I was having a little fun. I donāt know how many times it has been stated here and around the internet that the Clear MG and Clear MG Pro are the same headphone. Just as the OG models were.
I was pressed and pressed about this on YouTube last night where someone wanted proof that this is the case since they didnāt want it to be true. So Iām a bit sensitive to this whole thing right now.
ONCE AND FOR ALL EVERYONEā¦ THE CLEAR MG and CLEAR MG PRO ARE THE SAME HEADPHONE!
If it werenāt for the fact that Iād cry after doing it, Iād sent you my pair of non-Pro so you a/b them side-by-side and use that as definitive proof to for people, lol.
Iām more concerned that the actual manufacturer of the headphone says theyāre sonically the same but that doesnāt seem to be sufficient enough evidence for a lot of people lol.
āI mean they say that but has anyone tested it?ā
Iāve actually held both Clear MG and Clear MG Pro in my own hands and listened to both of them with my own ears.
Iāve been lying to everyone. Iām sorry. I found the Pro to be slightly more āproā sounding than the non-pro. The non-pro sounded ever so slightly less pro than the pro. The pro also weighed slightly more than the non pro with the pro cable attached. I found the pro earpads to have a slight reddish smell to them, where the non pro earpads had a brownish tinge to them.
Since the non-pro Clear MG has silver/chrome hex pattern on the earcup grills, I find the timbre of the non-pro Clear MG to be slightly more metallic than the pro. I prefer this more metallic sound especially while listening to Metallica. It is perfect synergy. Iād never listen to Metallica with the pro Clear MG after hearing how metallic the Clear MG sounds with its metallic honeycomb grills.
EDIT: If I donāt get some lulz from this post, Iām gonna be really sad. I sat here and thought all this crap up for your enjoyment!
lol I know man, I was joking also. Kinda like @Resolution, poking a little bit at people who keep asking if theyāre āREALLYā the same. Likeā¦ yes. I mean I canāt find it exactly on Focalās website or anything, but every audiophile review has said Focal directly said itās the same driver/sound/tuning but in a different color and includes pads instead of an extra cable lol
Ah, I didnāt know youād already had both on-hand. But aside from the one comment Josh made in his video, I also didnāt know how much debate there was over whether there was any difference other than cosmetics and accessories. I tend to stay away from YouTube comment sections and this is the only audio forum I visit. And since I live in the middle-of-nowhere Kentucky, there isnāt anyone else Iām aware of personally thatās into this hobby. So, Iāve isolated myself pretty well from what youāve had to deal with in that regard. Still, hopefully people will realize they are the same tonally and knock it off with trying to claim they arenāt.
I own the Clear MG Pro, but have a friend that got Clear MG.
I really wish these reviewers would do a little more homework or postpone their reviews until they have the facts. Both Josh and Andrew stated things they should have had cleared up before making a video without proper information for consumers. Donāt know something? Donāt make the video reviewing the product before you do. This is something that drives me crazy, especially with Zeos. Heās even advertising now that he doesnāt look up any info regarding the product before he reviews it.
Can anyone help me find the new Clear āMagnetismā? I canāt seem to find it anywhere. Zeos says itās the perfect audiophile headphone and the best headphone FOCAL has ever made! Sigh.
I assume they are the exact same if Focal says it. But 2 reviewers I watched last week stated something along the lines of āFocal states they are the same but I havenāt confirmed myself yetā. Which kind of assumes there is a significant chance might not be the same. I donāt know. But I think that might be feeding those kind comments (at least thatās what got me thinking). In combination with other headphone brands who make a āproā version which is tuned differently, I donāt know. I guess it got me thinking.
I donāt know Focal very well, so maybe they were known for tweaking something just a tad different and telling people they are the same (seems like a French thing to do LMAO). But from the reactions here, apparently they donāt . Thatās plenty of confirmation for me personally. But I get it becomes funny lmao
Now another question, if one would buy these, what is the cheapest dac/amp combo one would get away with? Do you need a 1500 dac/amp stack to make these decent? Because then they would be out of my league for sure. But if they would work with a cheaper stack, lets say a modius/magnius stack, I might be able to stretch my budget.
I understand. I also asked my representative at Sweetwater before I bought my Pro, and he got back to me from Focal that they were the same headphone but with different accessories. But I have no proof of that since it was over the phone. I should have gotten it in writing.
Yeah, I think holdās doubly true for Andrew since he runs Headphones.com. Thereās really no reason he shouldnāt have been able to test them against each other for his review just for the sake of clarity. As for Zeos, I can kind of understand where he is coming from, wanting to do his testing without looking anything up, but he should definitely be getting his info together before he starts filming.
They pair well with a Jot2/Modius. Thatās $600. I know @Falenkor said that they were fairly amp picky though.
Cheapest for the clear? I havenāt heard the mg yet, so I canāt say too much, but going off the normal clear, at minimum Iād want something like a jot 2 + modius. Ideally I think the place to be without breaking the bank is the rnhp + bf2 combo for something neutral-natural and very capable without being over the top, or a little labs monotor + a used bryston bda 2 or holo cyan pcm a bit more neutral clean slightly analytical.
You can go higher and get rewarded for it, but you would be pushing the 2-3k ish range used with perhaps a violectric v280 + soekris 2541 (around 2k used for both) for something more studio neutral with a bit of warmth and extra space, xi broadway + schiit yggdrasil a2 (3k used) for something more warm, wide, bodied, and impactful (or swap the dac for a dangerous music convert 2 for really great grip and control with more neutral signature), or lta mz2 (w/ lps if you can find one) + veridian utopia sirius or exogal comet plus (around 3k used) for something more organic, rounded, decently linear and intimate. You could probably work down prices here by swapping to different dacs if needed. These are all combos that worked pretty well with the clear, but I canāt comment on how the mg responds and I can only go off the assumption itās somewhat similar responding to source gear
Kinda like 
