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Focal Clear Review (headphone)

Adam Bernau

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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?
Canť wait! It is very disapointing to see how badly are those Focals engineered.. I am hearing only superlatives recently about Superlux headphones, are they also in the bunch? The HD668B and HD681 Evo are praised almost like miracle for the price. If they are not in the group, perhaps somebody from US could buy them and offer them to you for testing. I would gladly do that, but i am in Europe :)
https://bit.ly/2KHclKu
https://amzn.to/34uewIz
 

pkane

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I think it's pretty normal, considering the dummy ear transfer a minute difference in the headphone driver to the simulated ear will have big effect on those, it's a complicated thing, back when I was only using HPs and basically followed Tyll's blog it seems to me that his way of doing 5 measurements and averaging that makes a much better senses of driver consistency.

I've been measuring headphones directly on my head. It makes a difference in how they are positioned, and a very slight movement, difference in pressure or lack of pressure, can change the frequency response. So, I agree, taking a single measurement and smoothing it, and then assuming it's representative of the real response is likely less accurate than using an average over multiple positions.

I usually take 5-10 measurements, repositioning the headphones each time, but each time trying to fit it the best I can, but not trying to repeat exactly the previous position. It's easier to do on my own ear, as I can feel the fit and the pressure, and can decide if this is a reasonably comfortable and a position that I might actually use to listen. The results are more consistent this way. An average seems to be a better representation, despite its smoothing characteristics. To my mind, variations due to position of the headphone should be averaged out by taking multiple measurements.
 

rodtor

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Thanks again, @amirm, for another informative review. I particularly like the way you addressed the question of before- and after-EQ distortion measurements, an issue that was addressed by readers of your earlier reviews.

@solderdude raises an interesting point in entry #33 about how much we should rely on information about this from sine wave tests. I wonder, on the other hand, if this might not in fact be a reasonable measure, a kind of 'torture test', that one could put all headphones through. If most make it, and only a few don't, then perhaps that tells us something interesting about what their potential limitations might be.

On another note, the Philips Fidelio X2HR have received a very high score on Rtings, and also good FR rating from Oratory1990, and are comparatively inexpensive. I think they would be a great candidate for reviewing, if that's possible.
 

Frank Dernie

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A good fitting iem is a rarity. Even with tip rolling. I too have slightly different fit in each ear. It's a pain. But I couldn't wear over ear when walking, so I persist with iem.
I had in ear moulded monitors supplied for work. When the guy took a mould of my ear canal I asked him to make a second set for my Etymotic ER4S. It makes a big difference to comfort but I still get a big buildup of eat wax.
I only suspected it was wearing IEMs which caused my problem but it was only confirmed when i retired and wore them much less. Now nature can cope with the magnitude of wax my ears generate. It could not when wearing IEMs more often, (about 8 to 10 hours every second weekend).
 
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lashto

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A good fitting iem is a rarity. Even with tip rolling. I too have slightly different fit in each ear. It's a pain. But I couldn't wear over ear when walking, so I persist with iem.
I would recommend https://www.westone.com/store, particularly the UM series. You can try/buy from amazon.
By far the most comfy non-customs in my experience. And I tried hundreds (canjam/audioshows)
 
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imagidominc

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I own the Elex so I was looking forward to this review. Needless to say, the clipping is what overtook the review, no surprise.
I have got my Elex to clip on several occasions, so while it is a great sounding headphone, it still has this major design flaw.
If you go to other audio forums, you'll see them discussing this, with many saying Focal claims it to be a feature, not a flaw.

All I know is Focal Elex or clear would have been my last headphone if not for this issue. Now I'm sitting here typing this with my HD800 (Roon EQ) listening to Type O Negative and couldn't be happier :). Never going to sell my Elex though, it's great. Just not great enough to fill all my needs.
 

Daaadou

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A good fitting iem is a rarity. Even with tip rolling. I too have slightly different fit in each ear. It's a pain. But I couldn't wear over ear when walking, so I persist with iem.
I've never find one that will stay inside my ear while I'm walking at a fast pace, ie my usual pace.
Since I do not like to wear over ear outside (dangerous with the traffic), I enjoy the sound of the city from now on :D
My headphones major use over the years is for transportation, Bose QC35, because I take lots of planes and trains for work and it helps a lot, you get less tired with NC devices, quite amazing.
And now, I want a HiFi set of headphones for when my wife is asleep and also on vacation because I miss my listening session so much when I leave my Galion VII loudspeakers for so long...
That's why I will see if I get happy with these Focal Clear Pro when they come in next week...
 
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nhatlam96

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What is the perfect amp output impedance for the Clear? How do you calculate this?
 

HDavidson

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Are you sure about that typo. It makes zero sense to apply a high Q filter (eg 3.6) to a frequency as high as 19870Hz, because there is zero chance of that correlating to you wearing your headphones....it's unpredictable in specific frequency terms above 10kHz, but broad shelf or wide Q equalisations are sensible above 10kHz. I just inputted 19870Hz Q0.36 into Equaliser APO just now and it provides a broad cut with noticeable affects creeping in from 7kHz onwards.

I'm sure. Applying Q = 0.36 the entire high frequency zone will go down and will not correspond to the oratory1990 filter schedule.
This is what a correction looks like with Q = 3.6

And turned off 12638 Hz.
 

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nhatlam96

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At what songs do you experience clipping? I cant make it clip so far, even with amir eq
 

Daaadou

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At what songs do you experience clipping? I cant make it clip so far, even with amir eq
On other forum, they were using songs filled with sub bass to discriminate this clipping issue, I don't remember which one but I think massive attack best of should do the trick :eek:
How do you use them? Meaning, what is your source and your amp?
 

Jimbob54

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I've never find one that will stay inside my ear while I'm walking at a fast pace, ie my usual pace.
Since I do not like to wear over ear outside (dangerous with the traffic), I enjoy the sound of the city from now on :D
My headphones major use over the years is for transportation, Bose QC35, because I take lots of planes and trains for work and it helps a lot, you get less tired with NC devices, quite amazing.
And now, I want a HiFi set of headphones for when my wife is asleep and also on vacation because I miss my listening session so much when I leave my Galion VII loudspeakers for so long...
That's why I will see if I get happy with these Focal Clear Pro when they come in next week...

They aren't the comfiest, but to my ears they are great . Separate instruments and reproduce them very well. Personally not experienced the crackles and pops from clipping but YMMV.
 
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imagidominc

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I would even dare to say that one should listen to headphones that one wants to buy first before trusting reviews and measurements.
Obviously the interest was peaked before as he was contemplating buying them.
The only downsides for Focal (and the reason I never bought one) are the hard clipping at extreme bass levels, warranty issues and absurd pricing for pads. Sound quality/distortion certainly are no reasons for not buying these... in fact sound quality and distortion levels are the main reason to buy them. Upper treble can be a bit 'steely'.
I agree with solderdude here. Sound quality in the Focal line is AMAZING but these are all real problems to consider. Btw solderdude, you're the one that convinced me to go with an HD800, thank you for that!
 

Newk Yuler

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Just curious: which of the measured results convinced you to forego these headphones?

The easily interpreted deviation from preferred frequency response graph is wonky enough to justify a facepalm. I'm wondering if this sort of thing is going to be typical of headphone profiles based on the measurements in Amir's headphone tests so far.

I have Hifiman Arya that's used much less than my speakers. I wanted dynamic headphones of similar cost-value to contrast the planars and the Clear looked right from a manufacturer with an established, well deserved iconic reputation for hifi sound. I don't have a source to compare headphones except the local audio show in Tampa that got cancelled for 2021 because of Covid 19. Anything I've decide to acquire in the last year or so is based on good reviews and mostly ASR profiles (when available) because ASR has repeatedly proven itself as a confidence worthy resource. My current DAC, pre/headamp, and power amps are high value nearly reference quality SOTA components that were heavily influenced by Amir's profiles and I'm completely satisfied with all of them. So...

In the era of ASR's influence I'm not going to invest in anything that needs significant EQ to perform properly. I realize it seems everything that reproduces hifi sound needs a bit of EQ or DSP to actually perform as it should, but I'm old school in a way that believes expensive modern audio equipment should be very close to neutral without having to tweak it.
 

Daaadou

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They aren't the comfiest, but to my ears they great . Separate instruments and reproduce very well. Personally not experienced the crackles and pops from clipping but YMMV.
I auditioned a pair at a specialized store here in Paris last week before I ordered some from the internet (things are cheap in Germany these days, wondering why... )
Frankly, I've tried at a "realistic" volume on very bassy tracks and on very bright sensitive tracks, I haven't experienced these cracks or pops either and they were not making me wince like other HPs. Plus the voices were pretty damn good. I definitely prefered them over the HD800S but that's my very personal opinion.
 

Daaadou

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The easily interpreted deviation from preferred frequency response graph is wonky enough to justify a facepalm. I'm wondering if this sort of thing is going to be typical of headphone profiles based on the measurements in Amir's headphone tests so far.

I have Hifiman Arya that's used much less than my speakers. I wanted dynamic headphones of similar cost-value to contrast the planars and the Clear looked right from a manufacturer with an established, well deserved iconic reputation for hifi sound. I don't have a source to compare headphones except the local audio show in Tampa that got cancelled for 2021 because of Covid 19. Anything I've decide to acquire in the last year or so is based on good reviews and mostly ASR profiles (when available) because ASR has repeatedly proven itself as a confidence worthy resource. My current DAC, pre/headamp, and power amps are high value nearly reference quality SOTA components that were heavily influenced by Amir's profiles and I'm completely satisfied with all of them. So...

In the era of ASR's influence I'm not going to invest in anything that needs significant EQ to perform properly. I realize it seems everything that reproduces hifi sound needs a bit of EQ or DSP to actually perform as it should, but I'm old school in a way that believes expensive modern audio equipment should be very close to neutral without having to tweak it.
Same here, ASR has driven couple of investment I made in HiFi gear as well and is trustworthy.
I search for some HP following the same logic you have : no EQ if possible. I have done the same with my speakers, always enhancing their position and the characteristics of the room, ie putting some carpets and curtains for example instead of using DSP
Through reviews at crinacle and diy audio heaven, I thought these Focal Clear shall be great candidate. I admit I'm surprised and will see for myself when I receive my set in a few days. Getting anxious :D
 
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antdroid

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The Focal drivers will clip at high volume.... and for me, much higher than I ever would want to listen to and definitely well below 114db SPL. While I understand there may be some standardization of using such a high SPL value to test with, does anyone actually realistically listen to levels this high?

My normal listening volume is around 70dB SPL at 1KHz or so, which is 44db below the tested value... which is something like 10000X more sound intensity, or something like 16X more perceived volume change.

If you are comparing everything to the Harman Preference Target, you're not going to find many headphones that will match it. Most open backs can't even get to the bass levels that the harman target has for a subbass shelf, and most roll-off. The only one I can even think of is the Fostex TH909 which is semi-open. Closed backs are more likely to hit the target but they also distort more. It's a lose-lose in some ways.

I personally think the harman bass shelf for OE is too boosted and the upper-mid range and treble too bright myself -- and thinks everyone should really just listen to the headphone in addition to looking at these test results because they may not actually follow your preferences or your listening environment.
 
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Jimbob54

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I love my Clears. Now I know how people over at SBAF feel when Amir’s measurements show Schiit gear to be flawed.

To make it even worse, I EQ’d my clears and they sound even better. :)
I feel your pain.
 

sacguy231

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I sold my Clears last year due to the driver clipping issue. I usually listen at lower levels so it rarley cropped up, usually only on really bass-heavy passages. But, just knowing that it was even capable of this was a deal breaker because I had a hard time accepting this "design feature" in a headphone at this price. They did sound nice though, so it's a shame they had such an issue. I did get pair of Elegias some months ago and can report that my Elegia exhibit no such clipping even at insane volumes (for test purposes, not for listening - gotta protect your ears!).
 
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