Focal Radiance - Closed-Back Headphones - Official Thread

Nope. The Radiance is in general quite a bit warmer. I don’t think the upper mid / lower treble dip issue has been solved. The main advantage in my mind is that because the bass is more elevated on the Radiance, it doesn’t sound as mid-forward, giving it an overall balance. But I wouldn’t say this has the same kind of tonal balance as the Clear. You’d still have to EQ it to get there. I’m thinking more like the Stellia with Elegia technicalities (or maybe between Elegia and Clear).

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So a less detailed and less peaky Stellia?
(Or, less v-shaped)

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Mainly that there’s a bass bump similar to that of the Stellia. ‘Peaky’ isn’t something I’d really ascribe to either of them - at least not for the FR ranges that one might typically associate with that term. Like the treble is super relaxed on the Radiance, even if there are also some peaks and dips throughout.

At the moment I can only really sum the Radiance’s tonal balance up like this: it’s a warmer and bassier version of the Elegia, but without the midrange emphasis, so it’s a bit more normal there. I do think it sounds better than the Elegia overall, but also not exactly worth it over the Elegia at its current price if sound quality is your ultimate goal. If comfort / aesthetics / uniqueness and all the rest of it is important to you, then yeah the Radiance nails it.

I think when something new and shiny comes along we all want it to be the best thing ever (myself included), and really the Radiance is not that headphone. It’s a step forward in some aspects over the Elegia (if you’re into a warmer kind of sound), but anyone potentially buying the Radiance should be doing so at least partially for those other non-sound related reasons. And I do think those are also important.

I should have a review out in the next few days. But my initial preview is that while I do like it (better than the Elegia), this may be an example of errors of omission vs errors of commission - it’s a bit too relaxed in the treble for my taste.

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Ahh, right on. Looking forward to the full review. :+1:t4:

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So, it’s a slightly refined Elegia with bling?

That’s my takeaway.

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That may end up being the subtitle of my review hahah

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Really great impressions as always @Resolve. I’m looking forward to a full review.

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Curious, have you tried putting radiance pads on elegia?

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Let’s hope so. This was the main criticism coming from most Focal owners. Though for me it has never been a deal breaker.

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Good question. If Rad pads on Elegia make the Elegia sound and measure like a Rad, then… yeah, it’s an Elegia with different pads. And bling. I’d be wondering why I can’t just buy an Elegia and Rad pads for 1/2 the price.

Focal is going to catch a bunch of crap for that.

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Keep in mind the price of those Rad pads will probably warrant buying the Radiance instead! lol

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Just slap ZMF pads on it. Those make everything betterer.

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my solution for a warmer Elegia, is the ifi xDSD with it´s Burr Brown sweetness plus some bass boost from time to time

this limited Radiance is simply the best looking thing since the Empy or some ZMFs(in it´s own league)

it´s easy to pass the R. - for me, because if I had the bucks and could get my hands on one of those,… my Elegia remains perfect with it´s midrange presence and “less” (there is a lot in my opinion) base - for a closed back, which is a quality and not a weakness, for longtime listening while working and not getting fatigued. Still most closed backs tend to be like at least mildly u-shaped, if not worse for my usecase.

if there was a non limited Clear with a similar copper / dark design - I could get weak - especially if they get rid of the empire ears logo

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Stylish, real stylish. Looks nice.

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Was a new one. The cable broke near the left 3.5mm jack. Here is a foto that shows why I hate the original Focal cables. From left to right DIY 2,5mm balanced cable made of a Tripowin cable for IEMs 30€, 3th party cable 100€, Focal original (110€ official price). About four weaks in use. Tried to bend it at least a bit straight, gave it up. One part is almost 3" in the air. :-1:

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Are the Rradiance pads interchangeable with the Elegia or the other Focals?

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Yup they are the same as all other Focal earpads in that regard.

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Same interior size? I find the others too small.

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Just a note about this, you can change the pads, but it’s generally not a good idea because it will impact the tuning. The Elegia pads on the Radiance are kind of okay but not as good as the default Radiance pads, but the Radiance pads on the Elegia are NOT a good idea. They completely cut out the bass response. This also means that the Radiance isn’t just an Elegia with different pads. There is something unique about the driver implementation on the Radiance that allows it to retain quite a bit more bass response regardless of the pad tuning, where as the Elegia’s bass response is largely (if not solely) dependent on the pads.

The bottom line here is that for both of these headphones it’s probably best to just stick with the default pads, and then rely on EQ to change the tonal balance to your preference.

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would be interesting to see if Radiance’s bass is as seal dependent as Elegia is.

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