Focal Clear Open Circumaural High-Fidelity Headphones

I've auditioned the Elears and Utopias at a local audiophile store. But unfortunately, they did not have the Clears because they were sold out. After waiting 3 months, I couldn't wait for them to get them back in stock. I extrapolated what I knew about both those headphones to figure out this had to be somewhere in-between, not to mention an excellent price several hundred dollars less than MSRP of $1500. So I hate to say it, I didn't buy local but I couldn't wait any longer.My setup consists of a Bel Canto Phono 1, Schiit Valhalla 2 and a Technics SL-1200MK2 with a Ortofon Super OM 10 cartridge/stylus mounted on a Technics headshell running 1.5g of pressure.Immediately background hum, static and interference were absent vs. my cheaper headphones (~$200). I let my tubes warm up. And then I let a variety of music rip. Bjork. NIN. John Coltrane. Sasha. BB King. Orbital.I can tell you, the variety I threw at it made some things absolutely clear. I needed to clean many of my records, but those that were clean... they were transparent. The sound stage is good, not great. But the clarity of detail and channel separation between frequencies is unreal. The Clears share more with the Utopias than I care to admit barring the toxic exotic drivers in that model, than the Elears.When listening to analog music (classical, jazz, blues, rock) there is no question the sound waves are an accurate reproduction of the vinyl recording. Digital music (e.g. EDM) does see an improvement but certainly not as significant as true analog instruments.Removing the earpads is simple as they are held with 5 plastic pins. On one of the ears, it reveals your serial number.Overall, a great value for the price range. The construction is solid and high quality execution. The cables, it comes with 3 (XLR, 1/4" and 3.5mm). In addition, the travel hard case also comes with a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter, so technically you have two 1/4" cables. When I look at everything included in the package, it is unreal. Cables themselves costs a few hundreds and they're basically being given away for free here.Don't let the frequency range fool you. It's wide enough for your music despite being narrower than many other high end brands out there on both the low and high end. The headphones are also easy to drive with just about any device you own, but only a good headphone amp will truly make these headphones shine.And for all you guys out there with your DACs and FLAC files... you need to try these on vinyl. There's no comparison vs. digital + DAC.

These are definitely more resolving with better upper mids than the Focal Elear, and a bit less brittle in the highs than the Utopia. Both are headphones which I have had in-house and reviewed in the past.The build quality on the Clear is basically the same as the Elear, but it looks cooler due to the silver/grey color. And, Focal finally includes nice cables that make sense with the Clear, versus the way too heavy and super long cables they included on both the Elear and Utopia. The included hard case is also something that is very well designed and fits the headphones perfectly.I've stated before that I didn't feel the Utopia's were worth the $4,000 price tag, and I think Focal probably agrees since they then lowered the price by about $1,000. I think the Clear is worth the money.And with regards to the Elear, I liked them for the price, but thought there was an audible upper midrange hole in the frequency response, on many vocals, something just felt missing.The Clear sounds closer to the Utopia than it does to the Elear. When comparing them to my Sony MDR-Z1R, they certainly sound a bit brighter, with less bass. This is to be expected given that the Focal Clear is a very open headphone whereas the Z1R is a closed headphone. I do long for a bit more bass with the Clear, however you can boost the bass using some digital EQ. In the end, these are quite resolving headphones with a slightly lean sound signature when comparing them to warmer headphones such as the Sony Z1R or Audioquest Nighthawk. The sound stage while quite wide, still seems not quite as wide as with Sennheiser HD800/S by the way.The Focal Clear bridges the gap between the Elear and the Utopia models well. I suspect it will eat in to sales of both the Elear and Utopia. My guess is Focal is likely working on a Utopia 2 for a super expensive flagship headphone, and the Elear may be discontinued.I will be updating this review as the headphones get more "burn-in" and I also listen to them more, so be sure to check back.NOTE: Mine did arrive with a defect in the finish of the mesh on one side. It looked as if the factory did not get a good silver coating on the mesh. I had to sent them back and think Focal could have done better with quality control here.UPDATE: When direct comparing the Focal Clear to my Sony Z1R, the Z1R sounds more engaging due to increased lower bass response and also smoother vocals. Example, when playing the recently remastered release of Metallica's Master Of Puppets album, on the Clear it sounds good and analytical whereas on the Z1R, it's more 'right on' and engaging. Also quite interestingly, the Z1R has about the same wide sound stage as the Clear. The Clear has a narrow sound stage for headphones as open as they are, whereas the Z1r has quite a wide sound stage for closed headphones.HEADPHONES I CURRENTLY OWN:Sony MDR-Z1RAudioquest NighthawkShozy Zero earbudsApple Ear Pods (hate them for music, only use for phone calls/podcasts)PREVIOUSLY OWNED:Focal Utopia (loaner)Focal ElearSennheiser HD800 SSony MDR-Z7Cardas A8 Ear SpeakersAudeze LCD-3Beats ExecutiveDenon AHGC20AKG Q701AKG K702 65th Anniversary EditionAudeze LCD-2Cardas Ear SpeakersV-Moda Crossfade M100Accidentally Extraordinary 51st StudioAudio-Technica ATH-M50BeyerDynamic DT880 PremiumBeats ProFostex TH900Sony MDR-1rSennheiser HD600Sennheiser HD800Sennheiser HD598Denon D7000Denon D5000Ultrasone Pro 900 SKlipsch X10 EarbudsSony MDR-7506Sony MDR-V6Grado SR60

Purchased these headphones from Audio Advice via Amazon. Very reliable service from seller. Upon opening, Focal's slick packaging is a delight. These headphones perform exactly as several reviewers have described: clear, detailed, with no detectable distortion or brightness in the upper range (even for my 70-year old ears!). Ample bass is present that is detailed and not "boomy". Of course, I haven't yet listened to some of my "worst" CDs or downloads, but so far these headphones are a real pleasure to use. Build quality is superb, although the headphone cables are not as manageable as I would like. But this is not a big deal since the cables are easy to change and might be replaced in the future. Headphones are comfortable to wear even after 2 hours of use. I am feeding music from my iMac, via iTunes (gasp!) into an old Audiolab M-DAC that I'm using as a headphone amp. I'm not able to use the balanced cable as the M-DAC only has a 1/4-inch socket. Looks like I'll soon be shopping for a new headphone amp! So far, I have listened to rips (16/44.1 quality) of my favorite CDs, as well as the recent 24/96 download from HDTracks of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Anniversary Edition) - and the sound quality is excellent. I'm very happy with this purchase. Thank you Focal, Amazon, and Audio Advice.