie fmentions but not much.
Has anyone compared these or can anyone compare these?
Thanks in advance
Greetings, Anouk,

Hi mate, I have both of these headphones.

The Radiance is:
- (Far easier to drive)
- Warmer
- Bassier
- Better at macro-dynamic impact/slam
- More 'natural sounding'
- More luxurious looking/feeling

The Noire is:
- About 20% more comfortable (not that the Radiance isn't comfy)
- More detailed and resolving
- More neutral and linear-sounding
- Better at microdynamics
- Faster
- Wider, more enveloping soundstage
- Require a lot more power to sound their best
- More quick and lean in the low-end, but can still 'slap'

I was leaning on the fence of preferring the Radiance, but since pairing the Noire with the Jot 2 I've been absolutely loving that combo. Yes, they're a little more gentle in terms of the way they present sound, but they're more technically adept overall (to my ears) and I marginally prefer the form factor.

 

[Anouk]

Hi! Thanks a great deal for this info. I had been on the fence also regarding amps but ultimately I think I want a fairly portable rig so going for the eaglemen sparrow. So then I think I will also go for the radiance.
Still have to contact earmen though since apparently there are some problems with their balanced connector not working with all 2.5mm plugs.
Thanks again
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[chaz_flhr]

I ended up getting rid of mine and went with the stellias. Hell of a price jump but was hard to go back to the radiance after having the stellias on my head

Agreed the Stellia is special and not much compares but for me the sound signature was different enough between the two to keep the Radiance as well. I also use the Radiance for travel instead of carting the Stellia around in public.

 

[John Massaria]

My review sample came to me on a tour -me being the third or fourth to review the Focal Radiance- jumping right in and to the point-While it’s looks and construction are befitting of their selling price -initially I found the Focal Radiance sound signature well balanced for the most part- nearly but as I continued to concentrate more on details - I found them a bit fatiguing after one hour of listening- some mid to high frequency on female and some male tracks seemed oddly off and exaggerated- cymbals also sounded off and not true to the recording- I think these headphones were tuned to be impressive on first listen (first 15 mins I was really like wow these are nice and clear nice imaging with intimate stage etc) but as I continued to listen I realized the flaws- compared to my Kennerton GH50JM Edition- the Radiance also had a noticeable bass overextended distortion of the driver on some torture test tracks at moderate nominal volumes and got worse as I turned up volume- I attribute this to the driver hyper extending - something I rarely would expect from this price range- and this was also confirmed by Josh V recently in his video review describing it similarly -
At lower volumes or normal volumes the bass over extension is not noticeable at all even among my torture test tracks - so it may not be a concern for casual listening but something my Gh50s never do - and something once you hear it you kind of cringe.
if I never heard the Kennerton Gh50s I would say the Focal is among the better closed backed headphones for fit and finish and sound for short periods of time. The headband on the Focal is comfortable but the clamp force on my ears is a little much after an hour - which is ironically matched to how long I could tolerate the slightly fatiguing sound signature as well-these two major strikes against the Radiance make this a hard recommendation from me. The ear cups are comfortable as they are beautiful and I love the snaps to change and clean the ear pads/cups but nice stitching/construction can only go so far if the sound doesn’t measure up to the beauty - I hope this short review helps at least one user decide one way or the other.
I used my Ray Samuels Apache 2021 edition and my Fiio.q5s and Cayin c9 for my tests.

 

[Mhog55]

Reading these comments and comparisons with the Atticus has certainly caught my attention. I still haven't spent over 600 bucks on a set of cans, new or used. However, I think may in the near future. I recently stumbled upon the Quad Era-1, and it's pretty awesome. Does wonders for rock and metal, and I'm not a big fan of planars. Best closed back I've heard is the Magni, but it ran a bit too hot up top. From there, people have highly recommended the Atticus. I'm set on open backs with the Quad and SR2, but haven't found the right closed back yet. Can anyone go into a little greater detail comparing and contrasting the Radiance with the Atticus? I've tried the 7200, E-mu Teak, and Magni. I've also considered the 9200, but after owning both the 5200 and 7200, I'm not convinced this would be the right direction.