There’s a b-stock Lyr 3 winking at me on Schiit’s website - I’ve seen you and @lost33 endorse the pairing!
Separately, I’d be interested in seeing how the Clear sounds out of a ZMF Pendant… has anyone tried this combination? I ask because I enjoy daydreaming about a happy future with a Vérité in it; I loved the pairing with the Pendant at CanJam, and it would be sweet if the Clear were to be synergistic with this amp, as well (the ZMF high and low-z outputs are 8 and 300 ohms).
I have a b stock lyr 3 and havent looked back or resented the purchase in any way…works great with the Clears…
Highly recommended…
Alex
This may be useful. Focal Clear impedance curve. Like the Utopia, the midbass bumps up a bit with more output impedance from the source. I also noticed this with the Elex when I owned it so I’m assuming it’s the same with the Elear and if I recall, the Elegia as well. (https://headphonetestlab.co.uk/test-results-manufacturers-e-h-focal-elegia)
So the higher impedance tube amp will give a bit more a bass bump, if you want that.
Btw, my experience with Elex from using a higher impedance tube amp was defnitely a warmer sound, and loss of soundstage and perhaps not as clean bass. That’s from a while ago, so my memory should be taken with a big grain of salt.
I have not tried Clear on an OTL or higher impedanec source. I do have a Feliks Elise though, so if anyone wants to donate me a Clear… 
LOL, these are fascinating posts about OTLs, and I hope you continue because I’m learning a lot, but the OP, @darrellharwood, actually asked how the Focal Arche compares to a BF2/Lyr3 combo for his Clear.
I’m also interested in the answer to that question so I’ll re-ask in the Arche thread so that you can continue with this discussion here.
yeah u have to have both to compare…but most of dont have the Arche…its a higher cost SS amp.
My guess would be they would be similar. but Focal does state they have some “magic” tailored to their headphones. Probalby some custom eq bulit in or selectable?
Alex
Going to start off wishing @darrellharwood and @PaisleyUnderground the best of luck looking for a nice amp since they’re looking in the Arche price range. There are a ton of great choices like the Pendant, Euforia, Elise, Starlett, etc. Headphones.com has an open box Arche for 40% off if you’re interested.
Lyr 3 is undeniably a more flexible amp playing well with anything you can plug into it. I find it to be a wonderfully relaxing listen. Schiit has always had great performance out of their class A/B amps going for a pleasantly warm, full bodied presentation. Anyone getting into OTLs knows they’re primary goal is to use dynamic driver headphones. To me the Echo was more dynamic from top to bottom.
Focal’s factory tour includes demos with some of the amps they bring to shows. The Euforia is included among them, and Zach from ZMF checks his tuning on one of those I believe. Echo is the warmest amp out of the Feliks line, but it still leans into quality over quantity for its sound. Most reviews will tell you this is by no means a good choice for lovers of bombastic bass. It gives a gentle lift at most.
This is not a 100+ OI amp that will blow the tonal balance out the window. I think it’s around 40-50, so it’s not going to sound overly bloated. The Clears benefit from a little more weight in their sound as I consider them more on the lean side. @lost33 Was listening to Shape of My Heart (My Songs Version) by sting and I Know You By Heart by Eva Cassidy in the album Songbird just now. It wasn’t too much bass but they do get a little kick in energy. The instruments glided throughout those songs slightly thicker than on the Lyr. People growing accustomed to the Clear in stock sound or especially the Elex might become bass sensitive. If you think either of these headphones have ample bass response already, then I could see it being a bit much. Imo they could use a little color, and the Echo is wonderfully natural sounding. Keep in mind my preferences lean warm as I chose the Atticus out of all the ZMFs. We all hear different so find your own truth. This is simply what I like. The magic of a great OTL is very real though, and both Focals mentioned are great on this one. Relagoor told me his 35 ohm Elegia was fine comparing his Echo to the Phonitor as well. Again, all Feliks amps are going for moderate appeal making major bloat a small concern. Their real magic is in the mids and silky smooth treble. Room acoustics light up getting you closer to a speaker like experience. It’s heavenly on high Z headphones and these Focals. Maybe the Stellia might suffer bloat.
I’m a big Schiit fanboy like some here owning the Asgard 3 + MM card, Modius, Lyr 3, and Bifrost 2. They’re great.
Thanks, this was very helpful. I love it when people put a lot of thought into their descriptions, to give people enough context to make a decision.
I am not a tube amp expert but it seems like there is more than just output impedance going on. If I’ve got this wrong then delete this post before it spreads too far. It’s entirely possible I am equating resistance with impedance when I shouldn’t be.
Garage1217 has two otl tube amps, Starlight and Horizon, with select-able output resistance. They are supposed to be essentially the same design but the Starlight intended for low impedance headphones and the Horizon for high impedance headphones.
Both offer an output resistance setting of 1 ohm but the power output at this setting is quite different into different headphone impedance’s. I have linked the charts below.
I know you can’t reduce everything to just output power but one might think that at the same output resistance they would have a similar power curve, if all that mattered was output resistance.
All this is to say it seems like some amp designs could be more ‘friendly’ to impedance mismatches than others.
All of this is putting me in a conundrum. I’m very happy with the Clear on cheap sources or no external amp – it doesn’t need much power to sound very good. The only amp I deeply dislike with the Clear is the THX AAA 789 (see my comments above; too abrupt and edgy).
The cheap $99 Loxjie P20 (47 ohm OI) with replacement triple mica tubes and a stronger power supply produces Clear output that resembles how others describe the Lyr 3 and the Echo. But, $150 total cost vs. $500 or $700 total cost? Can it compete? The P20 mildly boosts the bass but it’s not at all noticeable with most sources. Sources that previously pumped the mid-bass do get thick and bloomy, but they comprise less than 5% of the music I’ve tried. Sources with strong deep bass/sub-bass don’t seem to have the ability to cause deep bass bloat.
Spend the money on a room-warming amp with questionable ROI or spend it on tasty food?
I hear you on this.
My current conundrum is I’m having a hard time figuring out how much weight to place on reviews that are not double-blind. I just think it’s impossible to overcome bias/expectations no matter how much we want to or try to.
It has me in a total spending freeze until I sort this out. The only thing I bought recently was spare tubes for the Drop CTH in case the original craps out.
Thanks for stating this directly, it’s great when people provide such valuable context - the discussion about the suitability of amp pairings really benefits from these kind of transparent frames of reference. Your preference for the warmth of a tube amp for the Clear makes sense given how you hear the headphone’s sound signature.
We should all be forthcoming about our preferences in these conversations so we don’t end up talking across one another, especially since we often hear things differently (I know I need to be better about this). To me, the Clear are neutral/bright, although I suspect the aggressiveness of the Clear (its speed, resolution, and strong macro-dynamics) has something to do with this interpretation since these qualities make it seem more energetic and, by extension, bright (again, to my ears). For reference, my HD 800 are thin and bright; my HD 6XX are warm and slightly laid back.
I think I’ve seen others describe the Clear as warm (perhaps previously in this thread?). I’m not sure about this, though, and could well be wrong; but I do remember being struck by the observation because it contrasts so distinctly with mine.
I think an important frame of reference here is Tyll Hertsen’s, whose review of the Clear states: “It’s got a lovely, warm bass; coherent and even mids; and responsive treble that’s neither too bright or too muted. It’s clearly right down the middle and, more importantly, very well balanced throughout.” As another data point, Tyll thought the Clear would not be good match for high output impedance tube amps. Again, though, I see why you @SleepyRhythms would like the added warmth and bloom.
It’s great to see someone else pairing the Clear with the Drop CTH. I might upgrade to the Lyr 3 (as mentioned above) but since the Clear is something I intend to keep for a long, long time now - after 6 months, I really do like it as a versatile all-rounder that suits my preferences nicely - I wonder if I should just be patient and save for a totl amp pairing in the years to come.
That the CTH is so synergistic with the Clear, I wonder if a significant investment is needed to get an appreciable upgrade in the sound. Would the Lyr 3 offer this? It may, and I may well try the pairing for myself before too long. But does the Clear scale very much? Is it worth getting something like the ECP DSHA3F Ravenswood 3F (if one ever appears on the market)?
Your advice (and others) in my sub-$1,000 all-rounder thread pointed me to the Clear although I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
It’s quite a metal tug-of-war trying to figure out how much “improvement” is worth how many dollars.
I put improvement in quotes because how much of my perception is a need to justify the purchase and how much is real?
Sorry everyone for referring back to the Arche when I made such a point about moving the original question to another thread, but as I was re-reading the details of the Arche offer, I realized that you just need to be the current owner of a Clear, Utopia or Stellia to get this deal, as long as you bought it any time before the deal ends. I’d previously thought you had to buy your phones within the deal period, so in case anyone else made that same assumption, I’m bringing it to your attention.
$1000 off is a great deal, and while still expensive, it’s only a little more than the amps discussed above (OK a lot more in some cases, but when you’re in a buying frenzy, it doesn’t seem like it’s that much more). I don’t think Torq had Clears when he reviewed it, but I’m assuming there’s some synergy.
Ah, that’s right - I remember now! I hear you about treading carefully and wondering about these issues of perceived improvement and value. It’s good to be cautious and practical, especially in this hobby and when reading enthusiastic online impressions.
If it’s any comfort, it took me a couple of years to pluck up the courage to get my Clear, and that was after being able to audition the headphones several times at two separate CanJams. I went back to the Focal exhibit so many times, and spent so much time there over the course of the weekends - having attended both days, both years - that the nice, friendly Focal representative (the guy who appeared on the headphones.com livestream) recognized me and joked that I was really trying to convince myself to get the Clear!
I only made the purchase when I found a good deal on a used pair. (I figured that if I’d made a mistake, I wouldn’t take too much of a financial hit on the re-sale). Good luck working through these issues - again, you’re right to be cautious, especially for a significant financial outlay. It’s too bad that auditions aren’t easy for many folks in many places, especially during the pandemic.
@PaisleyUnderground - thanks for the update about the Arche, it really would be good to get confirmation that it pairs synergistically with the Clear!
The pandemic certainly puts a damper on auditions.
I also confess to feeling a bit guilty about returning a $1,500 item. I suppose it’s part of the landscape for sellers but I have to believe returns put a big dent in their income.
My way to control expectation bias is my ears. They are not comfortable and will ring or hiss or suffer fatigue over long sessions with some equipment at normal volume. The ears decide what they like and what they don’t like. They love the Clear and Utopia (I demoed both and didn’t hear enough value to buy the Utopia). My ears have mixed feelings about the Elex and HD-600.
My ears also decide about whether an amp will stay, and they sent both the MCTH and old Magni 3 away. Hiss, hiss, hiss. To my ears, DACs hit the point of diminishing returns pretty fast so they don’t get much attention.
I’ve had similar experiences where something “just didn’t sound right” so was not an option to keep it.
Hi guys - first post on the forum… just got Focal Clear Professional (couldn’t pass $900 sale - figured at this price couldn’t really go wrong) and going through its paces with them (got them as a potential upgrade to HD 660S I have and love).
Issue I have is obviously the cord - professional set comes with coil cord (other regular cord is way too short), which is quite heavy and I wanted to get a better (and lighter) cord for everyday use at my desk (about 6ft or so) for under $200. Any suggestions for a replacement cord?
Welcome to the forum @tolik!
There’s quite a lot of comments about replacement cables in the Elegia thread, so I would look there for ideas.
If you’re based in the US, I did a lot of research and came up with 3 US companies that a lot of people recommended as being great quality for a good price:
Arctic Cables
Hart Audio Cables
Corpse Cable
I know a lot of people like Norne cables too but the owner has a reputation for being a genius at making cables but terrible at communication. I sent him 2 emails and never got a reply, so I crossed him off my list.
I have a set of both Arctic and Hart on order, but they won’t arrive for a couple more weeks, so I can’t give you a personal recommendation, only share my research. I chose those 2 because I wanted custom colors.
