Hi everyone,
as i already wrote in another thread - i recently had a bad experience with a Sundara, channel imbalance, center image shifted to the left. Since it was my first Hifiman, i chose the pinciple of: not again. I’m hoping the get a full refund. On the other hand, i really, really enjoyed the sound. I also already have some HPs in the “up to 700€”-area. That made my think about giving Hifiman a second chance and going straight to the Arya. -> How is your experience regarding QC of the Arya? Is it possible, that the more expensive models get more attention and QC?
A possible alternative is the LCD-X by Audeze. For that HP i heard, being on the market for a long time, that the sound signature changed over the years, which either comes from bad QC or silent revisions?! How’s you experience with that?
I’m all interested in the HEDD phone. But also there, i haven’t heard the best nes regarding QC…
The only company, whose products i’m also really interested in, that doesn’t seem to have these QC issues (??) is Focal. Am i right about that or is this a wrong perception?
What can be said about ZMF in this regard?
Everything about this experience with the Sundara led me to one decision: for my next HP i want to grab a star. Arya, LCD-X, Clear, HEDD or a ZMF. So i’m excited about your answers regarding QC which could influence my descision…
IMO the qc does get a fair bit better on the more expensive hifiman but it’s still not a gold standard in qc lol, but I would feel safer with a higher end hifiman like the arya. It will be a pretty different headphone but would def be an upgrade for sure. Would also depend on what source gear you would be using with it
They are solid in terms of reliability but aren’t consistent sound wise, some tend to sound v shaped, some neutral, some lack a bit of bass, it can be really weird tbh. The 2019 and up models tend to be a bit more consistent
Can’t comment from experience on this one, personally I’m waiting for what they come out next as a show demo and a demo of a friends pair was nice but personally for me not quite there, would like to see how they mature
Focal tends to be tight in their qc outside of the elex which did have some pretty significant batch variance, but stuff like the clear and elegia tended to have safe qc
ZMF has very good qc imo, and also pretty great customer service. Also regarding customer service I’ve actually had good experiences with hifiman customer service wise but I would assume that depends on who you get
So what type of sound are you actually looking for? And what are you looking to spend on both the headphones and source gear? There are a ton of great options in this range imo
thank you for the extensive feedback! Well, i just happen to have ordered a Focal Clear Pro now. Reasons?
- QC
- a sound signature that i already know i like (HD6XX, NDH20 etc.)
- Tylls legendary review
- in fact, nearly every reviewer highly approves, even DMS. Zeos doesn’t count, you’re weird.
- PRICE. It’s 999 € NEW - which is already a ridiculous amount of money for me to spend on headphones. Well, some say, that the Ananda sounds better etc., ok. But with Hifiman i would rather have gone for the Arya and that’s way more expensive here in germany. The LCD-X is more expensive. The HEDDPhone is way more expensive, also ZMFs. Compared to their competition, in terms of price it’s a no-brainer for me. Even used, i can’t get close to 999€ with other HPs.
I know it’s an entirely different beast than my sadly broken Sundara, or any Planar at all. I know it won’t wow me with soundstage like an HD800s etc., i’ve seen enough reviews to be realistic here. Also i.e. that of resolve reviews, who Clearly (hah.) indicated, that they will fit better to my music taste.
Now i can’t deny that i’m curious AF. I’m looking forward to give them are very good listen and get back to you with my impressions.
Personally I would say the clear really isn’t similar to those headphones in most ways
He somehow found the worst signal chain synergy for them lol
Personally I would easily prefer a clear over an ananda but the clear vs arya is a more fair fight
That does make it seem like a pretty compelling option
While yes it doesn’t have the exaggerated width of the 800s, but I do think it offers more depth and also a unique soundstage that’s smaller but more spherical
Will be curious to see what you think 
Also just to ask again, what source gear would you be using with them? The clear are pretty picky and the higher end you go the higher they preform, they do sound rather poor on less than ideal gear (that’s how you get impressions like z that are way off lol)
well, you got me there. I was just lookin forward how everything will sound, not really paying too much attention to this. I currently have a Chord Mojo, a Little Bear B4-X and an SMSL SP200. I guess i will add something like the RNHP to the mix in the future, i saw you other posts about this. 
I will see, how well the clear sounds with my current gear, well knowing, that it will scale with the equipment - which i was aware of, but not, that it was this bad with a neutral amp like the SP200. But since we’re already discussing it - which amp (or also DAC if the Mojo doesn’t do the trick) would you recommend that should par well with the Clear, Audeze EL8C, NDH20, HD600, HD700 and a couple of IEMs? 
Cool cool, imo the mojo is the best pairing out of the bunch for the clear, should be solid
It is pretty nice lol
What price range? The mojo should be just fine as a dac for the time being
let’s say 1500€ max …
Lots of good options in that range lol. If you end up wanting to add a bit of warmth to the headphones you have but still be reasonably neutral, something like a violectric v280 or v281 is a really good choice, it pairs pretty well with like a soekris 1541 dac. If you wanted to tilt more analytical bright but not harsh and dry, a gsx mini is a pretty solid pick there imo, pairs pretty well with a holo cyan imo. Both work fairly well with all your headphones tbh
just wanted to say … i’m currently listening to the SECOND track ever on my Clears and i’m ALREADY entirely mind-blown. I’m still recovering from the first track where i nearly had an orgasm… or let’s say i have goodebumps everywhere. That was the best choice i can imagine, best can i ever had on my ears. Jeezuz.
Niceeee 
jep, my first placebo-impressions didn’t fool me. I love these headphone. There’s so much going on, but i try to pick out the most outstanding features:
- detail. Detail everywhere. It’s like looking into an 8K-monitor. If you focus onto one spot, one instrument you just can pick up more. Or you just don’t focus at all and you’ll get suprised by details you didn’t ever hear in your music, i guess that’s what resolve reviews spoke about when he said, that the Clear shoves the detail in you face… but it does it in way, that still sounds natural. so great.
- wonderful, engaging, sweet tonality. You can get all the bass, highs and detail you want - if a HP isn’t nice to you, you don’t like it. This is. The tonality is engaging and delightful. One thing i want to bring up to the table: Being a brighter HP, it sure reminds me of my HD700. It reminds me, what i actually really, really liked about my 700s… it’s a sound signature i can only describe a “citrus” or “lime”. Like really sweet with a hint of bitter. So might the Clear be what the HD700 should have been as an upgrade from the 6XX series? Musical, neutral, transparent like the HD600 but with more detail an a sweeter sound?
- the perfect balance of analytical, technical, musical and fun. I let this stand as it is.
- bass: yes, it has perfect bass for me. Detailed and deep for sure but much more like what i think of when talking about a dynamic headphone. Not the sound of planets crushing against each other like planars do, but much more like “just the right amount” to let the the sound and music express itself the way it should be enjoyed. I’m talking rubbish, i know. But it’s what i’m hearing.
- if i listen to stuff like youtube i constantly have the feeling the my Clear is bored. It’s like it constantly shouts “come at me bro!!” but doesn’t get challenged. What i mean is, that the sheer quality of the gear on my head seems somewhat out of proportion compared to the rest of my gear and what i’m listening to most of times. This is GREAT, since i’m confident it will scale well with upgrading everything in the future. That also reminds me of Tylls saying it’s the first time he could say that’s a HP worth over a thousand dollars. Yep, you can just hear it. Fair deal for me.
- but it still does one thing really right: even if it’s bored with lower quality recordings, they STILL sound nice and engaging. You sure might hear things where you realize how low quality something is, yes, but you still have an overall nice experience.
- they sound confident. If you pick out an instrument like i.e. a snare drum, you’re like “yes, that’s how it’s really supposed to sound like”. It get this quite often currently, depends on the recording obviously.
Well, what can i say … reading all this rubbish i just wrote … i guess the Clears have made me an audiophile at last? 
I’m really curious how my journey with it will continue. Last words: if i had known how good theeeese are compared to what i would buy instead in the last years, it would have directly gone for them and actually saved money not buying the other rubbish.
It’s still pretty valuable to experience some of the other cans tbh, gives you a good perspective of why the clear is worth the cost and shows you what you get at each step which is something worthwhile knowing imo (although getting stuck in a loop with lower end gear isn’t preferable lol), glad you are enjoying it so far
you’re right, i really can appreciate it for what it can do and it justifies the money spent. That’s actually the best that could happen.