[woddlewoddle]

Hi all,

I finally bit the bullet and after demoing some headphones, decided to upgrade from my trusty Fidelio X2s to the Focal Clear (Pro, since the price was the same and I wanted the extra pads). However, bringing them home they don't unfortunately sound as good as they did at the shop.

I currently have an odac and objective2 for an amp, mostly listening to music coming out of the USB of my computer. The main problem I have is that for some reason the sound isn't, for lack of a better word, as clear as it should be. Interestingly enough, the phono out of my yamaha rx-v781 brought the upper sounds to crystal clarity though it lacks in the lower frequencies (and using it when listening to music from my computer would be a serious hassle anyways).

So my question is - which part should I be looking to upgrade first to get the most bang for my buck? And any suggestions for them? I've been looking around the forums, and CTH seems to be quite highly regarded when it comes to amps to pair with the clears.
And finally, is it possible I just have messed with some settings on my (W10) OS that changes the sound? I couldn't find any, and don't use any EQ, but just wondering...

 

[tomb]

There are a number of factors that could be influencing what you're noticing:

1. Amplifiers with high output impedances can cause issues with the almost-non-existent inherent damping in the Focal headphones. I doubt that this is the case with either the O2 or CTH, both of which have pretty low output impedance.

2. That said, there is nothing particularly outstanding with the ODAC. Ultimately, it's a low-end DAC whose performance is easily exceeded by a number of inexpensive DACs these days. One glaring issue is that the ODAC is USB-powered, making it susceptible to the vagaries of USB power quality provided by the PC you're using. USB power can be inherently noisy. Even in the best of circumstances, the noise floor is typically much higher than a DAC that provides its own power supply. If the store where you auditioned the Focals was using a very high-end DAC ($1000+) or a DAC with a quality power supply, it's quite possible that you are noticing the difference.

3. You didn't mention your sources. If you are using something like mp3 or other compressed algorithms for your files, it's quite possible the store was using something much better. The Focals can easily enable you to discern the difference.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hi all,

I finally bit the bullet and after demoing some headphones, decided to upgrade from my trusty Fidelio X2s to the Focal Clear (Pro, since the price was the same and I wanted the extra pads). However, bringing them home they don't unfortunately sound as good as they did at the shop.

I currently have an odac and objective2 for an amp, mostly listening to music coming out of the USB of my computer. The main problem I have is that for some reason the sound isn't, for lack of a better word, as clear as it should be. Interestingly enough, the phono out of my yamaha rx-v781 brought the upper sounds to crystal clarity though it lacks in the lower frequencies (and using it when listening to music from my computer would be a serious hassle anyways).

So my question is - which part should I be looking to upgrade first to get the most bang for my buck? And any suggestions for them? I've been looking around the forums, and CTH seems to be quite highly regarded when it comes to amps to pair with the clears.
And finally, is it possible I just have messed with some settings on my (W10) OS that changes the sound? I couldn't find any, and don't use any EQ, but just wondering...

I would have assumed(?) the ODAC/O2 could easily drive the 55-Ohm Focal Clear headphones.

When using the ODAC/O2 (which exact model?), do you max out the volume controls on the PC and only use the volume knob on the O2, for controlling loudness?
(turn down volume controls on O2 before maxing out the volume controls on the PC)

Try using the (free) Win program Foobar2000 (with WASAPI installed) for playing audio (music) files, see if that makes a difference.
WASAPI will bypass Windows and provide a cleaner audio signal.

I would assume the Yamaha RX-V781's headphone jack is providing more power to the Focal Clear Professional, helping the upper sounds.
But because of impedance (Ohm) issues, i would assume its also causing a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass ?
How is the computer connected to the Yamaha, by HDMI or S/PDIF (optical/coaxial)?
Is the computer's audio set for 2-channel or 6-channel (5.1) audio?

If your looking at replacing the ODAC/O2, check out the Audio-GD NFB-11.28 DAC/amp, around $380 (total) delivered to your front door.
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFN1128/NFB1128EN.htm

 

[woddlewoddle]

Thanks for the help guys!

There are a number of factors that could be influencing what you're noticing:

1. Amplifiers with high output impedances can cause issues with the almost-non-existent inherent damping in the Focal headphones. I doubt that this is the case with either the O2 or CTH, both of which have pretty low output impedance.

Yes I remember reading something about this when I originally got the O2 (as back then I had the Fidelio X1s, which I read had a high impedance stock cable).

2. That said, there is nothing particularly outstanding with the ODAC. Ultimately, it's a low-end DAC whose performance is easily exceeded by a number of inexpensive DACs these days. One glaring issue is that the ODAC is USB-powered, making it susceptible to the vagaries of USB power quality provided by the PC you're using. USB power can be inherently noisy. Even in the best of circumstances, the noise floor is typically much higher than a DAC that provides its own power supply. If the store where you auditioned the Focals was using a very high-end DAC ($1000+) or a DAC with a quality power supply, it's quite possible that you are noticing the difference.

Interesting. This does sound like it could affect things. In general, both my dac and amp are less of the deskop variety even though I've never used them (or plan to) on the go.

3. You didn't mention your sources. If you are using something like mp3 or other compressed algorithms for your files, it's quite possible the store was using something much better. The Focals can easily enable you to discern the difference.

For sources, I actually tested at 2 different stores (though admittely, only one had the focals). At the focal carrying store, it was Tidal. At the other one (that had HD800s), they had CDs (of music I had never listed to) and spotify.
On my own, I usually use google play music. Though now that you (and PurpleAngel) mentioned it, I did a comparison against flac files played with Foobar2000 via WASAPI. This does indeed improve the quality by a little bit, but it still doesn't bring the real "wow" effect I had at the store.

The curious thing about this is that at the focal carrying store I compared against some hifimans (at 1/3rd the price), some audeze (at around 1k), some oppo planars and audio technica ATH-ADX5000s. Of these, to me it sounded like the clears and the audio technicas were on a whole another level compared to the others. But now I'm having a hard time finding differences between my X2s and the Clears Maybe I should take my X2s to the store to compare...

I would have assumed(?) the ODAC/O2 could easily drive the 55-Ohm Focal Clear headphones.

When using the ODAC/O2 (which exact model?), do you max out the volume controls on the PC and only use the volume knob on the O2, for controlling loudness?
(turn down volume controls on O2 before maxing out the volume controls on the PC)

That was my assumption as well. I mean I kind of figured that I might end up having to upgrade the other components as well, but I did think just the headphones would be a really noticeable difference.
The ODAC is from headnhifi, "Objective DAC (ODAC revB) - 3.5mm Version", and the O2 is from Epiphany Acoustics "EHP-O2 Award Winning Portable Headphone Amplifier".

Try using the (free) Win program Foobar2000 (with WASAPI installed) for playing audio (music) files, see if that makes a difference.
WASAPI will bypass Windows and provide a cleaner audio signal.

Thanks for the suggestion, I tested this and it indeed does seem to bring out slightly cleaner sound.

I would assume the Yamaha RX-V781's headphone jack is providing more power to the Focal Clear Professional, helping the upper sounds.
But because of impedance (Ohm) issues, i would assume its also causing a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass ?
How is the computer connected to the Yamaha, by HDMI or S/PDIF (optical/coaxial)?
Is the computer's audio set for 2-channel or 6-channel (5.1) audio?

The Yamaha is connected via HDMI, though for the listening test I just used a chromecast ultra (via HDMI too, though). The computer audio is set to 5.1, though the Yamaha seems to recognize when the input is only 2-channels (it has a display for the active speakers).

If your looking at replacing the ODAC/O2, check out the Audio-GD NFB-11.28 DAC/amp, around $380 (total) delivered to your front door.
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFN1128/NFB1128EN.htm

Huh, for some reason audio-gd wasn't really even on my radar even though I remember seeing the name here and there. After reading a bit more about them, seems like a very interesting company. This thing seems to be exactly what I'm after and it would also allow me to get rid of some cabling. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks for the help guys!
Huh, for some reason audio-gd wasn't really even on my radar even though I remember seeing the name here and there. After reading a bit more about them, seems like a very interesting company. This thing seems to be exactly what I'm after and it would also allow me to get rid of some cabling. Thanks for the suggestion!

So far I've bought three DAC/amps (NFB-15.32, NFB-15, NFB-11.28) from Audio-GD no regrets.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I think the ifi black label would be boss for the clear. (I’m currently listening to the Utopia out of it now)perfectly small footprint for desk and transportable, the amp/dac matches the Clear and the Utopia perfectly because it takes the slight bite off both Clear and Utopia. Def ask around about this combo...

 

[freesole]

Interested in this thread as well. Love my Focal Clear's with my desktop amp/dac, the PS Audio Sprout100. I am however, looking for another device for the office that is transportable. The Woo Audio WA8 or Chord Hugo 2 come to mind.. not sure which one would be a better match.

The IFI Micro Black Label sounds like a good device too.