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Here is one my speaker killer tracks that sends the Focal Clear into a ditch: Pascal Gaigne - Un espejo en el cielo (From "Kamandú, un espejo en el cielo")
It does this with no EQ and with youtube clip:
Deep bass starts at 2:45 (none before that time) and it easily causes crackles at volume level of -18 dB on RME ADI-2 DAC headphone out (1/4 inch - high gain).
Cool track!
Okay, in an effort to reproduce your result, I tried volume matching to this, but with my HD58X on an Atom, since I don't have a Clear and an RME ADI-2. Here's what I did, please tell me if I did something wrong ...
Specs:
Focal Clear - 55 ohm, 104dB/mW sensitivity
HD58X - 150 ohm, 104dB/1V sensitivity
RME ADI DAC in high gain - 10Vrms output
JDS Labs Atom in high gain - 8.66rms output
Plugging these numbers into https://www.audiobot9000.com/headphones/calculator, I get the following approximate SPL at max volume in high gain:
Clear on RME - 136dB
HD58X on Atom - 122dB
So on full gain on my Atom, the HD58X is 14dB quieter than the Clear on the RME. You stated that you set the RME to -18dBFS, so I applied -4dB digital pre-gain to my signal so that in theory, I'm now level matched with you.
I turned down the volume on the Atom, started listening to the YouTube recording, then slowly started turning up the volume. Max volume on the Atom was frighteningly loud, even on the quiet part at the beginning, so I immediately backed off. For me, an appropriate listening level on this song is with the volume dial a good bit below the halfway point.
Coming at this from another angle, Stats for Nerds on that video shows that it hits YouTube's volume target without needing any adjustment, which I believe is -14dB LUFS. So at -18dBFS on the RME, that suggests you were listening at 104dB perceived loudness (not peaks), which is very very loud.
Am I understanding this correctly, or did I miss something? Can anyone who happens to have a Clear and an RME ADI2 DAC try to reproduce and see what you get?