I completely understand that. The good thing is youāve made your decision, which puts you half way there.
Be well.
What do you think about the SMSL SP200 for the Clear in comparison to RNHP?
The clear with the sp200 imo is not a good match whatsoever, I would look for something else for sure. The rnhp is a great match with the clear imo, really ends to work well with it
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Why isnt it a good match? 
So for one, the sp200 is poor at recreating space, which makes the clear sound rather boring in terms of spatial recreation and it causes it to sound pretty congested and 1 dimensional. Another issue is the added over sharpening in the treble that the sp200 adds, which is kinda unpleasant imo, and sounds off on the clear. Something else is timbre, on the sp200 itās pretty mediocre and coupled with the clear it sounds somewhat unnatural. The clear also does take well to scaling to a higher quality amp to get more overall performance out of the unit.
The rnhp is a good match imo as it has accurate timbre that make the clear sound more natural and alleviate the issue that some have with the clear on the wrong amp being metallic sounding. The rnhp also really improves spatial recreation, and preforms well with creating an accurate space with the clears which is pretty immersive. The rnhp also is more neutral than the thx to my ear, where the thx is more analytical, but the rnhp also ends up having more detail and better technicalities.
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If you plan to use the SP200, the Elex may be more suited for that amp. I think M0N described what you would miss out on and isnāt benefit in getting the Clear over the Elex while using the SP200. I think the Clear does benefit tremendously from other amps. If you plan to settle on the SP200, Elex and save ~$600, if you may eventually get a different amp, I canāt argue against a Clear.
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I agree with this, the elex on a sp200 isnāt bad at all (although even then I would still prefer other amps at the sp200 price range), but donāt buy a clear unless you plan on spending for an appropriately tiered amp
uff that doesnāt sound really promising for the SP200, I thought I would made a good deal with thisā¦ What about the Massdrop THX AAA 789 with Focal Clear? It was super hype
Mostly any of the thx amps will give you the same experience imo, you would really want to get an amp more suitable for the clear
Which is the ācheapestā amp you would recommend with the Clear?
Hmmm, like something that I think would maximize performance for the price? Most likely the rnhp or a used violectric v280 or v200-a (my preference leans toward the used violectric if itās a good price). The Gilmore lite mk2 is also pretty good.
If you had to go for something cheaper, I would say the Asgard 3 would be a decent pick, as would a used lake people g103-s
Im interested in V200-A, Gilmore lite MK2 and Lake People G103-s. They seem rather compact and small, like the SMSL SP200. How is the soundstage on those units? Would those also make the Focal Clear 1 Dimensional?
You know the first 2 are over 1000$ right? even used they would cost close to a 1000$. The Lake People is 270$
Yeah I asked for the cheapest amps for the Clears, so it does seem that you need to spend a lot. There is no way around it. The V200-A is big and spacious, but the Gilmore lite MK2 and Lake People G103-s are quite small. Does the small form factor of the MK2 and G103 result in small soundstage and therefore making the Clear 1 Dimensional?
If your gonna spend i recommend the RNHP. Maybe you dont know this but this little amp has caused quite a stir in audiophile circles. it punhces way about its price point. I had a thx amp and when i upgraded to the RNHP it really blew me away. It was such a rich sounding amp. very refined. It was designed by a legend in studio technology. If your gonna pay, you should get that one. You can also find them used. heres one for 430$
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It does look pretty nice, but I checked Z-Reviews.
https://youtu.be/iyFpzZi3VH0?t=1217 Listen from 20:17 to 20:50.
He said that there are cheaper options nowadays like the JDS Labs Atom, Liquid Spark or Drop THX.
The RNHP was hype, but is outdated now.
The only reason to get RNHP is because of beautiful design and heritage.
Thatās what Zeos said.
EDIT: I also read through this review and the comments: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/rupert-neve-rnhp-headphone-amp-review.12040/ There are so many negatives to this product, but there are still people out there who recommends it. That makes me wonder
Oh yeah, all that stuff is wrong lol. The thing with Zeos is he doesnt have very good ears. and can be very closed minded about things. I was a big Zeos fan myself but over time ive seen heās not the best reviewer. I like reviewers more like Resolve Reviews (now The Headphone Show) Max Settings and Joshua Valor. Their more accurate reviewers. But one thing to keep in mind with reviewers is they always have their own preference and sometimes its hard for them to see past that.
And ASR is good but they rely more on technicalities and not so much subjective listening. I know that for a fact cause ive experienced what they are saying about amps ive had in the past and the RNHP. Which they almost criminally got wrong. We can ask Mon but iām pretty sure the RNHP is the best amp you can get for under 500$ maybe more.
Mon is also a big fan of the Clears+RNHP combo. Ive heard him comment before about how good they sound together.
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But if you must have a different amp i think the Asgard or the Archel are pretty good from what i hear.
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I just read that post: RNHP vs THX
The RNHP is definitely an upgrade to the THX technology.
I will sell my DT1990+SP200 in the future and get myself Clear+RNHP combo.
Also, what is the cheapest DAC you would pair with Clear+RNHP combo?
I currently have Aune X1s 10th Anniversary DAC
Thats looks like a pretty nice DAC. Dont think your gonna do better easily. Where you looking to upgrade it?