-
WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Focal Clear Professional Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
mr.at
Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2019
- Messages
- 99
- Likes
- 120
Isn't the tilt supposed to be better though?
The sound from angled drivers is perceived more forward in the zone of the recession. For a better explanation @solderdude is the man
solderdude
Grand Contributor
It is called pinna gain and varies between individuals (pinna shape) and is driver diameter, angle and distance dependent.
As there is a slight 'boost' in the 1-2kHz range the Focals (the older ones at least) sounds very 'dynamic' and open.
This slight elevation, however, is just below of the frequency range where pinna gain starts to matter (for headphones).
Not everyone prefers metal domes though and find some Focals have an unnatural 'metallic' ring to cymbals etc.
A bit more than some other headphones. Some prefer that some don't.
Anyway Bow_Wazoo seems to like that.
As there is a slight 'boost' in the 1-2kHz range the Focals (the older ones at least) sounds very 'dynamic' and open.
This slight elevation, however, is just below of the frequency range where pinna gain starts to matter (for headphones).
Not everyone prefers metal domes though and find some Focals have an unnatural 'metallic' ring to cymbals etc.
A bit more than some other headphones. Some prefer that some don't.
Anyway Bow_Wazoo seems to like that.
Last edited:
I'm referring to the hd560s findings where you fill the measured recession in the 4.5 khz region because it's not perceived like that. As you know I always found your discoveries to be agreeable. Do you think that the focal clear also have the same properties?
Attachments
solderdude
Grand Contributor
That depends on driver angle and distance as well as modal behavior of the driver.
Amir's fixture already 'incorporates' that according to a standard (the GRAS + Pinna) + Harman correction.
My fixture does not have a pinna so draw in what I make of it (using nearfield speaker reference).
My Clear measurement show -5dB in the pinna gain band opposite 400Hz.
This is mostly due to the driver angle.
Where Amirs measurement (who uses a different target) shows much less drop between 2.5kHz and 6kHz because of the artificial pinna.
This is the main reason why measuring with a pinna results in more 'human like' frequency response plots between 100Hz and 6kHz.
Above 6kHz the uncertainty (possible measurement error) increases and above 8kHz all bets are off due to the artificial pinna which adheres to a standard (which is based on measuring many ears and deciding on an 'average') but may be quite different on someones head.
And with quite different I mean deviations of up to 10dB or so.
In both my and Amirs case the fixture is always the same so comparing measurements between headphones is pretty accurate. A fixture with pinna, however, is more accurate from lows to 6kHz where my fixture measures the driver response above 6kHz more 'accurately' as there is no pinna/ear canal influence.
This is the main reason why pinna-less flatbed fixtures are great for quality control of drivers, just less good in the pinna-gain band, which is not important for quality control.
So every upside has a downside.
For that reason I always recommend to look for measurements made by Amir or Oratory and measurements such as mine so one can form a more informed opinion about the headphone and its sound quality.
Each fixture/method has its limitations and strong points.
Amir's fixture already 'incorporates' that according to a standard (the GRAS + Pinna) + Harman correction.
My fixture does not have a pinna so draw in what I make of it (using nearfield speaker reference).
My Clear measurement show -5dB in the pinna gain band opposite 400Hz.
This is mostly due to the driver angle.
Where Amirs measurement (who uses a different target) shows much less drop between 2.5kHz and 6kHz because of the artificial pinna.
This is the main reason why measuring with a pinna results in more 'human like' frequency response plots between 100Hz and 6kHz.
Above 6kHz the uncertainty (possible measurement error) increases and above 8kHz all bets are off due to the artificial pinna which adheres to a standard (which is based on measuring many ears and deciding on an 'average') but may be quite different on someones head.
And with quite different I mean deviations of up to 10dB or so.
In both my and Amirs case the fixture is always the same so comparing measurements between headphones is pretty accurate. A fixture with pinna, however, is more accurate from lows to 6kHz where my fixture measures the driver response above 6kHz more 'accurately' as there is no pinna/ear canal influence.
This is the main reason why pinna-less flatbed fixtures are great for quality control of drivers, just less good in the pinna-gain band, which is not important for quality control.
So every upside has a downside.
For that reason I always recommend to look for measurements made by Amir or Oratory and measurements such as mine so one can form a more informed opinion about the headphone and its sound quality.
Each fixture/method has its limitations and strong points.
MacCali
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2020
- Messages
- 1,139
- Likes
- 548
Thanks for bringing this to our attention I see what Solder is saying as well.
I mean the only problem we have here is a headphone that only works well with 50% of the people. At that price is not very feasible.
I’ll tell you I whole heartedly love the og clears, I don’t care what they measure. But I’ve tried time and time again to listen to these and it doesn’t match the OGs in any sense and this is all purely subjective.
To this day I’ve wanted to buy the og clears, but honestly my interest in headphones has almost vanished and I should probably sell what I got but I don’t want to
solderdude
Grand Contributor
They sound very good and measure well. Price and driver quality always kept me from buying one though.
MacCali
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2020
- Messages
- 1,139
- Likes
- 548
Not too far off and I know they probably don’t have equal measurements. But the 109 pro does give those og vibes. The presentation is fairly similar or the traits. Whatever the proper terms maybe.
Mine will be delivered tomorrow. I felt in love with their sound in a shop in Athens but there was no stock and I ordered a pair from Supersonido in Barcelona. I payed 900 euro and I hope my impression will be confirmed over time. I cannot wait
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Version 2 or the original clear ?
The newer version doesn't have the clarity (sounds less clear) than the original one.
The newer version doesn't have the clarity (sounds less clear) than the original one.
Original. I was serching a direct hd600 upgrade
I have the Clear OG and HD600. Not a direct upgrade at all. The Clears have some peaky highs that are completely absent on the HD600's. I find them fatiguing after a couple of hours.
After the first two minutes of panic I can say that these are the best for my taste. The smoothness of the mids, and the metallic flavour of the highs, with the wonderful, agile and extended bass are qualities that I love. After 170 models owned and all the rest tried, i can say that the search is over. I hate the harman curve, because the bass is too much and the mids are shouty and too much upfront. I like the 1khz to be pronounced, like the airpods pro 2, and a little hole in the 2 khz region makes the mids a little more smooth with the illusion of space. Wow. The peaks in the highs make the metallic sound a little... metallic. A crash in real life must sound aggressive, and with my listenig level the added shimmer is welcome. My reference is the hd600, but the new flavour is a more joyful and musical experience
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2020
- Messages
- 6,903
- Likes
- 16,917
My unfortunately very short experience with the original Clears was very similar (I also own the HD600), really liked their tuning with a little peak around 1,x kHz which reminds me of many STAX models and them not having the Harman target bass bost.
Why short?
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2020
- Messages
- 6,903
- Likes
- 16,917
Simply as they weren't mine, I nowadays listen so rarely to music by headphones (as I prefer reproduction via loudspeakers) that such an investment doesn't make sense to me. If the time percentage would change though I would be tempted to buy them.
equalizing these masterpieces to that horrible mess of frequencies called "harman curve" is a crime. the Clear is a refined piece of gear that allows the listener to enjoy music in a very unique way, made of never forced details, agile bass, upfront yet cohesive mids, capable of incredible transients, but with a quality that remains liquid and grainless. How is it reasonable asking to them to play bassy music at 104 db? I listen music at 77 db with rare, short moments of 85 db. Real voices must be twangy and penetrant, metallic sounds must be rendered properly: have you listened to a crash from a drumkit? The soundstage is not the largest, but it's incredibly deep and layered. Please make a real life test; destroying one of the best headphone ever let them clip doesn't make them worse than a planar that doesn't distort at 104 db but lacks the wonderful dynamics and impact the French pair have.
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2021
- Messages
- 2,409
- Likes
- 4,165
I just had a deja vu.
Focal Clear Review (headphone)
I bought a bunch of under $99 headphones a few months back. I will start testing them once I get through the loaner ones that have been waiting. don't have that Phillips though. Does it have a good reputation? Dear Amir, if you got this message, please consider doing measurement for the...
audiosciencereview.com
Similar threads
