[Crinnotes] Focal Clear Mg Quick Review: Padgate? - In-Ear ...

The Clear Mg is definitely warmer and possesses less upper mids than the original. This is quite a big problem considering that the Clear has ... Posts Reviews Cliffnotes Unboxings Rankings IEMs&Earphones Headphones TheGradingSystem Collabs Hoodies FiiOxcrinacleFHE“Eclipse” SeeAudioxcrinacleYume:Midnight MoondropxcrinacleBlessing2:Dusk FearlessxcrinacleDawn Buyer’sGuide IEMs GamingHeadphones TrueWireless ImportantArticles HowtoReadGraphs TheIEFEvaluationSystem MyMusicalTastes Thoughtson:Burn-in Thoughtson:Power GraphDatabase IEMs&Earphones Headphones GRAS43AG-7 EARS+711(Legacy) RawMeasurementsDatabase GraphComparisonTools IEMs&Earphones Free Premium Headphones Free Premium Menu Posts Reviews Cliffnotes Unboxings Rankings IEMs&Earphones Headphones TheGradingSystem Collabs Hoodies FiiOxcrinacleFHE“Eclipse” SeeAudioxcrinacleYume:Midnight MoondropxcrinacleBlessing2:Dusk FearlessxcrinacleDawn Buyer’sGuide IEMs GamingHeadphones TrueWireless ImportantArticles HowtoReadGraphs TheIEFEvaluationSystem MyMusicalTastes Thoughtson:Burn-in Thoughtson:Power GraphDatabase IEMs&Earphones Headphones GRAS43AG-7 EARS+711(Legacy) RawMeasurementsDatabase GraphComparisonTools IEMs&Earphones Free Premium Headphones Free Premium [Crinnotes]FocalClearMgQuickReview:Padgate? crinacle March22,2021 4Comments Cliffnotes In-EarFidelityissupportedbythefollowing: Supportthosewhosupportus!Advertisingenquiries Introduction Welcometo“Crinnotes“,aserieswhereIpushoutrapidfireopinionsofsomeoftheheadphonesI’veheardbutcan’tbebotheredtofullyreview.ThusIwon’tgettooin-depth, norwillIbetooformalandtechnical.Lessanalysis,more…from-the-heart ifyouwill.Likewithmanyotherbrands,Ihavealove-haterelationshipwithFocal.Hatebasicallytheirentireclosed-backlineup,butlove…well,justtwomodelsreally,butbothofthemoccupytopspotsonmyRankingListforgoodreasons.MostofmyloveforFocalarebasicallycarriedbyjusttwomodels:theflagshipUtopiawhichisalmostuniversallyrespectedasoneofthebestheadphonesintheworld,andtheClearwhichiswidelyregardedastheUtopia’sbudgetalternative.Letmebeclear(heh)thatwhileI respectthesetwoheadphones,Idon’tactually love-lovethemenoughtohaveeitheroftheminmyownpersonalcollection.Bothexcellentheadphones…butnotforme.Focalkicksoff2021withtwonewreleasescomingoneafteranother:theCelesteewhichIpannedacoupleofweeksago,andnowarefreshoftheirever-popularClear:theClearMg.ThisalsomeanstheofficialdiscontinuationoftheoriginalClear,whichmaybeanon-issueoragiganticdisappointmentdependingonhowtheMgfares.SoIguessthequestiononeveryone’smindnowis,howmuchbetter(orworse)istheClearMgovertheoriginal?That’swhatIEFisheretoanswer.Productpage:https://www.focal.com/en/headphones-0/headphones/for-home/clear-mgMSRP:$1,500Drivertype:Dynamic Notsurehowtoreadgraphs? Clickhere Idon’tliketheClearMg.Actuallythat’snotreallytrue,Idon’t mindit.I’mmoredisappointedthananything. Alright,howdoIstepontheleastamountoftoeswhiledoingthis.LetmebeginbyremindingeveryoneagainthatIactuallyholdalotofrespectfortheoriginalFocalClear,tothepointwhereIhaverankedthemasthetopfive bestheadphonesIhaveeverheard.Ilikethething,I appreciatethething,andgenerallyit’soneofthesafestpurchasesinthekilobuckspaceconsideringitstonalityandtechnicalperformance. TheClearMgis…notthat.SureI’mdisappointedbyitsrelativelackofperformancecomparedtoitspredecessor,butI’meven more disappointedbythefactthatFocalhasdecidedto completelydiscontinuetheoriginalClearwithoutasecondthought.IfyouwantaTL;DRhereitis: keepyouroriginalClearsorgetoneusedmarketbeforeit’sallgone,becauseitisinmyopinionthattheClearMgisadowngrade. Right,soexplanationsareinorder.Fromtheget-gothereseemstobesometuningchangesgoingon,forthisparticularunitatleast.TheClearMgisdefinitelywarmerandpossesseslessuppermidsthantheoriginal.ThisisquiteabigproblemconsideringthattheClearhaswhatI’dliketocall“hiddenhonkiness”,wherethereisahintofhonkinessthat’sthankfullybeingmaskedbyaslightlymoreforwarduppermidrange. TheClearMg,whichtheuppermidrangesuppressedto,well,let’ssay concerninglevels,hencehasthisunderlyinghonkinessunveiled.ItiscertainlyfarhonkierthantheoriginalClearinadirectside-by-sidecomparison,aswellassoundingfairlywarmeranddareIsaymore veiled. ComparisoncourtesyoftheGraphComparisonToolThemeasurementsofcourseconfirmthis,butthisisactuallymorepuzzlingthanitiscomforting.AcoupleofothersourceswithmeasurementrigshavepublishedresultsthatshowtheClearandtheClearMgtohaveprettymuchexactlythesametuning,baringsomedeltasinthetrebleupwards.Andso,becausetheseareheadphoneswearedealingwithhere,themorelikelyexplanationisnotthatthedriver’stuninghasbeentweakedtothesignificantextent,butratherbecausethepadsthemselvesareslightlydifferent.Andso,IputtheClearMgpadsontheClear. Sobytakingpadvariationoutoftheequationhere,somethingsbecomeevenclearer:Indeed,theClearandtheClearMgare,atleastdriver-wise,tunedextremelysimilarly.Becausetherearereportsthatbothheadphonesalsomeasuresimilarwith theirownrespectivepads,thisalsoshowssomelevelofpadvariationgoingon.Thetechnicaldifferencesbetweenthetwoheadphonesaremadeevenmoreapparent.Moreonthislater.Therearesomemajorcaveatsofcourse,forinstancetheClearsthatIwastestingwithhad verywornpadsandsomaynotevenberepresentativeofwhataClearwithfreshpadswouldbelike.ButitisalsotobenotedthatIactually likedtheClearsthatIwasusingwiththewornClearpadsandnotsomuchwiththefreshClearMgpads,soifthelatterissupposedly morerepresentativeofwhatatrueClearissupposedtosoundlikethensomedownrankingisinorder.Certainlyalose-losesituationhere.Butlet’stalkalittlemoreaboutthewholeClearvsClearMgdebacle.WiththetwoonClearMgpadstherebyputtingbothonequalgroundinatonalsense,thetechnicaldifferencesgetalotmoreobvious.Thatistosay,theClearMgsoundsnoticeablymushierand“slower”thantheoriginalClear,andatadbitlessresolvingtoo. IfIhadtoputitinmorecomparativeterms,let’sjustaddintheUtopiaintothemix.TheUtopiaisoneofthemostresolvingheadphonesouttherewithatimbrethatisjustasfinickytodealwithduetoitsnotoriouslyhardtransientsandwhatsomewouldcall“overly-texturednotes”.Assuch,theClearisoftenregardedastheeasier-goingheadphonewhereinonesacrificessomeofthattop-classresolutionforatimbrethatiseasiertomanageformorepeople.ThenyouhavetheClearMg,whichisonemorestepdownfromthetwointermsofbothresolutionandnoteattack,resultinginasmootherbutalsolessdetailedpresentationallaround.Inmanycasesthiswouldstillbefine,afteralltheClearMgisstillaverydynamicheadphoneandnottoobadtechnicallywhencomparedtotherestofthemarket,butthisisoneofthefewcaseswhereIwouldactuallyrecommendanAudezeforthoselookingforasimilarsmoothed-over,upper-mid-dulledpresentationwithoutthathitinresolution.ButattheendofthedayI’mstillleftwithmorequestionsthananswers.ArethepadsdifferentfromtheoriginalClear?WhoseClearMgsarerepresentative,mineortheotherswhoreceivedsetsthatmeasuredalmostexactlyliketheoriginalswithoutapadsswap?DidIjustgetadudset?Ifso,isthereachancethatyou,thebuyer,wouldalsogetasetlikethis?IfanythingelseonethingisClear:IprefertheClear. OverallGrade: B ToneGrade:B,Technicalgrade:A- AllawardedgradesareinreferencetotheHeadphoneRankingList. SupportmeonPatreontogetaccesstotentativeranks,theexclusive“Clubhouse”Discordserverand/oraccesstothePremiumGraphComparisonTool!Withcurrenteffortstomeasuremoreheadphones,thoseintheexclusivePatreonDiscordservergettoseethosemeasurementsfirstbeforeanybodyelse.Myusualthankstoallmycurrentsupportersandshoutoutstomybigmoneyboys:Inoue“GreatestEver”“McMadface”ManHoDenisAlexanderTiffany“Desertscrub”AlesaikoyoshitatsuurataJonathan PrevPreviousTheUpdateWhere393IEMsGetAddedtotheRankingList Next[Crinnotes]SoftearsLineupOverview:OpulenceNext 4thoughtson“[Crinnotes]FocalClearMgQuickReview:Padgate?” Talkingaboutnewrevisions/successorsofheadphonessittingontopofyourlist–howcometheHifimanHE1000sehasn’treceivedaratingyet? AccordingtoAutoEq,youmeasuredsometimeagoit. Reply Alsowonderingaboutthis.TheHE1KSEsoundslikeaverypolarizingheadphonesowouldbeinterestingtohearhistake! Reply ialsowanttohisopinionontheEditionx.ilovemineandiwonderifthereisabigdifferencebetweentheeditionx,anandaandarya Reply WhatwasthephysicaldifferencebetweenthewornOGClearpadsandtheClearMGpads?WerethewornOGpadsthickerorthinner? Reply LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Comment*Name Email Website Δ Firstimpressions TansioMiraiTSMR-12“Zodiac”:Unboxing Unboxing,firstimpressionsandmeasurementsofTSMR’sflagshipIEM. ReadMore» April12,2020 1Comment Cliffnotes [Crinnotes]LB-acousticsMYSPHERE3.2:Cyberpunk SomethoughtsandimpressionsonthespiritualsuccessortothefamousAKGK1000:theMYSPHEREearspeaker. ReadMore» December14,2020 1Comment GraphDatabaseUpdates GraphDatabaseUpdate(02/07/2019) Alistofallthenewmeasurementsthathavebeenaddedtothedatabase. ReadMore» July1,2019 2Comments Reviews 64AudioNioReview:TheRealN8 Areviewof64Audio’shybriduniversalmodel,the9-driverNio. ReadMore» November24,2020 5Comments RankingListUpdates TheBigOctoberMixup(rankinglistupdate) Apartfrommymeasurementsdatabase,theIEMrankinglistisprobablymymostambitiousproject.Clockinginat311entries ReadMore» October23,2019 4Comments Firstimpressions VSonicVS7:Unboxing IntroductionTheVS7isVSonic’smodernanswertotheiragingGR07,amodellegendaryforits“giantkiller”statusback ReadMore» July10,2019 1Comment «Previous Next» Subscribetogetnotifiedofnewposts! *indicatesrequired EmailAddress* In-EarFidelityissupportedbythefollowing: Supportthosewhosupportus!Advertisingenquiries