I currently have the Celestee and Radiance at hand and I definitely agree with Andrew about the better tuning and slightly wider soundstage but not sure about the bass… is it just me, or does the Celestee have a more emphasised bass? I was listening to them both (Qobuz using FiiO BTR7, max Qobuz + system volume, no EQ applied) and ‘Ode to the Mets’ by The Strokes came on and I swear I could hear the bass guitar more on the Celestee.
I thought it must have been nothing but then ‘Horizon’ by Daft Punk came on and at around 2:20, listening to the kick drums there was very obvious difference in the loudness (Celestee > Radiance). Radiance still sounded more balanced but is this normal? Because the frequency response graphs suggest that Radiance should be more bassy than the Celestee?
Hi, guys!
Does anyone know how to fix the sound of the cymbals in the APO EQ? In some tracks, these headphones sound very intrusive and really saw the ears. I listened to streaming mp3, flac, LP - it’s the same everywhere. I’ve used DT 770pro before and never had this problem.
In Peace APO EQ try a -3 dB cut at 12 kHz with a Q = 4. That should give you a pretty tight band to reduce the 12 kHz peak and will tame the cymbals. I know what you mean in terms of the intrusiveness.
It turns out that I am not a huge fan of closed back headphones. I don’t hate them, but they are never my first choice for listening. But sometimes you do want to restrict sound, either in or out. I bought many pairs looking for something that I liked. I really do like my CFA Cascades, but only for a few days at a time.
After buying the Clear OG’s from Headphones.com, I decided to try the Radiance’s from them and was super impressed. I had tried the Elegia’s, but was not impressed. I even bought the special Dekoni pads, but they were not working for me.
To date, these are my most expensive headphone purchase. But also, the best closed back I ever heard. Pretty good balance, but still has good, strong bass. And without a doubt, the prettiest headphones that I own.
I don’t reach for closed backs often, but when I do, it is mostly these.
Hey guys, anyone have any personal EQ settings they would like to share for the Radiance?
I was looking at Oratory’s preset and was wondering if his preset was based on the later Radiance model that Resolve measured.
Has anyone used that preset and made some changes to it?
I don’t know if it’s just me, but there is something about the upper region that causes a bit of fatigue to my ears that I don’t get on something like the Clears. Using Oratory’s preset, but turning down the 12kHz and 10kHz region a bit with peak filter, I still can’t shake the feeling that the upper region of the frequency that comes across as fatiguing. I won’t say sibilant or harsh, but there’s this rawness to the sound that seems like a bit much. I don’t notice it while listening but it slowly creeps up until I feel kind of fatigued having listened to the Radiance for a bit.
Has anyone else noticed something similar? I’m not sure whether this is due to the the region around 6-8kHz or due to the region past the 14kHz point. Would like some clarity on this.
JDS Labs Element 3. I’m a bit stumped; never had this problem the Focal Clear. I also considered the possibility of this being a a volume issue (listening too loud) but it doesn’t make sense because I can crank the volumes on the Clear much louder and I don’t really feel that (slightly) grating sensation. Worst case scenario - my mind is playing tricks on me.
Do you have any test tracks I could use to test out the upper region for the headphones for harshness?
Played around with EQ and yeah, and found that is indeed the upper region that irritates me; the spike at that 12kHz point is definitely a huge factor.
Came up with a setting that I find pretty good (for me). Welcome to try it and play around with it if you want.
Preamp: -4 dB
Filter 1: ON Pk Fc 85 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 1
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 3
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2900 Hz Gain -1.1 dB Q 3
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain 3.7 dB Q 4
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 5850 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 4
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 7000 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 4
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 8000 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 4
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 1.5
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 2
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 3
Filter 11: ON HSC Fc 15000 Hz Gain -2.8 dB Q 0.71
Filter 12: ON PK Fc 15000 Hz Gain 2.2 dB Q 3
Filter 1 and 9 & 10 are the ones I will likely adjust every now and then. The 12kHz spike seems deliberate to try and balance out the hefty low-end of the Radiance. You could increase Filter 1 to 3dB for better balance I suppose, but I like the bass on the Radiance as is even though it can be a bit overbearing on certain tracks (not bleeding into the lower mids or anything, but just a tad too loud for stuff like Jazz).
People may also want to disable Filters 11 and 12 if they aren’t sensitive to frequencies above the 15khz if they like the shimmer on the Radiance as is.
Ya I know what you mean with some of the harshness up top. When I reviewed the Radiance a while ago and this was the simple EQ I came up for it to help smoothen out the sound a little.
4.5 kHz +3 dB with Q = 2
12 kHz -3 dB with Q =4
That was good enough for me. But you ear will be different. I suggest you start with that 12 kHz and slowly adjust the values up and down. e.g. 11 kHz or 13 kH. You can also start with -6 dB to REALLY see where it’s causing the issue and then tone it back. Try doing a sine sweep as well to get closer for your own ears.
The only thing I’ll “caution” about a sine sweep is that it’s unnatural since music isn’t equally weighted at different frequencies. So if you’re squishing down peaks too much, you might find some music loses some of its edge or character. Gotta play around a bit with it for sure!
Hi guys, what do you think, would the Arya Organic and the Radiance complement each other well? Different driver technologies, closed vs. open, obviously significantly different sound… I am very happy with the Organic and like the wide, detailed sound as well as the dry and precise bass. I don’t mind EQ-ing. Now for office work, I would like to have another pair of headphones, closed-backs for sure. There are some candidates like the DCA E3 (too expensive…), DCA Noire, Radiance, etc., but when I look at the FR and the consider reviews, I like the Radiance the most. Never had a Focal Headphone before. I want to stay with my Qudelix and not buy a dedicated AMP. Thank you!
I have both and I do think they complement each other well. I just drove my wife out of the room while listening to the Arya’s on my main rig though (“I can’t do anything with you making so much noise!!” ). So it’s good to have options .
I typically use the Arya’s with vinyl in the other room to avoid the disturbance but this was a good excuse to compare. The Radiance is definitely more weighty than Arya’s but very comfy.
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