Focal Clear Mg - Open-Back Dynamic Driver Headphones - Official Thread

Stimmy checks are flying. Spending is zooming.

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That makes sense. And just to be clear, I wasn’t questioning your measurement skills. You’re my number 1 go-to guy for headphone measurements and resources.

If that 8KHz dip is as audible as it appears in measurements, I’m 100% sure it will irritate me and that I’d be better off with the original Clear. That’s why I asked if your measurements correlate with what you actually hear.

Thanks for doing what you do, Andrew.

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Nothing, just looks from my understanding, I pinged Headphones.com chat, they said the same thing.

So did they tune this to be more “consumer” friendly - more bass, “smoother” treble? I wonder what input they took into account when making these changes. Were these areas of complaint with the OG?

I still think I would favour the OG but havent listened to either.

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The one thing I noticed with the original Clear vs the new myself was when I listened to Hotel Cali from the Eagles at the end of the song where they jam out? The symbol hits I felt were clearer on the OG Clear vs the MG were a bit veiled.

Andrews recent measurements’ reflect why now. I still very much so enjoy the MG Clear, don’t get me wrong.

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Quite a few people found the treble a bit hard or “gritty” as @Resolve puts it above (I’ve called it crystalline before and can’t remember if I picked up that term from someone else). It’s a common criticism. I’m not sure if it went as far as being a complaint, necessarily, although I suspect a smoother treble may well have a wider appeal.

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Someone once said when you buy Focal you are buying technology, not just a speaker or a headphone.

I totally agree with that comment.

They’re more neutral now, imo.

They’re also faster, and more detailed. I think Jude provided a great description of them in the review I posted earlier.

(I personally had issues with the treble, that’s why I parted with my OG Clear)

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Putting these through their paces this Saturday morning, fed from PC/Roon->USB->Bifrost2->Jotunheim1 (all balanced). Listening primarily to classical streams from Qobuz.

Big grin - balanced sound, warm where it needs to be, great timbre, detailed with zero harsh brightness. Voices sound very natural. There is height and depth (though the space is not huge), and a good sense of air.

In most cases, I found I preferred the Jot’s low gain setting for classical - for the same volume, it seemed a bit more balanced and detailed, and gave a bit better sense of space - where as the higher gain seemed to make some passages more exciting but had a ‘bloom’ to it that obscured some detail and balance.

I haven’t heard the OG Clear, so I can’t compare, but these are a real treat.

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I am comparing it to the OG Clear (w/ my ears only), I like how the OG seems a bit more open sounding. However with the Clear MG the vocals are better. The OG Clears can come across a bit nasally in comparison. I prefer the Clear MG when it comes to listening to tracks with vocals. It’s interesting as it seems that the trend now is to produce headphones with a little more warmth to them. My guess is this has more to do with pop/rap being more popular genre for most folks? However… I don’t think your average consumer is looking for that when buying some of these higher end flagship headphones.

Anyway… back to listening… just some quick thoughts :slight_smile:

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I’ve found that switching to an aftermarket silver cable helps bring further clarity to the overall presentation (not that they were veiled, just better clarity/focus).

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Ugh, pretty though these headphones are, I think I’ve accidentally given myself trypophobia from spending too much time on various forums reading about these headphones. This post on head-fi nearly toppled me over the edge. (I’m only half joking).

I can’t say I wasn’t warned.

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Yea… I looked at that cable you mentioned… a bit pricey. The most I have spent on cables is on Periapt or Hart cables. Currently using the Hart cable with the Clear MG.

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Hi guys, this is a cross-posting from the General Purchase thread, but since I’m eyeing the Clear Mg I’m really interested in informed opinions whether it might fit the bill…

EDIT: Someone suggested me the HEDDphone, which I find interesting but also very intimidating due to weight…

Now that I got a Phonitor X, I’m looking to graduate from my HD600 to a more upscale pair of open-back around-ear headphones. Lately I’ve been auditioning a friend’s Sennheiser HD800 (Anax1/SDR), HifiMan HE500, along with my HiFiMan EditionXX and a pair of LCD2 fazor bamboo which was suggested as a potential candidate to join my roster. Unfortunately, none of these actually tick all my boxes: the HD800 sounds more accurate and is the most resolving of the bunch (as I found comparing on complex passages such as Theo Currentzis’ Beethoven’s 5th), but lacks the planars’ bottom-end extension; the LCD2 sounds tonally correct and creates a scene in the front rather than in my ears —which I like— but objectively lacks top-end extension; the Edition XX is more forward and extended at the top but lacks some resolution and feels very shouty to my ears; and the HE500 sounds just fine but still lacks the HD800’s capability for speed and resolution…
So, what do you say? My price range is around $1000 - $1500 including second-hand offerings and I mostly like to listen to classical, jazz, pop-rock, soul, etc. in order of preference (Qobuz Studio and my own hi-res files). I will be using them for home auditions. Reading around for over 5-6 years I’m generally tempted by the LCD-X, the new Clear Mg and/or the original Clear, the HiFiMan Ananda & Arya, and the Dan Clark Aeon II Open —none of which I ever had the chance of auditioning— but I’m also open to other suggestions.

Full disclosure, in my recent past I did spend a couple of months with a pair of Final D8000 and I also had the chance to audition both the Susvara and the Abyss1266 mk1 so maybe I’m spoiled from how summit-fi sounds like. Still, all of these units are going to be way out of my budget for the foreseeable future so I just hope I can find a good all-rounder that will offer good value at the asking price…

I do discuss some comparisons @Sturosen with then OG Focal Clear Pro and the Aeolus here:

Focal Clear Professional headphone, the clear choice for incredible sound?

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Just dropping the Clear MG video review here:

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Great review as always!

What’s your honest opinion on the newer style cables? A solid upgrade or more of a lateral move?

They’re an upgrade. But still not as nice as Audeze’s cables for example.

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Great job @Resolve :headphones::movie_camera::sunglasses:

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What a “dead” video @Resolve… Why are you always so dead inside?! :joy:

Jokes aside, thanks for the video!