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Focal Clear Professional Open Back Headphones - $1199 Delivered (RRP $2199) @ Addicted to Audio

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Focal Clear Professional Open Back Headphones - $1199 Delivered (RRP $2199) @ Addicted to Audio
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LSalada on 24/12/2020 - 22:26 addictedtoaudio.com.au (2094 clicks)
Last edited 27/12/2020 - 16:05 by 2 other users

First post so sorry if I got anything wrong.
Same price as previous Black Friday deal.
Sonically the same as the Focal Clears, the Professionals just come in a more 'professional' colour scheme with more accessories. No balanced cable but as I state below, the stock cables from Focal suck due to being stiff and keeping their shape.
Iirc, a 2 year warranty (non-transferable).

These are really great headphones, I'm not going to give you a mini review or anything, but a great upgrade from my Hifiman Sundaras. More comfortable, built like a tank, and they come with spare pads (that retail for $190 USD), very handy as the pads wear after one to two years, and also comes with the Focal Carrying Case. All up the accessories are valued at around $400 USD (yes that's insane for some earpads and a case, but still good value when you consider the price). The cables suck (not talking about sound), very stiff and keep their shape. I got some better aftermarket cables that are flexible, would recommend doing that for long term use.

If you want a full review, I'd recommend watching ResolveReview's review or his 3 headphone shootout of the Aryas Vs lcd X Vs Focal Clears on The Headphone Show youtube channel, or just having a look where Crinacle put them in his tier list (with notes).

IMO worth the price increase over the Elears if you enjoy a more neutral sound with greater bass extension. You can EQ the Elears to sound similar in tonality but personally like my headphones to sound good out of the box, and I'm not a fan of the Elear sound.

I snagged these on Monday before this current Christmas sale because I received some Focal Elex's from Drop (bought during their Black Friday sale) that were defective on arrival, reached out to Addicted to Audio to ask if they'd be willing to give me the deal I missed out on because I went with the Elex's. Had a very friendly and nice chat with a support member who reached out to management to see if he could make it happen. Got the deal less than 48 hours later on Monday and they shipped late that day and arrived at 12 pm the next day. Defective Focal Elex's are being sent back to Drop for a refund (who are making me travel to the airport to return them to the UPS depot).
Really great customer service, 2nd purchase from ATA, so imo expect great support from them should your Focal Clears ever need warranty service (which is important to consider because while many don't have issues, Focal does have some issues they need to iron out in the production line as they are new to the high end headphone game, and these are supposedly hand made).

Let me know if I need to remove/add anything.
Edit: Zip pay and Afterpay seem to be available if that means anything to anyone. Also part of ATA's Christmas Sale, however I don't see much else besides the Elears and the Clears that I think are worth posting: https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/christmas-sale-20… (ymmv tho).

As @Satirical mentioned, the Sony IER-M7 and IER-M9 are on sale. These are very well reviewed IEMs across the board and, going based on Crinacle's rankings, at this price they are a steal. I'm not an IEM guy really so I'm sorry I cast the rest of the sale items off prematurely :)
IER-M7 $499: https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/christmas-sale-20…
IER-M9 $899: https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/christmas-sale-20…

This is part of Boxing Day Sales for 2020
Electrical & Electronics Boxing Day Focal Headphones

Related Stores

Addicted To Audio
Addicted To Audio

closed Comments

  • emeraldpiggy on 24/12/2020 - 22:34
    +2

    Great comments OP

    • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 22:53

      Cheers!

  • Zachguan on 24/12/2020 - 22:36

    Thanks for the review OP; any idea how does it compare with Audeze LCD2 Classic?

    • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 22:42
      +1

      Unfortunately I have not heard the LCD2 Classic, but from what I hear, if you're willing to EQ a little, the LCD 2Cs are detail kings at their price point, and to be honest may even beat out the Clears. The imaging, decay and impact are extremely good though on the Clears, I think they're the best in its price range (from listening myself and from reading/watching reviews), imaging capabilities over the Sundara were immediately obvious to me, and the speed of the decay had me tripping a little at first. Impact/slam was a noticeably improvement over the Sundaras. Improvements to detail and resolution over the Sundara was minimal, I suspect that, as many say, planars are just more capable over dynamic drivers in detail (besides stuff like the Focal Utopia, or so I've heard) so if detail is what you're after might be worth looking into the LCD 2Cs.
      Edit: Also take into consideration the weight of the LCD line.

    • akqrate on 29/12/2020 - 15:20
      +2

      Audeze lcd2c are bass focused with dark treble and good mids. Quality bass not quantity means they’re a great can for someone preferring more bass in their music choices or ears. Sound staging is ok, imaging is good. Very pleasing timbre.

      Focal clear are neutral but warm, sort of strange how they’re able to achieve this. Superior balance, decent soundstage and good imaging. Nice timbre. Can pair with any kind of music to sound good. If I had to pick one can to serve all my musical tastes … I’d pick the Arya followed by the Clears.

      Cans I’ve had/ have: Focal Clear, Focal Elear, HiFiMan Arya, HiFiMan Ananda, HiFiMan Sundara, Audeze LCD2C, Audeze Mobius, Audeze Penrose, Sennheiser HD600, Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro, Beyerdynamic Tygr, Beyerdynamic DT770pro, Audio Technica M50 etc etc.

  • giovannip on 24/12/2020 - 22:40

    Just picked mine up this week from the BF deal.

    I am looking at aftermatket balanced cables now, any recommendations?

    • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 22:53
      +2

      For extremely light cables and flexible cables, I hear these are great (but have not tried them myself): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001042789637
      Planning on buying the 4.4 mm balanced from there soon. Do note that I do not believe cables change sonic qualities, I am just after the most comfortable, lightest cable with minimal microphonics.

      Currently I use braided cables from Nlovell Audio https://www.nlovellaudio.co.uk/. Very light, look nice, get to choose your braid colours completely, but are a little more microphonic than I'm aiming for. Do note too that Nlovell has risen his prices since I bought them, which sucks but I guess in covid times you gotta hustle.

      Currently, the braided cables I would consider getting are from Hart Cables https://hartaudiocables.com/ (have not tried myself but from what I've seen they're lighter and less microphonic than Pariapt).
      Extremely modular, and great if you wanna have full customisation. Get these headphone side cables: https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/pro…
      and then buy the correct interconnect for your balanced source here: https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/interconnects
      Very affordable for what you get, they also have boutique options if you're into that.

      • shaolinbear on 24/12/2020 - 23:12
        +1

        The headphone side connector on the Clear is 3.5mm, not 2.5mm, so be careful of that. Otherwise, I've also been looking at these Hart cables. Maybe a late christmas present for myself :)

        • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 23:12
          +1

          My bad, I accidentally copied the wrong link!

      • Partyboyz on 25/12/2020 - 15:56

        Hey OP, just wondering which cable from Aliexpress did you linked? The hyperlink seems like it cannot find the product. Thanks.

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 16:00
          +2

          My bad, it seems you need the full link to access the page, bit annoying. For some reason I cannot edit the original comment, so here it is:
          https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001042789637.html?spm=a2g0o…

          There's also these which are basically the same but with a silver coating and 7 bucks cheaper for the 4.4 mm balanced 2 metre option (that price saving probably carries over to all the cable options). Nice if you prefer the silver colour. I don't think it will be as flexible as the copper one however as these are copper cables that are silver plated, resulting in slightly thicker strands, so if you're after the most flexible cable like I am I'd gravitate towards the one I first linked: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001405439754.html?spm=a2…

          • Partyboyz on 25/12/2020 - 16:32

            @Salada: Thanks for the reply, but they are more expensive then I expected :(

            • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 18:01

              @Partyboyz: Yea it sucks, sorry about that, aliexpress cables used to be very cheap but they got really popular, so prices naturally went up.

      • giovannip on 30/12/2020 - 13:12

        Thanks for the advice, I will check these out!

    • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 23:15
      +1

      Note that I linked the wrong headphone side connector for the Hart Audio Cable, as @shaolinbear mentioned, here is the correct dual entry 3.5mm link: https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/pro…
      Sorry bout that

      • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 09:10

        This is great! Been looking for cables for my Elears and these seem perfect. Might I ask what combo should I be getting to connect balanced to my THX 789 + Elear?

        • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 11:28
          +1

          No problem,
          Headphone side connectors: https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/headphone-cables/pro…
          Amp side connectors: https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/interconnects/produc…
          Just choose your colours and lengths :)

          If you're not a fan of either of the colour options, you can email them with the email on this page and ask them for the above combo in whatever colour scheme you prefer, just note that it will be a little more expensive and of course the customs are made to order so longer wait times: https://hartaudiocables.com/pages/custom-shop

          • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 14:33

            @Salada: Awesome thanks!

            Might I just ask, would it also work as just one cable if I did the following?

            Style = 18" SPLIT
            Interconnect = [M] 4-PIN XLR

            Is there any pros/cons with just having one cable rather than a cable and an Interconnect?

            • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 15:34
              +1

              @aguitarfreak: That option actually does come with 2 cables, if you choose any other interconnect besides "STD ([F] Mini XLR)" under the "Interconnect" on the headphone side connectors page, you get the 18 inch split (assuming you chose this under 'Style") + an interconnect cable to attach at the y split connection at the F Mini XLR connectors.

              The difference between ordering them on separate pages is that if you just select that option on the headphone connector page:

              Style = 18" SPLIT
              Interconnect = [M] 4-PIN XLR

              You won't get to choose how long the cable is from the split to your amplifier's connection (it will be the 18 inch split + a 3 foot interconnect, no other options).

              One thing to keep in mind about choosing the 'split' style is that it means that at the end of the y split, that's where you will plug in the interconnect. It will at least twice as bulky as the size of the y split joiner on your current cable, as it is 2 mini XLRs connectors, a female and a male, connecting. Compared to my cable's y split joiner, that would be 4 times as large.

              So, for me and my preferences, I would choose the "STD (4.5 FT)" headphone connector, and then I can choose a small 3 inch interconnect cable on the 2nd page I linked for the amplifier if I wanted a short total cable length, or (what'd I'd actually buy as I like my cables around 2 metres) a 3 foot interconnect for something longer, etc.
              That way I don't have a bulky mini XLR interconnect y split bouncing around my chest.

              That's just my preference though, some people really like having the interconnect at the y split for the cable management, so if the bulkiness does not bother you go for it.

              • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 15:40

                @Salada: Wow thanks for the well thought out reply! @salada plenty for me to go in with 😊👍👍. Have a wonderful day!

    • superdoob on 24/12/2020 - 23:50

      Try https://www.aurealisaudio.com.au/ it is an Aussie custom cable maker and is one of the better ones for the price..

      I am also using one from Geoff and loving the quality both cable itself and sound it brings out

  • DonIsGood on 24/12/2020 - 22:54

    Thanks for pointing out about the Resolve Reviews as I have been tossing up between Arya, Clear and LCDX. I have listened to the Arya and it's a sensational pair of cans I might add, but have always wondered about the other two. The guy did say the Clear is good for rock/metal and this has me intrigued given that I listen to alternative, metal, and grunge. Oh man, this is a hard deal to pass even though I have my heart set on Arya! Grrr

    • Salada on 24/12/2020 - 23:08

      Yea, Resolve's my go to for reviews, or his cohost, on The Headphone Show, Chrono, extremely good mix of objective and subjective reviewing (graphs keep reviewers honest, as the saying goes), and then Crinacle but his headphone reviews are limited mostly to the tier list and some small notes at the moment. Also, rip Tyll retiring, been years but do wish he was still around. Same with Metal571.

      Aryas are at the top of my list for headphones I'm planning on grabbing next, but the price these Clears were at was just too good to pass up. Aryas have the detail of a high end planar, and while the soundstage does not match the HD 800S (also a headphone in my wish list), it's still really good. I really like the Hifiman tunings too, which makes me a little sad about selling my Sundaras yesterday, but totally worth it to put towards the next purchase. Love Focal's warmer sound too though.

      Mostly miss the Sundaras for the male vocals and orchestral music. Do agree that the Clears sound better in rock, also in electronic music imo. Also prefer the presentation of female vocals on the Clears.

    • Raj09 on 25/12/2020 - 00:06
      +3

      Get all of them. Each headphone has their own signature. Personally I'll have each of them and eat ramen for 3 months 😂🍜

      • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 00:16

        Agreed hehe.

  • Raj09 on 25/12/2020 - 00:04
    +1

    Bought it. Thanks for highlighting the deal 😊.

  • Satirical on 25/12/2020 - 00:06
    +1

    I've been enjoying my Clear Pros, haven't faded at all, only pilled a bit. I've been happy using the stock cable but the non-coiled cable is hilariously short for most people I would think who don't have their AMP/DAC right next to them while the coiled cable is quite heavy.

    The only other items worth it in the sale for me are the Sony IEMs:

    IER-M9 for $899 (all time low - previous was $999)
    IER-M7 for $499 (all time low - previous was $539)

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 00:13
      +1

      Perhaps I was too harsh on the cables, specifically the coiled cable, I'm just very picky about microphonics and I hate being reminded that there's a cable. Also not a fan of coiled cables in my set up so an aftermarket cable was a must for me, 1.2 metres for the non-coiled cable was too short for me, my 2m braided cable is also lighter and doesn't keep its shape so I can do whatever I want with it without it springing around. I'm just glad the Sundara and the Clear share the same terminations, so I didn't need to buy new cables (at least for now, still chasing for the lightest, least microphonic cable that isn't unjustly expensive).

    • Davesday on 25/12/2020 - 12:53
      +1

      I have the IER-M7 and I can say it is really everything I wanted from an IEM. I got it from ATA too during Easter sale few years ago and if I am not mistaken the RRP was a bit higher and I got it for $499 too. I had many IEMs and at one point I had the privilege of owning a TOTL from Campfire (the Atlas). In the end I settled for M7's sound. It paired exceptionally well with Dragonfly Red. I also have the iFi micro iDSD Black Label but the pairing wasn't as dynamic as the Dragonfly Red for some reason I couldn't explain. M7's bass response is very unlike a balanced armature. It produces more punchy bass like a dynamic driver but doesn't feel as slow as one. However the one thing the M7 doesn't do well and that is soundstage. Sometimes it felt there's none of it and claustrophobic.

  • lowlifesphere on 25/12/2020 - 00:16
    -3

    This or airpods max?

    • Raj09 on 25/12/2020 - 00:18
      +2

      No contest. It's clear

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 00:22
      +2

      This.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j918rWMXO2o
      https://youtu.be/4vb98s41__Y
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIJL0M8Pqg

      Obviously different use cases, but, unless you need the 'best of the worst', the Airpods Max really aren't worth the price. They're the best tuned ANC over ear headphone available, but that's not saying much when the rest of the ANC headphones suck anyway. General consensus from people who know their stuff puts them at about the sound quality of $100 to $150 USD wired headphones.
      Also, the Focal Clears are designed to be driven from low power sources, so while I do listen to them from a dedicated headphone amp, they sound just as good from my phone. Extremely easy to drive.

      • Raj09 on 26/12/2020 - 19:57
        +1

        Yep. The headphone show did à review and measurement. The airpod Max are good for their particular use case. However if you are matching same price and value, you can have far better for same price. Technically the airpod Max are similar to wired akg headphones worth 200$. The price you pay is for the features and convenience.

  • edwardye on 25/12/2020 - 00:40
    +1

    OMG RRP 2K. I thought Sennheiser is already pretty good :D

    • ThatsCheap on 25/12/2020 - 02:56
      +3

      Sennheiser do have the HE-1 for $70,000+ Australian if you want lol

    • Davesday on 25/12/2020 - 12:57
      +1

      If it helps for Sennheiser fans, ATA is selling the HD 820 for $2,398 (RRP $3,499). I have no idea if this is the standard price but the RRP seems very high compared to HD 800s. Other stores are also selling around the $2,400 mark. The HD 820 doesn't measure very well and many audiophiles criticised it for the dip in the lower mids. However, my listening experience told me a completely different story. The produces very low and punchy bass which is surprising for a Sennheiser. The sound is very black (almost dark but not dark without details).

  • BongRippa on 25/12/2020 - 00:41
    +1

    Hey OP, thoughts on the Massdrop x Focal Elex. They were on sale for 500 usd before and how would the 2 differ?

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 01:06
      +5

      They were actually $550 USD, that's the lowest they've been and the price I got em at (Black Friday sale).
      My right driver came completely dead, so all my impressions are based on A-Bing the left driver of the Clear (just by muting the right channel) and the left driver of the Elex (ya know, because I had dead silence from the right driver… ahahah.)
      They're very similar, I can tell the Clear is slightly more detailed and has more forward vocals, but I can't tell you anything about soundstage or imaging, and I definitely don't have the full picture due to only having one driver.
      I am inclined to agree that if you get really padded, thick pads with your Elex (pot luck, it's variation from unit to unit), as the Clear pads are extremely padded, and get a driver in your Elex that's working optimally (again, pot luck, massive unit to unit variation it seems), then it's a really great bargain as it will be similar to the Clear. See this review for a good example of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGtgRW9-PA
      My Elex pads were less padded than my Clear pads, but otherwise almost completely the same in terms of material. Any difference I feel between them is so slight it's probably just because one is more padded than the other.

      However, keep in mind that if you get a defective pair like I did, it will mean travelling to the single UPS depot in your state (not even kidding, one per state, or you could pay to get them shipped to the depot, but that costs you). Then you'll need to wait up to 2 months for the replacement headphones, due to return shipping times, processing times, and them sending you out a new headphone.
      Drop support sucks and it's what led me to contacting ATA begging them to offer me the $1200 Focal Clear deal I missed out on during Black Friday (they were very nice about it btw).

      I never want to deal with Drop support again, worst experience ever, and you'll find many others saying the same thing. I was lucky to get a response from them in 72 hours, and then I waited only a day for the packing slip to arrive, but everything went down hill from there, but that's all I'll say about it. At least I'm getting a refund from them, albeit requiring that I travel to the UPS depot.
      If my Clears die anytime soon, it just means walking into the ATA in my state, and then walking out with a brand new pair. That's enough to justify the price increase for me.

      Do note though, if you get the Focal Elears (on sale at ATA atm for $600), you can buy the Focal Elex pads for $60 USD from Drop. The Focal Elex pads are going back on sale soon (Drop has ordered over 1000 pairs), and this time Drop promises they will be heavily QCing the pads to ensure they don't have a repeat of the nightmare they had last time (read up on it if you don't know about it and you're curious, tons of threads about it on reddit and in the Focal Elex Pads discussion tab on the product page for them).

      The Focal Elex has the same driver, voice coil, housing and construction as the Elear. The only difference is that they have different pads. You get the benefit of local warranty with the Elear as well, and it's cheaper overall too. Measurements and subjective listening tests when pad swapping the Elex and Elear reveals that they are indeed the same headphone. I wrote more about this here (note I'm not an engineer or anything, just done a lot of research on it and other things in the headphone hobby): https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/593390#comment-9862045

      • sidesw1pe on 25/12/2020 - 09:56
        +1

        I love that you are generous with your description and responses. Clearly (pun unintended) you touch type or have a lot of patience.

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 11:39

          Thanks :)
          Yep, 100% touch type since I moved to Colemak Mod DH layout early in the year (before, I was about 80% touch type on Qwerty). Also use a split keyboard. My legends are still in Qwerty, and some keycaps I've got coming use moonrune legends, so I have everything in muscle memory because looking down at my keyboard doesn't do much for me ahaha. Since spending more and more time programming in the last two years and beginning my computer science degree, I've been trying to beat the meme of 'senior software engineers offloading their work to the newbies because they can't type anymore due to RSI' ahaha.
          I really like talking about headphone and sometimes my friends get sick of it (talking about measurements one day, subjective impressions the next), so I really don't mind doing this :)

          • [Deactivated] on 25/12/2020 - 16:32

            @Salada: As someone else had done, thanks Salada for your informative impressions and advice. I’ve been keeping an eye on the Elegias and these Clears since mid this year, and I might just pop into A2A when they reopen to check them out, and see if the Clears are that much better than my Elears.

            Off-topic, how are you finding the Colemak DH mod as a programmer? I’d never heard of this layout before, but am intrigued as it’s not as drastic a change as Dvorak. I am planning on working on my accuracy and speed on QWERTY while I’m on my work break, and would be open to something like this if suitable. Thanks.

            • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 17:04

              @[Deactivated]: Yea, Colemak Mod DH is basically everything the Colemak community want Colemak to be. It puts two often used letters, D and H, under your fingers instead of forcing you to move your index finger horizontally to the outer row to use them. Much better imo as they are pretty essential in typing due to their frequency. While it has not replaced the official Colemak, one day it might, but obviously the creator and manager of Colemak is biased towards his own layout. The whole community recommends Colemak Mod DH tho if you're new to Colemak, there's just not much point in ruining the muscle memory for the people who already know Colemak very well, even if Mod DH is better.

              Hmmm, well, I know that Dvorak has a 'programming layout' that programmers really like, however with Colemak DH I am using it primarily on a QMK enabled keyboard (it's a split ortho-columnar stagger keyboard, just saying so you get the full picture), so I have layer shift keys right under my thumb that when pressed will change certain keys on my home row to various symbols, and also brings the number row down a row when I press one of the layer shifts. I've also toyed around with a layer key that turns one half of my keyboard into a numpad when held down or toggled, but ultimately prefer just using the number row. My right hand layer shift key also puts the arrow keys on qwerty equivalent "JIKL" keys while the layer key is held down, so I'm never moving my hand from the homerow. I also use a variety of vim inspired navigation tools where I can on the desktop (I use Linux so that makes that easier). I'll admit I do still sometimes reach for the mouse, of course.

              I have to say, one thing I really like about it is that for the most part it is pretty much just my index finger and middle finger that are moving away from the homerow, and it's mostly my index finger. I also notice that my index finger moves less and less diagonally for keys in the outer row, which is one of the most painful parts of qwerty. That's really nice, and over the past few months I've noticed how much of a breeze it feels to type, my fingers don't get sore or strained from reaching.

              If I have to use a laptop keyboard on Windows, I use a autohotkey mod by the Colemak community (it's available under 'bag of tricks' or something like that on the Colemak forums). This gives me a shift layer that I can activate w/ a key of my choice, such as changing capslock to act as a layer key (capslock being very useless, makes sense to turn it into something more useful), or whatever key I want. That way I get most of the layer shift functionality I need from my QMK enabled keyboard on the laptop keyboard. On Linux my window manager handles all the keybinds I have set up

              Also, when I use a laptop keyboard, I use a modified layout of Colemak Mod DH split that on a normal staggered keyboard that allows me use the keys at an angle going inwards so that I do not have to risk doing ulnar deviation to my wrists. Not as good as a tented split keyboard, but similar to something like the Katana 60's keyboard layout.

              I gotta say though, if you're already pretty good with Dvorak, might not be worth switching over. People still, of course, argue whether Colemak or Dvorak is better, there's good arguments for both sides. I, in my probably biased opinion, do think that Colemak Mod DH is pretty close to perfect, but I never really gave Dvorak a chance so it's not really fair for me to say that. I think using split and/or ortholinear keyboard layout is more beneficial for speed and comfort overall.

              • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2020 - 17:00

                @Salada: ok, I totally did not expect to be drawn into this rabbit hole reading up about all the different types of keyboards that are out there! Knock on wood I don't experience physical discomfort/pain from using the bog-standard keyboards, so I think I'll leave these toys well-alone for now :)

                I am on the terminal and use Vim daily, so the idea of being more efficient on the keyboard is very appealing.

                I actually have zero experience with Dvorak, as it was just too different, and I think the timing just happens to be right currently due to the holiday period + WFH, so it's the best time for me to try something new. I just installed the Colemak mod DH mappings on my mac, so I'll see how I go rewiring my brain - I'm sure there will be plenty of laughs on those speed-typing platforms, ha ha.

                Thanks again for the unexpected turn on this page!

                • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 17:46

                  @[Deactivated]: Vim gang :)
                  Glad you found the rabbit hole interesting.
                  And yea, if you have no experience with Dvorak, going from Qwerty to Colemak DH will be easier. It took me 3 weeks to get up to 50 wpm, practicing everyday and going cold turkey. Imo going cold turkey will be the fastest way to rewire yourself to any new layout, assuming you have the time and freedom to do so. I went cold turkey to Colemak right at the start of my degree, which wasn't too bad because the first few weeks of uni wasn't difficult. Writing out assembly like that took some time though, I'll admit :D. Just under 2 months I was up to 80 wpm, and now I'm probably somewhere around 90 to 100 wpm. I can still type in qwerty, it just takes me 10 minutes to get up to a decent speed. Hard to forget something you've done your whole life.

                  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2020 - 11:27

                    @Salada: That's very impressive how you progressed with your speed, but not a total surprise given your dedication! Yes, I agree cold turkey will be the way to go vs going e.g. Tarmak

                    It's great your degree still offers assembly, as depending on your career a solid understanding of memory-management would be very useful, even if you don't do anything as low-level.

                    So… I ended up looking at keyboards again :( and find the type you happen to use very appealing:

                    • split, so I can open up my body/air pathway more, and also allow me to have my trackpad in between to reduce movement
                    • staggered columnar for a generally better fit for the human hand
                    • QMK/layers is a good feature so I can put all the symbols I need for programming within reach, and I like having multiple keys for my thumbs (e.g. backspace/delete)

                    Ergodox EZ seems to have everything I want, is that what you have too? It's really hard to find something like this in Oz!

                    I feel I'll be spending a lot more time on reddit/discord…

                    ZZ :)

                    • Salada on 27/12/2020 - 12:14
                      +1

                      @[Deactivated]: The Ergodox EZ, as well as Ergodox's other keyboards (like their new Moonlander keyboard), are very popular and great options.
                      I use a very similar keyboard, the Keeb.io Iris (rev 4). This is a DIY option, but the only DIY part about it is that you have to solder the switches yourself. There are even more advanced options like the Lily58 Pro (which I also have) and Sofle that require you to solder all the components on yourself (like the microcontroller, hotswap sockets, oled panel, resistors, etc).
                      I would definitely not recommend a DIY board like this if you've never soldered before, but if you do have experience soldering than these options can be much more affordable.

                      Regarding purchasing one in Australia, the majority of sellers of these custom keyboards do ship to Australia (shipping can get pricey depending on the store), unfortunately it will be very hard to test one out for yourself locally unless you went to a custom keyboard meetup (all of which are cancelled atm due to covid).

                      There is one store in Australia that carries 2 custom split mechs, 'Customkbd'. They're online only however, and they do not stock the Ergodox boards. They carry the Corne split (a minimalist split) and the Sofle (a layout similar to the Iris and Lily58, and closer to the Ergodox EZ and Ergodoz Moonlander). The Sofle in particular can be bought as a full DIY kit for $90 AUD, or fully assembled for $210 AUD (you're paying for the labour hours). You can select both options here: https://customkbd.com/collections/complete-kits/products/sof…
                      For stores not in Australia, I can easily recommend Boardsource https://boardsource.xyz/store (has pre-assembly options).
                      Note that Boardsource does not sell the Ergodox boards, those are not typically found in DIY focused stores.

                      Also, a rather friendly place for newbies is the RGBKB Discord https://discord.gg/yrNUrTEn. RGBKB.net is a mechanical keyboard store run by one dude in the US. He designs various customs (such as the popular Sol line of keyboards), and while he obviously promotes his own products in his Discord, the people there are very nice and will answer your newbie questions without hesitation or annoyance.
                      Personally I'm waiting on him to release his Sol 3 keyboard (basically an Ergodox EZ layout, without the columnar stagger). It's going to be a gasket mounted, fully magnet assembled (no screws) keyboard. I am iffy on it because it does not have columnar stagger, it's just ortholinear, but I'm willing to give it a shot, especially as it will be cheaper than the Moonlander and Ergodox EZ.

                      Of course, I'm sure you already know about the ErgoMech Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/
                      They have some discords linked there as well, and are very helpful in general.

                      Also, one piece of advice: stay away from MysticMechs. He runs a store and discord that sells and promotes his own and other's ergo keyboards and accessories. I have nothing against the guy, I'm sure he really is having difficult life issues like he says, but he constantly lets people down by delaying orders and group buys and shipments up to a YEAR, and then spontaneously starts new projects, that for some reason people still jump on, before he's finished fulfilling orders for his previous projects. Very disorganised.

                      Hope my wall of text wasn't overbearing, just wanted to give ya some easy information I've gathered during my time using splits.

                      • [Deactivated] on 30/12/2020 - 22:04
                        +1

                        @Salada: After spending the past few days reading up whenever I could while on holiday (….), I have decided to get started on learning Colemak DHm first while I source parts to build my own split columnar keyboard (will borrow some soldering gear to learn), the reasons being:

                        • there are very few that come pre-assembled, Ergodox and Boardsource being the shops I know of, so the choices aren't there in terms of layout
                        • also, chances are I'll have to pick and choose switches and key caps from different places, due to the range + stock, so for not much more in outlay I get to have something (hopefully) close to exactly what I want…

                        But having said that, I can imagine a v2 board that might incorporate a trackball or something (something I saw on that subreddit you mentioned), as I try and see if I can minimise my reliance on my trackpad, therefore sooner or later I'll have to build it myself, so may as well start now.

                        I have joined the Discord (and think I've found you there, so will say hi soon), and will have a read and learn - doesn't look to be a specific topic/channel other than #general, so I guess it makes things easy too :)

                        Thanks for the advice re: MysticMechs; even though the boards seem pretty good, it's good to know these things so I am not disappointed waiting on my first keyboard.

                        Cheers again, you've been very helpful - looks like I'll cancel any thoughts of trying out the Clears (to bring it back on topic finally), and use that money on this new line of toys instead!

      • BongRippa on 25/12/2020 - 22:48

        Thanks for the write up, when my cable for the HD6XX from Drop broke they wanted me to send the whole thing back which sucked no matter how hard I tried (even got an oscilloscope to prove the cable is broken). UPS can actually pickup from if you fill out the form on the website as they provide the shipping label. It actually got lost on the way here so they gave me the refund but their returns do take quite some time.

        Can't argue with the HD6XX but there is an urge to get nicer stuff.

        • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 00:26

          Wow, thank you so much for letting me know :D
          Drop didn't tell me, I even asked if there was any alternatives to traveling to the depot and they didn't mention it at all.
          Also, not sure if you meant they made you send the whole 6XX back or just the cable, but just an fyi if you meant you sent the 6XX back due to the broken cable (could be reading your post wrong, I am a bit tipsy right now), replacement cables for the HD 6XX can be found at decent prices on Amazon, $30 w/ free shipping. They work as well as the stock cable.

          6XX truly is a budget king.

          • BongRippa on 26/12/2020 - 02:56

            @Salada: Yeah only the cable was broken but I had to send the headset with the cable. Turns out covid ruins shipping times and after I refunded it came in 2 months afterwards…

            This was the thing I used for return pickup https://wwwapps.ups.com/pickup/schedule?loc=en_AU if I remember correctly.

            The whole trip took 3 months as it was busy getting lost in the US and HK as warranty returns and standard shipping is different I believe. The cans were under warranty and sucks paying 30 bucks for a problem that's not mine so I took the risk of sending it back "quickly". I was gonna order again for fresh warranty but they didn't ship to Aus due to ATA exclusivity deal.

            • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 15:43

              @BongRippa: Do you plan on purchasing the 6XX again now that ATA lost its exclusivity deal w/ Drop?
              And yea that's the link I found last night when you told me, looks good thanks.
              There's no cost associated with the UPS pickup right?

              • BongRippa on 26/12/2020 - 19:44
                +1

                @Salada: The label is created by Drop so if there are any costs, I guess it would go to them but they never contacted me about it so it should be fine for now…

                Well the 6xx I returned turned up 2 months after the refund (3 months since the problem began) and Drop never contacted me about it and it was a massive headache. I genuinely thought it was lost so yay? I would buy it again from Drop if I need another as a gift or if it breaks.

  • Dr Acula on 25/12/2020 - 02:02

    This is a ridiculously good price. I bought mine full price. If only the Sennheiser HD800s would drop below $1500…

  • BargainBuddy on 25/12/2020 - 02:09

    Are these the headphones used by pro music producers. How good are these in compared to $300 range bosh or Sony. Does the extra $800 worth for a casual user?

    • Kazusa on 25/12/2020 - 02:16

      I recommend going to a local audio store and demo'ing one to decide for yourself. :)

    • ltwo on 25/12/2020 - 02:18
      -1

      no, casual user won't notice the difference

      • Zorlin on 25/12/2020 - 04:52
        +2

        I think even a casual user will notice the difference if you wrap Focal Clear Pro around their ears…

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 13:00

          I agree, especially in comparison to the Bose and Sony ANC offerings. Still amazed that Sony managed to make the WF 1000XM3s the most popular TWS IEM in the audiophile scene, yet use such an bass bloated, bass bleeding tuning for their over ear WH 1000 XMx series.

    • Mumbles on 26/12/2020 - 10:38
      +1

      Does the extra $800 worth for a casual user?

      No. Retail pricing on Audio is like pricing for other desirable goods, you get fast diminishing returns. A $2000 headphone isn't going to make you enjoy music 20x more than a $100 headphone in fact most listeners while find that cheaper headphones are much more enjoyable than detailed and more analytical headphones. The added detail can be harsh or fatiguing such as more sibilance, extended treble. To appreciate the added detail you have to sit and concentrate.

      Pro Music producers actually dumb down their music so it can be played over FM radio (eg. Compress the dynamic range, increase the bass, etc) and expect their music to be played through cheapo equipment such as single speaker radios. So producers will make compromises with their sound to tune it for cheaper equipment.

      • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 16:14
        +4

        A $2000 headphone isn't going to make you enjoy music 20x more than a $100

        Yep, most people will be happy enough to call something like a HD 6XX, or Hifiman Sundara, etc., end game and end the headphone purchasing there. And that's fine, the law of diminishing returns is very real.

        fact most listeners while find that cheaper headphones are much more enjoyable than detailed

        Not all 'audiophile' headphones have balanced/neutral tunings. Many headphones follow or try to follow the Harman tuning (2018 or 2013) or a variation of it because it is a consumer preference that is scientifically proven to be an enjoyable for both audiophiles and casual listeners alike. There's also headphone brands that choose to use their own tunings in some of their headphones to suit certain preferences, e.g. some of ZMF's headphones, or the HD 820 which which is a bass canon (though not a very loved headphone I need to add), etc etc. Yes there's many headphones that try to be 'neutral', e.g. most of Hifiman's offerings, Sennheisers's HD 560S, most of Focal's headphones, etc.

        The added detail can be harsh or fatiguing such as more sibilance, extended treble. To appreciate the added detail you have to sit and concentrate.

        This isn't entirely true, as long as the treble matches something close to the Harman 2018 curve it will not be fatiguing at all, and many of the kilobuck headphones don't have outrageous treble spikes. You don't need DT 990 or DT 1990 treble spikes to have more 'detail', if anything that's just a way to fake detail (although if you're using those two headphones mentioned for producing they can be helpful in identifying sibilant tones and treble spikes in the mix sometimes).

        To appreciate the added detail you have to sit and concentrate.

        I wouldn't say 'concentrate' is the right word, it's more like putting your focus on the music. I get that for a lot of people, music is just a background thing while they work, browse <insert social media>, playing a casual game. But for some people, including myself and especially people that are the type to buy these headphones, listening to music on its own is a pass time. I often listen to music for hours upon hours, just sitting doing nothing else. It's even reduced the amount of time I spend playing video games (which sucks I guess lol, but I love music).

        Pro Music producers actually dumb down their music so it can be played over FM radio

        This is completely wrong, radio is dying is and this is not the norm across all producers.
        Yes, modern music is more compressed (not all modern music, but a majority chunk of it), but it is not mixed and mastered 'badly' on purpose, and you don't necessarily need to dumb down a track to make it sound good on FM radio, it's like saying you need to dumb down music to make it sound good on $50 headphones. More often than not, it will just work, and sound good to the average consumer regardless, just depending on if you're playing it from $50 headphones or a $300 HD 6XX it will sound different (and arguably much better on the 6XX from my point of view).

        Of course, the average consumer thinks more bass = good, so, yea, lots of modern music is bass boosted, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it's done right, nor is EVERY song bass boosted.
        You don't need to mix something specifically for a platform. E.g. an mp3 encoder will handle all the dumbing down for the producer, and they can still provide the original quality master on CDs. Not that the CD version will sound better most of the time if it uses the same master as the mp3, lossless audio doesn't make a big difference. Depends if they're using the same master or not.

        It really comes down to the genre a lot too, yea generic pop from the top 100 is often sh*t and won't sound a whole lot better on better headphones, but this isn't always the case, there's plenty of pop artists who have top producers producing for them, so you can get a great mix and master of the song from Spotify, Tidal, or whatever streaming platform you use. Even Youtube can sound great, depending on the upload quality, if you use scripts to remove the EQing and volume normalisation they use, as Youtube uses 160 kbps OPUS.

  • NotAnAudiophile on 25/12/2020 - 07:21

    The Clears are the single most epic sound I have heard for headphones full stop.

  • redrich2000 on 25/12/2020 - 08:46

    If anyone buys a set of these and wants to sell the spare pads to recoup some of the price, PM me.

  • jasswolf on 25/12/2020 - 08:57

    Interested to know what iteration (date) of the Sundara you were using, because it's been measured as substantially improved in tonality and detail over the last 6-18 months, but the Clears remain an upgrade path, no doubt.

    Audio Technica ATH-R70X might be worth a conversation though for those not willing to part with more than $500.

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 11:45
      +1

      I have listened to two different Sundaras, my first pair that were manufactured in December of 2019, and a replacement pair (due to first pair having a little channel imbalance and too frequent planar crinkle) that was manufactured in March of 2020 (they had just arrived at ATA from Hifiman's factory when I bought them).
      Both sounded the same to my ears, but I was listening to them 1 week apart. Resolve/Andrew from The Headphone Show, along w/ Oratory1990, basically nailed down that the revision happened sometime very late in 2019, possibly in December. So I think I've only ever heard the revised pair. It's possible that they made some more minor adjustments in the last few months, but I think that's more likely unit variation as any newer measurements seem very minor in differences, and could literally just be a result of the coupling differences (how the headphone is positioned on the dummy head) from headphone measurement to measurement.

      • jasswolf on 25/12/2020 - 12:45

        Agree 100%, just wanted to know how comparable your notes are to mine. Thanks for the info!

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:48

          Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the Clear vs the Sundara? I really don't get upset when people have different opinions to me :)
          Would not be surprised at all if you think the Sundaras are close (or even better!) to the Clears, the seriously punch above their price point. My opinion that the Clears are better are completely subjective.

          • jasswolf on 25/12/2020 - 13:00
            +1

            @Salada: I haven't listened to them in a long while, and that was for mere seconds, but I went through the 650, the R70X, the DT1990, and the LCD-1 along with a bunch of other stuff on the 23rd, while I have some fresh Sundara's at home.

            The Clear are almost worth a blind purchase at this price, particularly if you're craving tonally solid and clear mids along with your highs. You are definitely paying for technical performance across the spectrum though, rather than outright natural timbre and tonality.

            I would say for others - if you can - demo the R70X on a reasonably transparent setup to get a real sense of them, but they are a sleeper, and super cheap here in AU.

            Away from the HD6XX being a solid buy if you don't care about staging and imaging, a big shout out for the AKG K371 for what they accomplish, and they should be sub $170 after cashback tomorrow. Fantastic value and great timbre for a closed back.

            • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 13:15

              @jasswolf: Yep, agreed with the R70X being a sleeper hit.
              Also agree with timbre in regards to the Clear, however I do enjoy the very balanced tonality, admittedly a bit of a 'boring' tonality compared to the Sundara and other headphones in the Clear's price point. The technical performance makes up for it though considerably.
              I have not heard the DT1990 or the LCD 1 but from what I've heard they don't quite perform as well at their price brackets.

              If you get a chance, have a listen to the HD 600. Slightly less warm than the HD 6XX/650, while retaining the same timbre and technical performance. It's not drastically more expensive than the 6XX, regularly priced at $450 at ATA, but if they go on sale for even less I think they are really worth it for tonality that is slightly better IMO. Waiting for a sale under $400.

              • jasswolf on 25/12/2020 - 14:33
                +1

                @Salada: I actually did try the 600 in the same listening session: definitely wasn't huge on the analytical sound with so little bass.

                The difference was stark for me, but I suspect that was in part a result of the difference in the pads and the clamping force.

                600 definitely has better imaging, but yeah I'm not huge on them for musicality. R70X really impressed me across a wider selection of music, where the staging emerged nicely.

              • haru on 25/12/2020 - 14:49

                @Salada: I’ve found nothing matches the R70X for their weight-transparency ratio.

          • Raj09 on 26/12/2020 - 20:04

            @Salada: I have both the clears and the sundaras. The Sundara are ideal for music. Amazing bass and subbass as well as the treble. It has good resolution and detail. I drive it with a desktop ifi zen dac. The sundara are the best with more power. I prefer using the sundara with music tracks and not gaming. I prefer wider soundstage for gaming

            The Clears are my end game in terms of dynamic headphones. Amazing detail and superb bass. It has more definition than the sundara. Also you have a wider soundstage and can identify the musical instruments with it. I use the clears for gaming. I do listen to music as well on the clears but the sundara give a more intimate feel

            • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 20:43

              @Raj09: Hmm, I actually feel the Sundaras have a wider soundstage, not leaps and bounds greater but noticeable to say the least, if I had to quantify it I would place the Clears about 20% less in soundstage. The Clears have far better imaging however, the Sundara lacks a good centre image especially. For vocal intimacy they were about on par for me however I'd give the Clears the slight edge. For some songs I preferred the treble on the Sundaras, for others the Clears, no clear (pun unintended) winner, the Sundaras do have ever so slightly elevated treble over the Clears, without becoming sibilant, which really makes it a toss up depending on the song. Percussion and the higher pitched range of vocals could really shine on the Sundaras without being fatiguing, a pleasant 'edge' to them, whereas on the Clears they are a little more laid back, removing that 'edge' that I came to enjoy on the Sundaras.
              Clears are far better for gaming, definitely.

              • Raj09 on 26/12/2020 - 20:50

                @Salada: Hahaha. Maybe it's how I pair up the sundaras. I did game on the sundara and felt a narrow soundstage. It's my ears then 😅. You are right. On some songs with high pitched vocals and percussion, the Sundaras shine. I love the sub bass on the Sundara. I find myself revisiting old tracks to discover the details on the recordings.

                Yep as soon as I started gaming on the Clears, I could not go back. So much detail. I love how you can pin point footsteps and music. Simply stunning.

                • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 21:01

                  @Raj09: Nah don't blame your ears (at least not in terms of 'hearing' capabilities), so many factors like your unique ear gain, unit variation, how worn your pads are, and whether you have a 2020 revision of the Sundara or an OG tuned one. All those things can close the gap or even make the Clears overtake in soundstage for you.
                  On the subject of gaming, I first gamed with the Clears the other night during the free COD multiplayer week (not a COD fan but gave it a go), it was almost chilling how accurately placed everything was.
                  If you get a chance, have a listen to some of Yosi Horikawa's songs on the Clears, he uses life like sounds you'd find in nature and suburban life and almost 'binaural' levels of mixing that really seem to transport you to other places when you listen on headphones with pinpoint imaging accuracy. His song "Letter" is one of my particular favourites, but many of his songs are an experience and a half.

                  • Raj09 on 26/12/2020 - 21:22

                    @Salada: Thank you. I am not sure of what revision the Sundara might be. I read from the batch number that it was made in Jan 2020. You are right as there are so many factors. The Sundara are my first step into planar magnetic headphones. I'm considering the arya at some point but I'll have to save up a good deal for that.

                    I pair the clears with a creative g6. I have scout mode turned on in games which boosts steps and environmental sounds dynamically. You can s still hear background music as well. On Assassin's creed odyssey, the game comes alive. You hear your steps, the music and the sounds from the environment. Stunning. The game becomes a tapestry of harmonies.

                    I'll listen to those tunes. Many thanks. The clears are really good with these kind of tracks to immerse yourself. Personally I enjoy listening to Jesper kyd tracks (AC Valhalla) on the Clears. He puts a lot of layers of harmonies in his tracks and the Clears make you discover these layers yet they are laid back for you to enjoy.

                    • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 22:57

                      @Raj09: Funny enough my friend was telling me about the AC soundtracks from recent games being quite good just a few days ago, need to sit down and listen to the whole soundtrack from start to finish, will give it a listen thanks :)

                      • Raj09 on 26/12/2020 - 23:14

                        @Salada: I will recommend the AC tracks and particularly Jesper kyd's. 😊. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts for sure 👍🏾

  • timmysbiscuits on 25/12/2020 - 09:16

    Hey Op, what DAC/Amp do you use for yours? Thinking of getting these headphones, and looking for suggestions on a DAC/Amp to use with them. Also, Merry Christmas!

    • garetz on 25/12/2020 - 10:06

      The best value is a schiit stack, modi 3 and magni heresy

    • meatball on 25/12/2020 - 11:07

      I’ve got mine on the Topping L30/E30 stack which is also one of the best bang for your buck combos at the moment.

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:34
      +4

      Hey, both the two stacks that @garetz and @meatball recommended are great, both have more power output than you will EVER need for headphones, but I will comment on both a little for some extra information.
      The Schiit stack is very nice, in both construction and in design. Regarding sound, you won't be able to tell the two apart in blind ABX tests (or probably not in AB tests too).
      The Schiit stack is also made 100% ethically, if that's important to you. There are some things to keep in mind however:
      -No volume control on the Modi DAC. This is kinda important to consider, because the Focal Clears are EXTREMELY easy to drive. On my setup, from a low gain, unity gain, single ended (i.e. not balanced) output, the Clear gets loud enough, from a 2.1 volt output DAC at max volume, before 9 oclock. This is a problem because most amps have channel imbalance (volume mismatch) before around the 8 oclock to 9 oclock range. On my DAC, I lower the volume by about 15 to 20 db and then push the amp's volume to 10, to 11 oclock, which is perfect, no channel imbalance. HOWEVER, you can still get the Modi 3, you just have to be willing to use some software volume control (i.e. set the windows volume to 60, 70 or 80, or thereabouts, instead of the usual methodology of setting the windows volume to 100 and controlling volume via the amp). This will not effect sound quality at all as long as you set the output to the DAC to be 32 bits (or 24 bits), as this ensures no information is lost from using software volume controls.

      Going to be honest with you here, and many people in this forum may disagree, but based on objective tests (ABX tests, and even AB tests, can link some if you want but I don't wanna start a subjective vs objective war), you most likely will not be able to tell the difference between the DAC/amp combo and your PC output (EDIT: assuming you have a PC/laptop with a good DAC, such as those from ESS, and decent opamps, and the former is increasingly common in PC mobos and laptops, and the latter can be found in some PC mobos, but it is not as important as the DAC due to software volume control being used in this case), differences are more likely to come from volume differences/lack of proper volume matching (a 0.2 db difference is volume is not noticeable consciously but we pick up on it subconsciously and as a result of louder = better to the human brain, we think it sounds better). The exception to this is if your audio gear is producing noise, such as ground loops or electrical noise, which can be common in some PC setups and laptops, and the other exception is SOME tube amps as they can produce distortion and noise in the audible range that some people like (2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion, for example) that people feel makes the sound more 'musical', despite it not being as accurate. Personally, I get audio gear (DACs and amps) for the engineering that went into them, and the aesthetics. It's way more fun to listen to music when you're surrounded by things that look cool, getting to turn knobs to change volume (JDS Element amp has one of the best volume control experiences), having a DAC with stuff like treble and bass boosts if you're feeling like doing that, gear that has been over engineered being marveled at from a technology nerd perspective, etc etc.

      -The Schiit stack will match the Focal Clear Pros colour scheme, whether you get the black Modi or the silver Modi, as the Magni Heresy is black and red, and the headphones are mostly black and red with a little bit silver accents. Imo this is really cool, and stuff like this just makes the whole 'experience' feel great. Believe it or not, how happy you are with the looks of things can even change your perception of sound, a psychological effect of just being happier and things looking aesthetically pleasing (of course, how strong the effect this has will depend on person to person).
      -The Modi 3+, the upgraded version of the Modi 3 with the better USB controller, is not yet available from ATA. It will be soon I believe, but if you don't care about Schiit's upgraded controller (it does not effect sound of course, just it's a better implementation of USB spec), the Modi 3 is still great. Otherwise, you can purchase the Modi 3+ from Schiit directly, and it works out to be about the same price or less than what it costs at ATA. You lose the local warranty support however, if you care about that.

      Now, about the Topping L30 and E30 stack:
      -There have been some reports of the L30 (the amp) having some electrical issues (noise), and also failing to produce the correct power output (not relevant for the Clears due to being so easy to drive), but I'm fairly confident that those have been ironed out.
      -The E30 DAC has (digital) volume control, padded to 32 bits to ensure no information is lost (same as Windows, Linux, or MacOS volume control as I mentioned before), so if you're a stickler for not wanting to touch the volume in windows/linux/macos (as I said, there is no quality difference but that's for you to decide), this is the DAC to get at this price range.
      -I said the Schiit stack is 'ethically' made. It's impossible to know if the E30 and L30 is made ethically or not, so if you do care about that then I can't recommend it completely. Not going to say anymore about that because we don't know what happens in a Topping production line, and it wouldn't be fair to judge just based on where they're made.

      Gear that I use:
      DAC: SMSL M300, DAC volume set to 30/40 (about a 15 to 20 db reduction in volume). This uses 32 bit padded digital volume scaling as I talked about before. Running from USB from my PC.
      Amps:
      JDS Labs Atom, low gain (unity/1.0x gain), volume set to 10 to 11 oclock depending on the song. This is a single ended amplifier.
      Schiit Magnius, single ended output, low gain (0.5x gain) around 12 to 1 oclock from RCA input.
      Magnius, balanced output, low gain (1.0x gain, 4.1 volts in from DAC's XLR outputs), requires turning down the volume on the DAC by another 10 to 15 notches, and then the volume on the knob is around 10 to 11 oclock. I use the singled ended output more often because my current balanced cables are a bit stiffer (stupid decision on my part when I ordered aftermarket cables, I thought it'd be better to get stiffer, more durable balanced cables for whatever reason, so dumb of me).

      Edit: also, nice pfp

      • timmysbiscuits on 25/12/2020 - 15:02

        Man, you are going all out on the replies. Good on you. Thanks a lot op!

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 15:25

          Np man, hope it helped, and have Merry Christmas :)

  • noddyc43 on 25/12/2020 - 09:58

    Yeah I have a dragonfly cobalt and keen to drive these through a mobile setup. Would these be fine driven by a cobalt?

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:45

      The Clears are EXTREMELY easy to drive, in both power requirements and how much voltage is required to reach loud volumes (110 dB PER volt!). I have to turn the volume down on my DAC so that I can get proper volume control on my amp without going into the channel imbalance range of the amp (8 oclock and below), so yes, at least for me, the Dragonfly Cobalt would be more than enough to for me. Note that I measure my volume with voltage measurements regularly to ensure that I'm listening at levels that average out at MAX around 85 dB (max volume before prolonged listening can cause hearing damage), if you listen louder, at your own risk, maybe the dragonfly will not be loud enough, I do not remember the specs off the top of my head sorry!

  • Homr on 25/12/2020 - 10:46

    Is this the Dyson Supersonic of the head phones?

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:49

      Perhaps, they sound great but there are of course more expensive headphones. Law of diminishing returns is a big part of the headphone hobby though. The Clears at this price though is a very, very good deal :)

      • lostn on 25/12/2020 - 13:17

        I think he's referring to the Fuchsia color scheme.

  • viirgon on 25/12/2020 - 11:46

    Thanks Op. Could not resist and ordered one. Looking forward to the pairing with the Schiit Modi 3+ and Vali 2+ stack, that's on the way. Trying to cancel my HD 6XX order from Drop …

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:52

      Awesome. Actually looking to pick up a HD 600 (just for the slightly less warm sound compared to the 6XX) at some point to complement the rest of my collection. Just waiting for them to go on sale for $300 ish ahaha.
      Good luck with Drop support, I'm sure you'll eventually get them cancelled, it will just take some time and some pain (possibly, you could get lucky).

      • viirgon on 25/12/2020 - 17:47

        If it's too much trouble, I will just keep the HD 6XX so not too fussed about it.

  • lostn on 25/12/2020 - 12:45

    Waiting for a deal on the silver one.

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 12:53

      Very possible in the future tbh, it's been over a year since they went on sale and I have a feeling that at some point they will be phased out in favour of the professional version as they are sonically the same, and if they are phased out I'd expect a discount too (like we got with the Elears over the past 2 years due to being slowly discontinued/phased out).

      • lostn on 25/12/2020 - 13:00

        so Focal came to the conclusion that audiophiles (almost exclusively men) prefer pink earpads? If the only difference is the color, they should not phase out the silver/grey. Release it in the same package with same accessories but the original color.

        I get a feeling the reason the Pro version is getting discounts but the silver one is not, is because the Pro version is the one that's hard to shift.

        • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 13:08

          Ah, the earpads are actually burgundy red, I think your screen might not be colour calibrated correctly (and actually, my screen isnt properly calibrated so they appear a little more red, but in person they are burgundy red). I do want to warn you though, the white-ish grey pads of the Focal Clear yellow very easily, you can find some photos of this on reddit and other forums, and the replacement ear pads do get pricey. You can wash them but I'm not sure how well they keep after washing them. Of course it is personal preference, if you prefer the silver then that's very fair, hope they go on sale soon for you.

          • lostn on 25/12/2020 - 13:22

            @Salada: My definition of pink or any general color is broad. This is not a light pink color, but it looks like fuchsia on my screen. My monitor is wide gamut and factory calibrated so it should be fine.

            It does look brighter than burgundy red on my screen. If they actually are burgundy red then that is a bit less offensive than fuchsia, though still, I'm not a red kind of guy.

            I do want to warn you though, the white-ish grey pads of the Focal Clear yellow very easily, you can find some photos of this on reddit and other forums, and the replacement ear pads do get pricey. You can wash them but I'm not sure how well they keep after washing them. Of course it is personal preference, if you prefer the silver then that's very fair, hope they go on sale soon for you.

            It almost sounds like planned obsolescence on the consumable parts. Maybe it's not a coincidence that they sell a pair of pads for $200. I've never had to replace the pads of any other earphone I've own so this is new territory for me.

            The silver/grey is my ideal color for electronics, which is why I'm holding out for them. Apparently they were $1000 once but I missed it.

            How big are the pads? Are they "big ear" friendly? In the pictures they look small to me.

            • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 13:31

              @lostn:

              My definition of pink or any general color is broad.

              Fair enough, it's just that even at format events my friends and I wear burgundy, quite a lot, and my burgundy tie is almost identical in colour to the Clear Pro's pads.
              Also, I just had a look at the photos on one of my factory calibrated displays, the Clear Pro still looks overly red in the photos. I would really recommend having a look at the Clear Pros in person, might change your mind, but you have your preferences so that's fair.

              It almost sounds like planned obsolescence on the consumable parts.

              100%, it sucks, but at the same time the only way I see them getting around this is with a darker colour, like they did on the Focal Elex or the Clear Pros. The pads seem hard to come across in Australia too, probably need to go to your dealer and request them to get a pair in from Focal for you. In the US you can buy them directly from some hifi dealers.

              Also RE the struggling to sell the Clear Pros, I think that mostly stemmed from the early misconception that the Clear Pros were sonically different. Early day unit variation played apart in that, as well as the only way to confirm that they are exactly the same was by contacting Focal directly for a statement. Nowadays, more subjective listening tests have been done and measurements have been posted showing them to be identical within small unit variation.
              Now, they seem more popular in the US as the various headphone community forums usually have people recommending them over the normal Clears due to coming with extra pads.

            • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 13:54
              +1

              @lostn: Sorry, didn't say anything about the earpad size:

              How big are the pads? Are they "big ear" friendly? In the pictures they look small to me.

              Despite what the pictures show, they are actually slightly ovalish in inner diameter. This is obviously good if you have larger earlobes like myself.
              My ears are, from the highest point of my ear to the bottom of my ear lobe, 7 cm. That's at the very edge of what's considered 'average', leaning more on the larger side. My ears JUST fit, the very bottom of the pads touch my ear lobes ever so slightly, and the top of the pad touches my left ear a little tiny bit, but it does not on the right ear.
              Regarding width from the driver, I have not measured but my ears look like they stick out about 1 to 1.5 cm at max. My ears do not touch the driver, there is a good amount of space between the driver and your ears due to the angled drivers. When the pads possibly wear down over the coming months, it is possible that my ears will touch the driver, I am not sure though, it's hard to gauge that.

              Overall, very comfortable for me, I can and have worn them for 8 hours straight w/out taking them off.
              They are not, however, as comfortable as a Sennheiser headphone from the HD 6X0 series or the HD 5X0 series.

  • cille745 on 25/12/2020 - 18:18

    If I already have the elears are the clears a worthy upgrade? Don't use an amp and mainly listen to metal :)

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