Focal Clear

I did some back and forth today with the Clear's and my unmodded MD HD6XX using vocal tracks I am well acquainted with (K.D. Lang, Sarah McLachlan, James Taylor, Mark Knopfler, etc.). I detect a very slight difference to the Senns, but to my ears it is mostly a tonal difference (the Clears are "darker" in the mids...if I can put it that way), with (small) advantage to the Senns going to the females, and the Clears for males. Listening to Anat Cohen's clarinet also has me very slightly preferring the Clears (in the mids), and the difference not being "unnatural" or missing/inferior texture/timbre.

Now, when comparing these two cans to my ZMF Eikon, I would readily talk about texture, timbre, and plankton difference (the ZMF cans being a couple of notches below either the Senns or Focals in the mids)


So I remain perplexed at these reports of significant plankton and timbre differences in the vocal/midrange. My chain is Gungnir MB A2 > EC BW2 (mostly) and Jot (just to crosscheck). Of course, my 50 old ears may be betraying me...

 

Yeah, the joke i was trying to make is if you're seeking the knowledge mapping of interdisciplinary study in the hopes of "integrated knowledge" you're probably not best served by stupid internet forums. SBAF is not the coursework for PhD in how to listen to music thru headphones. SBAF is probably closer to Walkabout.

 

I'm not a hifi expert, so I ask questions of others to learn new things.

 

Start by using Google for the simple questions which have been answered many times before across the internet.

It is much more polite so you don't clutter threads with rubbish. Try to contribute something interesting to others, even if it's just humour, instead of just trying to satisfy yourself.

Edited for typo.

 

Thanks for your thoughts ChaChaRealSmooth. This statement especially resonates because I suspect it is "the" issue so to speak. Still, the effort to "cut through" the very different presentations and get at something specific like the real difference in resolution/microdetail/plankton between any two headphones/products is worth it I think.

I was listening to a new recording of Dvorak's 8th last night through the Eikon and boy, did it sound "mid fi" - the definition between the strings was almost completely lost, and even the difference between woodwinds/strings was hard to grasp. I switched to the Clears and everything came back into focus and Dvorak was once again "musical".

Soon after, I changed genres completely and I streamed to Paul Simon's "Rhythm of the Saints", an album I remember liking but I don't think I have heard in 15 years or more. Through the Clears it was bright with treble peaks that hurt the ears, and had a grain and a late 80's digital timbre that was not musical at all. Switching to the Eikon, the timbre (especially Paul's voice, or the occasional brass) "filled in", warmed up, and perhaps even "resolved" better. It sounded much better (though still evident that the recording itself is what it is).

Still, I want to cling to the idea that there is a real and neutral (or dare I use the word, "objective") difference between the Eikon and Clear in resolution/plankton. Perhaps not - perhaps their overall presentations are so different that even this is "it depends" on fill_in_the_blank...

 

Here's something to try for anyone using front damping and finds they're missing a bit of air and detail. These foam face masks are really popular in Asia now (though people are using them to filter urban pollution when they're actually designed for pollen - you can see the holes when you hold them up to the light ferchrissakes!). When I discovered the thin layer of tissue sandwiched under HD650 foam was buzzing at low frequencies, I needed a new solution. This foam is thinner but quite a lot denser than the Senn foam. Here's the process I went through to get the same sound as Senn foam + thin tissue I was using before.

• HD650 foam w/o flappy tissue: still a bit too bright/forward compared to stock
  
• added layer of heavier non-flappy tissue: too veiled
• face mask foam alone: better, but still too veiled
• HD650 foam w/ small disc of face mask foam: better, but still too veiled

Finally, I tried "the coin mod", cutting a hole to expose the central honeycomb part of the grill. This reduced the brightness/forwardness to my preferences and kept the upper treble and air at stock levels (10 cent HKD coin used as a template).

YVMM, yadda yadda.

 

This is very insightful, a near perfect comparison. It extends to the Utopia as well.

 

Shortest audition of the day, a track was already playing with some crowd clapping, it was so piercing I took it off at once. I'll never get what you guy see in this exaggerated HiFi type of sound. Doesn't sound natural at all.

 

I'm honestly impressed by all the... impressions. Good stuff, much appreciated! Just dropping in to ask what you mean by "exaggerated hi-fi sound" in this context. I've not gotten proper ears on the Clears yet due to a lack of interest on my part, but I've got something of a clue what you mean— would still be great to hear back though.

 

HiFi sound for me is increased treble response to appear as detailed or increased detail than what's on the recording itself with emphasis on a punchy low end. Fun, V-shaped and in this case unatural sounding, weird metallic. Great for the compressed modern stuff where no one cares about microdetail or tone anyway but I'd never touch it for audiophile listening.

 

I hear you and I've definitely heard what you're referring to. I listen to a lot of bootleg recordings, many of which are of shockingly-great quality, but things like a loud clapper or screamer near the taper can be absolutely brutal through the Clears. There are also a number of recordings I have that have obnoxious popping through the Clears that is completely absent through my HD6XXs. It's incredible how much more detail these headphones are able to extract and in the case of bootlegs: it can be a bit much.

Professionally recorded and mixed live recordings sound phenomenal but I'm going to have to hold onto the HD6XXs simply to be able to continue enjoying my bootleg collection.

For the rest of the music I listen to (generally all metal/hardcore), the Clears are incredible. The separation of layers and insane amount of detail presented is simply breathtaking. Switching from the Jotunheim to Ragnarok made a huge impact as well. The slight reduction in treble presence combined with increased plankton has blown me away. The Clears aren't perfect, but they're perfect for me. Detail retrieval and layer separation is so important to me and the Clears do not disappoint in that regard.

 

I'm of course a bit biased being a huge fan but "Underneath It All" by NIN is so cool in the Clears. I highly recommend listening to it if for no reason than to experience a perfect example of how detailed these headphones are. It's a percussion-heavy song with a choppy loop that constantly builds on itself. Before having anything more than $25 Sony workout headphones, I knew there was a lot going on in this song but it's unreal how much is hidden in there.

I'm so, so glad I bought these headphones.

 

You could have edited your last post to add this bit

That aside, they're certainly on the demo list, but I'm pretty happy with my cans save for their being a tad too treble-forward for even my low/moderate-SPL, Beyer-and-Grado-safe ears. Measurements give me the impression the Klipsch just edges the Clears out in treble sharpness, but the Focals don't have the phat bass to carry the rest of the sound (personal preference, I'm well aware this is exactly the kind of v-shaped, non-audiophile tuning m1x was disparaging earlier, lol). When you're not chasing "reference audiophile" sound this just becomes a game of finding what suits you best— some will like the same things you do, others will consider it anathema.

Butting out of thread now, pardon.

 

If anyone still finds the headband is giving them a hotspot on the top of their head and is also using the knitted tea cozy headband cover, you can cut thin wedges of soft foam and stick them in before you button it up. Trim the foam to the shape of your unique cone head and get rid of that hotspot once and for all.

 

Just got Clears in today to audition against the LCD-2F..... the increased detail retrieval through the mid and high frequencies is immediately apparent, along with the sound being overall more engaging. However, I'm finding that I really miss the better bass extension and wider soundstage from the LCD-2's. I also find the pads on the LCD-2 to be more comfortable despite being significantly heavier.

Do the Clears benefit significantly from burn-in? I was figuring this comparison would be an open-and-shut case in favor of the Focals but so far I'm leaning in favor of the LCD-2 from an enjoyment perspective.


FWIW, Signal Path: Tidal (FLAC) --> Roon --> RME ADI-2 --> Headphone

EDIT:

Thanks for this recommendation....it would definitely make most cans crumble. Head Like a Hole from the 2010 PHM remaster sounds amazing too

 

Search within thread for "burn" and all will be revealed.
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/focal-clear.5412/page-28#post-264833

 

Could another Clear owner do me a favor and listen to Enter Shikari - "The Appeal & The Mindsweep I" and report back about the bass drop that starts at 1:55 and ends at 1:58? Does it sound right/okay/normal or does it sound kind of...farty (for lack of a better term)? My in-laws were here about a month ago and my father-in-law going deaf so when I showed him my setup and had him choose songs and control the volume, I think he might've really cranked it. For the most part, the headphones still sound great but at even moderate volume levels, extreme sub-bass like the aforementioned part of the song distort and the drivers get all angry.

I just received a pair of Audeze LCD-X about an hour ago and have been auditioning them, including that song. They rendered it PERFECTLY, better than any other time I've heard the song so I'm a bit worried that my Clears have been damaged. :-/

 

All Focal headphones exceed mechanical travel and produce a rattling, farting sound when driven loud enough with bassy enough content. It's a design flaw and I haven't heard a single pair of Focal headphones that doesn't have that issue, though its worse (starting at lower SPL) on some than others.

 

What @E_Schaaf said. When listening to sub-bass test tracks I get rattle-y and buzzy sounds when cranking well past my normal listening levels. Very rarely hear anything during normal listening sessions as I tend to listen at low to moderate volume.

Do you have any front damping mods in place? I recently discovered that the TP I was using was flapping in response to heavy sub-bass content.

This is the track, right? I'll give it a go later when I get home.