Focal Clear Mg Measurements, Analysis, Review

*Realized I never posted my impressions from the loaner awhile ago. I'm very behind on these; had a period of time where I was very burnt out and needed time off. Also, work hours were absolute hell for a while (think 50-60 hours).

Introduction

As customary for my impressions, I'm not going to waste your time and will state my conclusion off the bat: the Clear MG is the OG Clear run through an EQ and with a new color scheme. That's seriously it; if you have listened to the OG Clear, the frequency response graphs for the Clear MG tells you all you need to know. Whether or not this fits your tastes better than OG is something you'll have to determine yourself.

Sonics

I'll keep this brief since the characteristics of the various older Focal headphones (and the Focal house sound in general) is very well-documented. I personally do not like the new voicing for the Clear MG and prefer the OG, which again is the only difference I could ascertain. Something about the OG Clear was very appealing to me about its sound; it simply didn't really do much wrong. I definitely think the Clear MG simply just added a sin of commission for no real reason, although it is worth noting that I did not feel the difference in tonality to be particularly large; just large enough to notice immediately to anyone even somewhat familiar with the OG Clear.

That being said, I definitely heard some extra energy in the upper treble would could add some nice sparkle to some songs (and kind of makes it sound a bit more macrodetailed at times). It just wasn't for me. If I want Audeze tonality, I'll get an Audeze. And on a personal note, I just think ZMF does that kind of sound better with the caveat of dealing with the ZMF-ness that some people just hate (for good reason really).

Notes on Synergy

Those who have read my posts know I usually go in-depth with the amps I have on-hand to try to help triangulate, but with the Clear MG I don't feel this is necessary. The Clear OG has been around long enough to where people know what works and what doesn't, and the Clear MG, while voiced differently is basically still the same headphone. The only caveat I'd attach is that with the Clear MG, I absolutely do not recommend anything in the chain that would be rolled-off on the top; you'd be negating the extra energy on the treble in the Clear MG and then end up with warmpoo.

The other thing to keep in mind is that I also would NOT recommend any amp that has high output Z. The Feliks Euforia, while actually quite nice with the OG Clear, was not so nice with the Clear MG.

Conclusion

I personally am quite sad about the direction of the tonality that Focal has taken the Clear MG. That being said, I understand why they changed it the way they did since that tonality probably sells more units. But for those who thought that Focal is a bit too dry and wished for something a bit more warm, I think the Clear MG might actually work pretty well.