I've just ordered them, and from what Ive heard they're the most open sounding T50rp mod out there. Plus I'll be using them with ZMF Lambskins which apparently reduce the treble a bit.
i think you nail the review format, by not spending 1/2 time on doing unboxing, cables but showing it through the actual review..... very good, well done
yes, what i meant was going through built quality, fit, case, cables etc etc..... all those things that's not much concern to us than sound quality......
This review is a breath of fresh air. Thanks for your honesty. Any chance for a review of the Elear with Clear pads? I've read a few people claim Clear pads on the Elear helps with the upper midrange dip.
@@deadeye110 yes, I bought them soon after I posted that. I LOVE then. Tell never sell them. Incredible. I just received a new pair of Audeze LCD-2. They are also incredible. A warmer sound and heavier Bass.
My wildest thought was that Massdrop has some influence as well. Through attacking on Elear they probably can sell more Elex. That's exactly why no reviewers are talking about EQ Elear or Pads swap of Elear on CZcams.
Someone should compare Elex with Elear with Pads swap. If they sound exact the same then it is very ironic to see everyone is hyping Elex and trashing Elear.
Great review. I own the Clears and the NFB 28.38 and love the combo on low Gain setting ofcourse. Im interested in an awesome planar magnetic for my next headphone with differences to the Clear like bigger soundstage and more relaxed. Any thoughts between the different Audezes and Mr. Speakers Ether Flows?
Thanks for the comparison, I’m looking at the Elear and Clear, I had a chance to demo the Elear and absolutely loved them! I listen to a lot modern rock music and find most headphones (hd600, hd800 Dt1990) too bright and harsh to my ears, unfortunately I haven’t heard the Clear, looking at the freq chart they look awfully similar though. I do love the add on cables, carrying case etc, but I think at the end of the day sound will be the deciding point? What do you recommend? I also am looking into a couple Shiit headphone amps, I can’t decide to go the balanced route or tube route. To be honest I haven’t heard a tube headphone amp I’ve heard most will soften or tame the highs though. What are your thoughts on this and what would you recommend for the focal Elear or Clear?
Tyrl from innerfidelity says that you should absolutely not use a tube amp with the Clears. He loved the Clears and put them on his wall of fame with the caveat to not use with a tube amp. Something about impedance and current.
. During the first 15 minutes of listening. Utopia is better than the Clear, with a wow factor. Unfortunately after 15 minutes, the Utopias clearness, and fatiguing highs become too much. I've listened to both the Clear and the Utopia extensively. The Clear is a more enjoyable headphone. Giving the listener more bass than the 800S, and minimizing the fatiguing nature of the Utopia.
Thanks for this. I initially bought the Elears and thought they were the most punchy and exciting headphones I had ever heard, but eventually I came to recognise their less endearing characteristics. I thus exchanged them for the Clears, which I love and am about to test the Utopias. I am told they are stunning, but I suspect I will come to the same conclusion as you and stick with the Clears, thereby saving myself a lot of money! Mike Wadge
Hi Aornic, great review. Would you say the difference in performance between the Clear and Utopia is worth the difference in price? I personally believe the Clear provides the most value for money out of all headphones at this time. Thoughts?
Timmy Jay I shy away from talking about price now unless I find something just baffling at all angles. I do think that the Clear's tuning will endear it out of the lineup to those who prefer its tuning. One such person, as I discovered in his vlog this morning, is Steve Gutenberg over at CNET. To them, it'll probably be worth the price.
It sounds as if your impressions of the Elear was changed by other peoples opinion, rather than from experience. From your comparison from your experiences it sounded as if you were preferring the Elear to the Clear.
@@deadeye110 Because I like the DT 1990 Pro (with Sonarworks) better and the price for the Focal Clear Professional was too expensive for no really benefit.
Cheers mate I appreciate the kind words. I might start reviewing again but guitar and guitar pedal gear mainly due to conflict of interest with the headphone industry (I'm a seller now).
Hi there, the Elear is currently priced at $800 on Amazon and the Clear are $1500 - is the Clear worth nearly 2x the price of the Elear? Final question is how do they compare with Sennheiser HD800 or Beyerdynamic T5P 2nd gen? Thank you!!!
Would you be so kind to share your EQ settings or point towards any? I just grabbed a HD800 (with SDR mod, pretty similar to the HD800S) and I freaking love the soundstage and clarity, but I´m missing a bit more bass. I´ve played with EQ myself and I´m pretty surprised how well the HD800 respond to EQ, but I´m not an expert and would prefer to pick a fine tuned EQ. Searched the internet but haven´t found much yet, apart from some Reddit post that I have difficulties reproducing with my DSP.
Aornic, you gotta mod these in order to bring out their true strength. Add a extra magnet on the back. Make sure to replace the hm5 hybrids, they really open up the head phone, improve resolution, and fixes the FR. Lastly you need 400 burn in ours minimum. I recommend 1500 hours. Usually 1 hours per the cost of the headphones. Hope it helps! Might want to do the sriracha mod on it too. But that's far more advance for a simple guy like you.
I don't understand why you would spend any amount of time listening to "Rock" Music (Or most other electronic based music genres) & then talk about the sonic capabilities of "Clearly"(He,he...hadn't intended the pun) high mechanical integrity headphones. It's like taking a fine handcrafted musical (or other) instrument of sort & stringing it with some type of insufficient material strings & then talking about the deficiencies that you noticed !!!
Seems fair. These didn't really appeal to me, but neither do a lot of newer high end headphones, especially laid back ones. I want some resolution for my money gaddammitt! j/k
aornic i think I would ultimately miss the resolution too much. I'm getting there though, no longer using silver analog cables, which is probably where my headphone money goes. Can make revealing headphones more liveable though, and at.a certain point I could hear the tradeoffs of silver. Good to see Focal experimenting with tuning. Now if they could tune the price hehehehe. Utopia for Clear price would be perfect. Yeah the price of Utopia breaks my heart😭
Timestamps
0:00 Logo
0:08 Intro
0:32 Build Quality, Comfort & Features
3:07 Sound
7:29 Vs. Focal Elear
9:12 Vs. Focal Utopia
11:09 Amping
11:42 Conclusion
aornic would you be interested in reviewing the Mod House Audio Argon mk3?
I feel like my complaints of the T50RP drivers are pretty set in stone now. I can't get over the treble hardness.
I've just ordered them, and from what Ive heard they're the most open sounding T50rp mod out there. Plus I'll be using them with ZMF Lambskins which apparently reduce the treble a bit.
Armand D dampening the treble won't do much for the hardness but sure I'll take a look at the stock configuration in a few months.
i think you nail the review format, by not spending 1/2 time on doing unboxing, cables but showing it through the actual review..... very good, well done
Well the unboxing was a separate video! ;) Thanks though.
yes, what i meant was going through built quality, fit, case, cables etc etc..... all those things that's not much concern to us than sound quality......
Ah. Yeah. I always focus on the sound unless the fit is atrocious (like the Audeze Sine).
Vs. the Aeon Flow Closed and Open?
This review is a breath of fresh air. Thanks for your honesty. Any chance for a review of the Elear with Clear pads? I've read a few people claim Clear pads on the Elear helps with the upper midrange dip.
The Clear's are my next headphone purchase. Cannot wait!
So do you ever get them? What do you think?
@@deadeye110 yes, I bought them soon after I posted that. I LOVE then. Tell never sell them. Incredible. I just received a new pair of Audeze LCD-2. They are also incredible. A warmer sound and heavier Bass.
@@69Muscle yes ! I got mine today they are fabulous 💕 in terms of sound, also have Audeze LCD 2 Classic, both are unique and I never gonna sell them
Nice review, I love mine. You have a really good camera! Thanks
My wildest thought was that Massdrop has some influence as well. Through attacking on Elear they probably can sell more Elex. That's exactly why no reviewers are talking about EQ Elear or Pads swap of Elear on CZcams.
Someone should compare Elex with Elear with Pads swap. If they sound exact the same then it is very ironic to see everyone is hyping Elex and trashing Elear.
A good review indeed. Thanks for the level of detail.
Black and white stripe patterns of the grill is reflecting flashes of light due to the camera sensor.
Idk, i find these sounding more refined n pleasant than the utopia, it just seems like a more coherent tuning overall.
Depends on the amp; I used to have both, and compared from the output of a Chord Hugo TT2, the Utopia's killed it. Ended up selling the Clear.
Great review. I own the Clears and the NFB 28.38 and love the combo on low Gain setting ofcourse. Im interested in an awesome planar magnetic for my next headphone with differences to the Clear like bigger soundstage and more relaxed. Any thoughts between the different Audezes and Mr. Speakers Ether Flows?
Thanks for the comparison, I’m looking at the Elear and Clear, I had a chance to demo the Elear and absolutely loved them! I listen to a lot modern rock music and find most headphones (hd600, hd800 Dt1990) too bright and harsh to my ears, unfortunately I haven’t heard the Clear, looking at the freq chart they look awfully similar though. I do love the add on cables, carrying case etc, but I think at the end of the day sound will be the deciding point? What do you recommend? I also am looking into a couple Shiit headphone amps, I can’t decide to go the balanced route or tube route. To be honest I haven’t heard a tube headphone amp I’ve heard most will soften or tame the highs though. What are your thoughts on this and what would you recommend for the focal Elear or Clear?
Tyrl from innerfidelity says that you should absolutely not use a tube amp with the Clears. He loved the Clears and put them on his wall of fame with the caveat to not use with a tube amp. Something about impedance and current.
. During the first 15 minutes of listening. Utopia is better than the Clear, with a wow factor. Unfortunately after 15 minutes, the Utopias clearness, and fatiguing highs become too much. I've listened to both the Clear and the Utopia extensively. The Clear is a more enjoyable headphone. Giving the listener more bass than the 800S, and minimizing the fatiguing nature of the Utopia.
Can you give us more differentials between the Focal Clear and the Sennheiser HD800S? Thanks.
Thanks for this. I initially bought the Elears and thought they were the most punchy and exciting headphones I had ever heard, but eventually I came to recognise their less endearing characteristics. I thus exchanged them for the Clears, which I love and am about to test the Utopias. I am told they are stunning, but I suspect I will come to the same conclusion as you and stick with the Clears, thereby saving myself a lot of money!
Mike Wadge
What were you listening to both the Utopias and Clears on to get that fatigued listening experience?
Hi Aornic, great review. Would you say the difference in performance between the Clear and Utopia is worth the difference in price? I personally believe the Clear provides the most value for money out of all headphones at this time. Thoughts?
Timmy Jay I shy away from talking about price now unless I find something just baffling at all angles. I do think that the Clear's tuning will endear it out of the lineup to those who prefer its tuning. One such person, as I discovered in his vlog this morning, is Steve Gutenberg over at CNET. To them, it'll probably be worth the price.
Is it Clare or Clear?
Jon Donnelly clear
ales klar
It sounds as if your impressions of the Elear was changed by other peoples opinion, rather than from experience. From your comparison from your experiences it sounded as if you were preferring the Elear to the Clear.
How would you compare the clear to mrspeker's aeon? Really curious to hear your opinion
Abdullah Gamer tonality on the Clear is much more to my liking, especially in the bass and lower midrange.
What kinda stand is this?
How did you like your Audio-gd amp? Have you heard the Abyss 1266 phi on you audio-gd, if so, how do they sound? Thanks
People have so many different views on the bass of these. Some say it has more than Utopia and Elear, while others say it's less.
Is the clear worth upgrading from a he500 ?
good question
How would say it compares with the ZMF headphones?
I would love to see a comparison between Focal Clear and the Beyerdynamic DT 1990.
I had the Focal Clear Professional (same like Focal Clear) with 50 hours listening last week. I sent them back and keep my DT 1990 Pro.
@@Flackferry why?
@@deadeye110 Because I like the DT 1990 Pro (with Sonarworks) better and the price for the Focal Clear Professional was too expensive for no really benefit.
Oh, oh? Will you be one of the first people to review the Audio Technica ATH ADX5000 in the west?
I already have some live impressions up on my Discord channel so maybe.
oh, right, I'll check it out then
I miss your headphone reviews - written and videos
I bought the elear, utopia, and Eikon partially based on your reviews and I still have all 3... and love them
Cheers mate I appreciate the kind words. I might start reviewing again but guitar and guitar pedal gear mainly due to conflict of interest with the headphone industry (I'm a seller now).
aornic understandable. Your customers are lucky!
aornic what are you up to in the industry if it is okay to share?
Hi there, the Elear is currently priced at $800 on Amazon and the Clear are $1500 - is the Clear worth nearly 2x the price of the Elear? Final question is how do they compare with Sennheiser HD800 or Beyerdynamic T5P 2nd gen? Thank you!!!
Would you be so kind to share your EQ settings or point towards any? I just grabbed a HD800 (with SDR mod, pretty similar to the HD800S) and I freaking love the soundstage and clarity, but I´m missing a bit more bass. I´ve played with EQ myself and I´m pretty surprised how well the HD800 respond to EQ, but I´m not an expert and would prefer to pick a fine tuned EQ. Searched the internet but haven´t found much yet, apart from some Reddit post that I have difficulties reproducing with my DSP.
the question is. can I get the benefits by just listening compressed music? or do I need to listen to hifi music files?
they are phenomenal with high res music but mp3 320 easily can benefit from that high grade headphone
i did not audition the utopia but compared to any other headphones the clear is definetly not laid back sounding. it is the opposite.
Be more specific, please. This is my biggest turn-off.
I own them and agree. I really like the Clears and enjoy them as a great all arounder but they are not my relaxed listening mood headphones
clear is engaging, interesting with powerful slam and punch, impressive dynamic range and speed, not so bright just enough to show all details
So uh, what's the headphone stand in the video's still image? 😅
www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/rooms-fs-headphone-stand-zebrano.html
What's the best $1000-1200 headphone to buy new or used
there simply isn't a best. really depend on ur preferences
Is it 'clare' or clear? Elaer? Or what! I get really confused by Your pronunciation and don't know which headset You are referring to.
Aornic, you gotta mod these in order to bring out their true strength.
Add a extra magnet on the back. Make sure to replace the hm5 hybrids, they really open up the head phone, improve resolution, and fixes the FR.
Lastly you need 400 burn in ours minimum. I recommend 1500 hours. Usually 1 hours per the cost of the headphones.
Hope it helps!
Might want to do the sriracha mod on it too. But that's far more advance for a simple guy like you.
Eudis Taveras link to mods?
I don't understand why you would spend any amount of time listening to "Rock" Music (Or most other electronic based music genres) & then talk about the sonic capabilities of "Clearly"(He,he...hadn't intended the pun) high mechanical integrity headphones. It's like taking a fine handcrafted musical (or other) instrument of sort & stringing it with some type of insufficient material strings & then talking about the deficiencies that you noticed !!!
Didn't even take 8 pills smh
Seems fair. These didn't really appeal to me, but neither do a lot of newer high end headphones, especially laid back ones. I want some resolution for my money gaddammitt! j/k
The HD800 is still the headphone to beat at its price point for pure resolution. I prefer this to that though.
aornic i think I would ultimately miss the resolution too much. I'm getting there though, no longer using silver analog cables, which is probably where my headphone money goes. Can make revealing headphones more liveable though, and at.a certain point I could hear the tradeoffs of silver.
Good to see Focal experimenting with tuning. Now if they could tune the price hehehehe. Utopia for Clear price would be perfect. Yeah the price of Utopia breaks my heart😭
I think zebronics headphones zebronics.com/products/bluetooth-headphones is a good one for you to consider since you want a headphone at cheap price.
the Sennheisers 600 and 650 are 1/3 ofthe price and almost or near or as good as the clear.So wwo nailed it Focal or Sennheiser
Heard them today, wasn't impressed.
Rule no. 1: if you’re reviewing a product, know how to pronounce its name
Focal pronounces it like locale, he has it right ;-)
Apologize to Acornic, please.
@thehumuyopi76 Apologize.
lol
Thanks for the super close ups of your Elear's with your dead skin cells all over them ;)
Awesome review...appreciate communication of your revised take on elear
If it's any solace, I made them look brand new before selling back in May.
All the focal headfhones are french rubbish🤮🤮
Vs. the Aeon Flow Closed and Open?