Focal Clear

I'm not even sure what a good EQ profile would be for Clear as it is one of the most "balanced" sound signatures available. That is basically its selling point. Like I said, I have tried carefully EQ'ing my Elear to match Clear's sound signature and I like it ok, just not as much as Clear.

What people in this hobby consider "worth the premium" varies so much. Some people chase that last 5% and spend thousands getting there. Also, consider that Clear you are getting a lot of extras over the Elear. If we go strictly by the numbers, a new Elear is going for $800 and new Clear is going for $1200. But with Clear you get a nice case and 2 extra cables (one of them being balanced) and all cables are significantly nicer than Elear's stock cable. A little while ago I put an ad out seeing if people would be interested in buying the Clear case + 2 extra cables (balanced and mobile). Many people were willing to pay $250 for those accessories. So in terms of accessories that leaves Clear with the same package as Elear and you are paying $950. Is Clear worth $150 over Elear? For me it would be, but it might not be for others.

 

Thanks for the input I_Want_all_the_tacos and FallingObjects. I have only heard the Clear (and Utopia for that matter) in noisy conditions, so I don't quite trust my evaluation. I am leaning towards getting a Clear as I have a bit of $cash$ burning a hole in my pocket, and I don't really want to go back to a mid/high end planar. It sounds like the Clear also is a real (if relative) gain over an EQed Elear in terms of resolve and what our host calls plankton, at least I thought I heard this and folks are reporting a real if small gain over the Elear, though it does not appear most of them EQ.

 

Is this the instore price now in the US? All I can find online is the list price if $1500. They'll be arriving in Taiwan the end of this month and will retail for 15% on top of that.

 

15% is not so bad at all.

 

Focal has a really strict policy of not letting dealers advertise lower prices online unless there is a sanctioned sale. But $1200 was the going price for various dealers I have contacted personally in the U.S. a few months ago. It might even be lower now, but I haven't been keeping up to date with deals.

 

Probably went up, shortage of Clears for a few months so supply was gone. I was basically sold out of them from Feb-April.

 

Just like with the Elear and Utopia ( $800 and $2500 respectively), unadvertised negotiations are probably readily available for the Clear

 

If you're persistent and good at getting along with people, you can probably get most stuff, brand new, for somewhere between the listed price and the open box price. Had no problems with finding people random discounts when I worked in retail if they were polite. Usually not full staff/family tier discounts, but its amazing what you can find behind the counter in way of coupons.

 

Just unboxed the Clears. First impressions after 1 hour. Sorry for my hack descriptions.

Sublime driven by a Gungnir Multibit and Lyr 2 with Westies.

Clear vs LCD2C: The sound stage and trueness of vocals are WAY better with the Focals. You can sure pick out a shitty recording/mastering with the Clear. The bass isn't as punchy on the Clear as on the Classic but the attack seems more natural on the Clears.

I think the Clear will have the same type of relaxed listening as the HD650 but just overall higher quality. I don't think the HD650s are going to get much noggin time for a while. I've heard more than once that an amp with Balls of Power will bring out the hidden qualities in the HD650.

Looking forward to listening to Clears will the EC ZDT Jr.

Got great service from the Headphone Bar in Vancouver BC.

 

I have had the Clear for about 2 hours now after a nice transaction with The Source. I am comparing them to my EQed Elears (Roon+HQPlayer or JRiver w DMG EQ>>iFi iDAC2>Schiit Saga>Schiit Jot)

1) As others have said, there is a smoothness/coherence and lack of harshness over and above the EQed Elears. The more dense the music/mix the more apparent this is
2) A bit of the dynamic "slam" has been lost, but not that much
3) Listening to Sol Gabetta play her cello with orchestra, I hear her instrument come in and out of the mix in a more tonally correct and natural way, revealing the timbre limitations of the EQed Elear.
4) Clear sounds good through non-EQed phone/Tidal>JDS Labs C5D portable DAC/amp, unlike the Elear

Just initial impressions. I will be swapping in some Dekoni pads, playing with EQ, etc. in near future...

 

Finally caved and picked up a Focal Clear last week on my quest for something that can actually beat the HD600 for me.

- A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS -

Chain: iMac > Gungnir Multibit > MCTH+LPS (Amperex 6922)

GOOD:

• Holy smokes these cans are pretty. A little too pretty... About as far into audio jewelry as I care to wander. The knit headband mittens I have on don't help (my brother commented that they looked like a nursing home project) but what the hell - they sound great.
• Very well-balanced frequency response. There's a bit of a mid-bass hump, but it doesn't bleed into mids as the HD650 are prone to do. Well-extended in both directions, and on a well-mastered recording no particular frequency range stands out. Wonderful. The flip side of this though is that poorly mastered recordings aren't done any favors. Thin recordings sound thin, harsh recordings sound harsh, but good recordings sound fantastic.
• Bass hits hard, fast, and is really well-controlled. As others have said already, I haven't heard better bass from an open dynamic before. Not quite enough bass emphasis to make for a good EDM can though, so bass heads may want to look elsewhere.
• Mids are pretty spot-on. No Elear-hole, yay! They don't hit the same level of spooky-real timbre and smoothness as the HD6X0, but they're very natural nonetheless. HD600 has always sounded perfect to me, but after some time with the Clear I finally hear the shouty upper-mids that everyone talks about. Huh.
• Treble doesn't hide at all, but it's quite smooth. I've always been a bit treble-averse because so few cans are able to avoid the peakiness inherent with most headphone designs. The HD600 is about as much treble as I've been able to manage (I know, they're pretty rolled off) and even then only because of how smooth it is. To say that the Clear has a properly balanced treble that doesn't make me wince says a lot, and it's been a thrill to be able to embrace treble and all the lovely details and space that come with it. HD600 treble now sounds like the equivalent to one of those faux-fur throw blankets. Still gonna keep it around for those particularly nasty recordings I love.
• Driver matching sounds excellent to me, and correspondingly imaging is very good. The location of each instrument is very precise and focused, and center image is rock-solid.
• Very dynamic, keeping what in my opinion was the greatest strength of the Elear. On occasion it can be a bit startling actually. I've grown pretty accustomed to 16-bit files and haven't bothered with hi-res/uncompressed for awhile, but sometimes I could swear I'm listening a lot more bits than I am.
• Fans of folk/bluegrass/solo guitar are in for a treat. Picked acoustic instruments sound amazingly real and alive.

PRETTY GOOD:

• Detail retrieval is good, about in line with what I'd expect given the price. Not HD800 level but from memory a good amount better than the Elear. Plenty of detail to highlight things I never heard on my HD600, but not so detailed that I have to stop listening to 320kbps mp3's. Perfect.

MEH:

• Soundstage is pretty up front/intimate. Very good layering and depth but a bit on the narrow side for an open can. Tubes help.
• Treble is not entirely without some peakiness (most noticeably 8-10kHz). Certain recordings can get a little whistle-y on the S's, but the majority of the time it's not a pronounced issue. Not super exaggerated like the LCD-X, which seemed to be attempting to make up for a lack of detail retrieval.

All in all I'm really happy with these cans, and feel like I've finally found a worthy upgrade to my trusty HD600. As Tyll said in his review these are really the first $1k+ cans I've owned that don't have any glaring flaws that spoil the asking price. Clear-ly a winner? Ok that was bad sorry.

 

After some more time with very familiar tracks, I have to conclude the detail and "plankton" is a real step up from the EQed Elear as well.

 

@westermac impressions like that are helpful for a fellow HD600 (and LCD-X) owner. Just more fuel feeding the desire to try them out.

 

I sold off my LCD-X not too long ago... It was a hard decision; it sounded amazing with Sonarworks, especially for Pop/EDM.
Now that resale value is so low it's a much better value than it used to be.

Just the same, if you find yourself missing dynamics (LCD-X always sounded like it put every recording through a really aggressive compressor - really fun for some genres but not so much for others) and micro details, I'd highly recommend giving the Clear a listen. Or maybe if you're not in range of a Focal dealer find an online retailer with a generous trial/return period.

 

Thanks for that confirmation. Like I said before I only auditioned Elear and Clear side-by-side without EQ, and then later I picked up Elear and used EQ so I was going off how I remember Clear sounding. Everything you said about the smoothness and coherence along with the more natural timbre confirms what my thoughts were.

For fun, during my audition I had run Clear straight from my smartphone and absolutely loved it. It is the type of headphone that doesn't have a terrible pairing and just sounds great out of everything without needing any mods or EQ. It is perfect for people that don't want to fuss around with tweaks and TOTL source upgrades like what is often required with HD800.

 

PSA for anyone using a headband cover/padding in conjunction with the molded travel case...

I was excited to be able to easily toss the clear in my backpack to bring home over the weekend (without needing a bombproof suitcase a la Audeze), and upon removing them from the case was not happy to see a dent near the edge of one of the earcup grills. My backpack was handled carefully and not dropped or anything, and there don't seem to be any irregularities with the internal shape of the case, so I'm thinking what happened was that the knit headband cover I had on pushed the earcups slightly out of place (it's a snug fit with the knit cover on) causing the case to push up against the grill in that particular spot.

It's a pretty minor dent fortunately; that first little blemish that turns your minty headphones into less-than is always a drag though. Especially ironic that it was caused by something I was using to keep them in mind condition Oh well, at least I plan on keeping these. My co-workers will just have to deal with a soft sigh coming from my desk whenever I reach to pick them up off my desk.

 

Ouch!

My Clear is only a few days old. I have oily skin even showering every day. The headband is now discolored. Wish I knew that before hand and I would have maybe been able to do something about it. Hopefully its removable to clean and replaceable. Does anyone know of some sort of protector sleeve that could be used that isn't gaudy looking?
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k92/diverbob/20180514_094721.jpg

 

That kind of headband issue is disappointing, considering the kind of R&D that must have gone into this lineup.

 

Been looking towards an upgrade/companion for my 650's and the headband design both from a cosmetic and comfort perspective is giving me pause on the clears. I read enough about hotspots and being quite familiar with the top of my head i don't think these are for me. Some people are using something to cover the headband i think. Might be a solution for me as well.

Maybe the pro version is less prone to this problem cause of the red? idk...

 

I don't consider the Elear or Clear a "comfortable" headphone, but I don't consider it "uncomfortable" either. I have noticed that my new pair of Clear's has just a bit less clamping force than my Elears, and this seems to make a real difference in comfort for me. Sample variation no doubt. I have never tried a mod of the headband. Yes, I think I can tolerate the 650 on my head for longer, except I don't like the sound...