Well yes, technically two issues with the USB connectivity is numerous. And it didn’t help any that fixing one of them caused another. No idea why Focal and whoever wrote their firmware could not get that straightened out. Maybe you’re right about the support headache but apparently Focal is working on a replacement for the Arche. Arche Mg perhaps? 
It is, however OK to throw a diamond stylus at others. I prefer Shibata.
All seriousness aside, @TylersEclectic, aka “The Purple Commander” is right about tone. I’ve been living on the net for many years, and this place is special. I’d hate to think of it being invaded by trolls like the alt.sex.sgml newsgroup was.
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In that price range, and a step up from the DFC (I have both) might be the iFi xDSD. There is a thread on this beast, and I did a review of it here:
It’s not the top of the line, but it is compact, and works well. More importantly, it has a real line-out, so if you slowly upgrade, it can be a proper DAC to a desktop amp. I used it for a good while with the Lyr 3.
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Ah, I see. Well that curve looks fantastic, actually. (Voltage vs Utopia settings). The difference between Voltage and Hybrid is arguably perceptible, but I think the boost between black and blue curves is substantial enough that I would want it.
Now the question is, before I read 400 pages of the Arche topic (which I will anyway), can either of you let me know why I should not bother trying to get my hands on one? Saying I could somehow obtain one. Are you having firmware issues with it?
I guess the next thing I should try is using my EQ to do a bass boost with better caution in overall gain. Unfortunately, someone just came to pick up my used Clear OG Pro’s, and my Stellias have been sent back to Focal to fix a creaky/snappy hinge, so I am without cans at the moment.
I am definitely going to want to get a pair of opens but I guess it’s down to the Clear MG (love the look! even better than the MG Pro which is super badass) or the Utopia.
I bet the curve for the Clear is even better than the Utopia in the low freqs. Has the output impedance changed between the OG and MG? I’m wondering if I should take a chance on an MG and see if I like it – there are places that accept returns, although during the pandemic who knows.
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I have an Arche and I have settled on the voltage setting with my Clear Pros after a lot of comparing.
That’s because I use EQ and it’s one of two amps I rotate through, the other being the Topping A90, so I want both my amps to have a similar (low) output impedance so it doesn’t futz with the FR response of my EQ settings.
From what I’ve read elsewhere, the Voltage setting is 2.5 ohms, the Clear setting is 10 ohms and the Utopia setting is around 17 ohms.
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Yes, I am having firmware issues with it. The TL;DR of the Arche firmware saga is that you should stick with the original firmware and even downgrade to it if you buy used. This version has two issues with USB connectivity: it cannot talk to Linux/Android over USB and occasionally it will not connect over USB if the host goes to sleep. I connect it to a Macbook and have had this happen a few times since buying it in November. The solution was always to unplug the USB and plug it back in again. Some have more trouble with it than others. It may not happen at all if you leave the Arche on, but as a pure Class A amplifier it gets pretty hot.
Hmm. I would use it with the TOSLINK SPDIF input in the back, since my MOTU 624 uses Thunderbolt and has optimized low latency drivers. I can basically output a digital stream over SPDIF into the Arche instead of connecting USB directly. Tbh it would be my preference for latency reasons and because then all my apps can have the same audio interface set (I use the MOTU 624 connected to a MOTU 8D over AVB ethernet to output AES-EBU to my studio monitors).
I have heard that SPDIF over toslink may have a sample rate limit, though, but I guess that only matters for high res audio which I barely ever have access to except through Tidal MQA.
Hadn’t heard about it getting hot, but makes sense. My Naim Uniti Nova is Class A and it does get damn hot.
Thanks for these tips, I may look around to see if I can find one.
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New replacement for Arche… what’s the source for this? Insider rumours?
“Like Focal’s other high-end headphones, the Clear Mg comes with two cables: a 3-meter (10-foot) cable with 4-pin XLR connector intended for home use with an amplifier such as the Focal Arche (discontinued, new model coming soon)”
Rumor is that it will include network streaming, which makes a lot of sense. I would take even the TechHive mention of the replacement as pretty unsubstantiated. No telling if it will ever see the light of day even if Focal is working on it. And even if it does see the light of day, will it still include Focal headphone specific settings?
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Did you attempt any EQ to see if the problem is resolved?
That’s kind of the reason I was skeptical on purchasing these even at the price I was offered for the unit open box.
I really enjoyed the original clears, was hoping this would sound a bit better but not sure if that’s the case. I see you are comparing it to the Elex and others.
I find it odd that you see the top end as veiled, yet some people were saying if you[me] are treble sensitive to avoid it. Your graphs seem to show that it’s not bad on treble, yet I am no expert on graphs.
Hey sorry for late reply. I didn’t try it with EQ mostly because I found it to sound pretty nice regardless of the small amount of veil.
I did hear from @Titienne that if you do think it sounds a little veiled, a pad swap to the Elex or Clear pads will make it sound more like Clear OG.
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Definitely. The Elex pads are just a no brainer in my opinion. At $60 on Drop, it’s a bargain.
The Clear Mg is probably the least sounding Focal to date, at least in terms of house sound. The Elex pads bring the sound a bit closer to Clear OG, but remains smoother in the treble in my opinion. So, you’re getting much better bass slam, at the cost of… not much really.
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Hey there!
Great headphone - build quality, and subjective appearance is beautiful IMO. Great package… but tonality was a bit off for me. Easily fixed… These headphones are capable of such detail retrieval - if you adjust the tonality.
Here is the EQ I built based on my preference-curve. Measurements were taken from a couple different sources\pictures I’ve found online - this sounded best to me.
GraphicEQ file available upon request.
Parametric filters below 
I hope it helps someone!
FILTERS:
Preamp: -6.8 dB
Filter 1: Peak Fc 17 Hz Gain 4.9 dB Q 0.59
Filter 2: Peak Fc 53 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 0.59
Filter 3: Peak Fc Fc 200 Hz Gain -3.1 dB Q 0.76
Filter 4: Peak Fc Fc 1245 Hz Gain -3.7 dB Q 1.05
Filter 5: Peak Fc Fc 4400 Hz Gain 5.9 dB Q 2.40
Filter 6: Peak Fc Fc 8757 Hz Gain 6.1 dB Q 1.31
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I’d really love to see someone with a standard measurement rig measure the Clear MG with both the Elex and OG Clear pads installed.
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The Elex pads are supposed to be very similar if not the same as the Clear OG pads, so my guess would be that the sound is pretty close. I don’t have the Clear Mg Pro anymore, so I couldn’t help you with that !
Mine weren’t similar in feel and fit. My Elex pads were deep, puffy, and soft while the Clear OG pads were thinner and firmer. They may not have differed in tone, but I never swapped them. Some time back there were posts on pad swaps with measurements, but long before the MG hit the market.
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What you described the OG Clear pads as is what the “newer” Elex pads now feel like. The original Elex pads were definitely soft and puffy like you said, but now they’re thinner and stiff. It makes me wonder how similar to the OG Clear pads they now are. Focal Padgate continues. With that said, I am liking how the new Elex pads sounds, so at least there’s that.
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I have a pair of the older, presumably original Elex pads. I purchased them a few weeks ago from eBay before the latest Drop pads dropped; they were in their packaging and seem to be new and unused. Their material looks and feels different to the original Clear pads.
These original Elex pads appear to be coarser (visually) and they are coarser to the touch; the Clear pads also feel smoother and almost have a kind of slickness to them, meaning that they’re so smooth there’s little resistance when you run your finger along them (this applies to my brand new replacement ones as well as to the pair that came originally with the headphones).
The Clear pads are microfibre and remind me of the cloths used for cleaning lenses and glasses; the original Elex pads are rough enough that I wondered if they were microfibre. I see from Drop’s listings for the Elex headphones and the latest replacement pads that they’re microfibre pads. I wonder if the outer material has changed?
I’d need to compare them at greater length, but I thought I could detect a difference in the sound of my OG Clear with my Elex pads vs with the OG Clear pads. My notes from the first time I compared the pads read as follows:
“Are the mids slightly less rich and recessed? Is the bass thinner, making the overall tonal balance brighter?”
From the second time I compared the pads, I noted of the Elex pads that
“In spite of the slight differences, these pads still make the headphones sound really good. Is the treble sweeter? There’s more sparkle perhaps at the expense of a bit more fatigue.”
I should add two big caveats. First, my comparisons of the two sets of pads were not rigorous and about as far from scientific as you can get. I assumed, for instance, that there would be a readily audible difference between them; I’m not sure that assumption can be sustained. The differences were more subtle than I’d expected, and I’d need to do some more thorough testing to be able to make stronger claims. Second, when I did a slightly less unrigorous comparisons of my two sets of OG Clear pads, I thought I could detect a difference during sighted tests. When I did a set of blind tests, with my wife kindly indulging me and switching out the pads without me knowing which were which, I couldn’t distinguish between them consistently or reliably - no better than a coin toss.
Back on topic: It might be interesting to see measurements or solid impressions of the Elex, OG Clear, and new Mg pads on the new Clear Mg headphones, as @Nuance suggested above.
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I’m really enjoying my MG Pros, but I’ve been reading that OG Clear pads on these bring back a bit of the OG sound signature, and have a touch more detail and soundstage. Seems like a bit of a fetch, but I’ll find out when I’m home from work tonight! I ordered a pair of OG Pro Pads from Moon Audio. Right off the bat, the MG pads are noticeably thinner. Maybe even a touch softer? Probably because they have 10+ hours on them. I’m awful at explaining, but hopefully soon I’ll be back with some input on feel and sound changes that can actually be beneficial for whoever else is curious.
First pic - Left: Worn MG / Right: OG Pro
2nd pic - Left: New MG / Right: OG Pro
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I keep accidently posting to the OG Clear board. Yay mobile. Here’s a repost from yesterday.
Super vague initial impressions time! The OG pads are an improvement on the MG headphones. Both pads disappear on my head, but because the OGs are thicker, it’s SO slight but I get a better sense of openness with my music. And I’m sure if your ears were touching the drivers with the MG like some people have said, OG pads should fix that. Also the MG pads have a lot more of a memory foam feel for those who want to know.
The MG headphone has never sounded veiled to me, but the OG pads somehow seem to pick out more detail throughout the whole FR. After some quick back and forths on songs, I ended up on Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, and high hats seemed to have more tingy treble presence (I dunno what to call it lol) and I had a better sense of how and where cymbals were hit with OG pads. The bass guitar sounded similar enough on each pad, but details like plucking might have been easier to pick out with OG pads. I’ll have to listen more to gather thoughts on mids. Maybe I’m just subconsciously biased toward the OG pads for being new and different, but I feel that the OG pads are an improvement! I’ll definitely be doing more comparing over the coming days.
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