I have the Clear OG like you do, and it is a truly excellent headphone, especially at the price. I’ve had mine about 4 years, and still use them regularly. They scale up with better gear quite well, so if you upgrade your amp at some point you will notice the difference.
I know you are running balanced right now, and the Jot 2 is an excellent amp (I’ve had one). You could also consider a Lyr+ though, it’s very powerful and you can shape the sound if you use it as a hybrid tube amp. The Nitsch Pietus Maximus also makes a great pairing with the Clear, and has more than enough power for many headphones, including your Sundara. The HD650 (or any 5xx/6xx series) sounds fantastic with the Pietus as well.
If you try pad rolling with the Clear, I like the ZMF pads for Focal as an alternative to the Dekoni ones, some of which are excellent. The ZMF pads (perforated lambskin) are a bit thicker, and give them a slight bass boost, as well as expand the perceived headstage a bit. They’re very comfy too.
For that matter I have a Jotunheim 2 in black I’m not using, been meaning to sell it. It’s in like new condition. PM me if you’re interested, and I’ll send you pics.
Thanks for the offer but my new Bifrost 2/64 is silver so will try to go with a silver amp.
And thanks for all of the feedback. I will probably try to score some extra pads and try to save the stock pads as they are nice but look like they wont wear well
Hi everyone. New to the forum and just got me some Clear OG at a good price. I’m coming from some ATH-M50X, which I have really enjoyed. I’ve never used an amp, a DAC or anything but my old Zune, which actually sounds better than most sources I used, like my phone or computer. Before the purchase I tested the Clears with my phone and a little Fiio E6 portable amp and they sounded pretty good, but honestly, I was a little disappointed and only got them because the price was good and I figured I could resell them. Brought them home and listened to Spotify on my laptop (I know I’m being judged right now, lol) and still wasn’t impressed, but the sound was much better than on my phone. But it did sound much better on my laptop, just not Wow!! Next, I hooked up a Fiio E10k I’ve had unused and in a box for years. It is a usb dac/amp and I just never thought it would be fun to sit and listen to music at my computer or a desk. So I never even tried them with my M50x. Well, I have been so wrong. Both headphones sounded better, but the Clears…they gave me the chills. So good. So I realize I’ve been mistaken in my thinking, and I probably need to invest in some nicer equipment. That being said, I’m still on a budget. Any suggestions for something that pairs well with the OG’s and maybe opens up the soundstage a little? That’s my only complaint with them. I was really hoping to open it up a bit, and it’s bigger than my M50’s, but it isn’t much bigger than a bubble around my head and from all the things I’ve read, open backs really excel at that. I am so new to this and really don’t know where to start.
My guess is you know better than I do what the OG’s sound like, but I think I typically like a neutral sound (not too bright and not muddy) with good vocals and punchy, acceptable bass. The OG’s are doing that now, they actually sound really good, but I understand they may sound even better with a better setup. It may be unreasonable, but if I could find a good amp/dac for under $400, that would be ideal. But I also realize I don’t want to waste money if that $400 only gets me 20% more and I have to spend 2k to really make them shine. So if there isn’t any sense in wasting money unless I go balls-out, that’s understandable and I’ll just stick with what I have. Thanks in advance for any replies.
The Clear is relatively easy to drive. Once you use a mid-power amp, you’ll get the majority of what they can deliver. I put the Clear in the “upper middle” quality tier – they sound very good but won’t compete with the next tier up no matter how much you spend. In contrast to the Sennheiser 6 and 8 series, the Clear doesn’t scale with the amp much.
I’ve not found a way to open the soundstage on Focal’s products. This includes the much more expensive Utopia. My main suggestion is to focus on warmer, less edgy amps that limit harshness with challenging sources. I always prefer Class A solid state amps, or tube amps.
IMO you won’t get close to a 20% improvement from where you are now. Think 5% to 10%. I get a modest boost from my $3K Decware tube amp, but it’s not nearly as dramatic as with my Sennheiser HD 800 S. The law of diminishing returns is real. For $400, take a look at Schiit’s warmer amps. If you get a tube amp, look at hybrids that match the Clear’s 55 ohm impedance. Don’t get an OTL that requires high impedance drivers.
@AudioTool ‘s recommendations are what I would also suggest. As you’ve already discovered, the Clear “scales up” with better gear (up to a point). It will scale up even more with something from Schiit, JDS, or Geshelli, depending on what you want.
I also own the Clear OG, so I’m well familiar with it. I like both the Clear (and Utopia) quite a bit more than @generic , so take anyone’s opinion with a grain of salt…
In regards to soundstage, if the pads are old or worn it would be worth replacing them. Worn out pads will compress the soundstage further, and don’t sound very good.
Both ZMF and Dekoni offer some excellent replacement pads. I went with the ZMF pads for mine, which are very comfortable and slightly thicker than stock. That expands the headstage a bit, and also gives a slight bass boost, both of which I appreciate.
Congrats on the Clear OG, it’s one of the best sounding headphone values out there in its price range. I think it’s an excellent sounding headphone, you will discover what you like over time. It’s a great starting point imo.
I’d say my opinion of the Clear is just as positive as yours. I use the HD 800 S and Clear a lot. It’s a great product in its price class, but I’d not spend a fortune on amps for it.
I bought a pair of Clear Og right after they released the MG. Looking at the price and reviews I couldn’t pass them up. My previous “higher ends (for me)” were Hifiman Sundaras and the Senn HD6XX. While I really liked those two, I REALLY liked the Clears. I was driving them with a Schiit Modius DAC and the original Jotunheim amp. I decided to upgrade the stack to a Bifrost 2/64 and the Jot 2. And while a perceived a slight improvement in the sound, it was not enough for me to justify the expense. Someone with younger ears (I just turned 70) would probably pick up a lot more positives.
While it is depressing, it’s also a bit of a relief that I finally realized that I can spend a lot of money and still not get a whole lot of improvement in sound quality (for me).
And as a couple of previous posters said, you really don’t need much to make the Clears sound good. Enjoy them
I would love to try the really high-end Focals just to see if I can hear the difference. Unfortunately no retailers sell any higher end except Audeze and Sennheiser near me. Maybe a trip to CanJam next year
I rotate around HD800 (old version) , Focal Clear Mg and HiFiMan Arya Stealth driven by Naim Unity Atom HE . I find the Arya a bit bright , the Clears the most neutral
The HD800 are now 13 yrs old and still going strong , with new pads, headband and cables over the years. They are still No.1 really but not used as much as the other for now.
Of the 3 I lean towards the Clears for every day listening , the Arya’s shine at classical especially keyboard but the Clears match the widest range of music . I suppose since Naim tuned the HE to suit them I should expect it
I often wonder if many headphones cause more confusion (wrong forum ?)
I had the Clear OG for a brief time. Just could not warm up to them. They are very nice, well built, but the sound to me was not what I would call neutral. The Sennheiser HD 650 is much closer to what I consider neutral.
Maybe the Clear MG? The MG sounds like the Clear but with more emphasis on the treble (the ‘ess’ area) and the low end, so it has a stronger character than the Clear. Still, I think it’s definitely a high-level headphone. And it looks cool, too lol.
The 2020 version of me is very happy to hear that. Actually the 2020 version of me was never content, and flush with lockdown money (no vacations, no meals out), I went on an upgrade spree and cycled through various gear before ending up with a Mojo Audio DAC and a couple of amps (LTA Ultralinear +, Burson Soloist Voyager). Very happy with where I ended up, but to be honest, I was also very happy where I started.
I just picked up a set of Clear’s and I hate them so far. At low volume, their great. But I can’t get the volume up to where it provides a truly enjoyable experience. Totally regret the purchase and I can’t return them. My bad, I’ll do better research this time.
Yes. Just running thru my Apple IPhone until I get my amp set up. Seems like the Clears are limiting the volume in some way cuz when I put standard apple pods in the volume is much louder. Thank you.
(wrong forum ?)