Focal Clear

I was tempted to buy the HD800S sight unseen, but found a local audio store that had a few different brands/models to try. Once I tried them, they just weren't my cup of tea, though. I also tried the Radiance and Stellia, and found the Clears to be my favorite. I'm not exactly an audiophile, but appreciate good sound quality, and for the price, the Clears just seemed like they had a good amount of bass, vocals sounded good. There was a pair on scratch and dent that I got from Crutchfield and they arrived in a day or two. The condition was very good, with only a small knick in the silver paint - definitely something I could live with for the hefty discount offered. One thing to note on these is that they're open back, so if you want to sit on the couch and listen to music, others in the room will be able to pretty easily hear the music as well. I haven't yet bought a DAC/AMP, but I'm sure that will also make a noticeable improvement in the sound quality. Right now I just plug them into my laptop and listen to Amazon Music HD, and they sound pretty good. I do wish Crutchfield offered more headphone DAC/AMPs that were not made overseas, seems like there are only a handful of companies that produce them elsewhere. I'd definitely purchase these headphones again, and my experience with Crutchfield was fantastic. Top notch service, and a customer service rep helped answer any and all questions I had. I'll be buying more stuff from you guys in the future!

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Focal Clear = honest accuracy

Focal could not have chosen a better name for these headphones. They are definitely clear, and honest. They will play anything you give to them and play it so accurately. The words that have come to mind are "clarity", "precision", and "accuracy", both in terms of sound and imaging. These are not that hard to drive, but they do benefit from an amp. Plugged directly into the headphone out of a laptop or tablet they sound okay. Plug them into an amp and there is a very noticeable increase in sound quality. I have used my integrated speaker amp and a dedicated headphone amp and was surprised to hear the difference between these. The speaker amp colors the sound quite a bit, which I had never noticed. Again, these headphones will play the sound exactly as it is given to them.

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Excellent Headphones

Arrived in good order 2 weeks ago. Using a Shiits Bifrost DAC, Shiits Jotuhiem 2 amp with balanced headphone plug. No EQ. Music from Tidal off a Macbook and TV optical into Bifrost. Most of my music is classical and old rock. All the music sounds very good depending on the original recording. Older stuff i.e. Cream can sound odd depending on the separation of track. LVB's 9th is fantastic. Rick Wakeman piano works are crisp. The Clears have nice base that does not over power the the mids or highs with good staging. I'm 70 and started on vinyl. The Clears give me the music sound I remember from my KLH. Films sound great. If the sound architecture is good you hear it. Staging is relatively wide. Tracking from side to side is very good. Very nice bass, you get the kaboooooms without loosing dialog. Comfortable for long periods. I'm fussy with fit so I fiddle a lot. Wished the cups rotated a bit more. Head band comfy. Clamping pressure mild but I did reduce it a bit. My son wears his Clears all day in his home office. Very happy

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Purchased While Undecided

I wanted a top level headphone and had narrowed the selection down to the Clears and a couple other brands. I have been happily using a set of Grado RS2e and wasn't certain that these would be worth $1000 more than the cost of my current ''Best" headphones. I was willing to take a chance thanks to Crutchfield's return policy. The headphones arrived quickly. I opened them carefully to maintain all the packing and contents in pristine condition should I decide to return them. I use a RME ADI-2 DAC and plugged the new Clears into the front unbalanced jack for my first listen. A couple hours later I was ready to throw out every piece of carefully saved packing material as I have no intent of ever sending these headphones back. The comfort is great on my average size head, no pressure points and the fit of the pads over my ears is excellent. In quiet passages of music I had to remind myself these are open back it felt so isolated. I enjoyed a lot of my high def FLAC files and and some of my favorite FLAC ripped CDs. The sound is wonderful and I have found my favorite set of headphones. There may be others better sounding if I was willing to spend 3 -4 thousand or more dollars. No need to think about it or continue looking, these will be keeping my ears happy for years to come.

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Excellent fidelity

Great sound, all that I hoped they would be.

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Focal Clear

Just set the Focals down and it was a very very pleasing session.

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A great investment in beautiful sound

Life is short, don't be cheap. Absolutely worth the cost.

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Pure listening pleasure!

Wanted headphones a step above my current headphones which are also rated very highly . The Focal's are far more than a step above! These headphones are so sweet through the entire musical range! Maybe a little soft on bass but I actually like that with the music I listen to. They are very comfortable and I can wear them and forget they are on my head. I am extremely happy with my purchase and highly recommend the Focal Clear headphones. Five stars to Crutchfield as well for service that is second to none!

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Highly Recommended

A bit shocked by how good these are - highly recommended. The only comparison I have is Sennheiser 59Xs, and there is just no comparison. I am using a good amp (Benchmark HPA-4) but they also sound good via a Mojo. There is lots of non-fatiguing detail and clarity, with a full, rich sound.

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Great headphones

I auditioned three headphones this month: The Denon AH-9200, the Sony Z7M2, and these Focal Clears. Without going into too much detail, the Clears won. :-) Just enough bass, nothing too sharp on the high end, and a nice, smooth, open sound. Pair them with a good dac/amp, and it's an awesome headphone.

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Great Headphone!

Great sound. Detailed, very fast transients, natural vocals and tight bass. I very happy with these headphones. Super comfortable. Easy to drive, even with a portable DAC.

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Wonderful!

I am impressed. The imaging is literally immersive and realistic; i.e., during the first couple hours with them, I took them off several times to check and see if sounds were real or part of the recording. That sounds absurd, but it was a remarkable experience. That initial memory justifies the whole purchase for me. I have two systems with transparrent DAC and headhpone amp that measure very well and a balanced tube headphone amp. I have some American planar magnetic headphones in this price range and some Irish made German brand dynamic headphones in a lower price tier, but this is a whole new experience. I am spinning some Deep Purple with an Audio Technica microline stylus and NAD preamp now and the sound is still just wonderful. The only downside so far is subdued vocals on some recordings (Van Morrison Astral Weeks ultra high res lossless digital), but that it probably just the price of nice bass and detailed highs. More of an observation of the design than a complaint. These are my favorites. The smiling frequency response curve is the best there is, but can't always be perfect. The build on these is unmatched in my experience. I want to take a shower and donn gloves to put these on because they are so nice. As a former helicopter mechanic, I think the engraving, cables, finishes, machining, are really something to behold. If you are shopping in this price range, for recreational listening, without very high volume, Focal Cl

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Focal Clear

You hear instrumentals with a unique type of clarity that feels very smooth on the ears. The padding is very comfortable but what you hear coming out of these headphones when you listen to music sounds so comfortable on your ears you can easily play music on them continuously for the better half of an hour without taking them off.

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Focal Clear

Just amazing headphones. While costly, a big improvement in sound when compared to the sound from my Hifiman headphones. Somewhat lacking in "oomp" in bass, the Clear makes up for it by its clarity in the mid-range. Truly impressive headphones.

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Excellent Headphones

The Focal Clear are excellent headphones! The sound is clear and very detailed without being over analytical. They are the most comfortable headphones that I have worn.

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Amazing headphones and quick service!

Focal makes the most comfortable headphones I have ever tried. The open back and soft ear pads allow me to wear for hours without fatigue. The sounds is amazing on these. I paired them with a Fiio Q5S and the fidelity is amazing. Highly recommend this entire line of headphones.

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Focal Clear

Great musical sound while exposing subtle details, but not analytical. Not for people that like to listen louder, clipping happens at what I consider should be very well within the limits of a headphone like this. Ear pads and inside of head band could show signs of greasy soil in the long run due to material and color combo, unless you shower before each listen. ?? Lastingly, I found the ear pads small for my average size ears and that causes discomfort when doing extended listening sessions.

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Focal Clear Headphones

Product as advertised. Immaculately designed, well constructed, very comfortable to wear and delivers audiophile level performance, even when driven by just a mobile phone.

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Fabulous, must-have headphones

Focal's Clear headphones are amazing! (I have Utopia No 7 (active) and KRX3's in my car & truck, respectively, so I get spoiled all the time by some of Focal's best.) The music flows out of these cans superbly. They are not as pristine as the Utopia's drivers, but they are so so close. Played through a Sony PHA-3 listening to Tidal HiFi-quality (aka 16/44) streams was love at first stanza. The shimmer of a cymbal's metal is evident; the bass is tight and has just the right authority I expect to hear; the crisp pop of a snare drum is discernable. After a disappointing couple days with the Elegia, the Clear's immaculate performance right out of the box made me instantly smile and spend the next couple hours jumping through some of my favorite tracks via the Tidal collection. Earlier today, an audiophile friend and I spent a few hours with the Clears. He was completely taken by the Clears, declaring them in the Top 3 of the headphones he's heard (which includes the Utopia). Truly believe the Clear are one of the best values in high-end headphones today. These are SO good at this price, while where more pricey cans lack or equal them. I cannot wait to get a balanced cable for them and see what more they can do.

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Focal Clear

Extremely nice pair of headphones. Sound amazing . Build quality is excellent. The only thing it's lacking a tad bit in the bass department and the treble is a little on the higher side. Still an excellent set to own .

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Focal Clear

This is an excellent headphone. I've owned the Focal Utopia headphone for a year. I decided to try the Clear based on favorable reviews. Wow. I'm impressed. The Clear seems more balanced than the Utopia to me. The Utopia is an excellent headphone, no doubt. But the Clear has better bass and a more relaxed sound that is enjoyable to listen to. The Focal Clear is a great sounding, well-built, and good looking headphone. I highly recommend them.

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Amazing Headphones

Arrived quickly in great packaging. The product itself is great. Already broken in and enjoying the headphones. An amazing upgrade from the HD650. Using Chord Modo as DAC. Everything is clear and the tonal balance is perfect, not too much of anything and nothing is missing. Comfort is great as well. They look even better in reality and the additional accessories are great (Cables and the hard case). I love the fact that so many different music genres sound great. From Acoustic (Jack Johnson) pop (Paul Mccartney) through Rock (Maroon 5) to Nickelback they all sound great. I truly believe I found my end game headphones. Other headphones I love so you will know my background: Sennheiser HD6XX, Sony MDR 1A, Sony 100AAP

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Focal Clear

I compared these side-by-side with the Audeze LCD-3s, and these sounded better to me than the Audezes, despite being $500 cheaper. I tested on both a Marantz DAC and a cell phone. My recordings were a mix of hi-def classical, hip hop, outdoors ambient recordings among others. The sound is extremely natural and clear enough that you can listen to it at high volume without getting fatigued. Compared with Audeze these have much more presence and clarity. While they don't emphasize the bass as much, the bass does seem sharper than with Audeze on my setup. The stereo imaging is also very spacious and beautiful. They can very clearly be driven by a mobile device, presumably because of the low ohm rating. It was actually quite shocking how well a cell phone drove these. For some people this does not matter, but for me it adds to the value. The description of these by non-audiophile friends: "alive", "present", "involving". Finally, I would say that these have more body to them than lower-tier Grados, which can often sound too "bright" or "sharp" to my ears. They have a great body to the sound without lacking detail. Also worth noting: if you are a sucker for beautiful, clean cabling then this is a good fit. My friends and I all went jaw-dropped when we opened up the package to find the 3 beautiful cables.

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Focal Clear

The "cleanest" sounding headphone I've ever heard. Makes the Elear sound bloated. The Clear is an ethereal sound that, in my opinion, constitutes the price tag.

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