The bf2 is a driving factor yes, although those combos lean more warm and forgiving than pairing with the g111 (and arenāt on the same technical level as the 111 either)
A good alternative to the bf2 and also a solid pairing with the g111 is the denafrips ares ii, so Iād definitely give that a look. It would actually lean more towards the warmer smoother characteristic than the bf2 but not overdone, generally a bit more forward than the bf2 but not to a super large margin. Iād say equally technically capable but they excel at different things. While the bf2 has more width, the ares ii has more depth, generally the ares is also more quick and speedy, with detail a bit more forward, bf2 has more density and impact, timbre slightly goes to bf2, ares ii has more microdynamics while the bf2 is more an equal balance of macro and micro. Both honestly equally good
Thanks for the suggestion, that would be considerably over my budget though. If I was to try Denafrips Ares ii, I would have to look for lesser costing amp. Checking my local prices, I could get the RNHP and that would leave enough funds for the Denafrips. I wonder if that combo is worthwhile considering?
Ah really? In the us at least, the ares ii and bifrost 2 are pretty much both the same price, at least buying from the vinshine site (which is in sgd not usd)
I mean Iād personally prefer the neve to the g111 for the clear anyways, so that would be a very solid pick
Would agree here lol, was typing the same thing before I even read this lol
Dekoni destroyed the sound of my Elex so I decided never to pad swap FOCAL headphones. I thought Iād give the Utopia pads a shot and Iām glad I did. They feel and sound great.
I just slapped them on yesterday, so I havenāt done any A/B ing but upon a quick listen, they did not change much at all. The Clear MG pads actually feel a bit more dense than the Utopia pads. The Utopia pads are very soft in comparison.
EDIT: Just A|B the pads. The Utopia pads thin everything out and lose much of the body of the music. Back to the drawing board. Not recommended.
yeah, I have tried pad swapping the focalsā¦ they just donāt seem to respond all that well to pad swaps lol. I think this has been already confirmed by many others but I wanted to try myselfā¦ elex pads are alrightā¦ slightly softer very similar signature but other than the stock pads everything just butchers the sound, rather curious why this happens when you have beyers that are so versatile with pad rolling.
nonethelessā¦ still sitting down with the 2 beyers and 3 focals, mg included. Gotta say after doing a lot of a/b testing the mg and og clear really are quite differentā¦
I found quite the opposite, The MG pads sound darker than the Elex pads, while the elex pads open up the soundstage a small margin, this also affects the perception of imaging/instrument seperation for the better also. The tuning is VERY similar to the MG pads though. They are the same shape roughly while the elex pads are slightly thicker and donāt compress as much. Also look to be made of very similar materials just with different foam. I find with the MG pads my ears touch the speaker grills but with the Elex pads that they dont. So for people who dont want to pad roll but are having comfort issues with the MG pads or dont want to have to pay hundreds of dollars for replacement pads, the Elex pads are a very clear choice unless you do not want absolutely no change in the current sound signature, but yet again focal pad variance could change that anyway.
Recently got the elex pad to try it out and I prefer the MG pads, I like how itās brighter than the elex pads. Also with the elex pads I had to adjust the volume slightly higher
I also prefer the MG pads on the elegia it actually opens up the sounds stage and the vocals got clearer to me and slightly brighter as well on the elegia.
Edit: to follow it up the elex pads made the elegiaās sound stage a bit narrower to me.
Also dekoni velour pads and elegia pads almost exactly sounds the same. I guess if i have to listen carefully the dekoni pads is slightly brighter I mean itās really subtle. I wont probably be able to tell the difference if I were to blind test the two (elegia vs dekoni velours pads). If I were to pick, Iād probably choose the dekoni on the elegias
Question - has anyone tried to clean the pads on either the MG Pro or MG? My Pros are my daily driver now and definitely showing it after a few months of solid use. Iām afraid attempting to clean will mess up the padsā¦granted I have the spare set but I didnāt plan to use those until at least a year down the road.
Not on mg pads but Iāve washed my DT 770s pads back then at least twice in 2 years when it was my main work headphones.
I leave the pads on a bowl for at least 24hrs with 1 liter of water and 5ml of woolite delicate detergentā¦ next day, basically replace the water with regular h2o and kept pressing the pads flat until detergent is gone (never wring it lol, just press it flat with palm). And air dry indoors.
caveat is it will lose the foamās structure (itāll lose its density) So basically itās not going perform like the original pads. I wouldnāt recommend it tho. But having the pro with an extra pair Iāll give it a shot (someday lol)
I bought my OG Clear used, and the pads really needed a cleaning. Initially, I used basically the same method Mundeyn posted above. Except I went with Tide detergent. The pads were cleaner, but still not nearly clean enough for my liking. Maybe Tide wasnāt a good detergent choice. After that I threw them in with the laundry. That got them well cleaned. Although the fabric is visibly roughed up now. I donāt recommend you try that unless fine with potentially destroying the pads. For drying, I hung them in the output of my dehumidifier so theyād dry much quicker.
