Focal call it āChestnutā.
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Yeah I mean, itās definitely brown. As another commenter said, normally Iām not big into this color scheme but it definitely āworks.ā
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Very, VERY initial impressions (20min):
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Gorgeous.
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Very comfortable. I had the Elegia before and you would think that theyād be the same level of comfort but I donāt remember them being this comfortable. I will have to go through several 4-6 hour listening sessions with them on to make a judgement but initial comfort is very nice.
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Even with a relatively budget source (SDAC ā Liquid Carbon X), the change in detail and sound signature is VERY interesting and enjoyable. I am very sensitive to harsh treble, so I have outright avoided ābrightā headphones. These are interesting to me because they are noticeably brighter than my other headphones (HP-3, 6XX, TYGR 300, Meze 99) and so I instantly hear more detail, but itās done so well that I donāt hear fatigue (at least not yet). Excited to hear them on better source DAC and amp (Bifrost2 + Jot2 coming).
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One of my favorite tracks to listen to is Seven Lions - Worlds Apart with Kerli - YouTube - the detail is really coming out of these.
Okay, Iāll hold off on any additional thoughts until I can listen to these for several days and give a more honest opinion, but suffice to say Iām EXCITED for these! Did I mention how good they look?
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Seeing as I just got through placing my order for said brown headphones and will be running them off a Modius+Jot2, that is exactly what I will be doing. And I can assure you that joke is entirely appropriate and necessary. 
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Lol. Thanks for the support!
And enjoy your Schitt-brown signal chain!
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I hope to! This is my first real foray into this never-ending black hole of audio. Before I got my Schiit stack last month I just had my 6XX plugged straight into my computer and didnāt know any better. Now I canāt wait to see what kind of difference I get going from the 6XX to the Clear Mg.
Silly question, is there a difference between the Clear MG and Clear MG Pro aside from color, cable and extra pads?
There does not appear to be any sonic differences between them. Same new MG drivers.
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Wow. What a glowing review of the MG, even above and beyond the original Clear. Thanks for sharing.
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That was an excellent review. Itās also nice to see Judeās impressions aligned with our own.
Itās a great headphone.
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Received my Clear Mg today, despite only ordering them yesterday afternoon. That was an extremely pleasant surprise, and even though Iāve never done anything like this before I thought Iād give my initial impressions before plugging them up and listening to them:
The unboxing was exactly what Iād been led to believe it would be. Quality. From the box everything comes in, to the carrying case for the headphones, to the box that the cables are kept in, no part of it was a disappointment. Speaking of the cables, this is one area where people are going to complain. For those that didnāt already know, the Clear Mg comes with two cables, a balanced XLR and a 3.5mm with a 1/4" screw-on adapter. Material wise, they seem like perfectly fine cables, but the 3.5mm cable is at least a foot too short. Sitting here at my computer, it is just long enough to reach my Jot2 which sits just to the side of my monitor.
Enough of that though, onto the headphones themselves:
Visually, now that I have them in hand and can see them in person, I like them much more than I thought I would from the pictures and video Iāve seen. I flipped through the filters on my phoneās camera to find the one that most closely matched what I see, and thatās as close as I could get. While thereās no mistaking the brown of the padding, or the almost khaki color of the headband, the metal of the yoke and ring of the cups is more of a dark gold color to my eyes. Do I still prefer the black and red of the Mg Pro? A little, yes, but itās gone from a lot to only a little, and thatās only due to my inherent preference for matte black on everything. These are lovely headphones.
Comfort wise, Iām undecided yet. They are decidedly heavier than my 6XXs, and I canāt quite make my mind up if I should have them completely retracted or opened up one click. Either way, there is going to be an adjustment period coming from the light as a feather 6XX to these just on the weight alone. As far as padding goes, the interior of the headband is soft and springy. I wouldnāt have complained if there had been a bit more padding there, but this is a bit of a nitpick and likely something I wonāt even notice once I get used to wearing them. The ear-pads on the other hand, while very soft, are a bit too soft. They give too much and I can feel the upper part of my ears just touching the honeycomb grill covering the drivers. To be clear, this isnāt an issue that everyone will have. While my ears donāt stick out to the side in the worst way, they do stick out a bit more than the average personās does, so please be sure to keep that in mind.
Those are my initial thoughts, now Iām going to hook them up and give them a listen. Maybe even do a quick A/B with my 6XX since Iām a complete neophyte with all of this and see what differences I can notice, if Iām feeling frisky.
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After having spent 3 days with this headphones, the best thing I can say about them is that I really enjoy listening music with these (the best compliment I can think of). I own a pair of Hd6XX and HD58X Jubilee, and had for a while (before returning them) a pair of Anandas. But these are a completely different beast. Really fast and bossy. The most evident upgrade can be heard in the bass extension and slam. Itās not overpresent, but its texture is definitely miles better compared to the Senns. I actually enjoyed the Anandaās bass, but felt they lacked some slam and punch (main reason they went backā¦). I enjoy the cohesion in the mids, specially regarding the guitar tone (listening to Siamese Dream or Superunknown was an amazing experience), but I feel vocals might sound a little recessed on occasions. Havenāt found any annoying treble / metallic timbre, but Iām aware this new model is smoother compared with the original (which Iād like to hear someday). Not any clipping whatsoever, at least not with my musical choices and volume.
Itās still too early to draw any solid conclusion, but comfort is 50 / 50 right now for me, and I can feel the hotspot after 1 hour. The worst thing would be the creaking I can feel / hear whenever I grab them to take them on and off; I recently read that Focal doesnāt cover any headband replacement under warranty, and saw some snapped Elegias and Clears, which started to make me a little paranoid. For the old Focal Clear owners, what was your experience regarding the integrity of these after months of usage?
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I bought an aftermarket cable (Norne Silvergarde S3) because I also felt that the vocals were slightly recessed. Thatās more of a preference thing I think. Theyāre actually very neutral and even toned, imo.
The silver cable did help provide some āclarityā to the vocals and overall seemed to sharpen things up (not make them brighter, just greater clarity/precision).
I hope you continue to enjoy them.
Cheers!
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Officially ordered my Clear MG Pro today! Ready to finally dive head first into Hi-Fi listening. Will be listening to them on a Schiit Modi3/Magni Heresy stack until I get the Modius Maximus hopefully soon from Schiit!
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Loving these text reviews, thanks for the report back yāall!
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Thank you for that suggestion, will definitely take a look into that cable
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No problem. 