@GoldenOne Saw your most recent video on the WA22, just curious, do you have Clear pads on your Focal Elex? How are you liking the pad swap?
I find it slightly shocking how essentially redundant these headphones have made my Eikons - I really didnāt expect them to be tuned so similarly and yet be such a step up in most areas.
I think the only thing Iām not the biggest fan of is possibly the upper midrange/treble lacking just as much bite as Iād like, and a bit of nasalness/honkiness - essentially Iād like some instruments to step out a bit more through the warmth/veil. High treble pushed me away from the Aryas but I do find the MGs a little too stepped back for how otherwise detailed they are. The basic high boost (although not perfect) on Peace seems to lift things in the right direction so I do think itās something Iāll have to look into.
But it is fascinating how you still get all the detail despite that. Itās a little warm for me to say itās outright clear, but it is a distinct, developed image with great imaging and not nearly so heavily at the expense of physicality in the sound.
If you find the MG a little too warm in the upper mids and treble, try some Elex pads on them. I actually just discovered this week that I prefer the Elex pads to the original ones on my MG Pro. It brings up the midrange and treble just a little bit without introducing any harshness, vocals sound better and more realistic to me now.
This is pretty much exactly what I wanted out of the Elex when I had them. I really liked the Elex but it had some issues with treble ringing and was not extended well in the upper treble air region. Clear MG with Elex pads is like an Elex v2.0 for me, similar neutral tonal balance but with much better treble resolution and improved vocal midrange.
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Iām going to keep it in mind but a couple weeks ago I had that magical āclickā moment where my brain adjusted. And all I have to say is wow. I might write a fuller review but suffice to say, wow. This is sort of where I thought Iād end up from HD650.
Well, that didnāt last longā¦ Iām taking back what I said about the Elex pads being better. Never make quick judgments with audio gear you guys, I continue to make that mistake even after 7 years, lol.
Elex pads do have a more neutral open sound, but the more listening back and forth between the two pads the MG pads are noticeably more dynamic and punchy, and detailed. Probably have a better seal and thicker material meant for these new drivers. Itās not just bass impact, but clarity and sharpness of attack throughout the entire frequency is just better.
INTRODUCTION
The Focal Clear MG was another generous loan from Mr. @sa11297 ā thanks for keeping my efforts going! ā and was fortuitously timed as I had it in-house at the same time as itās big sibling the Stellia. I should add the caveat that I have unfortunately never spent any meaningful time with the original Clear. So, this review will not be a comparison to the OG Clear, rather a report on the Clear MG as I see it on its own merits. Letās do itā¦
TL;DR
The Clear MG is a good headphone that does several things well but doesnāt deliver any singular feature that stands out at the price point. It has a mid-forward signature that will likely be too much for some listeners (including this reviewer!) and that has an adverse effect on timbre through the mid-range. However, if that doesnāt bother you, itās also a headphone that doesnāt do much of anything else wrong, either. Thus, it falls into a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none type of territory, that when combined with its comfort, can be an attractive option for someone looking for a solid, well-rounded headphone that can be worn all day.
KNOW YOUR REVIEWER
My preferred genres are rock/metal and classical/orchestral music. Iām getting to know jazz more and enjoying quite a bit. I also listen to some EDM and hip-hop. My hearing quirks include a high sensitivity to midrange frequencies from just under 1KHz to around 3Khz, give or take. My ears are thus quick to perceive āshoutinessā in headphones in particular. I describe āshoutinessā as an emphasis on the āouā sound of āshout.ā Itās a forwardness in the neighborhood of 1KHz and/or on the first one or two harmonics above it (when I make the sound āooooowwwwwā into a spectrum analyzer the dominant frequency on the vowel sound is around 930Hz, which also means harmonic spikes occur again at around 1860Hz and 2790Hz). In the extreme, it can have the tonal effect of sounding like a vocalist is speaking or singing through a toilet paper tube or cupping their hands over their mouth. It can also give instruments like piano, but especially brass instruments, an added āhonkā to their sound. I also get distracted by sibilance, or sharp āsā and ātā sounds that can make ssssingers sssssound like theyāre forssssssing esssss ssssssounds aggresssssssively. Sibilance does not physically hurt my ears nearly as quickly as shout, though. Itās distracting because itās annoying and unnatural. Finally, Iām discovering that I have a preference for more subtle detail. I like good detail retrieval and hearing what a recording has to offer, but I prefer what many would consider relaxed and subtle rather than aggressive or detail-forward. To my ear, more subtle detail-retrieval sounds more realistic and natural than aggressive, detail-forwardness. There is a balance here, though, because detail retrieval can get too relaxed and that can sound unnatural, as well, or simply leave out important aspects of the recording. Readers should keep these hearing quirks and preferences in mind as they read my descriptions of sound.
FEATURES & BUILD
The Clear MG is an open-back, around-the-ear, dynamic-driver headphone. The driver is made of magnesium (hence the name āMGā, I believe) and is cone shaped. This shape stands in contrast to other Focal models that feature their M-shaped dome. The MSRP is 1490 USD.
With the build itās getting to be a bit of a broken record statement at this point, the Clear MG is a Focal headphone. Ergo, itās made well. Itās rugged. Itās handsome. Itās comfortable. Itās clamp force strikes an excellent balance of keeping it on the head without sliding around yet still not being so tight that it becomes uncomfortable. The cabling is dual-entry with a 3.5mm jack recessed into each cup. Those jack recesses are rather large in diameter so that just about any aftermarket cable can be used. And thatās good because thereās another broken record statement at this point: Focal stock cables are horrid. Honestly, if youāre buying the Clear MG, just get yourself a nice cable upon placing the order and donāt even bother taking the stock cables out of the box.
A unique feature of the Clear MG in the Focal line is that there are two models. Thereās a consumer edition and a professional edition. The headphones themselves only differ in color and are tuned the same. They only differ by the included cables, I believe. The consumer model (which my review unit is) is a chestnut brown with brown earpads:
The āProā model is black with red earpads:
Since the tuning is the same and the stock cables are butt, itās basically just down to which color scheme you prefer for this headphone.
The MGās different driver than other Focal models leads to a slightly higher impedance than most of their models. The MG is rated at 55ā¦ but with a still-efficient sensitivity of 104 dB/mW. That still makes it very friendly for DAPs, mobile amps, and other lower-powered amps. I found that it needed about one hour higher potentiometer position on my Violectric HPA-V281 than its sibling models the Stellia and the Radiance for volume matching. But, that still keeps it firmly in easy-to-drive territory.
SOUND
Test Gear
I ran the Clear MG directly from my Chord Hugo 2 transportable DAC/amp and on my main desktop chain comprised of a Windows 10 PC running Audirvana 3.5, a Singxer SU-2 digital-to-digital converter and USB interface, a Berkeley Audio Designs Alpha Series 2 DAC, and a Violectric HPA-V281 headphone amp. Late in the review process a RAAL Requisite HSA-1b amp arrived for evaluation and I got a couple listening sessions in with the MG on that amp as well using the same DDC and DAC from my desktop chain. Also, for kicks, I used the SE output on the same Berkeley DAC and used the Cayin HA-1AMK2 tube amp and the Schiit Asgard 3 to see what would happen.
Itās a Focal Headphone!
Unsurprisingly, every audio equipment company ends up adopting a house sound. They typically have a common designer or design team that has opinions about how things should sound and they tweak and tune until desired traits are reached. I was able to do a Focal headphone shootout recently where I spoke about some of the features of the Focal house sound. If you missed that video, hereās a recap: Focal favors a mid-forward tuning that gives the mid-range frequencies more audible presence than the bass or treble. Even so, there is still excellent extension in both directions with a fair amount of air up top and quite excellent bass extension. Focal headphones are all very dynamic and punchy. They have effortless and huge dynamic range and they come with lots of slam. They will hit you. Their bass often has a tactile quality to it. The soundstaging on Focals is neither large nor small but creates more of a wrap-around effect than a speaker-like out-in-front staging. I describe it as being on the Maestroās stand of a symphony rather than back in the audience of the concert hall. My experience with the 4 Focal models Iāve heard, including the MG, makes these traits pretty clear ā with the notable tuning exception of the Radiance being warmer and bassier in its frequency response. Within each of these traits, there is some variation. Letās dive into the MGās unique twists on each of these things.
Sound Signature ā Frequency Response
The MG is certainly mid-forward. Most of its mid-forwardness, at least to my ear, is in the 1KHz-ish range (which makes it not a good match for my ears ā see the Know Your Reviewer section above). However, there is also a sense of warmth that other Focals (save Radiance ā which has it in spades) lack. So, there is a bit extra presence in the upper bass/lower-mids that brings in that warmth, but itās not as forward or as prominent as the mid-range. Outside of those traits the classic Focal extension ā both high and low ā is definitely present as there is a fair amount of air without being sibilant or piercing and some deep bass without any bloat or bleed into the mids.
That mid-range forwardness is probably the biggest detriment to the sound. Now, Iāve declared my 1KHz sensitivity and general disdain for shouty vocals and honky/hollow instruments sounds, but this headphone tickles that to level that few do. My guess is that many will not experience what I am about to describe to the same extent that I do, but there is a fair amount of criticism floating around out there about the MGās mids, which leads me to believe there is something going on here ā or something not going on, whatever the case may be. The timbre is all off through the mids. Vocals get shouty and when there are multi-part harmonies it can be very difficult to separate the vocals from each other. How many singers are there in Eagles Seven Bridges Road ? The MG did not answer that question for me. Similarly, instruments can become overpowering, honky, or hollow quite quickly, and itās not always big and bombastic brass crescendos that do it. The opening of A Spoonful Weighs a Ton by The Flaming Lips has some flutes or clarinets orā¦oboe?..in the left channel that the MG turned into a blaring mess to my ear. Theyāre not recorded particularly aggressively either. The Poet and Pendulum by Nightwish features an epic section from about 7:00 to 9:00 with a full metal band, backing orchestra, and a dueling electric-guitar and violin solo. MG did a pretty good job holding all that together save for separating that guitar and violin from each other.
More than one fellow audiophile has complained to me that they wish the MG had more vocal presence as sometimes vocals werenāt as featured as they would like. I donāt think the problem is a lack of mid-range presence. I think one of the problems is the mids are too present which often ends up with vocal and instrument sounds getting muddled together a bit too much.
Macrodynamics
Itās a Focal. It punches hard and has dynamic range in spades. I like the physicality here, as I generally like the physicality of Focalās lineup. The Clear MG certainly delivers on this aspect. This is a trait that you either like or you donāt. Letās move on.
Staging
The technical ability of the MGās spatial presentation seems price appropriate to me. The Focal warp-around, ābubble around the headā presentation is here. The soundstage size is neither remarkably big nor small, just is. The imaging and separation are pretty good too. With well recorded symphonies and orchestras itās fairly easy to place instruments where they are, and just as importantly, where they arenāt. Iāve heard better near the $1500 price point, but Iāve also heard worse. More on this in the comparison section to come.
Detail Retrieval
For the most part the detail retrieval is also strong and price appropriate. On the concert recording of John Williams in Vienna, things like chair creaks, music pages being turned, and the clicks of bows as theyāre being set down can all be heard all over the soundfield. Now, I realize that chair creaks and page shuffles are not part of the music, but the ability to resolve those things serves as a good proxy for being able to resolve the subtleties that are in the music. Those sounds also contribute to a āyou are thereā kind of feeling while listening. I think that the mid-range issue mentioned above is also a detail-retrieval issue, however. There might be a small dip in resolution capability in the same range as the prominent mid-range which makes distinguishing voices and instruments from each other all the more difficult.
AMP PAIRINGS
Of the Focals I have experience with (Stellia, Radiance, Elegia, Clear MG), the MG seems to be the most amp picky. It changes its behavior more than the others moving from amp to amp. The Stellia, Radiance, and Elegia more or less maintain their overall behavior and either become more-or-less resolving with cleaner or quieter (or the opposite) sonic background as amps change. In other words, they remain a version of themselves. The MG seems to experience some frequency response changes, however. It can vary a fair degree in the amount of bass and rumble, and that mid-range forwardness, while always there, can also vary in presence. The Hugo 2 is not a particularly powerful amp in the low end, so the bass is a bit lighter on the MG on that one, which isnāt surprising, but that combo is also one of the worst offenders in the shout/honk region. Oddly enough the Asgard 3 was probably the second least shouty/honky/hollow, but also didnāt have quite the oomph in the low end. The V281 woke the bass up quite a bit, with lots of presence and slam, and was arguably the least shouty of any amp I tried. And yes, that means that the $4500 RAAL amp was shoutier, honkier, etc. with the MG. But, the RAAL amp also had even more bass quantity that the V281, more bass punch/slam, more overall detail, cleaner background, and more accurate spatial presentation. The Cayin HA-1AMK2 tube amp gave the most bass presence of any of the amps. In fact, the bass quantity from that amp was higher even than the Radiance on any of those amps, which is a big switch. The mids were still really shouty though and the overall presentation took on a wetter and oversmoothed character. Thatās likely because of the higher output impedance on the 1AMK2 (even on its lowest output impedance setting). I enjoyed the MG the most on the V281 because to my ear it struck the best balance of fullness and power in the bass with the mids being the least aggressive (but still objectionably aggressive and shouty/honky/hollow too often).
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER HEADPHONES
I compared the Clear MG to the Radiance and Stellia, as I shared earlier. The punchline there is it was my least favorite of the three. The Stellia is also mid-forward, but a little higher in frequency than the MG is which gets it out of shout territory for me more often. The Stellia also holds itself together more effectively when it does get shouty. MG goes off the rails more, so to speak. The Radiance, to my ear, was technically equal to or superior to the MG in just about every sonic category save maybe just the slightest of edges to the MG in spatial separation. The MG can present space between sonic images just a little bit more clearly than Radiance ā but I had to strain to hear that. Because the MG is open-back and the Radiance closed-back, and with Radiance being $200 cheaper, I would expect the MG to be comfortably superior in its spatial presentation and itāsā¦not. I donāt think thatās because the MG is bad. I think that has more to do with the Radiance being something special, actually.
Looking at the headphone market in the $1300ish-$1800ish range, I either own or have reviewed the Focal Radiance (comments above), the Fostex TH900 (which I added Lawton chambers to), ZMF Eikon, Audeze LCD-X (maybe that oneās a little less in price, but still close), and HiFiMan Arya and Edition X V2 (now discontinued). Looking at this group it strikes me that the MG is not the best at any one single sonic technicality. Nor is it the worst, except maybe the mid-range timbre. The LCD-X (pre-2021, anyway) and the MG will likely have quite a fight over who wants to be the shoutiest in the mid-range. In this group the Eikon has the most natural timbre until the music gets very busy, where it can struggle. But when itās in its comfort zone, that timbre is phenomenal. The Arya has the next best timbre all the time, probably with its sibling the Edition X V2 behind it. The TH900 can best the MG in physicality, punching with even more authority in the deep subbass. The LCD-X can also challenge the MG in physicality with some bass boost. The Arya is the most resolving of this set, probably followed by its sibling, the TH900, and the MG. My TH900 with Lawton chambers is more resolving than the MG, but the stock TH900 likely isnāt quite to that level. The Arya also has the biggest soundstage and the most accurate imaging, separation, and layering within that soundstage. For soundstage, bigger doesnāt mean technically better, but those other aspects point to a clear superiority for the Arya in this price range ā and itās way ahead of the rest at that. The second-best headphone in this group would be the other HiFiMan, the Edition X V2. MG comes in middle-of-the-pack here, earning its place at the price point but not standing out amongst the crowd either.
All of these headphones have some sort of critical error of flaw in them too, which youāre either willing to live with or youāre not. The LCD-X has the shouty mids and, without EQ, a quickly rolled-off subbass and somewhat incoherent spatial presentation. With EQ, the bass comes back, shoutiness diminishes, and the spatial integrity improves, but then youāre stuck dealing with EQ, which can be either very expensive to use easily or a real pain in theā¦I think you get it. The Arya has a hot zone in the treble which comes across as very sharp and sibilant to many and gave me vertigo-like symptoms. It can also be a bit bass-lean. The Edition X V2 was discontinued awhile ago, which is a shame because itās really good, and can hardly be found anymore, even on the used market. The TH900 series can be too v-shaped for many listeners and is also notorious for being too sharp and sibilant in the treble. The Eikon tends to freak out a little bit with complex music, losing it resolution chops and spatial integrity, and also doesnāt sound as good as many of the others when itās playing music of genres where it doesnāt excel ie. it falls apart more than the others when itās not comfortable as a general rule, being much more a specialist than the rest.
Put all this together and a use case starts to emerge for the Clear MG. If you can handle its mid-range presence, and many can, you get a headphone thatās very solid in all the technical areas and does a pretty good job with most genres of music most of the time. Call it a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none situation. There is a place for that if your taste is eclectic and you want to plug in one can while working for the day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If it isnāt already apparent, the Clear MG isnāt for me. Itās too mid-forward too often for my ears and leads to too much shoutiness, honkiness, and hollowness in the sound, wrecking timbre and tonality through the mid-range for me. Even so, there were still multiple stretches in my time with it when I was able to enjoy the music; bob my head, tap my foot, sing along (poorly, haha). The magnitude of those mid-range difficulties might be somewhat unique to me as I seem to be 1KHz sensitive, but I donāt think they will entirely disappear for very many either. I donāt think the MG is quite the $1500 benchmark the original Clear was considered to be back when it ruled the roost, but itās also good enough at enough things that it can earn a place by being somewhat of a generalist ā provided that its mids are not too much for you. Detail retrieval is overall solid. The imaging and separation are also right where they should be for the price. The macrodynamic punch/slam is also plentiful and fun. Theyāre well built. Theyāre comfortable. And they look good. If you need a single headphone to cover a wide range of music genres for extended listens, need all-day comfort, and can handle the mid-forward presentation, the Clear MG is worth checking out.
Thanks for reading, all. Enjoy the music!
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The review in video form:
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Thanks for the write-up; Iāll be watching the video soon as well.
I always appreciate reading reviews that I disagree with as itās interesting to hear how different preferences can be!
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Great review, very detailed and clear.
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Itās too bad you havenāt gotten to know the OG Clearāwhile it still has that general mid-forwardness and itās just as amp-picky and stuff, the muffled sound you describe in the video is new to the MG version.
Even without the OG comparison, great detailed review!
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I find it interesting that you mark the Eikons as having better timbre. For me going back and forth, I found the tonality of the Eikons overly warps timbre compared to the MG - not to say the Eikons arenāt enjoyable for their timbre, just the MGs give you a much clearer and fuller picture. Listening to a lot of acoustic music and things like how it resolves leading edges of vocals and fully carries voices through.
I can see how the MGs could come across sharper, particularly in drums, for me, if I actually had to really guess as to what the difference is otherwise, I believe the MGs cross a resolution threshold just enough to where they identify their own weaknesses in timbre, where the Eikons donāt, coupled with some of the pleasantness of the wood sound. However as a whole the MGs are far ahead especially in that they do cross that threshold.
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Still use this headphone likeā¦ nonstop, I love it to death but man do the pads wear down quick and get dirty fastā¦ I really wish replacements were cheaper, I have a hard time even considering a recommendation towards the non pro version as an extra set of pads definitely goes a long way on this imo.
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I use mine all the time too. I did buy a set of Elex pads off Drop and occasionally switch them out - sound changes a little bit but to your point, it reduces the wear on the other ones. I wish pads were cheaper too.
There must be an issue with the dye Focal is using with the Pro pads. Because Iāve been using my Mg non-Pro pretty much exclusively since I got them, which was a couple of days after they hit the market, and there is no visible discoloration. Nor so I feel like there is any appreciable wear as of yet. Though I will freely admit that without a fresh pair of pads to compare against, I could just have forgotten what they felt like out of the box.
Just wondering how people are feeling now with the Clear Mg on the tried & tested synergy BF2/RNHP, compared to the OG Clear?
Iām considering the Clear Mg after having been set on getting the OG Clear for a long while now.
Iāve upgraded recently to Aryaās and in comparison with the rest of my headphones (1990 / Elegia) they are definitely a tier above so hoping to compliment them with Clears.
Running LP G111 & RNHP with Geshelli Jnog / RME FF400. Jnog feels like it could be a āmini BF2ā while the RME is narrower & more clinical.
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I really love the look of the Chestnut MGs, but I am concerned about some reviews saying that the bass is too prominent (vs the OG), leading to bass that is a bit mushy. If I use EQ, could I get the MG to match the frequency response to the OGs? Thanks
Hey there and welcome to HiFi Guides.
I donāt have the OG Clears to compare to, but I can tell you that the Clear Mg bass is my all time favorite. It is not mushy, at least not when running through a Schiit Bifrost 2 ā Jotunheim 2. It is tight, fast, and punchy.
Also the frequency response at the low end seems to be nearly identical to the OG Clears.
Great to hear! I am also planning to get the Schiit Bifrost 2 ā Jotunheim 2. Although I read in this thread that while this DAC / AMP sounds great with the MG, it sounds dark. Thoughts? Are you using EQ?
By the way, I am currently using an HD800S ā AAA 887 balanced AMP ā Focusrite Scarlet interface as a DAC ā Sonarworks. This set up sounds wide and detailed, but lacks punch and sub-bass. I listen to rock and metal, so thatās why I am considering the MG setup with the Schiit stack.
Thanks
Iām still using the Clear Mg Pro regularly, every day pretty much. Itās my favorite tuning of anything else Iāve heard, and I use it as a benchmark to tune my other headphones to using EQ. Iāve had great results tuning the AKG K371 like the Clear MG to make it sound a more natural and open than it would with stock sound.
When it comes to the pads issue, I was lucky enough to find someone who was selling their extra MG Pro pair because my extra set had uneven pads, which affects the left/right balance more than you would think. But Iāve also contacted Focal, and they are backordered on the MG Pro pads unfortunately.
@Resolution and others will be a better resource than I will here.
I prefer a warm frequency response to a bright one so if youāre running an HD800S into a THX amp like the 887/789 we are probably on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of what we like. There are several on this forum also running the Bifrost 2 ā Jot 2 ā Clear Mg and I do think itās indeed a āwarmerā sound signature, especially when compared to the OG Clears, but I wouldnāt say itās dark. Maybe @Michael can comment as well. I donāt use any EQ.
I also listen to rock and metal and I think itās a really amazing setup. I do wonder if you would prefer the OG Clear to the Mg though since itās my understanding that the Mg has rolled off the treble quite a bit in comparison.