[Kevintj604]

Join the Radiance club today. Very good headphone.

Welcome to the club. Mine are sitting at Canadian Customs waiting for clearance. Hopefully they’ll arrive tomorrow.

 

[Jay Smith]

That Icon amp is beautiful. How does it pair with the Radiance?

I like that pairing very much. Sweet and engaging. Both my Clear and Radiance pair well with this tube amp.

 

[leng jai]

Had these for almost a month now and they've been almost a perfect complement to my HD800 which is what I was initially looking for. A high end pair of closed back cans with great bass response, "musical" timbre and forgiving when used on lower quality recordings. Based on that criteria I would say the Radiance pretty much hits the spot. There are definitely some tracks where the bass can get overwhelming (eg. Hans Zimmer Live in Prague) and the vocals a little shouty, but that doesn't happen too often. At the same time there's been some instances where I would have preferred more treble sparkle. I'm using no EQ at all and also well aware my setup is probably far from optimal for peak performance.

Right now I'd say I prefer the Radiance over the HD800 on around 70% of my library mainly due to its relaxed tuning, elevated bass and the less revealing nature. I'm sure if everything was mastered perfectly the HD800 would be come out better more often but know that's never going to be the case. It's much easier to find a recording that sounds poor in HD800 than it is for the Radiance. For movie watching and gaming the HD800 is still far and away the better option since it has a much better soundstage/imaging and is significantly more comfortable for longer sessions (though the Radiance is decent comfort wise, especially for a closed back that clamps hard by design).

The build quality and cosmetics overall fantastic outside of the cable which is incredibly bad for something that comes with a supposedly $1.3k headphone. Ordered a custom one after a day it was that annoying to use. For the price I paid though this is easily the best deal I've gotten in this hobby.

 

[leng jai]

Also noticed the Radiance has jumped up in price at A2A since I bought it, it's back up to $1000AUD. Looks like it's scaling based on how many they have left. Interestingly the Clear and Bathys haven't moved from their original price yet.

 

[syr1990]

Also noticed the Rad has jumped up in price at A2A since I bought it, it's back up to $1000AUD. Looks like it's scaling based on how many they have left. Interestingly the Clear and Bathys haven't moved from their original price yet.

Interesting. This leads me to wonder, as I have before, is the Radiance actually a “limited edition”? I know it’s marketed that way, but does anyone actually know how many units have been produced and if they will eventually completely sell out?

 

[leng jai]

Interesting. This leads me to wonder, as I have before, is the Radiance actually a “limited edition”? I know it’s marketed that way, but does anyone actually know how many units have been produced and if they will eventually completely sell out?

In this case it's because A2A are just gettung rid of what they have and no longer stocking Focal products.

 

[M700LTR]

4000 units was mentioned in this thread. Utopia went up in price again as well. Glad I put in all my orders before any price increases. I would say that $699 AUD it was a good bargain. For $1000, there are many good choices... even the Clears would be cheaper. Anyhow, I would love to get one of those speakers, but I would not know how to ship them abroad.

 

[mrjayviper]

My friend (the one buying for me) missed the sale by a few hours. I have my eyes now a nice pair of secondhand Ether C Flows.

 

[thelittletaffia]

I've had the Radiance for 10 days now but I find the clamping is very weak when compared to my Clear MGs, as a result I get quite a bit of sound leakage both ways. They sit on my head without any extension but will easily fall off if I tilt my head too quickly. I love how they sound and I'm getting good bass, I'm not a bass head, with no bloating in the sub extension. Comparing the clamping of the Clears I have to have them two clicks downwards for a comfortable fit but these Radiance just look too wide in comparison. May have to send them back.

 

[borkenarrou]

I've had the Radiance for 10 days now but I find the clamping is very weak when compared to my Clear MGs, as a result I get quite a bit of sound leakage both ways. They sit on my head without any extension but will easily fall off if I tilt my head too quickly. I love how they sound and I'm getting good bass, I'm not a bass head, with no bloating in the sub extension. Comparing the clamping of the Clears I have to have them two clicks downwards for a comfortable fit but these Radiance just look too wide in comparison. May have to send them back.

if it helps can you try to tilt top of the cups inward.

 

[thelittletaffia]

if it helps can you try to tilt top of the cups inward.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know that adjustment. I e-mailed Focal and got a reply saying that all headbands for all the range except the Utopia are made exactly the same. My wife says she can tell what I'm listening to with the Radiance but is unable to do so with my other closed backs the Denons. I've got until Saturday to return them.

What's odd is that I'm getting good bass which is usually the first frequency that disappears with poor fitting ear cups. They are comfortable for sure but has the weakest clamp of all my cans.

 

[borkenarrou]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know that adjustment. I e-mailed Focal and got a reply saying that all headbands for all the range except the Utopia are made exactly the same. My wife says she can tell what I'm listening to with the Radiance but is unable to do so with my other closed backs the Denons. I've got until Saturday to return them.

What's odd is that I'm getting good bass which is usually the first frequency that disappears with poor fitting ear cups. They are comfortable for sure but has the weakest clamp of all my cans.

If they say it is same, you can send a video which shows the weak clamping compared to your Focal MG, hopefully it can help.

 

[Jay Smith]

Radiance and A2 complement each other perfectly. I don't have this good synergy feeling with Clear OG or even T1.2, those I still prefer Icon Audio HP8mk2.

 

[thelittletaffia]

If they say it is same, you can send a video which shows the weak clamping compared to your Focal MG, hopefully it can help.

I'm taking it back to the dealer and it's well within the 30 days for a replacement or full refund.

 

[leng jai]

These things really excel when it comes to low volume listening.