If anybody wants to hear the metallic treble on a Focal Clear or Elex, listen to the song “Bound for the Floor” by Local H. In between the guitar chords, you can hear the metallic ringing. It is subtle though and that being said, I still love my Focal Clear.
If I’m hearing what I think you’re describing it seems to be part of the recording rather than an artifact of the headphones, though the Elex tuning does let it shine through prominently.
I do hear a clear metallic ring, but not to the same degree between every chord. It comes through strongly for the first time at about 4 seconds, then again at 11 and repeats with about the same regularity throughout that track.
I first picked it up on Elex via 887 balanced, then confirmed it’s still there on DT 1990s out of the RNHP, though it’s more subdued. That’s characteristic of the 1990s in my experience with it so far–everything is present, but nothing is over-emphasized. Now that I know that ringing is there I can’t un-hear it (thanks for that, lol), but it’s not as glaring out of the 1990s despite those being bright and detailed.
I also tried Eikons out of the RNHP since those ought to be anything but “metallic,” and the ringing is actually more prominent on those than the 1990s. At the same time, coming directly from the 1990s really reveals exactly where the Eikons tune down the upper mids (they sound quite closed on an A-B with that track).
Since I was exploring “metallic sounds,” I threw on one of my test tracks for metallic timbre: “Counting Bodies Like Sheep…” by A Perfect Circle. The opening to that track has a lot of interesting real-world sounds that are fun to test the sense of auditory realism for things like the rattle of change on a surface, crackling electricity and a sweeping metal scrape that pans left to right starting at about 21 seconds. That last bit is striking and fun when it sounds like real metal, which the Elex seem to do the best job with.
Metallic timbre also makes me think brass, which always makes me think of the main title from the Payback OST by Chris Boardman. That one’s fun on both Elex and the 1900s. The latter has less bite, but the soundstage and imaging more than make up for that.
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Anyway, thanks for the reference. It’s always fun to zero in and analyze & compare notes.
EDIT–notes on setup: I am using Tidal Windows app -> RME ADI-2 DAC via USB for all test tracks.
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This post just came up while I was sitting on the patio enjoying a nice day while listening to my Ikko OH-10s through a Hip-Dac. So I queued up “Bound for the Floor” and yeah, there is a ringing sound there and I agree it’s part of the recording. It sounds like microphone feedback in a PA system a bit, actually - at least on this setup.
When I think of “metallic” sound I think of a harshness combined with a hashy timbre in the treble. The Beyerdynamic DT990 treble is the most classic example. That treble is often harsh and thin sounding which gives it a robotic, mechanical feel, IMO.
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Sound quality comments aside, that’s a good song.
And now I need to queue up “Possum Kingdom” by Toadies to keep the 90s one-hit-wonders rolling…
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Hmm, now I have to make up my mind, decide to walk with you?
Alas, I just fired up the Inception OST on the 1990s. It’s too bad I can’t drop down a level to listen to that whole album, then pop back up to launch Toadies 30 seconds from now. 
I picked that song actually because of that ringing present on that song. If I inferred that the Clears are the only headphone that make that sound, that wasn’t my intent. My point was that the Clears enhance the metallic nature of that sound…but it is very subtle and the Clears are probably my favorite open back headphone I currently own. When the LCD-X arrive next week, I will have to see if that holds true or not. 
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When it comes to 1990’s soundtracks, The Crow and Pulp Fiction are the 2 that I could listen to any time of day.
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Are we talking about 1990’s the decade or 1990’s the Beyerdynamics? 
Either way, I’m in total agreement. The DT1990s have been doing a great job of showcasing the composition that goes into scores. I just got done with the Batman: Arkham City OST and then, going way back, Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
But as far as soundtracks-as-great-collections-of-songs, it’s hard to top the two you named. In fact, I’ve run TKK’s “After the Flesh” through the Beyers a couple times over the past few days.
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