Focal Clear Review (headphone) | Page 6 - Audio Science ...

Through reviews at crinacle and diy audio heaven, I thought these Focal Clear shall be great candidate. I admit I'm surprised and will see ... Reviews ReviewIndex Forums What'snew Donations Members Login Register What'snew Search Newposts Searchforums Menu Login Register Installtheapp Install WANTED:Happymemberswholiketodiscussaudioandothertopicsrelatedtoourinterest.Desiretolearnandshareknowledgeofsciencerequiredasis20yearsofparticipationinforums(notalltrue).Therearedailyreviewsofaudiohardwareandexpertmemberstohelpansweryourquestions. Clickheretohaveyouraudioequipmentmeasuredforfree! Forums Audio,Audio,Audio! HeadphonesandHeadphoneAmplifierReviews Headphone&IEMReviews&Discussions Youareusinganoutofdatebrowser.Itmaynotdisplaythisorotherwebsitescorrectly.Youshouldupgradeoruseanalternativebrowser. FocalClearReview(headphone) Threadstarter amirm Startdate Dec20,2020 Prev 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 39 Next First Prev 6of39 Next Last Y YSC MajorContributor Joined Dec31,2019 Messages 1,752 Likes 1,246 Daaadousaid: Thankyouforhavingalooktotheotherwebsites'curvestogiveanopinion. Othertopic,Idon'tknow,isitnormaltoseesuchdifferentbetweentheleftandtherightdriver? Clicktoexpand... Ithinkit'sprettynormal,consideringthedummyeartransferaminutedifferenceintheheadphonedrivertothesimulatedearwillhavebigeffectonthose,it'sacomplicatedthing,backwhenIwasonlyusingHPsandbasicallyfollowedTyll'sblogitseemstomethathiswayofdoing5measurementsandaveragingthatmakesamuchbettersensesofdriverconsistency.   AdamBernau Member ForumDonor Joined Apr14,2020 Messages 81 Likes 127 amirmsaid: Iboughtabunchofunder$99headphonesafewmonthsback.IwillstarttestingthemonceIgetthroughtheloaneronesthathavebeenwaiting.don'thavethatPhillipsthough.Doesithaveagoodreputation? Clicktoexpand... Canťwait!ItisverydisapointingtoseehowbadlyarethoseFocalsengineered..IamhearingonlysuperlativesrecentlyaboutSuperluxheadphones,aretheyalsointhebunch?TheHD668BandHD681Evoarepraisedalmostlikemiraclefortheprice.Iftheyarenotinthegroup,perhapssomebodyfromUScouldbuythemandofferthemtoyoufortesting.Iwouldgladlydothat,butiaminEurope https://bit.ly/2KHclKu https://amzn.to/34uewIz   pkane MajorContributor ForumDonor Joined Aug18,2017 Messages 3,073 Likes 5,420 Location North-East YSCsaid: Ithinkit'sprettynormal,consideringthedummyeartransferaminutedifferenceintheheadphonedrivertothesimulatedearwillhavebigeffectonthose,it'sacomplicatedthing,backwhenIwasonlyusingHPsandbasicallyfollowedTyll'sblogitseemstomethathiswayofdoing5measurementsandaveragingthatmakesamuchbettersensesofdriverconsistency. Clicktoexpand... I'vebeenmeasuringheadphonesdirectlyonmyhead.Itmakesadifferenceinhowtheyarepositioned,andaveryslightmovement,differenceinpressureorlackofpressure,canchangethefrequencyresponse.So,Iagree,takingasinglemeasurementandsmoothingit,andthenassumingit'srepresentativeoftherealresponseislikelylessaccuratethanusinganaverageovermultiplepositions. Iusuallytake5-10measurements,repositioningtheheadphoneseachtime,buteachtimetryingtofititthebestIcan,butnottryingtorepeatexactlythepreviousposition.It'seasiertodoonmyownear,asIcanfeelthefitandthepressure,andcandecideifthisisareasonablycomfortableandapositionthatImightactuallyusetolisten.Theresultsaremoreconsistentthisway.Anaverageseemstobeabetterrepresentation,despiteitssmoothingcharacteristics.Tomymind,variationsduetopositionoftheheadphoneshouldbeaveragedoutbytakingmultiplemeasurements.   Paul DeltaWave,DISTORT,Earful,PKHarmonic,new:MultitoneAnalyzer R rodtor Member ForumDonor Joined Aug21,2019 Messages 96 Likes 167 Location Toronto Thanksagain,@amirm,foranotherinformativereview.Iparticularlylikethewayyouaddressedthequestionofbefore-andafter-EQdistortionmeasurements,anissuethatwasaddressedbyreadersofyourearlierreviews. @solderduderaisesaninterestingpointinentry#33abouthowmuchweshouldrelyoninformationaboutthisfromsinewavetests.Iwonder,ontheotherhand,ifthismightnotinfactbeareasonablemeasure,akindof'torturetest',thatonecouldputallheadphonesthrough.Ifmostmakeit,andonlyafewdon't,thenperhapsthattellsussomethinginterestingaboutwhattheirpotentiallimitationsmightbe. Onanothernote,thePhilipsFidelioX2HRhavereceivedaveryhighscoreonRtings,andalsogoodFRratingfromOratory1990,andarecomparativelyinexpensive.Ithinktheywouldbeagreatcandidateforreviewing,ifthat'spossible.   FrankDernie MasterContributor ForumDonor Joined Mar24,2016 Messages 5,938 Likes 13,841 Location Oxfordshire Jimbob54said: Agoodfittingiemisararity.Evenwithtiprolling.Itoohaveslightlydifferentfitineachear.It'sapain.ButIcouldn'twearoverearwhenwalking,soIpersistwithiem. Clicktoexpand... Ihadinearmouldedmonitorssuppliedforwork.WhentheguytookamouldofmyearcanalIaskedhimtomakeasecondsetformyEtymoticER4S.ItmakesabigdifferencetocomfortbutIstillgetabigbuildupofeatwax. IonlysuspecteditwaswearingIEMswhichcausedmyproblembutitwasonlyconfirmedwheniretiredandworethemmuchless.Nownaturecancopewiththemagnitudeofwaxmyearsgenerate.ItcouldnotwhenwearingIEMsmoreoften,(about8to10hourseverysecondweekend).   L lashto AddictedtoFunandLearning ForumDonor Joined Mar8,2019 Messages 583 Likes 302 Jimbob54said: Agoodfittingiemisararity.Evenwithtiprolling.Itoohaveslightlydifferentfitineachear.It'sapain.ButIcouldn'twearoverearwhenwalking,soIpersistwithiem. Clicktoexpand... Iwouldrecommendhttps://www.westone.com/store,particularlytheUMseries.Youcantry/buyfromamazon. Byfarthemostcomfynon-customsinmyexperience.AndItriedhundreds(canjam/audioshows)   Lastedited:Dec20,2020 imagidominc ActiveMember ForumDonor Joined Feb15,2019 Messages 127 Likes 390 IowntheElexsoIwaslookingforwardtothisreview.Needlesstosay,theclippingiswhatovertookthereview,nosurprise. IhavegotmyElextocliponseveraloccasions,sowhileitisagreatsoundingheadphone,itstillhasthismajordesignflaw. Ifyougotootheraudioforums,you'llseethemdiscussingthis,withmanysayingFocalclaimsittobeafeature,notaflaw. AllIknowisFocalElexorclearwouldhavebeenmylastheadphoneifnotforthisissue.NowI'msittingheretypingthiswithmyHD800(RoonEQ)listeningtoTypeONegativeandcouldn'tbehappier.NevergoingtosellmyElexthough,it'sgreat.Justnotgreatenoughtofillallmyneeds.   Exponentialpatternsofreality Daaadou Member Joined Jun29,2020 Messages 67 Likes 59 Location Paris,France Jimbob54said: Agoodfittingiemisararity.Evenwithtiprolling.Itoohaveslightlydifferentfitineachear.It'sapain.ButIcouldn'twearoverearwhenwalking,soIpersistwithiem. Clicktoexpand... I'veneverfindonethatwillstayinsidemyearwhileI'mwalkingatafastpace,iemyusualpace. SinceIdonotliketowearoverearoutside(dangerouswiththetraffic),Ienjoythesoundofthecityfromnowon Myheadphonesmajoruseovertheyearsisfortransportation,BoseQC35,becauseItakelotsofplanesandtrainsforworkandithelpsalot,yougetlesstiredwithNCdevices,quiteamazing. Andnow,IwantaHiFisetofheadphonesforwhenmywifeisasleepandalsoonvacationbecauseImissmylisteningsessionsomuchwhenIleavemyGalionVIIloudspeakersforsolong... That'swhyIwillseeifIgethappywiththeseFocalClearProwhentheycomeinnextweek...   N nhatlam96 Guest WhatistheperfectampoutputimpedancefortheClear?Howdoyoucalculatethis?   H HDavidson Member Joined Jun1,2019 Messages 79 Likes 76 Robbo99999said: Areyousureaboutthattypo.ItmakeszerosensetoapplyahighQfilter(eg3.6)toafrequencyashighas19870Hz,becausethereiszerochanceofthatcorrelatingtoyouwearingyourheadphones....it'sunpredictableinspecificfrequencytermsabove10kHz,butbroadshelforwideQequalisationsaresensibleabove10kHz.Ijustinputted19870HzQ0.36intoEqualiserAPOjustnowanditprovidesabroadcutwithnoticeableaffectscreepinginfrom7kHzonwards. Clicktoexpand... I'msure.ApplyingQ=0.36theentirehighfrequencyzonewillgodownandwillnotcorrespondtotheoratory1990filterschedule. ThisiswhatacorrectionlookslikewithQ=3.6 Andturnedoff12638Hz.   Attachments fc.jpg 134.7KB·Views:80 Lastedited:Dec20,2020 N nhatlam96 Guest Atwhatsongsdoyouexperienceclipping?Icantmakeitclipsofar,evenwithamireq   Daaadou Member Joined Jun29,2020 Messages 67 Likes 59 Location Paris,France nhatlam96said: Atwhatsongsdoyouexperienceclipping?Icantmakeitclipsofar,evenwithamireq Clicktoexpand... Onotherforum,theywereusingsongsfilledwithsubbasstodiscriminatethisclippingissue,Idon'trememberwhichonebutIthinkmassiveattackbestofshoulddothetrick Howdoyouusethem?Meaning,whatisyoursourceandyouramp?   Jimbob54 MasterContributor ForumDonor Joined Oct25,2019 Messages 8,084 Likes 9,753 Daaadousaid: I'veneverfindonethatwillstayinsidemyearwhileI'mwalkingatafastpace,iemyusualpace. SinceIdonotliketowearoverearoutside(dangerouswiththetraffic),Ienjoythesoundofthecityfromnowon Myheadphonesmajoruseovertheyearsisfortransportation,BoseQC35,becauseItakelotsofplanesandtrainsforworkandithelpsalot,yougetlesstiredwithNCdevices,quiteamazing. Andnow,IwantaHiFisetofheadphonesforwhenmywifeisasleepandalsoonvacationbecauseImissmylisteningsessionsomuchwhenIleavemyGalionVIIloudspeakersforsolong... That'swhyIwillseeifIgethappywiththeseFocalClearProwhentheycomeinnextweek... Clicktoexpand... Theyaren'tthecomfiest,buttomyearstheyaregreat.Separateinstrumentsandreproducethemverywell.PersonallynotexperiencedthecracklesandpopsfromclippingbutYMMV.   Lastedited:Dec20,2020 ToomanyDACs>Toomanyamps>Toomanyheadphones imagidominc ActiveMember ForumDonor Joined Feb15,2019 Messages 127 Likes 390 solderdudesaid: Iwouldevendaretosaythatoneshouldlistentoheadphonesthatonewantstobuyfirstbeforetrustingreviewsandmeasurements. Obviouslytheinterestwaspeakedbeforeashewascontemplatingbuyingthem. TheonlydownsidesforFocal(andthereasonIneverboughtone)arethehardclippingatextremebasslevels,warrantyissuesandabsurdpricingforpads.Soundquality/distortioncertainlyarenoreasonsfornotbuyingthese...infactsoundqualityanddistortionlevelsarethemainreasontobuythem.Uppertreblecanbeabit'steely'. Clicktoexpand... Iagreewithsolderdudehere.SoundqualityintheFocallineisAMAZINGbuttheseareallrealproblemstoconsider.Btwsolderdude,you'retheonethatconvincedmetogowithanHD800,thankyouforthat!   Exponentialpatternsofreality NewkYuler ActiveMember Joined Mar5,2019 Messages 155 Likes 241 pozzsaid: Justcurious:whichofthemeasuredresultsconvincedyoutoforegotheseheadphones? Clicktoexpand... Theeasilyinterpreteddeviationfrompreferredfrequencyresponsegraphiswonkyenoughtojustifyafacepalm.I'mwonderingifthissortofthingisgoingtobetypicalofheadphoneprofilesbasedonthemeasurementsinAmir'sheadphonetestssofar. IhaveHifimanAryathat'susedmuchlessthanmyspeakers.Iwanteddynamicheadphonesofsimilarcost-valuetocontrasttheplanarsandtheClearlookedrightfromamanufacturerwithanestablished,welldeservediconicreputationforhifisound.Idon'thaveasourcetocompareheadphonesexceptthelocalaudioshowinTampathatgotcancelledfor2021becauseofCovid19.AnythingI'vedecidetoacquireinthelastyearorsoisbasedongoodreviewsandmostlyASRprofiles(whenavailable)becauseASRhasrepeatedlyprovenitselfasaconfidenceworthyresource.MycurrentDAC,pre/headamp,andpowerampsarehighvaluenearlyreferencequalitySOTAcomponentsthatwereheavilyinfluencedbyAmir'sprofilesandI'mcompletelysatisfiedwithallofthem.So... IntheeraofASR'sinfluenceI'mnotgoingtoinvestinanythingthatneedssignificantEQtoperformproperly.IrealizeitseemseverythingthatreproduceshifisoundneedsabitofEQorDSPtoactuallyperformasitshould,butI'moldschoolinawaythatbelievesexpensivemodernaudioequipmentshouldbeveryclosetoneutralwithouthavingtotweakit.   Daaadou Member Joined Jun29,2020 Messages 67 Likes 59 Location Paris,France Jimbob54said: Theyaren'tthecomfiest,buttomyearstheygreat.Separateinstrumentsandreproduceverywell.PersonallynotexperiencedthecracklesandpopsfromclippingbutYMMV. Clicktoexpand... IauditionedapairataspecializedstorehereinParislastweekbeforeIorderedsomefromtheinternet(thingsarecheapinGermanythesedays,wonderingwhy...) Frankly,I'vetriedata"realistic"volumeonverybassytracksandonverybrightsensitivetracks,Ihaven'texperiencedthesecracksorpopseitherandtheywerenotmakingmewincelikeotherHPs.Plusthevoiceswereprettydamngood.IdefinitelypreferedthemovertheHD800Sbutthat'smyverypersonalopinion.   Daaadou Member Joined Jun29,2020 Messages 67 Likes 59 Location Paris,France NewkYulersaid: Theeasilyinterpreteddeviationfrompreferredfrequencyresponsegraphiswonkyenoughtojustifyafacepalm.I'mwonderingifthissortofthingisgoingtobetypicalofheadphoneprofilesbasedonthemeasurementsinAmir'sheadphonetestssofar. IhaveHifimanAryathat'susedmuchlessthanmyspeakers.Iwanteddynamicheadphonesofsimilarcost-valuetocontrasttheplanarsandtheClearlookedrightfromamanufacturerwithanestablished,welldeservediconicreputationforhifisound.Idon'thaveasourcetocompareheadphonesexceptthelocalaudioshowinTampathatgotcancelledfor2021becauseofCovid19.AnythingI'vedecidetoacquireinthelastyearorsoisbasedongoodreviewsandmostlyASRprofiles(whenavailable)becauseASRhasrepeatedlyprovenitselfasaconfidenceworthyresource.MycurrentDAC,pre/headamp,andpowerampsarehighvaluenearlyreferencequalitySOTAcomponentsthatwereheavilyinfluencedbyAmir'sprofilesandI'mcompletelysatisfiedwithallofthem.So... IntheeraofASR'sinfluenceI'mnotgoingtoinvestinanythingthatneedssignificantEQtoperformproperly.IrealizeitseemseverythingthatreproduceshifisoundneedsabitofEQorDSPtoactuallyperformasitshould,butI'moldschoolinawaythatbelievesexpensivemodernaudioequipmentshouldbeveryclosetoneutralwithouthavingtotweakit. Clicktoexpand... Samehere,ASRhasdrivencoupleofinvestmentImadeinHiFigearaswellandistrustworthy. IsearchforsomeHPfollowingthesamelogicyouhave:noEQifpossible.Ihavedonethesamewithmyspeakers,alwaysenhancingtheirpositionandthecharacteristicsoftheroom,ieputtingsomecarpetsandcurtainsforexampleinsteadofusingDSP Throughreviewsatcrinacleanddiyaudioheaven,IthoughttheseFocalClearshallbegreatcandidate.IadmitI'msurprisedandwillseeformyselfwhenIreceivemysetinafewdays.Gettinganxious   Lastedited:Dec21,2020 antdroid ActiveMember Reviewer Joined Apr1,2018 Messages 105 Likes 231 Location Seattle TheFocaldriverswillclipathighvolume....andforme,muchhigherthanIeverwouldwanttolistentoanddefinitelywellbelow114dbSPL.WhileIunderstandtheremaybesomestandardizationofusingsuchahighSPLvaluetotestwith,doesanyoneactuallyrealisticallylistentolevelsthishigh? Mynormallisteningvolumeisaround70dBSPLat1KHzorso,whichis44dbbelowthetestedvalue...whichissomethinglike10000Xmoresoundintensity,orsomethinglike16Xmoreperceivedvolumechange. IfyouarecomparingeverythingtotheHarmanPreferenceTarget,you'renotgoingtofindmanyheadphonesthatwillmatchit.Mostopenbackscan'tevengettothebasslevelsthattheharmantargethasforasubbassshelf,andmostroll-off.TheonlyoneIcaneventhinkofistheFostexTH909whichissemi-open.Closedbacksaremorelikelytohitthetargetbuttheyalsodistortmore.It'salose-loseinsomeways. IpersonallythinktheharmanbassshelfforOEistooboostedandtheupper-midrangeandtrebletoobrightmyself--andthinkseveryoneshouldreallyjustlistentotheheadphoneinadditiontolookingatthesetestresultsbecausetheymaynotactuallyfollowyourpreferencesoryourlisteningenvironment.   Lastedited:Dec20,2020 AndrewDavis ActiveMember Joined Apr4,2019 Messages 220 Likes 417 IlovemyClears.NowIknowhowpeopleoveratSBAFfeelwhenAmir’smeasurementsshowSchiitgeartobeflawed. Tomakeitevenworse,IEQ’dmyclearsandtheysoundevenbetter.   Jimbob54 MasterContributor ForumDonor Joined Oct25,2019 Messages 8,084 Likes 9,753 AndrewDavissaid: IlovemyClears.NowIknowhowpeopleoveratSBAFfeelwhenAmir’smeasurementsshowSchiitgeartobeflawed. Tomakeitevenworse,IEQ’dmyclearsandtheysoundevenbetter. Clicktoexpand... Ifeelyourpain.   ToomanyDACs>Toomanyamps>Toomanyheadphones Prev 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 39 Next First Prev 6of39 Next Last Youmustloginorregistertoreplyhere. 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