šŸ”¶ Focal Clear

I have a Soloist which should be pretty similar soundingā€¦It sounds great imo, gives the Clear a bit more warmth in the mids.

Awesome! Ive seen some good deals on them so I think I will grab one. Thanks.

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Has anyone compared a OG Clear and a Celestee. I know ones open and ones closed but are they the same sound? is the Celestee just a closed back version of the clears? Do they sound different? Cheers.

Yes I did. They do not sound alike. I couldnā€™t find the unique traits of the OG Clear in it, instead it was a duller, less lively sound, the treble quality was notably worse - it was just a diffuse sizzle. Iā€™ve heard plenty of other headphones in comparison and the closest to it was probably the Utopia. Havenā€™t heard the Elex though.

Thinking about getting the Clear Pro as well like some people did in this thread, mainly due to the extra pads. Apparently the Elex pads are shallower and my ears are already the ā€œstick out typeā€ so probably a bad idea to get them and Iā€™d have to order them from overseas which means weā€™re talking + ~100 here. So even at the lower prices of the OG here (~700-750 vs 800) Iā€™d probably pick the Pro. Also, the color looks nicer when worn as a bonus. Not sure what do to about wear on the headband, guess Iā€™ll look for something similar to this:
https://www.amazon.de/Ersatz-Kopfband-Abdeckung-Kopfhƶrer-Kopfband-Schutz-QuietComfort-erforderlich/dp/B07F5RT73W
Edit: Theoretically the only reason to get the non-pro would be cables but I donā€™t need them as far as I can tell. That coiled cable obv. sucks though. The Proā€™s extra pads are a really nice touch since you wonā€™t be able to get them in the foreseeable future (unless you want elex or MG pads).

I know there are some Etsy sellers that make headband covers, but I havenā€™t tried them myself. Did a quick search, hereā€™s an example:

EDIT: Also, Moon Audio still sells the OG Clear Pro pads, but theyā€™re expensive:

https://www.moon-audio.com/focal-clear-pro-ear-pads.html

Nice! Iā€™ll think of somethingā€¦ the Clear def. deserves it.
The pads thoughā€¦ every time you buy a pair of these, you got another 6XX on your hands.
On second thought, Iā€™m not sure whether Iā€™ll go with them due to the cables (i know about an Utopia with broken cables and a Clear as well), pads (even with replacement pair), customer service and lack of availability of the Pro version here. Since theyā€™re discontinued thereā€™s the potential issue of not getting replacement parts for it as well. The MG is not an option.

Any suggestions for burn in time with the Clears?
My new OG Clear will be arriving this week.
Can I burn them in on any headphone jack or should it be with a proper headphone amp?
I guess what Iā€™m asking is can I plug then into my laptop and play 100hrs of tunes, or should they be plugged into my headphone amp which only has a turntable as a source right nowā€¦ making playing 100hrs of uninterrupted music much more difficult.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

I really did not see much difference from day 1 clears and day 100 clears tbhā€¦ but because of the low impedance I would imagine you could burn them in however you see fit as long as the volume can get around or a little above normal listening levels.

it doesnā€™t really matter how you burn them in (you can use either methods if youā€™d like). I would just use it as it is and if it gets better over time as I use it then all the better. But I wouldnā€™t fuss over it that much.

I may not be able to appreciate what I am hearing yet, but the build quality alone is worth writing in about.
Having a lot of fun revisiting favorite albums.

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I have the Focal Clear MG plugged into the Audio GD Master 19, using the Ares II old school R2R Step Ladder DAC. This is what overkill looks like. But thatā€™s how I do it. When Iā€™m asked to do it, I typically over do it. The sound is organic, Tube-like, analog-ish, and by analog-ish, I mean High End Tuntable analog. I donā€™t even want to hear anything else.

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Not a typical audio reviewer we see, but he had such an interesting take I thought Iā€™d share it.

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His impressions of the Elex makes is sound like he got a bad pair. Iā€™ve had two Elexes before, a normal sounding one, akin sounding to the clear, and a bright one with no bass, almost HD800 esque. I think this is why Elex impressions vary so much.

There was a post on headfi from a guy who actually measured one of these broken bright Elexā€™s and the thing had something like a 15db rolloff starting at 100hz lol, exactly how my broken pair sounded.

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hello wondering what other headphones people are running to compliment their clears and why?
(currently looking at ZMF Aeolus and Hifiman Arya for Darker and brighter options)

Sometimes folks look for contrast/compliment to their primary cans and run too far afield of the sound signature they like. What elements are you looking to counter from the Clear? Like, I might use 8xx (eq) if I want something physically lighter, looser and sonically wider and more spacious. Are there genres you really like on your Clears, and those you like a bit less-so? Also - source chain?

I feel the clears are a little too polite for a lot of music so mainly looking for a darker ā€œfor funā€ set (something like an upgrade to T50 Argons) and maybe a brighter set just for something different.
I listen to a lot of different music (my main playlist is like 90 hours of music) so not really concerned with conforming to a genre.
current main sources are a FIIO K9 AKM, Woo WA11, and Hifiman EF400

Hd800s , Lcd3, and hp3 are my go tos along with og clears.

Lcdx and 1266 are less regular listens.

Celestees for office

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