Focal Clear Mg Review | Bloom Audio

The two big places the Arya had an advantage over the Clear were the bass extension and the soundstage. In the bass category, the Mg has a ... 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TheFocalClearMgisatotalredesignofthefamedClearwithanallnewlookandanewMagnesiumdomedynamicdriver,whichpromisestoprovideimproveddynamicsandlowendimpact.Thequestionis,doesthenewdesignreallyprovideaclearimprovementovertheoriginal? TheBuildandDesign ClearMgcontinuesFocal’strackrecordofprovidingheadphonesthatlookandfeelpremiumandluxurious,andcomeinpackageswithstrongpresentationvalues.TheheadphonesthemselveslookalmosthalfwaybetweenStelliaandtheoriginalClearintermsofthecolorscheme.Thegreyandsilveroftheoriginalhasbeenreplacedwithbeigeandgoldenbrownwithsilveraccents.Thelookiscertainlymoreexcitingthantheoldone,butit’stakingtimetogrowonme. ThefitandcomfortareasexpectedfromFocal:theheadphonesarerelativelylightweight,withasoftleatherwrappingontheheadbandandspaciousearpads.ClearMgusesventedsuedeearpadswhichIfindtobemorecomfortablethanleatherforlongerlisteningsessions.ThenewerbatchofFocalheadphones,includingClearMgandRadianceseemtohavealittlemoreclampforcethantheolderdesigns.Radiancehadabittoomuchattimes,butClearMgseemstohaveabetterbalanceandamorecomfortableamountofpressure. Thepackageisquitegoodaswell.ItincludesataupeFocaltravelcasealongwithtwocables.There’sonebalancedXLRcable,andtheotherisa3.5mmcablewithascrew-on6.3mmadapter.Intermsoflooks,thecablesaremucheasiertouse,andnotnearlyasstiffastheoriginalClear,whichIseeasabigwin. TheSound TheClearMgsoundisspaciousandnatural.Itprovidesaneutralresponsethatgivesthefeelingthatyou’rehearingthesoundjustasitwasoriginallyrecorded.There’sverymuchofa“studio”feeltotheClearMg.Thetuninganddynamicsbeingreminiscentofnearfieldmonitorsinatreatedroom. Thetrebleismorebrightthansmoothwithabitofair,butnoharshpeaks.Themidsarethick,detailed,andwelllayered.Vocalsarepresentedinaprominent,personalfashion.Thebassisgenerallylinearwithjustatouchofmidbass“punch”andamostlylinearsubbassextension.Thebasselementsarenotasprominentastheuppermidsandtrebleinthetuning,butthereisanoticeablefeelingofbassimpact,withtheClearMgdeliveringquiteabitofphysicalbassresponse. Thesoundstageisbroadandexpansiveandcanoftencreateathreedimensionalfeelingofau-shapedstagewiththeinstrumentsalmostsurroundingthelistener.Theimagingandlayeringfeelaccurate,placinginstrumentsandvoiceswitharealsenseofdepthandpositioning.Evenincomplicateddeeplylayeredpieces,theClearmakesiteasytoseparateandfocusonindividualpartsandperformances. TheClearMgalsohasaparticularlystrongsenseofdynamics.AwellrecordedalbumwithstrongdynamicfeatureswilldemonstratetherangeoftheClearMg–fromthedelicatereproductionofsoftermomentstotheforceofacrescendo.Thismakesitaparticularlystrongperformerwithclassicalmusic–orevengenreslikeprogressiverock–whichhasabroaddynamicrange. OnDaveMatthewsBand“#41”theClearMgimmersesyouinthemusicwiththebandevenlyspacedallaroundyou.CarterBeauford’scymbalworkistightandcrisp,andthebassdrumhitswithapalpableimpact.Theguitarandsaxophoneflankyoutotheleftandright,withthevocalsinthemiddle.Asthebandswellsintothesecondchorus,eachoftheintricatedetailsoftheensembleremainsclearandcoherentasthelayersblendtogetherintoacohesivewhole. IngridMichaelson’svoiceisupcloseandimmenselypersonalatthestartof“DieAlone”withthebackingvocalswhisperingsoftlyinyourears.Whentherestofthebandcomesin,agreatersenseofspacebecomesapparent,withtheplayersandsingersspreadacrossastage.Theinstrumenttimbreisnatural,withthewholepresentationfeelinglikewatchingaperformanceatasmallclub. ChristianLoffler’sParallelsalbumprovidesauniquemixofclassicalorchestrationandelectronicmusic.On“Nocturne,”thepersistentbassfeelssomewherebetweenametronomeandaheartbeat,keepingyougroundedwhiletheClearMgpresentsashiftingsoundscapeebbingandflowingaroundit.On“Nadir,”etherealsoundsandvoicessurroundyou,withtheClearMgprovidingcreatingahugespacewhereanoperasingerserenadesyoufromsomewhereinthedistancewhileyou’reenvelopedinsoftsynthesizers.Throughouttheentirealbum,ClearMgprovidesabalanceofspaceandintimacy,anddeliverslayersofelectronicandsymphonicinstrumentswithclarityandcohesion. TheClearMgisfairlyeasytodrive,offeringsolidperformancewithavarietyofdevices.WhileitrunswelloffofaDX160,it’snotquitesensitiveenoughtoperformwellstraightoffaphoneorlowpowerDAC.MostofmylisteningwasdonewiththeQuestyleCMATwelveandthe iFiiDSDSignature.IfFocal’senhancementsofthelow-endaren’tquiteenoughforyourtastes,theXBass+ontheiDSDSignaturereallytooktheClearMgfrom“tasteful,linearbass”to“maybethesecansreallyaregoodforbassheads.” Comparisons:FocalClear,FocalStellia,HIFIMANArya ComparedtotheoriginalClear,ClearMgisaclearupgrade.Youstillgettheincredibletransparencyanddetailoftheoriginal,alongwithasoundstageandimagingthat’sjustasgood.Inaddition,yougetimprovementsinthedynamicsandlow-endthatimproveontheoriginalbyaddingwhatfeltlikeitwasmissing,withoutaccentuatinganyaspecttoomuchoralteringthecharacterofit.Particularlywhenlisteningtorock,pop,soul,orjazz,youcanfeelthatlittlebitofoomphandimpactthatthemusicreallyneeded.WhattheMgendsupprovidingisamoreaccurate,honestreproductionofthatportionofthemusicthataddspresenceandclarityallthewaydown. LestyougettheimpressionthatsomehowFocalismakingconcessionstothebassheads,IthoughtI’dbringintheFocalStelliaasabitofgrounding.StelliaisthenextstepupinFocal’slineupandprovidesasenseofspaceanddynamicsthatcanonlyhavebeeninjectedintoaclosedbackheadphonebysomeformofproprietaryFrenchwitchcraft.Alongwiththat,StelliaprovidesasmallelevationinthebassthatgivesyousomethingalittlelesslinearandalittlemoreofaHarmantypecurve. Bycomparison,whileClearMgfeelslikeithassomesmallelevationsinthebasscomparedtotheoriginalClear,it’sstillnotinthesameleagueasStellia.Stelliahasaprominentlowend“thump”thattakeswhatClearMgisdoingtothenextlevel.Stelliaalsohasalittlebitmorewarmthinit,whileClearMghasamoresolidlyneutralsignature.WhilepartoftheStellia’smagicisthelevelofperformanceyougetinaclosedbackheadphone,ClearMgisreallycompetitivewiththeStelliaintermsofdetailretrieval,anddefinitelyhasawidersoundstage.It’sreallyastrongtestamenttohowimpressiveClearMgisat$1490. ProbablyamoredirectcompetitortotheClearMgthantheOGClearorStelliaistheHIFIMANArya.Infact,ClearMgseemsalmosttunedtotakebacksomeofArya’sadvantagesovertheoriginalClear.ThetwobigplacestheAryahadanadvantageovertheClearwerethebassextensionandthesoundstage.Inthebasscategory,theMghasastronger,deeperlowendthantheoriginalClear,andthetonalityoftheClearMgbassmorecloselymatchesthelowendoftheArya.TheClearMgtakesanadvantageherewhereithasmorephysicalresponse,andaphysicalresponsethat’seasiertodrawoutatlowervolumeandpower. Thesoundstagebattlelargelyremainsthesame,withAryaremainingthesoundstagekingunder$2000.Thereissomedegreeofpreferencethoughinregardtothesoundstageandpositioning.Aryaplacesyouinamassivecathedral,butalsosetsyoufairlyfarbackfromtheaction.ClearMgdoesn’tprovidethesamelevelofspaceorsize,butitputsyouclosertotheaction.Again,thiswillbemoreamatterofpreferenceorevengenreaslargerorchestralpiecesorarenarockmayfeelmoreexcitinginthemassivevirtualspaceprovidedbytheArya,whileintimatevocalperformancesorasolopianopiecemightbemoreengagingwiththemore“upfront”deliveryoftheClearMg. TheBottomLine ClearMgprovidesastudio-liketransparent,neutralresponse,withasenseofenergyandimpactthatkeepsthingsexciting.Itspresentationofdetailsinthespaceitcreatesmakesyoualmostfeellikeyoucouldreachoutandtouchtheperformers.Inaddition,it’sagreatupdatetotheClear–analreadygreatheadphone.Altogether,theClearMgprovidesnearlyflagshiplevelperformanceinagreatpackageunder$1500. 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