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I just ordered some headphones Amir hated. The Focal Clears.

Sammael

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I went to canjam this weekend in southern California, my goal was to replace my ~10 year old AKG Q701 headphones



My target was headphones around a thousand or less, so I did not get crazy on listening sprees with the 4k headphones that were all over the place. I tried the Audeze LCD X and the Focal Clears, and I liked both but the latter drew me in. The ones that apparently Amir thought were not worth a damn !!!!!!!!!!




But I have to report, they sounded great to me, and a worthy upgrade to my current falling apart headphones.
 

Blumlein 88

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Actually he didn't hate them. He seemed to say they weren't bad. However, they were easily clipped which is why he couldn't recommend them. If you listened and didn't have clipping issues then for you they'll be a solid choice.
 
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Blumlein 88

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Does "hated" have a different meaning where you live?...
Maybe he is looking to the future when Amir abandons the panther ratings and goes all Netflix on us.
You get thumbs up (I loved it) 1632895955649.png

Or thumbs down (I hated it).
1632895902666.png
 

VintageFlanker

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You get thumbs up (I loved it) 1632895955649.png

Or thumbs down (I hated it).
1632895902666.png
Does not differ that much from the regular Hi-Fi press: products are either rated 5 stars ("exceptional for the price") or 2 ("not that great, kind of disappointing").

@JSmith : As far as I get it: he didn't purchase any headphones, just had a listen at Camjam.
 
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Sammael

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Does "hated" have a different meaning where you live?...
Hate may have been too exaggerated a term, although a double negative on a recommendation based on that listing of headphones puts these at the bottom of the recommendation list, and had I not heard them I would have expected something pretty rough.
As noted, I did not hate them at all. And thought out of box tonality was good. It just lacks some bass.

What I'm using now has so little bass that the clears were still a massive improvement to me.

When they arrive, I will try out an ancient song from my youth of the utmost class and refinement, to verify what I heard by comparison.

 

Vict0r

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I used to own an AKG K701. Not quite sure how that one compares to the newer Q701, but I think they share the same sound signature. I bought and tried a bunch of headphones (Grado SR225i, Beyerdynamic DT880/DT770/DT990, Sennheisher HD580/HD590/HD650, Audeze LCD-2, god knows how many more...) and ended up with a Sennheiser HD600.
 

Luke Lemke

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As far as I remember, what Amir didn't like about the Focal Clear was the "clipping" at higher volumes. I've mentioned in other forums that I've never heard this clipping with my clears. However, some days ago I was listening to Hans Zimmer (Interstellar soundtrack) with the volume way up and when the bass hit, there it was. The clipping! I must admit I was a little drunk and the volume was at "hearing loss" levels. I decided then to test my Focal Clear MG to check if the clipping was there as well. I can confirm the "clipping" issue is also present at the focal clear MG. I don't think this should keep anyone from getting the clears though as the clipping only happens at very high volumes, specially when you add bass using EQ.
 

Luke Lemke

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As noted, I did not hate them at all. And thought out of box tonality was good. It just lacks some bass.
Hi Amir, I think you would like the Focal Clear MG. Tonality is similar to the original Focal Clear but with more bass. Hopefully you will test them some day. Cheers!
 
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