Focal Clear Review (headphone)

[xevman]

That only happens at loud levels. Also consider that a second hand one does not have any warranty and might need new pads.
Aftermarket pads are likely to alter the sound.

There are high quality clones of the factory focal pads that seem to sound very close to the original at least in my experience, design is identical and foam density is very similar.

 

[patoulol]

There are high quality clones of the factory focal pads that seem to sound very close to the original at least in my experience, design is identical and foam density is very similar.

We would have to measure to be certain But I preferred not to buy it even at 500 euros because if my friend wants to EQ the headphones, I'm afraid it will sizzle

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

it complicates things then, Official pads are overpriced

That's putting it mildly, man. :'D
Don't even know where I would get the red ones for my Clear Professional. Mine now look like a "dog that has chanced upon the rain and jumped into every lake he sees" now.

Still, they don't go flat and sound good though. It's just the damn Alcantara that is so super sensitive to washing.
While they look horrible, contrary to my DT880, I cannot hear any difference between the untouched replacement pads and worn pads.

 

[patoulol]

That's putting it mildly, man. :'D
Don't even know where I would get the red ones for my Clear Professional. Mine now look like a "dog that has chanced upon the rain and jumped into every lake he sees" now.

Still, they don't go flat and sound good though. It's just the damn Alcantara that is so super sensitive to washing.
While they look horrible, contrary to my DT880, I cannot hear any difference between the untouched replacement pads and worn pads.

Do you have a picture of your headphones, so that we can see the pads "dog that has chanced upon the rain and jumped into every lake he sees"?

Otherwise, the headphones don't keep your ears too warm after 1 hour of listening?

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

Well of course they want pictures...

Pads are a verifiable mess. :'D

Oh the original cable disintegrated on my 2 years ago. The black insulation just got really brittle and broke / flaked off. o____O
Never had that happen with any cable I owned. I grabbed some El-China Meze knockoffs from Amazon as a replacement. Good thing that ASR's education prevented any cable OCD from ever developing.

All pads get warm when the room is 30°C in the summer, but I always feel leather is worth than cloth in that regard. It does have the advantage of being much easier to clean though. No matter how much I wash my Clear's pads, I can't seem to get rid of all the discoloration. <_<

 

[patoulol]

Well of course they want pictures...

View attachment 454478
Pads are a verifiable mess. :'D

Oh the original cable disintegrated on my 2 years ago. The black insulation just got really brittle and broke / flaked off. o____O
Never had that happen with any cable I owned. I grabbed some El-China Meze knockoffs from Amazon as a replacement. Good thing that ASR's education prevented any cable OCD from ever developing.

All pads get warm when the room is 30°C in the summer, but I always feel leather is worth than cloth in that regard. It does have the advantage of being much easier to clean though. No matter how much I wash my Clear's pads, I can't seem to get rid of all the discoloration. <_<

But at 30 degrees, all the ear pads heat up the ears haha! ah I thought the opposite: more airy in velvet and not airy in leather.


I'm not disappointed with your photo! it's good like your description HEHEHEHE

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

I thought the opposite: more airy in velvet and not airy in leather.

At lower temperatures, yes: I do consider cloth to be more comfy than leather. Especially if you wear the can for 4-8hrs.
I sometimes forget my DT-880 is on my head when no music is playing.

The Clear is rather heavy by comparison. Enough so, that my neck acts up if I wear it for too long. So it's use is limited to critical listening or when I lie down.

Though I usually fall asleep when I do that, so the choice of can doesn't matter too much. :X

Do I regret the purchase? Not really but I would not buy it again. Ever since I got my ADI-2 DAC a few years ago and dialed in the PEQ to my liking, DT-880 and Clear sound remarkably similar. I wouldn't put my hand in a fire for being able to differentiate between the two in a blind test if they are EQ'd to the same target.

 

[patoulol]

At lower temperatures, yes: I do consider cloth to be more comfy than leather. Especially if you wear the can for 4-8hrs.
I sometimes forget my DT-880 is on my head when no music is playing.

The Clear is rather heavy by comparison. Enough so, that my neck acts up if I wear it for too long. So it's use is limited to critical listening or when I lie down.

Though I usually fall asleep when I do that, so the choice of can doesn't matter too much. :X

Do I regret the purchase? Not really but I would not buy it again. Ever since I got my ADI-2 DAC a few years ago and dialed in the PEQ to my liking, DT-880 and Clear sound remarkably similar. I wouldn't put my hand in a fire for being able to differentiate between the two in a blind test if they are EQ'd to the same target.

yet you have the famous Clear V1 (pro) that some compare to the UTOPIA!


But I agree with you, with the equalizer some headphones are difficult to differentiate. I already have blind tests with the same equalizer and the same level, it's very complicated

 

[Tano]

Well of course they want pictures...

View attachment 454478
Pads are a verifiable mess. :'D

Oh the original cable disintegrated on my 2 years ago. The black insulation just got really brittle and broke / flaked off. o____O
Never had that happen with any cable I owned. I grabbed some El-China Meze knockoffs from Amazon as a replacement. Good thing that ASR's education prevented any cable OCD from ever developing.

All pads get warm when the room is 30°C in the summer, but I always feel leather is worth than cloth in that regard. It does have the advantage of being much easier to clean though. No matter how much I wash my Clear's pads, I can't seem to get rid of all the discoloration. <_<

Please take off the pads and check if they are leaking glue on the back side. I had that on the Focal Clear Pro pads and they were in way better shape than those.
I also had it on Utopia pads.
That glue can penetrate and kill the driver if you don't realise.

 

[patoulol]

Please take off the pads and check if they are leaking glue on the back side. I had that on the Focal Clear Pro pads and they were in way better shape than those.
I also had it on Utopia pads.
That glue can penetrate and kill the driver if you don't realise.

Have you compared the two, clear VS utopia? So what do you think?

 

[Robbo99999]

Well of course they want pictures...

View attachment 454478
Pads are a verifiable mess. :'D

Oh the original cable disintegrated on my 2 years ago. The black insulation just got really brittle and broke / flaked off. o____O
Never had that happen with any cable I owned. I grabbed some El-China Meze knockoffs from Amazon as a replacement. Good thing that ASR's education prevented any cable OCD from ever developing.

All pads get warm when the room is 30°C in the summer, but I always feel leather is worth than cloth in that regard. It does have the advantage of being much easier to clean though. No matter how much I wash my Clear's pads, I can't seem to get rid of all the discoloration. <_<

Ha, I'm sure I've said this before, but it's good to see you're keeping the headband warm!

 

[Aerith Gainsborough]

yet you have the famous Clear V1 (pro) that some compare to the UTOPIA!

Don't get me wrong: it's absolutely a great can, if you listen at medium volume.
I enjoyed it a lot more before than my DT-880getting PEQ capabilities.

Judging from the frequency response graphs I saw a few years ago: Utopia has more energy in the high end. I don't think I would enjoy that though some may perceive it as "more air/detail".

Please take off the pads and check if they are leaking glue on the back side.

A tiny bit of leakage but not enough to be of any concern. Thanks for the heads-up. Wasn't aware this could be a problem.

Ha, I'm sure I've said this before, but it's good to see you're keeping the headband warm!

It's wool, knitted by my mom. Love it and the original headband gets to stay in pristine condition. Though next time I'd choose a darker color. The pastel pink looked really cute but it is difficult to keep clean no matter how much I wash my hair.

 

[Tano]

Have you compared the two, clear VS utopia? So what do you think?

I did. Here is my experience. Of course you should take it with a grain of salt.
I really love the OG Clears and wanted to try the Utopia to see if it was an upgrade.
So I got the Utopia and gave them 3 days of serious listening. I liked them a lot except that it was a bit subass light for me, but I was going to make my own EQ, so it wasnt a major concern.

The eye opener experience came when I started some comparisons against my Clears. I happened to have a pair of original Utopia pads that came with a Focal Clear MG that I bought and sold.
So I put the Utopia pads on the OG clears and started A/B ing. I got shocked of how close they were in terms of sound. In fact, I would say that It would be impossible for me to tell which ones is which on a blind test, except for the clamping force, which is a bit looser on the Utopias.

Utopia pads on the Clears make them sound more airy and the subjective stuffs seems to get "better" at least for my ears. But you loose that warmth that a lot of people prefer and the bass also gets leaner.

I also did the inverse and put the Clear pads on the Utopia and It basically turned them into a Clear.

I ran this comparisons for days cause I wanted to be sure that I was not rushing with my verdict. But after all, I realised how important the pads are on these Focals.
I ended up selling the Utopia and kept the OG and, until today, I use them with Utopia pads.

Some people can say that they prefer the Utopia over the Clears, but I doubt that most of them have compared both side by side with the same pads. So my recommendation for people that have the Clears and want to "upgrade" is to buy an Utopia and make the same tests that I did.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tano]

A tiny bit of leakage but not enough to be of any concern. Thanks for the heads-up. Wasn't aware this could be a problem.

No probs. Be really careful and check them every week cause you are really screwed if the goo gets into the driver.
I've seen that some people have stopped the glue leakeage applying some instant glue above the pad goo. That created a layer of hard glue that apparently stopped the leakage. But I havent tried it myself, so I can't say that it solves the problem 100%

 

[rcstevensonaz]

No probs. Be really careful and check them every week cause you are really screwed if the goo gets into the driver.

Could I trouble you for a quick explanation on how to check the pads for glue leakage? I have a Focal Clear Pro, but I am not sure how to do that check you mention since I've never replaced pads on any of my headphones before.

 

[solderdude]

just remove the pads (pull them off, they are on a mounting plate) and check if you see some glue.

 

[patoulol]

how do we determine if it's really clear OG the focal (not MG)? Isn't it written on the box?

 

[patoulol]

Don't get me wrong: it's absolutely a great can, if you listen at medium volume.

how much is "medium volume" What happens at high volume?

 

[Tano]

how do we determine if it's really clear OG the focal (not MG)? Isn't it written on the box?

It says MG in the box, but not OG, cause OG means original and it refers to the first iterations of the clear line up.

It is very easy to know which are the Focal OG cause the outer grill is different from the MG.
Plus the Clear MG is brown/champagne and the Clear OG is grey.

 

[patoulol]

OG ?