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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
Go to Deal
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

    • Salada on 25/12/2020 - 20:24

      Depends, the Clear has a different tonality (and most would consider it to have greater technicalities as well). Resolve/Andrew from The Headphone show particularly loves his Clears and is a big metal fan. What you can do instead though, if you want a sound close to that of the Clears, is just buy the Focal Elex pads from Drop when they go back on sale sometime early next year (just make sure you click 'request' and bookmark them so that you get an email when they go live), and put them on your Elears.
      https://drop.com/buy/focal-pads-for-elex-headphones

      • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 09:07

        Wow those pads have really bad reviews on Drop's own page :/

        • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 16:31
          +1

          Yea, as I mentioned in previous comments, there was a mess up in QC. There has only ever been one round of Elex pads released.
          Focal messed up by sending only one pair to each purchaser.
          Then Focal sent more pads to Drop for these customers, and had terrible variation so the 2nd batch was WAY less padded, not good for channel volume balance.

          This time, Drop promises to QC the pads heavily themselves to ensure they don't have the absolute mess up they had before.
          If you read the reviews about the pads and check the discussion tab, you can read more about it from Drop themselves and customers.

          In the end, Drop refunded everyone 100%, and they got to keep their badly QCed pads.

          • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 16:37

            @Salada: Thanks for the explanation. Sorry should have been more I formed by reading up the comments in more details. Thanks again for taking the time to write!

  • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 09:05

    Thanks for the post!

    I own the Elears and find their punchy and dynamic sound amazing for EDM. Would these clears be an upgrade over that?

    Also the Elears clip on some songs if I listen to them loud enough. Do these clears also have a similar issue?

    • lycos on 26/12/2020 - 13:07

      Yes, its an upgrade.
      Regarding clipping, you’ll need to check your software or amp/dac. Its hard to clip the headphone drivers without ruining your eardrum first.

      • aguitarfreak on 26/12/2020 - 14:29

        Thanks @lycos

        I have the Smsl M500 dac + thx 789. The Elears are the only headphones that clip on some bass heavy tracks granted I'd have to listen to them at slightly higher volumes, not a big deal but it's always nice to kind of find out where their limits are. Have no issues at much higher volumes on sony z1r's, dt770 pros, he400i's and ath m50x's. So maybe just a driver design here. Was just curious if the clears also have a similar behaviour.

        • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 16:41

          Yea, the Elear and Elex driver structure does have an issue with clipping, it's unit to unit variation, but shouldn't happen at safe volumes usually. It seems though, despite sharing the same driver as the Elear and Elex, the better voice coil in the Clear's version of the driver helps substantially with clipping, I've only ever seen one person who mentioned clipping on his Clears, and I did a lot of research before I purchased them. I have not been able to clip my Clears when I play some bass sweeps at 90 db (sorry not willing to test any higher, this is even too loud for myself). I was also not able to clip my Focal Elex (which came only one dead driver though, but that doesn't change the fact that the left driver would not clip).

          Do note that all the Focal headphones are covered by warranty for clipping assuming you're listening at safe volumes. Iirc, Focal has said that the bass should not clip at or below 85 db, as this is the maximum for what is considered 'safe'. If you're listening at safe volumes, that most definitely is covered under warranty.

          The whole reason they clip is mostly because the driver is unrestricted, there's 0 compression stopping the driver. So the higher you push the bass, the closer the driver will get to hitting the driver enclosure. Essentially, the headphone will clip before it starts distorting, and iirc Focal have said that they added the clipping in intentionally so that owners know when they are driving the headphones too hard.

  • Grayjay on 26/12/2020 - 14:31

    Can anyone compare these with the Beyerdynamic T1.2's in terms of soundstage and imaging. The treble peak has never been a concern for me but im currently looking to test the waters with a different sound. Without going straight to the HD800S.

    • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 16:46

      Can't compare but I can say do not buy the Clears if you're looking for soundstage. They're fairly narrow, a bit worse than my Hifiman Sundaras. Obviously not as bad as, say, a HD 6XX or HD 600.
      I can't compare them to the T1.2 for imaging, but they're in the upper range for imaging compared to everything else I've tried. Best imaging cans I've ever owned.

  • noddyc43 on 26/12/2020 - 21:56

    Pulled the trigger on these. Will run them with a dragonfly cobalt as a portable setup. This may well be sacralidge but any recommendations for a cable with a mic so I can occasionally use for gaming as well?

    • Davesday on 26/12/2020 - 22:35
      +1

      Have you tried researching for Modmic?

    • Salada on 26/12/2020 - 22:41
      +1

      I'm not 100% positive but I don't think any of the Dragonfly DACs have mic in (no ADC). I know there are some cables w/ mics for single entry headphones people recommend like the vmoda cable, but that won't work for a double entry headphone like the Clears.

      I did some research on this last year and unfortunately I could not find a dual entry cable that had a mic on it. Ymmv though, that was a year ago, maybe someone created one because there was demand for it.

      What you can do though is get a Modmic. Unless you get the Modmic Wireless, it will mean you have to deal w/ another cable coming off your headphones, but they're pretty good. Note that even though the Modmic Wireless is quite large, it will not have a perceivable effect on audio quality as it is not blocking enough of the back of the driver. Many audio enthusiasts use it without any problem. It's more a problem on very sensitive headphone like the Sundara where if you block the grills on either side w/ your hands, it changes the sound drastically. With most dynamic driver headphones, there is little perceivable change in sound quality (and that's only with the whole driver blocked). When I block the grills with my hands on my Clears, there is a slight change in soundstage and fr, but it's very minimal and that's with my hand covering the entire grill, not a little bit like the Modmic Wireless will do. So, it's not an issue, just wanted to clarify in case that could be a concern.

      Personally, I just use a standalone mic on a mic arm.

      Modmic links:
      https://www.amazon.com.au/AntLion-ModMic-Wireless-Attachable…
      https://www.amazon.com.au/Antlion-Audio-Attachable-Noise-Can…
      https://www.pccasegear.com/products/47979/antlion-audio-modm…

      Note the only difference between the Modmic USB and the Modmic Uni is the USB version's superior microphone sound quality and passive noise cancellation capabilities. If you don't mind your voice sounding a little more grainy, the Uni is more affordable so a better option. You can find sound demos on youtube in the plenty though.

      • noddyc43 on 27/12/2020 - 08:36

        Sorry I probably confused the post. Would not be using the cobalt with a mic in. Will just pull that out if I was gaming on the phone. Thanks for the suggestions the wireless modmic looks promising but s you stayed the size is a slight worry but still may be the way to go with less wires to worry about.

  • User102430 on 28/12/2020 - 08:26

    Thanks Salada for creating this post and all your responses - it's probably the best thread on headphones I've seen on Ozbargain thanks to your knowledge sharing.

    I haven't yet pulled the trigger on these… HD600 still going strong…. but I'm definitely putting Clears on my radar as a likely upgrade target.

    • Salada on 28/12/2020 - 13:05

      Np, happy to help :)
      Funny enough the HD600 is a headphone I'd like to own just because I like its sound signature, but I skipped it. It's nice to own a few different headphones for different experiences, don't always need to listen to the hyper detailed focused stuff.
      Hopefully you get a chance to listen to a Clear sometime soon to make up your mind

  • AlexF on 29/12/2020 - 15:14

    Audio Science Review - I can't recommend the Focal Clear with or without Equalization.

    • Salada on 29/12/2020 - 17:11
      +3

      No offense but ASR is a bit of a joke, especially when it comes to headphone reviews. I am not saying that from a subjectivist point of view, but from an objectivist point of view.
      Not only does Amir think that volumes of around 94 db are 'normal' (those are dangerous volumes), which made the rounds on pretty much every audio community forum there is, he also places ridiculous emphasis on metrics such as THD and SINAD, beyond the range that is considered audible or interferes with the music. Yea those are important, but the vast amount of modern audio gear does not have levels of those two metrics which go into the audible spectrum. Of course, it's really handy to get those metrics up for audio marketing, so that you'll spend much more than you'll ever need for 'transparent audio'. Also handy for Amir's own business (he owns a business which sets up audio systems for clients).

      Amir is also basing the final recommendation on whether it's good for the Harman 2018 curve. Although the Harman 2018 curve is nice and scientifically proven to be enjoyable, it does not need to be everyone's preference, nor does every headphone need to conform to it.
      The whole review comes down to whether the Harman curve sounds good to HIM and him alone on the Clears.
      For contrast, the Harman combined curve (2013 bass + sub bass with 2018 mids + treble) sounds absolutely good to ME and my ears, although I really like the default tuning.
      Now you'll have people claiming that I do not have 'golden ears' because I am unable to hear the inaudible distortion that comes increasing the bass on the Clears (which is funny because that's what ASR originally seemed to be against, the whole 'golden ear' section of audiofools). I will note that I have not tried the 2018 Harman bass shelf on the Clears (just the 2013) so perhaps some units do have audible distortion, but plenty of people have gotten the 2018 bass shelf sounding great on the Clears.

      Take Oratory1990, an acoustic engineer, he has measured and listened to the Focal Clears and created professionally tuned EQs to get them to Harman. He verifies that his EQs sound good before he posts them. So is he just wrong, as someone who actually designs transducers and transducer enclosures for a living, has had the relevant education and technical background to perform these measurements and assess them properly (and objectively), is he wrong? The answer is no, but again, he is just one person.
      And that's the issue, Amir is one person, deciding that these headphones are bad because he performed some measurements that were not on par with <insert other headphone>, and even though those metrics are outside our audible range (and are measured at unsafe levels), his cult goes around spreading the word that these headphones are bad, from an objectivist point of view, despite the fact that objectively, besides them perhaps not coming out of the box with your preferred tuning, the headphones are fine.
      Not to be rude but, imo, you've fallen into this stupidity. I did too once, I thought that THD metrics and a SINAD less than 100 was not worth the money, would result in audible issues, etc etc. Then I actually read up on these things myself and found how bullcrap the whole 'dynamics', SINAD and THD measurements are (again, excluding the extremely bad performers which are in the audible range).

      But that's besides the point, because some people, including myself, ENJOY THE STOCK TUNING! Crazy right?!
      Not every headphone is made with the purpose of Harman tuning. And that's fine. And not everyone wants to EQ, that's fine too.
      Even Andrew from the Headphone Show, who is a big proponent of Harman, loves the Clears, even with the stock tuning.

      Audio Science Review is a cult, no better than other cult forums like SBAF and HeadFi. What the admins and community leaders on the forum say is what goes, anything against that and you'll have their armies after you, and ASR is no different. There are some good people on there who actually know their stuff, but Amir is not one of them (and yes, I am aware of Amir's right up telling everyone about his background).

      If you want to actually learn from people who know their stuff, have been working in the relevant fields or still do, you should turn to HydrogenAudio.
      It's a place where scientists, engineers, some programmers (who have worked on audio systems) and people who are keen to learn more, gather to discuss audio objectively.
      There you'll find blind tests done by the community, writeups about blind tests done by other communities (often from Spanish and French speaking forums, who seem to be less deluded by marketing compared to their comparative English speaking forums), among other things.

      This is even where Nwavguy hanged around a little before his disappearance. You know, the engineer responsible for shooting down all the bullcrap companies were throwing out about audio without any basis, the dude who was constantly posting to his blog to inform and teach people the factors about audio and audio gear, to teach people what's important and whatnot.
      He's the dude who created the O2 Amp and ODAC which was engineered to be audibly transparent (and ended up being overkill anyway), a device made for subjectivists and objectivists alike, designs released publically, companies using his design to create audio gear at a price cheaper than anything else at the time. His expertise is why we got the JDS Labs Atom amp and DAC, JDS being one of the companies who produced the O2 Amp and ODAC and improved upon what Nwavguy created, producing the Atom stack at an even cheaper cost. The O2 Amp and ODAC are not chart toppers on ASR, and they don't need to be, because they are already 'audible transparent' from an objectivist point of view.

      The truth of the matter is that THD numbers are often marketing, besides extremely bad performances. Yes, it's measurable, but that doesn't mean it's AUDIBLE to our human ears, and it really isn't (besides the extremely bad performers). In music based blind tests you'd be hard pressed to identify SINAD even at and under 65 db (where 'under' of course is going up in db, if using Amir's ranking list to compare). Even worse, the bad numbers in the metrics Amir produces here are with unsafe volume levels. Funny enough, the safest volume he uses for measurements here, 94 db (which still is NOT safe), the headphones produce perfectly good THD results that will not be audible. The next level up, 104 db, would likely not be audible either for the average person, even for a trained listener. And no one with good ears would be listening that loudly anyway.

      Diversify your 'objectivist' readings, Amir is far from the most credible you can find.

      • AlexF on 29/12/2020 - 17:53

        No offense but ASR is a bit of a joke

        it’s not, and I’m a fan. I regard Amir in same peerage as Nwavguy, you referenced (I own JDS’s ODAC & O2). The best thing about his reviews is that his is the first in the thread and there are plenty of subsequent opine posts. No doubt your refute will be appreciated.

        • Salada on 29/12/2020 - 18:04
          +2

          But here's the thing: it's a pointless review. What's there to bother disputing? The fact that his volumes he measures at are far too high (objectively), the fact that the THD is not in the audible levels when playing at safe volumes (objectively, again)?
          Like, at most I appreciate the fact that companies can't make outrageous claims if he measures things, but many times the measurements are far outside human capabilities.
          It just seems very pointless discussing objective facts (the limits of human hearing), which is what this entire review encompasses: judging a headphone outside the range of human hearing and safe listening levels. So in that regard, ASR is a joke, moreso when it comes to these headphone reviews, it's setting out to do something completely pointless.

          The only part you could discuss is the merits of the Harman curve being what every headphone should desire to achieve. That's subjective, even if objectively the average person does like it a lot.

          Overall, it just seems very pointless to discuss when there are so many other better things I could do with my time, as this benefits nobody. I only responded to this with a long winded explanation to inform others who might misinterpret what Amir's doing.

          The best thing about his reviews is that his is the first in the thread and there are plenty of subsequent opine posts

          That's an extreme surface level analysis about what happens there.

          • AlexF on 29/12/2020 - 22:19
            -1

            @Salada: As per idiom: “put up or shut up” - Master Complaint Thread About Headphone Measurements

            • Salada on 29/12/2020 - 23:21
              +2

              @AlexF: There's a difference between asking for feedback and doing something about it vs putting on for show.
              Not to mention this is just in response to the extreme criticism he received for the HD 800S review. None of that has been taken into account for, that much is obvious.
              And this is one section of ASR, about the headphones, it's not indicative of anything. Amir's always done things his way. He even refuses to admit that MQA is a bad thing, even when the people who actually have understanding of why it's not a good thing. He just continues to parrot what comes out from MQA's corporate mouth.
              Amir even sided with MQA's designers on ABX testing being a bad thing, and when HydrogenAudio members and other members of the scientific community stepped in to explain where their claims were wrong, Amir would continue to suck the d*ck of MQA: https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conventions/?ID=416

              Makes sense when Amir's got stakes in MQA (as in the codec, not Meridian, with his own business, Madrona Digital, it probably helps to sell things with an MQA sticker stuck on it, ala the 'hi res' stickers, plus working with members from the likes of Topping on the forum).
              Amir is not unbiased enough, as opposed to HydrogenAudio.
              HydrogenAudio aren't reviewing anything, so they can talk about the science without a bias (or at least as unbiased as you can be), they have nothing to gain or lose. Even the best of reviewers who receive free products are never truly unbiased, and while Amir's measurements are correct, I truly believe that, that doesn't make him unbiased on the science, such as audibility of SINAD and THD levels, safe volume levels, etc.

              As per idiom: “put up or shut up”

              The type of people who talk like this, using idioms and phrases to make a point of something without actually giving any explanation, are the worst. It may work on dumbasses, but simply linking something with a short 'spicy' message to the person you're having a discussion with as a 'gotcha' does not make you right, especially if the thing you link is entirely subjective.
              You may see 'Amir aiming to fix his process', all I see is 'saving face' after being the ridicule of every other forum and community the days following the HD 800S review.

              Politely, (profanity) off with your cult mindset. All these forums are just breeding grounds for hive minds.

  • giovannip on 30/12/2020 - 13:14

    Just unpacked mine today and left driver is DOA. I'm pretty bummed now as they are closed until the new year! :(

    • Salada on 30/12/2020 - 19:16

      That sucks, Focal's really gotta step up their game with QC, especially on this kilobuck stuff. Seems to mostly be the solder joints from the headphone inputs to the driver (pretty easy DIY fix if you have it happen after warranty period) or the connection on the voice coil can fall apart (extremely difficult DIY fix).
      But hey, at least you don't need to return it all the way back to the US ahaha.

      If you have an ATA store in your state, if you contact support and ask/beg them to allow it, they'll let you return it for a replacement by bringing it to the store (assuming the store has stock). Much less hassle if you have a store close by as opposed to shipping it back and waiting. They let me do that before.
      Hope it all works out for you.

      • giovannip on 31/12/2020 - 16:27

        Thanks for the heads up. Yes I've read that QC has not been the best. I did email the store in Sydney (where I physically picked them up), and the manager replied (even on annual leave, that was nice of him).

        I think they will check stock in the warehouse and see if they can do a direct replacement, which tbh I think is fair given that they were DOA.

        I think my case may be different to others as I actually put the order in at the store as opposed to purchasing online.

  • viirgon on 06/01/2021 - 19:33

    Mine arrived today and trying it out now, really nice build and sounds great - trying out different tracks to get a feel of the sound signature. Also trying out Tidal, YouTube Music as source vs my own digital collection. Any recommendation for a PC-based hi-res player?

    • AncientWisdom on 07/01/2021 - 20:15
      +1

      Foobar2000 is pretty common.

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