Focal Clear Open-back Headphones - Official Thread

[generic]

I think the Clear’s creaking follows from the slippery surface finish of the aluminum, plus how its stiff arc interacts with head size. My now sold Elex had the same metal construction, shape, and weight but never creaked once. It had a different and less slick black finish.

In my experience the creaks follow from ear pad fit too – mine grew worse over time with the factory pads as they flattened. The creaks nearly disappeared with fresh Dekoni pads, plus they are really comfortable too. Before the new pads I briefly experimented with silicone spray as a lubricant, but not much.

Aluminum certainly will crack if bent too far. It’s not forgiving and re-shapable like steel.

[Hifi_and_Headphones]

Focal Clear pairings pt14: Geek Out V2+ Infinity + Arcam rHead / AKG K1500
Slightly warm and cozy Class A.

Arcam rHead seems to be sold as AKG K1500 in some regions.

My experience so far with solid state vs tubes have been: Quality recordings usually really shine with a good solid state pairing. Whereas most good solid state amps I’ve tried will also tell you if the recording is of lesser quality, and the listening experience will be lacking. But with good tube amp-headphone synergy, everything just sounds amazing. For rHead this is the case as well, good recordings sound great. Lesser recordings just sound good.

Soundwise i think the rHead is smooth and a really nice listen with the Focal Clears. No peaks in the treble and a comfy, balanced presentation. Lows, mids, highs are all there without any surprises. For laser-sharp exaggerated treble detail this is not the amp. Most of the sounds are coming from the sides, so little less front and back soundstage as with some other amps.

Compared to ZDT Jr and Liquid Carbon the rHead has a smoother presentation with the Focal Clears, with less holography and not as hard hitting. The source direction of different sounds is still there, but less air between instruments makes them not as separated as on my favourite amps for the Focal Clears.

The less aggressive sound character of the rHead might appeal to many together with the Focal Clears. As it will provide longer listening sessions without ear fatigue, rHead also might be a good choice if you are treble sensitive. The sound reminds me somewhat of Violectric V200 but less distant soundstage with possibly better depth and layering.

DAC switching Geek Out V2+ Infinity → Hegel HD12 → Chord Hugo. The fuller and crispier sounding Chord Hugo was probably the best sounding DAC together with the rHead. It added some dynamics and seemed to raise the detail level on the rHead to a point which brought a smile on my face =)

To summarize: open up your favourite beverage, play music, lean back and enjoy for hours.

Focal Clear pairings pt15: Chord Hugo (DAC) + Violectric V200
Poor recordings sounded flat and boring. Good recordings had more of a holographic soundstage and instrument separation. It’s like the amp is telling you sorry this recording sucks I can’t help you.

The sounds is very smooth without any aggressiveness or harshness. The soundstage is not huge and sounds a bit distant. Its enjoyable but at the same time the V200 is the most different sounding solid state amplifier I have ever experienced.

All in all my beloved Focal Clears did not synergize well with Violectric V200 to my ears.

No changes in my favouite amps for Clears in post 731. If you have Clears, get tubes and enjoy the magic =)

[Hifi_and_Headphones]

Any loss of bass with the Darkvoice and Clears?
I am thinking that the new xDuoo TA-26 (Darkvoice clone) might be interesting to try out.

[generic]

I just tried my OG Clear on the DV 336 SE with the stock Chinese tubes: Mid-range bloat with husky male and female voices, loose and shallow bass, and rough/scratchy treble.

It’s not a combo I’d use for more than 5 minutes of testing.

[hifiDJ]

Huh…finally got around to trying the utopia pads on the OG Clear (out of curiosity). I thought it brought it closer to the Utopia tonality-wise. I haven’t listened to the Clears for a long time though, but I thought this was an interesting share.

[Hifi_and_Headphones]

Focal Clear pairings pt16:
SMSL VMV D1SE + Alo Audio Rx MK3-B
The best and clearest portable amp I ever heard. And gobs of power.

Alo Audio Rx MK3-B works really well with the Focal Clears. Somehow it reminds me of Bladelius speakers amps, the Class A/B ones not the newer Class D amps. Superclean, dynamic, attack, slam, control. Soundstage is larger on some of the other more colorful amps like ZDT Jr, Liquid Carbon and Cavalli Tube Hybrid. But if you want clean pure power and the Clears to truly rock this is the way to go. The bass boost control works amazingly well, adjust to your liking. Perhaps listening for hours would imply some listening fatigue. Haven’t experienced it yet but Clears are already dynamic and adding Rx MK3-B will make it even more so.

I wish Alo Audio reads this and they re-release the Rx MK3-B as a desktop amp. I believe many would appreciate the sound signature. It is such a great, clear, clean, powerful but still natural sounding alternative to THX AAA amps and such. It is like the clarity from THX AAA but with much added weight to midrange and bass, and a more realistic sound. The synergy with some Hifimans like HE-500 is insane. Probably measures like a#% but who cares when it sounds like this. Best pairing is hard to drive stuff as there is some hiss on easy to drive headphones, and way to much power for IEMs.

Tablet source is for show. I am usually sourcing from the computer or one of my streamers.

[Hifi_and_Headphones]

Switched tubes on my Liquid Platinum to some Reflektor NOS, but I think they are not actually NOS. Anyway LP is now performing much better the with Focal Clear. Will need to re-evaluate Liquid Platinum, seems my units EH 6922 stock tubes did not sound good with the Focal Clear. LP is not at ZDT jr level but its closer now. Will post more impressions later with picture of the setup.

[Hifi_and_Headphones]

Focal Clear pairings pt17:
SMSL VMV D1SE + Monolith Liquid Platinum (Reflektor 6N23P-EV)
The comeback of Liquid Platinum.

So I exchanged the stock EH6922 tubes on the Liquid Platinum to some Reflektor 6N23P-EV from Ebay, maybe NOS maybe not, can’t tell.

Anyway the LP is now a different amp with the Clears. The LP with Clears is not sounding flat and boring anymore, and the soundstage is so much better. LP is getting close to the ZDT Jr. The ZDT Jr is slightly more dynamic and hits harder. And has a bit more sparkle in the treble. Liquid Platinum sounds like it has a softer approach, easier on the ear. But the differences between ZDT Jr and Liquid Platinum are now much more subtle and I enjoy both immensely.

Liquid Platinum + Focal Clears went from “meh” to "yummie" and I really cant decide between CTH, Carbon or Liquid Platinum in addition to ZDT Jr. And I got more tubes to cover with the LP.

DACs used mainly SMSL VMV D1se (sweeter), Hegel HD12 (dynamic, harder hitting). Streamed from iFi Zen Stream connected to ethernet, Wifi turned off, USB output, Tidal and Spotify.

Note that the Liquid Platinum is much deeper than the D1SE, but they can be stacked if you add extra feet to the Cavalli amp.

[Gibson335]

I appreciate the feedback from people who have heard the Clears and the Clear MG’s. I purchased the Clear MG’s and here are my observations.

The new MG’s has a 40-mm magnesium (Mg) M-dome driver replaced Clear’s original 40-mm aluminum/magnesium driver. They are a lighter driver which helps add a little more cohesion to the music as well as slightly better dynamics.

Construction of the headphones is top notch. The microfiber pads are very comfortable and your ears won’t sweat as much as you might on other headphones with some materials being used. Packaging offers a fancy box, a 2nd pair of ear pads, a coil and straight cables. They do weigh more than some other headphones but are still comfortable.

So how do the headphones sound? Very balanced. You hear a solid strong bass, great mid’s and high’s that are very even. I personally would prefer if there was a tad more treble response from these headphones. On my NAD preamp, I put the treble to +1 or 2 db to hear the cymbals and snare sound a little more open. With not having strong high’s like the Beyerdynamic 1990’s or Sennheiser 880’s, the sound stage is not a big compared to the other two. While the others have a bigger sound stage including a more open top end, the mid’s on those headphones are thinner than the Clear MG’s. You also hear more sss when people sing with them. When I hear drum toms on the Clear’s from Neil Pert, they are solid and have a good presence. On the 1990’s and 880S’s they have a lighter sound and they are not as full sounding and sound thinner. However the sound stage is bigger and wider which can make the music sound more impressive.The Sennheiser 660s actually sound similar in character to the Focal Clear MG’s with the exception that the Clear’s offer a little more detail information including the ability to hear the reverb tails better.

Audiophile fans and those who work in a studio who want headphones they are even and provide good detail, the Clear MG’s are a great option. Is the higher cost for these headphones worth it? Being able to have monthly low payments interest free from several on line music stores does make it easier to work with, but $1,500 for headphones is a lot of money. But once you compare them to other headphones, its hard to go back to your older less expensive headphones. All in all the Focal Clear MG Professional headphones are a joy to hear music through. If you want a solid sound, with music more in your head, these headphones are a great option. Again the one thing I don’t love but like is the treble response. Some reviewers say these headphones are warmer sounding due to the high end not being enhanced.

If you want a larger sound stage, lighter headphones, more treble response so you can hear details and separate out the instruments more, the Sennheiser 800S are the way to go. If you don’t want to spend as much money for the 800’s but want something similar with treble presence and sound stage, go for the 1990’s. If you want something similar in character as the Focal Clear MG’s but less money, go for the Sennheiser 650 or 660’s. These lower cost headphones are roughly 85% as good as the Clear MG and Sennheiser 880s.

[Leemore5745]

I have the Clear and would like to add a little WEIGHT-BODY and WARMTH to its sound signature, while retaining its major attributes such as clarity and detail.

(1) Does anyone know of an aftermarket cable likely to do that?

(2) I’m currently considering the Forza Noir Hybrid and Forza HPC MKII cables. What do you think?

Thanks for your help.

[NickZ]

I would think that’s a job for pads or eq rather than cables, but let’s see if others have some ideas.

[Leemore5745]

Hadn’t thought of that.

I have an RME ADI -2 but can’t figure out how to use its EQ function. I previously checked around here to see if anyone had explained it, but didn’t find anything. I’ll try again.

Thank you Nick.

[generic]

Cables are likely to have the least impact – after the pads, amp, and DAC. Silver tends to be brighter while copper tends to be warmer, but they already come with copper cables.

The RME should offer a much more direct and precise solution.

[Hansel]

What @NickZ just said. Buy a Loki or Lokius and you will solve future problems with other headphones.

[Lou_Ford]

@Leemore5745

I have an RME ADI -2 but can’t figure out how to use its EQ function.

Manuals are available online. See page 23 or 24 here.

The ADI-2 has tons of EQ capability built-in; its just a little clunky figuring out how to access it.

Or just start off with the Bass and Treble controls. Since you can set the corner frequency on those, they’re a pretty decent starting point for figuring out what sorts of adjustments give you the response you’re after. Then you can get surgical with the PEQ if you really want that fine degree of control.

No need to buy a cable as a tone control when you already own really nice tone controls.

Best wishes,
Lou

[cspersel]

One of the Feliks Audio tube amps (the more expensive the better). They pair very nicely with Focal headphones to the extent that Focal uses them for demoing their headphones at shows.

[Jay_Jay]

I’m going through the same process with Utophias, and am also exasperated trying to figure out RME owner’s manual. I will try the online version to see if there any links that might be helpful.
As to cables, I’m surprised nobody has say anything about Moon Audio’s Dragon cables. Any experiences out there to report? They’re certainly attractive from a cost standpoint. Moon strongly recommends the Back Dragon for Focal headphones in general, but at their price you could but both Black and Silver for price on one Cardas Clear or Kimber cable.

[Leemore5745]

I have all the cables you mentioned except the Kimber. The Black Dragon is great on my original T1–it tames HF very well, and thus might go fairly well with your Utopia. (And BTW, the Moon Audio Black Dragon interconnects are great for tube amps or bright components). I have the Silver Dragon on my LCD-2 Rev2 and it is great for bringing out detail/clarity. The problem with all the Dragon cabels, however, is that they’re rather stiff by modern standards, if that’s a consideration for you. I have Cardas Clear for both my HD800S and HD650. They are expensive but bring out detail, clarity and soundstage like few others. But your Utopia’s already have those attributes in abundance, so I wouldn’t see the Cardas Clears as being recommended. But the Cardas Cross might be, if you can find them. They’re mellow to warm, without obscuring details, if you’re goal with the Utopia is to calm them down and reduce harshness.

Let me know, please, if you find a plain English explanation of how to use the EQ functions of the RME ADI-2.

[Jay_Jay]

Hey thanks really appreciate the feedback. I’ll try to spell better the next time I post A big part of the indecision is that I’m also shopping headphone anps. I’ve been driving the Utophias out of the RME (yes, I’ll certainly share if I find the magic key to the EQ). I’ve reduced my short list from 8 to 3 at this point (or until I change my mind LOL), which are Bryston BHA-1, SPL Phonitor XE, and Rogue Audio RH-5. I’ve scratched all the fully tube options mostly because I’ve never been a tube guy, so to speak, and I fret about durability and maintenance. I think the Cardas Clear would be great with the Bryston, not sure about the SPL, and I’m so intrigued by the reviews I’ve read on the Rogue, I may just take a flyer from a returnable source to see if there’s any tube coloration that bothers me. Yeah stiff cables would be an issue because I need 3 meter length to reach my listening chair. All for now

I’m Jonathan btw

[Leemore5745]

Hello Jonathan,

Sorry, but I have no experience with any of those amps.

Good luck.

And please pass along anything you might learn about EQ with the RME ADI-2.

Lee