[JackLeville]

Wonder why these are being discounted so much in Australia only. Is the distributor stopping with Focal?

 

[KingsCross]

Wonder why these are being discounted so much in Australia only. Is the distributor stopping with Focal?

That’s my best guess. It says it is a “Clearance Sale”.
Even the New Zealand website of the same business has the same products listed for substantially less.

*** Edit: just called one of their stores and the person I spoke to said, while he can’t officially confirm this, it looks like they won’t stock Focal once the inventory runs out as the sale will run until then.

 

[Alexzander]

With the current crazy low prices on the Focal range in Australia, I have finally pulled the trigger and ordered my first two decent sets of headphones.

Got the Bathys for work and outside and the Radiance for home.

For now, due to restraints of my financial means, I will only have the options to use these with the following devices: iPhone 14 Pro, Apple TV 4K and the new MacBook Air.

I think my next purchases will be the following in this order:

* Balanced Cable for the Radiance
* DAC/AMP
* Bluetooth receiver for the Radiance (to stream from Apple TV)
* Open Back Headphones (Arya Stealth, Focal Clear Mg)

Some questions:

1) are these additions to the setup necessary?
Will they be worth it and lead to a noticeable improvement of the audio quality/experience considering I will mainly use the devices listed above to stream Apple Music and watch content via the Apple TV?

2) What DAC should I consider? Is the Chord Mojo 2 overkill for my needs and could I get something that would serve my needs just as well for the fraction of the price? What would you get if you were in my shoes and want a solid setup without going overboard?

3) I keep seeing people urge others to upgrade the Radiance with a balanced cable. All the options I can see suggested are either WAY too expensive for me to even consider at this stage, or not available in Australia.
Does any of you know of a decent cable that’s worth investing in around the AUD $200 mark from an Aussie shop? Or is there no point changing the cable with this budget limitation?

4) Change the Earpads of the Radiance to Dakoni Hybrid (I assume the ones that are made for the Clear would fit?) or leave it be?

5) Anything I should consider or anything you notice I got completely wrong?


Thank you in advance for all your help.
These are my first baby steps into this world, so please be kind if anything I reasoned above is ridiculous or completely wrong.

Go with both AMP/DAC and balanced cable first as they would improve the sound most in case you already listen to lossless files.
Amp section is the most important as it is actually responsible for the tuning, dynamics, technicalities and power. Speaking of which much more power is usually provided from a balanced connections, and Radiance scales with added power greatly. I would go with something like Shanling H7.
As for the cable I would just order 1.5m cheapest silver balanced cable from AliExpress - should be in your budget.
Stock pads are good ones and no replacement is needed imo.

 

[KingsCross]

Go with both AMP/DAC and balanced cable first as they would improve the sound most in case you already listen to lossless files.
Amp section is the most important as it is actually responsible for the tuning, dynamics, technicalities and power. Speaking of which much more power is usually provided from a balanced connections, and Radiance scales with added power greatly. I would go with something like Shanling H7.
As for the cable I would just order 1.5m cheapest silver balanced cable from AliExpress - should be in your budget.
Stock pads are good ones and no replacement is needed imo.

just had a look on AliExpress. Is this all I need?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005...id=yfdqhdczemgcawgc18a1c2e5fbb62aecf64e0b7c23

 

[el-jorge]

For a cable, I used the Meze Audio 99 series OFC Balanced for a while, for €50,- it’s pretty great.

https://mezeaudio.com/products/99series-ofc-balanced-cable

 

[evhvis]

First impression is that the cable is rubbish. Too stiff and short even when I sit right next to my amp.

My impression is that Focal supplies horrible cables with their headphones. Mostly used a Denon cable from my AH-D7200 or aftermarket cables with my Radiance and Elear. My main headphone cable for 2x3.5mm headphones is in for re-termination to balanced so looking forward to getting that back.

 

[evhvis]

With the current crazy low prices on the Focal range in Australia, I have finally pulled the trigger and ordered my first two decent sets of headphones.

Got the Bathys for work and outside and the Radiance for home.

For now, due to restraints of my financial means, I will only have the options to use these with the following devices: iPhone 14 Pro, Apple TV 4K and the new MacBook Air.

I think my next purchases will be the following in this order:

* Balanced Cable for the Radiance
* DAC/AMP
* Bluetooth receiver for the Radiance (to stream from Apple TV)
* Open Back Headphones (Arya Stealth, Focal Clear Mg)

Some questions:

1) are these additions to the setup necessary?
Will they be worth it and lead to a noticeable improvement of the audio quality/experience considering I will mainly use the devices listed above to stream Apple Music and watch content via the Apple TV?

2) What DAC should I consider? Is the Chord Mojo 2 overkill for my needs and could I get something that would serve my needs just as well for the fraction of the price? What would you get if you were in my shoes and want a solid setup without going overboard?

3) I keep seeing people urge others to upgrade the Radiance with a balanced cable. All the options I can see suggested are either WAY too expensive for me to even consider at this stage, or not available in Australia.
Does any of you know of a decent cable that’s worth investing in around the AUD $200 mark from an Aussie shop? Or is there no point changing the cable with this budget limitation?

4) Change the Earpads of the Radiance to Dakoni Hybrid (I assume the ones that are made for the Clear would fit?) or leave it be?

5) Anything I should consider or anything you notice I got completely wrong?


Thank you in advance for all your help.
These are my first baby steps into this world, so please be kind if anything I reasoned above is ridiculous or completely wrong.

1) Just use the Bathys for BT. The entire point of BT is to avoid the extra cables etc.
2) Mojo 2 is a good starting point and good value, even as a desktop only setup. It doesn't take much to get OK sound out of the Radiance. Decent amps will do a good job with the Radiance, but they do scale significantly with better equipment
3) Balanced is only needed if your amp is significantly better from balanced. The original cable isn't great though. Focal is a where I've received cables with the product that have a significantly different tonality compared to aftermarket cables. With most brands it is slightly more detail and smaller improvements, but with Focal the Elear cable sounds really dark and the Radiance cable sounds slightly bright and harsh with both being annoying to use (you notice the cable physically much more than you should). My stock cable from Denon AH-D7200 fits both the Elear and the Radiance and sounds much closer to my aftermarket cables in tonality while the Focal cables are significantly on either side of the tonality spectrum.
4) Would probably only use original pads, unless you want to drastically change the sound coming out of the headphones. Stock tuning on the Radiance is good so personally I wouldn't change it physically. At most some minor EQ.

 

[imdabesss]

With the current crazy low prices on the Focal range in Australia, I have finally pulled the trigger and ordered my first two decent sets of headphones.

Got the Bathys for work and outside and the Radiance for home.

For now, due to restraints of my financial means, I will only have the options to use these with the following devices: iPhone 14 Pro, Apple TV 4K and the new MacBook Air.

I think my next purchases will be the following in this order:

* Balanced Cable for the Radiance
* DAC/AMP
* Bluetooth receiver for the Radiance (to stream from Apple TV)
* Open Back Headphones (Arya Stealth, Focal Clear Mg)

Some questions:

1) are these additions to the setup necessary?
Will they be worth it and lead to a noticeable improvement of the audio quality/experience considering I will mainly use the devices listed above to stream Apple Music and watch content via the Apple TV?

2) What DAC should I consider? Is the Chord Mojo 2 overkill for my needs and could I get something that would serve my needs just as well for the fraction of the price? What would you get if you were in my shoes and want a solid setup without going overboard?

3) I keep seeing people urge others to upgrade the Radiance with a balanced cable. All the options I can see suggested are either WAY too expensive for me to even consider at this stage, or not available in Australia.
Does any of you know of a decent cable that’s worth investing in around the AUD $200 mark from an Aussie shop? Or is there no point changing the cable with this budget limitation?

4) Change the Earpads of the Radiance to Dakoni Hybrid (I assume the ones that are made for the Clear would fit?) or leave it be?

5) Anything I should consider or anything you notice I got completely wrong?


Thank you in advance for all your help.
These are my first baby steps into this world, so please be kind if anything I reasoned above is ridiculous or completely wrong.

I would go DAC/AMP before balanced cable, but to be honest, I don't think a balanced cable is needed. But this is coming from someone who runs unbalanced headphones from the RME-ADI 2 and Drop CTH. Pretty much any amp and even your M2(?) Macbook Air will have enough power for the Radiances. I can't tell a ton of difference between the Radiance out of my 14" MBP or my ADI-2. It sounds better but not a lot. The new Macbooks are pretty good with their onboard DACs.

 

[stenog]

For a cable, I used the Meze Audio 99 series OFC Balanced for a while, for €50,- it’s pretty great.

https://mezeaudio.com/products/99series-ofc-balanced-cable

I use the same cable. It's more than good enough. I use it with both my T5P 2gen and Radiance when I want to go balanced.

It's not necessary to spend a fortune on cables

 

[JackLeville]

DAC before the cable.
And whether you take the DAC before the rest, depends on whether you want more sound quality first, or first more places/occasions to listen to music.

 

[Smirk 24]

I use the same cable. It's more than good enough. I use it with both my T5P 2gen and Radiance when I want to go balanced.

It's not necessary to spend a fortune on cables

I was told by a retailer (forgot which one) that Meze cables didn't work for the Focal headphones because the dual 3.5mm plugs that go into the headphones are different.

I'm guessing that they do.

 

[KingsCross]

Thank you everyone for being so helpful and all the great information.

As of this moment I think I learned the following here and elsewhere today:

MacBook DAC is more than sufficient for now.

FiiO KA1 will do for my iPhone.

Belkin Airplay 2 receiver for the AppleTV if I want to use the Radiant for that.

Grab a silver cable from AliExpress

Check out MacEQ and SoundSource

Leave the Earpads alone (still worry what to do when the Radiance ones need replacing but that’s a down the track problem)


At least this all looks a lot more affordable and manageable for the start.

 

[Alexzander]

just had a look on AliExpress. Is this all I need?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005005333420496.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.69125c97NbFPoc&browser_id=d2290a4951f1481fa78dd1f695b8d1b2&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=yfdqhdczemgcawgc18a1c2e5fbb62aecf64e0b7c23&gclid=&pdp_npi=4@dis!AUD!102.93!81.31!!!65.00!!@211bf12316926899158464594d076a!12000032646610341!sea!AU!0!A&algo_pvid=4107120b-1e5d-4b80-8e86-c96cf9d6f37c&_universallink=1&m_page_id=yfdqhdczemgcawgc18a1c2e5fbb62aecf64e0b7c23

Nope, it is silver-plated, and you need pure silver like this for example https://m.aliexpress.us/item/325680...medium=sharing&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

You can also ask them to make the plug a straight one if needed.

 

[stenog]

I was told by a retailer (forgot which one) that Meze cables didn't work for the Focal headphones because the dual 3.5mm plugs that go into the headphones are different.

I'm guessing that they do.

They do. Maybe Meze have different cables or your retailer want to sell you a more expensive cable . That said the connecters are a bit different and they can break if you don't handle with care. But that goes for many cables/connecters.

Edit: Sorry for the lousy picture...I am no photographer!

 

[KingsCross]

Nope, it is silver-plated, and you need pure silver like this for example https://m.aliexpress.us/item/325680...medium=sharing&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

You can also ask them to make the plug a straight one if needed.

Thank you! I’ll order one of those now.