Well, he’s using a 5128, which is a different standard. I don’t think he measured this on a GRAS. So… those are not cross comparable either.
Here’s the GRAS measurement:
Again, bass difference shown here is likely more to do with the reference Clear than any actual difference. Unit variation is a thing…
But, the 711 couplers are rated for accuracy up to 10khz, and this is why showing it with in-ear mics is more readable and accurate for showing treble differences.
Understood.
The in-ear measurements also include your specific pinna gain, and not the ‘average’ of the measurements rig. It’d be nice if we could all measure our own.
That would actually be pretty interesting. 
Right. The point of in-ear mics is ONLY to show the difference between the models, and not the actual raw measurement. Moreover, in-ear mics don’t take any additional gain factors apart from pinna/concha into consideration. But in this case, there aren’t going to be any unique interactions that would yield different results for different people, as far as the comparison between models is concerned. It may show a difference in the overall FR - in fact that’s highly likely, but the delta between each model should be the same.
couldnt find if you have mentioned elsewhere. what mics do you use for inear measurements?
They were custom made. But very basic ones that sit at the entrance of the ear canal. It’s also an open shell, so it doesn’t actually block the canal itself.
Attempted plea: The Clear MG may offer a more neutral presentation and more detail, resolution, and better technical performance in general. Whether it’s different enough is uncertain and subjective.
Most of what I’ve heard about the Clear MG makes it very attractive (including a greater sense of “air”), but this imbalance in the treble is a bit concerning.
I agree. However, my question for @Resolve would then be, can the treble imbalances be “fixed” with some mild PEQ? I refuse to EQ my IEMs because I only use them when on-the-go/in portable situations, but I have no problem EQing my over-ears on the main desktop system. So with that said, with EQ, is the Clear MG the clear (haha) winner here?
And thanks for the measurements @Resolve
Probably. It might be tricky to go too narrow due to the somewhat ‘ragged’ nature of the way these drivers tend to behave. But a subtle mid-treble boost around 8khz and a drop above 10khz, or a downshelf may help there. Eventually I’ll try to build out a profile.
These measurements and impressions line up more or less with mine from last month. I posted this review/comparison in the OG Clear thread but I’ll post it again here:
Focal Clear Mg Professional
Intro
I’ve been using the original Focal Clear to work just about every day since last March when the Coronavirus pandemic first hit the US. I purchased them in anticipation of many months stuck at home and they’ve truly been a saving grace for both business and pleasure. As an audio engineer, I’ve come to rely on the Clear’s neutral tonality, sharp imaging, and speaker-like dynamics. So when I saw the announcement about an update to the Clear, I was PUMPED. Since then, I’ve been looking for an honest review of the new Focal Clear Mg Professional. More specifically, I’ve been looking for comparisons between the Mg Professional and my treasured original Clear. This morning, after seeing this post on Reddit: “Focal Clear MG Pro — only two left in stock from Audio 46,” I dropped everything and went on an adventure to Manhattan so I could write the review myself.
Build, Design, and Comfort
Grade: A-
The first Focal Clear Mg Professional that Audio46 gave me to listen to was broken — There was significantly more low end in the left driver than the right driver. Since I had my original Clear with me, I knew that there wasn’t anything wrong with the rest of the chain but we tried swapping cables, adapters, DACs and amps anyways just to make sure. After ruling everything else out, the manager came out with a brand new pair. The second pair seemed to be working fine…
Apart from the first pair being defective, the build, design, and comfort of the Clear Mg Pro seemed more or less the same as that of the original Clear so I’m going to copy and paste what I wrote in my Focal Clear review :
/*
The Focal Clear, like everything Focal produces, is beautifully designed. I’ve had mine for almost a year now and they still look / feel brand new apart from the ear pads . Replacement ear pads are extremely expensive at $200 per pair. For reference, Sennheiser sells replacement pads for their HD 6-line for $50 per pair. In theory, ear pads have a substantial effect on a headphone’s sound which is how Focal justifies such a steep price. There are third-party replacement pads available for the Focal Clear but according to objective measurements and subjective impressions by Andrew Park at headphones.com, none of them sound the same as the stock Focal Clear pads. The pads on my Focal Clear do look worn but despite wearing them for 6+ hours just about every day this year, they still feel firm and sound the same as they did when I got them.
Unlike the ear pads, the headband is not replaceable. This is an unfortunate design flaw. In order to keep the headband fresh for as long as possible, I purchased this headphone headband which happens to perfectly match the Focal Clear color scheme.
The Clear is unreasonably comfortable for how heavy it is. At almost twice the weight of Sennheiser’s HD 6XX, the Clear is almost just as comfortable as the 6XX if not more comfortable in some ways. The (very expensive to replace) ear pads are perforated which probably contributes to the Clear’s breathability along with the Clear’s open-back nature. In the year that I’ve spent using the Clear for recording/mixing/mastering sessions every day, comfort has never been an issue. It isn’t as comfortable as wearing nothing, but it may be the next best thing.
Eyeglasses seem to have a noticeable effect on low end response. With glasses on, the sub frequencies sound slightly off. I avoid this issue by resting my eyeglass temples on top of headphone ear-pads like a complete maniac.
Note: These are open-back headphones. This means there is no isolation between you and your surroundings. These are useful for listening critically at home in a quiet room. They would be totally inappropriate for use in public spaces because 1. everyone would be able to hear what you’re listening to and 2. the noise of your surroundings would make it difficult for you to hear what you’re listening to.
*/
Reference Tracks | Jake Cheriff
Frequency Response / Sound
Grade: B
The Focal Clear Mg Professional has a very safe frequency response. I don’t have any measurements to reference this time because no one has posted any measurements for the Clear Mg Pro yet. So these impressions will all be purely based on my subjective experience today. It will be fun to see how those impressions line up with measurements taken in the future. In the mean time, let’s talk about what I mean by safe .
Bass
My least favorite thing about the new Clear Mg Professional is the bass. It’s hard to tell whether Focal has managed to extend the sub bass response because there’s slightly too much bass in general. If we had a graph to look at, I imagine there’d be a wide and subtle hump around 120 Hz extending as high as 200 Hz — not unlike the frequency response of the renowned Sennheiser HD 650. While that doesn’t line up with my personal preference, which leans more towards Crinacle’s neutral target , I do think it will satisfy average listeners who are less concerned about transparency and detail. I find that the increased bass does mask some detail in the low mids, slightly, compared to the transition between bass and mids on the original Clear. This low end frequency response, to me, makes for an incredibly relaxing listening experience. However, these are being marketed as mixing / mastering headphones and from a music production perspective, I don’t understand the update to the low end. I’m happy to report, at least, that the bass dynamics hit just as hard as they do on the original Clear.
Mids
The midrange of the Mg sounds sounds a little smoother than it does on the original Clear in both tonality and timbre. But like the bass, the smoothness seems like a safe choice rather than a productive choice for what should be professional headphones.
Listening to “Rolodex” by Aidan Knight:
Treble
As you’ve probably already guessed, I prefer the treble on the original Clear as well. The Mg’s treble is considerably more subdued/laid-back sacrificing a disappointing amount of clarity and detail. The original Clear’s treble isn’t perfect — There’s definitely some spiciness around 6 kHz that gives way to occasionally abrasive sibilance. But each time I switch back to the original Clear, I am reminded of how much I love that spiciness. The original Clear’s treble frequency response lives on the edge of neutrality in a way that appeals to me as a lover of detail and, more importantly, as a mixing engineer. I’d much rather overshoot in sibilance reduction, reducing slightly too much sibilance in my mixes rather than undershoot and leave behind some embarrassing ESSSplosions . The Mg’s treble is safe — Songs with questionable amounts of sibilance come across smooth as butter.
Listening to “Body” by Julia Jacklin:
Listening to “Come Home” by Fell Runner,
Soundstage / Imaging
Grade: B+
The Clear Mg Professional’s soundstage trades blows with the soundstage of the original Clear. The increased low end makes the soundstage sound deeper at times but the decreased high end pushes everything away slightly. In music production, you can often makes things sound closer to the front of the mix (or the listener) by adding high frequencies to a sound. So it makes sense that the front of the Mg’s soundstage is slightly less intimate than that of the original Clear. But the Mg is more intimate in other ways. Although I did not have my Sennheiser HD 6XX on hand to compare, I was reminded of the vocal intimacy exhibited by the 6XX’s meaty midrange tonality. Like the 6XX, the Mg’s lower mids seem to sometimes consume a larger portion of the overall image.
The imaging also trades blows, probably depending on the frequency content per song.
Value / Conclusion
Grade: B+
I…
I’ve gone ahead and ordered the Clear MGs - the only way to compare is to compare. I am both excited for my purchase and ashamed of my addiction.
Which measurements correlate closer with what you hear, yours or Jude’s? I ask because the dip at 8K isn’t present in Jude’s measurement, making it appear that the MG isn’t as imbalanced. We listen with our ears though, so that’s what takes priority for me. 
LOL Congrats though, that’s awesome. I am going to take the weekend to decide - hopefully there’s still an inventory of them at Headphones.com early next week.
Just received another batch about 3 hours ago which is almost gone. We’re just hoping they make it through the weekend.
I noticed the same as well.
@Resolve, I also noticed the large discrepancies between the in-ear and the GRAS measurements. Is it mostly due to the pinna gain, or are there other factors at play?
Good to know - thanks!
It’s because in-ear mics aren’t taking the measurement at the ear drum, and the GRAS rig is. The most significant gain factors when taking the measurement at the ear drum is the ear canal and drum resonance. These factors are included in the GRAS, but omitted with in-ear mics. So they shouldn’t look remotely similar. Use the GRAS measurements for accuracy up to 10khz, use in-ear measurements to test coupling consistency (to test actual on head bass response) and to make differences between models more readable.
So, my measurements and Jude’s actually do line up reasonably closely in the treble. The thing you have to remember is that his rig is on a completely different standard, so target curves haven’t been identified for it yet. Additionally, there’s a feature of ‘concha interaction’ between 8-10khz that can cause things to look a bit weird, and this is going to be different between both rigs as well. But, if you’re familiar with how and where that feature shows up, the difference between the two models is similar on both systems.
Cool, thank you.
I was just trying to better understand the differences, not question your measurements.
Thanks again.
I always appreciate your analysis of any HP you review. I’ve never had the pleasure to listen to the Clear or anything this high in price for that matter. I am still very excited to get my Clear MG Pro’s because as you said I’m sure they are both great headphones.
I mean I’ll be coming from a Harmonicdyne Zeus…so I’m sure I will be impressed by these!
Last question for really anyone here…as for the Clear in general I know they are fairly easy to drive. Preference on SE or balanced? Of course that will probably be answered with depends on the chain/AMP, but still curious.
