focal clear review

My list of grail items isn’t very long, only consisting of a pilot watch, this gorgeous knife, a zoom lens that puts the “L” in luxury, and my recently acquired OP-1 synthesizer, and now I can add the Focal Clear headphones to that list. Go to Close. Listening Afresh In this review, we break down the Clear’s sound, design, comfort and fit, packaging and accessories, specs and more. Because the Clear draws so much of its design ethos and feature set from the Utopia, comparisons are not only inevitable but necessary, despite the large gap in price. It’s my new grail pair of headphones. In the box you’ll get a nice hardshell carrying case, with the headphones tucked away nicely inside. Its balance of frequencies, especially in the crucial midrange, was beyond reproach, free of gross flaws and even minor ones. Focal Clear. Cooking Appliances. Super comfortable Focal Clear Review. Thenew generation of perforated microfiber ear cushions add to CLEAR’s open design, giving the headphones aweightless, almost invisible feeling. This same design has found its way into the Focal Clear headphones—which are just as sleek and bulky. Like its older brother, Clear uses a 40mm aluminium-magnesium m-shaped dome driver. The company also claims that they ‘disappear’ when in use, possibly the greatest compliment you can pay a pair of phones when mixing. Compare the cheapest UK prices. It is specifically designed to distribute the weight of the headphones across the entire head so that it feels lighter and more balanced than in would otherwise. The Focal Clear headphones from the front. Aluminum/magnesium diaphragms Bass was tight and disciplined. To my ears, I can tell you they've succeeded admirably. This formidable loudspeaker manufacturer gave its emergent headphone line its best shot in the Focal Utopia, a four-thousand-dollar product that we hailed with a five-star review. If you do have a headphone amp: power to you, but you probably don’t need one here unless you’re using a standalone DAC. We’ve compared it to its closest counterpart, the Elegia, and paired it with the iFi IDSD Neo to see how much potential this headphone has, as well as grow our understanding of where it stands in Focals library. This foam is coated by perforated microfiber. The Focal Elear are good open-back critical listening headphones. Minus My only qualm with the build is that the headband is a bit squeaky at times, and though this isn’t a problem when you’re wearing them: if they’re fresh out the box, it could very well become an issue over time. These are built spectacularly well, though they’re not perfect. As far as connections go, Focal made sure to provide almost every kind of connection in the box with three different kinds of cables. What I missed in comparison with the Utopia was the nth degree of refinement, the more intense tone color, the sense of barriers falling, and the kind of transparency that’s an emotional sucker-punch. A hard-shell case is also included. CLEAR completely envelopes the user in musical purity, as one of thebest headphones on the marketFocal Clear high-fidelity headphone made in France by Focal. January 3, 2021 . 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White Goods. Besides that you’ll get the quick start guide and instruction manual and that’s about it. You need to find a … The imaging of these dynamic headphones was scrupulously focused—perhaps not as gossamer and airy as a comparably priced planar model, but more dense and concentrated. Priced at $1500, the Clear is the top end of Focal’s aluminum/magnesium driver consumer headphones lineup – with Focal’s flagship models, the Stellia and Utopia using beryllium drivers. Well done on that front Focal, very well done. Reply June … While I have a penchant for stealth black audio gear, I find the light gray/metallic silver of the Clear an immensely appealing design. The softness of the earpads makes the Clears even more comfortable. 14 Comments. I have favored planar types over dynamic drivers. The Clear do a great job at being heavy enough so that you’re aware that you’re wearing headphones, yet light enough that you’re okay with it. Reviewed back in SOS January 2014, the Spirit Professionals boast a clean, crisp sound, are easy to drive from low‑powered sources, and offer outstanding isolation. Focal Clear have plenty of padding for ultimate comfort When you look at the Focal Utopia it jumps out at you. Plus The sound is just incredible. Its latest offering, the Focal Clear, borrows technology developed for the Utopia and cuts the price by more than half. The design is bold, and the large, industrial looking cans are unapologetic about the fact that they’re not portable headphones. The Focal Clear headphones are a new $1500 open back offering designed and developed in France. If you couldn’t tell, I love these headphones. Their open design makes them a poor choice for any other use cases as they don’t block any ambient noise and don't have a microphone or wireless technology. Despite this bias, now served by Audeze LCD-Xs. Yes, if you’re the questing type and money is no object, you can spend more and get more—but a lot of folks with four figures to spend might want to stop right here. The most startling moment I spent with the Clear came during Debussy’s Complete Music for Two Pianos, with Stephen Coombs and Christopher Scott (CD). It’s both the name of one of Focal’s premium headphone models, a descriptor of those headphones, and possibly even a one word review of them. A few months back I got a chance to check out the Focal Utopia headphones, which are easily one of the top 3 best sounding cans I’ve ever used. ifi xCan - iematch for Focal Clear / Tin T2? My first experience with them was playing the song “In Us” by Lexie which starts with some guitar plucks descending into the main rhythm. Clear. These headphones are kind of large, but comfortable. Hiby R6 2020 Review. The Clear entertained and satisfied me, but the Utopia kept me in a constant state of surprise and amazement. It perfectly suited the album’s mellow tonal balance, and conveyed its characteristic richness without any thickening. Those features are not just sweetly cosmetic but functionally crucial. I could wear them for a couple of hours before becoming aware of the weight (about a pound). By. This will reveal the journey I took … It sounded like the plucks were coming from right next to me. The design is bold, and the large, industrial looking cans are unapologetic about the fact that they’re not portable headphones. While most of earphone producers are dominating isodynamic producers or attempting to carry dynamic ones to mind, Focal designers have led a huge scope investigation of every accessible innovation and reached the resolution that none of them is fit for giving adequate sound … To see how it stacks up, see our list of the best high-end headphones. Household. Today's Deals: Home. For the past 30-plus years, since I heard my first pair of Stax electrostatics. That is, unless you don’t care that everyone around you can hear what you’re listening to. Associated equipment included an AudioQuest DragonFly Red amp/DAC fed by a Windows 10 desktop PC for hi-res files and a Moon by Simaudio Neo 230HD amp/DAC fed by the analog output of an Oppo BDP-83 Special Edition universal disc player. The catch is that it’s sometimes 2 times … These are meant to be used at home; not on the bus. Last summer, a high-end speaker company out of France shocked the audiophile world with two of the best pairs of high-end headphones, the $1,000 Focal … The true, uncolored timbre of the oboe contrasted with the apparently more distant-miked orchestra, which emerged restrained but not softened. In the 19-minute Yes epic “Close to the Edge” (Blu-ray, 24/96 LPCM stereo mix), the Clear got the bold strokes right (pipe organ not too sizzly) while delighting in the small details (Jon Anderson’s slight smoker’s rasp in the quiet passage of “I Get Up, I Get Down”). … As for a direct Sennheiser HD 800 S (2016) vs. Focal Clear (2017) comparison of their review performance, we examined sources that tested and rated both products, like Head-fi. So whatever you’re going to be using to listen to your music Focal has you covered here with three high quality options. That said, this basically becomes a non-issue when you put it on. I had an opportunity to take these home and demo them for several days. It's a superior product for the discerning music lover who demands … Trickle Down Stated plainly, they have the most balanced tonality of any headphone I've The Clear is … That wasn’t the case with the Utopia, which demanded that I be seated and barely moving unless I wanted them to slip off. But there were some things that I didn’t like about them, mainly the loose fit and of course that $4,000 price tag that I could never afford. The most visually prominent features are the silver mesh that conceals the backsides of the drivers and the pale gray perforated microfiber earpads and headband pad. One of them ends in an XLR so you can plug into higher end equipment or interfaces, while the other ends in a ¼” jack. The Focal Radiance has made quite the impression over here at MajorHiFi. Focal’s Clear is a departure from my preferred cans. I did do a little bit of listening via the ¼” jack plugged into my audio recorder for work, but that was about it. Though I should mention that if you’re wearing these in the summer that probably won’t be the case for you, They’re not that breathable. The critics say the Clear gives you 95% of the Utopia sound quality, just as the Elear is said to bring 90-95% of the Clear's sq. Clear is equipped with a new generation full-range speaker driver developed by Focal. These headphones will only run you $1,500—which is less than half the price of the Utopias—and also don’t slide off your head every time you look down. The cavity in the middle is also perfect for storing the three cables that it comes with, two of which are 10-feet long. Focal Clear. If you want to take them anywhere, you’ll have to make space in your bag for the hardshell carrying case which is just as sturdy and finely designed as the headphones. These aren’t an everyday pair of headphones for the average commuter; these are for the person who loves their audio setup and wants their listening sessions to be an experience. 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