Yes, it’s a beautiful cable. I just tried taking a photo, but it’s not coming out as good as it looks in real life. Arctic must have had better lighting and camera skills than me. But mine looks just like their picture, all sparkly copper wire. Fortunately, it sounds great too.
Furutech and Oyaide connectors are just expensive. According to Torq in the Cable DIY thread, they are well built but probably don’t add anything to the sound. Cue @ProfFalkin to jump in and call them snake oil!
I got the Oyaide connectors because they looked good, and since the cables were expensive to start with, I didn’t mind paying a little extra for matching ‘snake oil’ connectors.
I used Furutech connectors on a pair of hd650 and Audeze/ZMF cables I built. Snake oil? Hmm… Nowhere do I recall Furutech saying that their products will make stuff sound better, just that it’s made with special stuff like Rhodium, alpha-unicorn phosphors, and non-magnetic unobtanium somethings. So… No, I don’t think there are any snake oil claims being made.
What I can say is that their products are way better built than typical miniXLR or 2pin Senn connectors, look better too, and were far easier to solder and assemble.
Worth the extra +400% price? The jury is still out. I have a bit more confidence in their build quality and feel. Are they over priced? Probably.
Do they sound betterer? I don’t think those cables sound any different than ones I built using different connectors. Other people and Dr. Placebo may think so.
Agreed, I’ve only seen Furutech make claims on engineering quality, not sound quality.
But then, as you say, “other people” will take the factual list of ingredients and translate that to magical
increases in sound quality. That includes some cable manufacturers who have tried to upsell me on Furutech or Oyaide connectors because they’ve heard them and they really are better. Where I’ve taken that option, it is usually because they are well built and look nice, and I don’t mind spending a few more dollars for aesthetic reasons.
Edit: There is always the chance that they actually do sound better, for engineering reasons, but even so, I doubt they are worth the premium just for sound quality. But I still buy them LOL.
Eh. Look up the electrical properties of rhodium. It’s not great. I’ll leave it at that. So, for engineering’s sake, silver or copper, or a copper alloy would be better… if it weren’t for oxidation.
What I don’t understand about the audio cable industry is how exotic materials could provide much value so late in the music production process. Studios use plain old Pro Audio cables (i.e., copper or perhaps maybe silver plated) for the mics, instruments, and production process. Creation involves shuttling data in and out of PCs these days, and who knows how many cables and formats. As the Clear’s resolution with factory cables is beyond that of the typical studio – how much value could a different cable add?
The ‘damage’ to live nuances is done and quality is set by the studio amps, speakers, and mics. A lot of information gets lost at that point, and this cannot be recreated through any reproduction system. Can the lost pre-mic details be simulated after the fact through amps, DSP, and DACs? Seemingly to a degree, but not in a duplicative fashion or in a way that could be mostly determined by exotic cables.
I’m a new owner of the Focal Clear Pros and have about a 100 hours on them. Also own Sennheiser HD650’s and AKG Q701’s. The Focal Clear headphones are definitely on another level. I’m currently using a Schiit Asgard 2 headphone amp which I find has been a good match for them. Thinking about an Asgard 3 upgrade. All in all no regrets buying the Clear headphones.
So, I look on the Schiit site and the Asgard 3 is in stock so i sell my Asgard 2. I go to to order the 3 and it’s back ordered. I owned a Magni 3+ once and have fond memories of the power this little amp has so I ordered one to use until the Asgard 3 is back. It showed up about a week ago and and I let play 24 hours straight to put a little time on it before I started listening to it. This amp does not disappoint! The little amp and the Focal Clears make beautiful music together. It’s amazing what a hundred bucks will buy from Schiit. I still plan on buying an Asgard 3 when they’re back in stock but I’m hanging on to this Magni 3+.
That’s great to hear - I’m glad you’ve got a nice, temporary solution to tide you over until the Asgard 3 is back in stock. I suspect the good pairing you’re hearing owes something to both the qualities of the headphones and the amp - one of the nice things about the Clear, I’ve found, is that they’re not fussy about amplification, and I bet the Magni 3+ is a great little amp. I’ve not heard one but I’ve got the Magni 3 and love it. I picked it up to drive a pair of LCD2-Classic, and it does a great job.
The little Magni 3+ is a stellar amp…and the output according to Schiit is closer to 3 watts.
For a $99 amp.
Made in the USA.
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.04dB
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 2.8W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 2.4W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 1.6W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 410mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 215mW RMS per channel
THD+N:
High Gain: Less than 0.0013% (-98dB) at 1V RMS into 32 ohms
Low Gain: Less than 0.0005% (-106dB) at 1V RMS into 32 ohms
IMD:
High Gain: Less than 0.01% (-80dB) at 1V RMS into 32 ohms, CCIF
Low Gain: Less than 0.002% (-95dB) at 1V RMS into 32 ohms, CCIF
SNR:
High Gain: Greater than 104dB, A weighted, referenced to 1V RMS
Low Gain: Greater than 115dB, A weighted, referenced to 1V RMS
Crosstalk: Less than -70dB, 20 Hz-20 kHz in either gain
Output Impedance: Less than 0.2 ohms at either gain
I recently bought the Heresy just because many folks choose the 3+ over the Heresy…over the discrete is better than an op amp based head amp…
Its another great Schiit amp…and has better specs (and IMO this isnt really a “Care” to me), its the op amp thats used in the Heresy was designed especially for headphone amps, by TI and I had to see how well this design would compare to all my other amps. The Heresy like the 3+ is another great “little” power house…
I wasn’t sure how the Heresy would pair up with the Focal Clears but for around $120.00, tax and shipping, it might be fun to try it out. I’ve been curious about the Magnius also. I’m using a Modius DAC and the Magnius is supposed to be a good match. I used to go the balanced route with a Neve RNHP that I owned. The balanced setup with the Neve didn’t impress very much. The Neve doesn’t have a lot of power and I was using Sennheisr HD650’s at the time.
I like the sound of the V200/V220 more for the Clear for it’s added warmth. Now you could get the V280 and use the SE output, and save the balanced output for other headphones. just my opinion though. i find the clear a touch too neutral, and like warmer gear for it. the V280 balanced output is noticeably more neutral than the SE output.
another option, if you also find the Clear a bit too neutral, is look for an amp with a higher output impedance. i’m currently using mine on a ZMF Pendant, with an 8ohm output impedance. i like it much much more than my solid state amps, all of which are less than zero output impedance. The Vali 2 from Schiit is surprisingly good with the Clear, imo.
now if you really like the neutral character of the Clear, and don’t want to change it’s tonality, i’d strongly recommend an SPL Phonitor amp. I have the Phonitor E, which is the same amp as the X and XE, but without all the VU meters and crossfeed features. it’s colorless and very very powerful. it gives me the best technical performance of all my amps. i love it with warmer ZMF headphones, but not as much on the Clear as my tastes are for very warm tonality.
Hi, thanks for the answer.
for colorless sound I already have a SP200, so the Phonitor E wouldn’t help much.
I think I will go for the warmer options.
I can not get the ZMF Pendant, because I am not comfortable with shipping.
My only other options would be the V200 (is this the right model?) and V220.
Which one should I get for the Clear?
The V200 and V220 are essentially the same amp but with different input/output features. If you don’t need all the options the V220 offers, save the cash and go with the V200. it’s a very nice, slightly warm amp with tremendous power and control.
