Focal Clear MG Headphone Review
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- Thanks to Head-Fi user @sa11297 for the loan of Clear MG!
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I searched for a review of Cayin HA-1H mk2 and I stumbled upon your channel. I have recently bought the focal clear mg and love it . IMO, it’s the best headphone for rock, heavy metal and black metal music. You have mentioned good points on this headphone. It’s not the best, like all other headphones, it does something good and other things not. In my experience, it does many thing very good and a few things not good and I love it. Thanks for your content.
I agree that these headpohones have vocals cming behind a curtain. But with eq these are one of the best headphones for metal and rock music. Never heard better male vocals and slam with any other headphones. And i own Hifimans + Sennheisers aswell.
I just purchased the mg clear I have 30 days to return them back they are very luxurious headphones but I did not get the wow factor when I heard them. last time I got the wow factor was when I first got my had 600 and hd 650 I will admit they do sound great and yes the do get shouty and the bass is great But I still prefer my hd 650 over the clear mg this is just my opinion,as I always say let your ears decide for you !!!
Thank you for your review. I use Beyerdynamic 1990's when I want a crystal clear sound with lots of top end and large sound stage. When i want more controlled top end with more meat on the music as the 1990's are thinner and a improved bass, I go with the Focal MGs. I just love them and they are very comfortable. I found the original Clears to be more shouting than the MGS
Nice review - Totally get what you are saying - I bought these as a departure from my current ananda - had the elex but that was murder treble for me - was seeking that forward up close and more aggressive punchy sound and agree it can be bit too much and can sound a bit honky but can be tamed with some eq without losing the good attributes - the highs are actually quite nice to me but unfortunately left driver went out so waiting for a replacement at the moment
Man my OG clears have amazing technical performance good staging and great dynamics. I use an r2r Dac and warm amp to remove any of metallic or sibilant qualities. Pairs nicely with my Phonitor E and soloist 3XP but not great with tubes or hybrids.
I recently obtained one, at a reasonable price too (for less than 800$ now due to recent exchange rates) and when I put them on, I really enjoy them. I'm sorry you couldn't enjoy them. Also there being so many polarizing reviews makes
me wonder if there was something wrong with a batch or something.
To an extent there was a batch issue, yes. IIRC Focal admitted that there was a bad ~19KHz peak on some units that gave some folks (who can still hear that high) some vertigo-like symptoms. To my knowledge they have replaced the offending units and rectified the problem with newer batches. My issue was more in the midrange. For some reason, to my ear, the MG took a step backward in clarity and timbre in the mids.
@@wavetheorysound that is very unfortunate. Though I haven't heard Og Clear and maybe don't even have the ears to tell them apart, I would expect Focal to improve on them. That high frequency issue was mentioned by Golden Sound. Since he is young, he couldn't stand it. I'm 33. Even if my unit had that issue I wouldn't know it. Lucky I guess :) anyway looking forward to your future reviews.
I came across this your review, did you use your E.Q. settings on your computer? I did, and WOW the headphones come alive! did you set the music on lossless?? high reproduction settings? if not, you lost out on a Wonderfull headphone
Radiance seems to have best tonality among Focals. Well depending on individual taste. Btw this Mg doesn’t seem shouty with a Chord Mojo. Maybe low output impedance amps work best for these.
Agreed on Radiance tonality - best among the Focals I've heard. As far as the output impedance thing, it is true the MG will like low output impedance, but I don't think that's connected to tonality so much as driver control. Because the MG is 55 ohm (low impedance) you'll need low output impedance for it to sound like it was meant to sound as a general rule. FWIW, I was able to find the spec'd output impedance on 3 of the solid-state amps I used to test MG (Asgard 3, Hugo 2, HPA-V281) and all had a rated output impedance of 0.2 ohms or less, with the Hugo 2 claiming 0.025 ohms. But, to my ear, the Hugo 2 sounded the shoutiest of those 3. Granted that's only 3 amps, but that's suggestive there is more to the picture than impedance matching the MG.
@@wavetheorysound yeah after i made the comment I checked Hugo 2 output impedance haha. Great review btw.
It's a bummer that the Clear MG isn't your sound preference. Closed backs for me don't sound very good except for the Elegia. Maybe someday I will try the Radiance.
I have the clear worth upgrading to mg?
Your sound preference is same as mine. What is your favourite headphone at the moment?
HiFiMan HE1000V2. But it's amp picky so care needs to be taken with amp and dac pairings before it really shines.
I bought my Focal Clear MG’s with very high expectations, but soon after listening to them I also noticed i had an issue with the shoutiness of the voices. I had them paired with the Topping a50s D50s stack, and then also tried the IFI Zen Stack and the Hip Dac v2, But the shoutiness persisted. I then did some research of amp dac combos which lead me to purchase the Topping A30 Pro D30 Pro stack and Wow, I’m talking about night and day change for me. The pairing made the headphones sound fuller, clearer with a nice punchy clean bass, this combo seems to be a widening of the sound stage slightly, that seems to aid in smoothening of the sound, allowing me to listen at higher volumes without the shouting I previously heard. The shoutiness is no longer thier, and these headphones now sound amazing. I found the perfect pairing for these headphones for me.
No disrespect, but i highly doubt that the difference between A50 and D30 is as different as you implied. Their sound signature should be 95-99% the same.
at 3:45 you mention the honkiness you often hear with singers with this headphone. On what headphone do you not hear this most and prefer for this? I also tend to hear this with a lot of headphones, so I am quite curious what you would suggest at any price point.
That is a thing I struggle with mightily in headphones, yes. It's less a problem for me with speakers, but not completely absent. Most Hifimans work great for me on that, the Utopia and Radiance from Focal are quite rarely shouty to my ear. Fostex TH-900 with Lawton chambers can avoid it on the right amps, but will go shouty on others. Sennheiser HD600/650/6XX/800 (S) are all fine for me on their own but will go shouty with the wrong source gear again. Beyerdynamic is usually fine. Audeze is hit-or-miss: LCD-2 prefazor is mostly ok, LCD-X 2021 open is usually ok, LCD-5 was decent once my ears adjusted to it, but outside of those I have lots of shoutiness/honkiness problems with them. Hope this helps.
Celestee is a solid focal as well
I concur with your review. I just bought the Clear MG Pro version. Whilst they are good, I am not sure they justify the cost. There might be "better" headphones at this price. I think I am going to sell mine and get the Hifiman Arya or even the much cheaper Ananda. I actually wonder if my Audioquest Cobalt DAC is powerful enough to drive my Focals?
Hi, did you get the Arya? I'm still considering Clear MG vs Arya. I love my Focal Elegia (except the timbre and treble)
@@adamgreenhill110 Hi - no I've decided to keep the MG's. They are like better quality HD650's - especially the imaging, resolution of detail, and sense of 3D space. They are certainly almost perfect monitoring headphones, a tad boring but accurate. Even my Hifiman Ananda's are more entertaining to listen to somehow!
So, a good headphone for listening to the Tears for Fears album 'Songs from the Big Chair', track #1 Shout ? ... Sorry could not resist the temptation. Thanks for the review!
Haha. The pun is appreciated. Just let it all out.
Can these replace monitor speakers ?
IMO speakers and headphones are different enough experiences that they shouldn't be seen as replacements for each other, rather complements. Personally I wouldn't use the Clear MG as a pro monitoring headphone because they are too mid-forward to my ear. YMMV, though.
16 minutes to say " i only like V shaped headphone curves" lol
Hi price? 🙏
Which cans do u rek for a 1599 budget?
I can't give an across-the-board rec. It doesn't really work that way. Depending on music and sound preferences, the Arya, Eikon, or TH-900 series could all be the right pick for you. Clear OG is still hanging around and the Focal Radiance is a true gem for $300 less that should not be overlooked - but that again depends on what music you like and what sound you're after. HD800s is also sitting in that range, I believe.
It doesn't have the high nor low, it must be in line with Bose.
well at least it's pretty (imo) :p
Nope we can’t be friends anymore sorry, couldn’t disagree with you more..👎
So I feel sorry that your ears are so different. I find the opposite from you. No shout, I have heard choirs breaking out individual voices. Frequency response fails to show peaks where you are sensitive. Your description makes these sound like $20 headphones. I have this and the Radiance. This is SO MUCH more clear, open, accurate and resolving than the Radiance, that I might retire the Radiance. Other reviewers are considering the MG as a new reference headphone. Sorry you don’t like this headphone. But should your idiosyncrasies be used to guide others who hear things so differently from you?
Hi. Have you ever compared the Clear Professional original headphone to the Clear MG non professional at all? Thanks
@@keithb5612 I haven’t. I decided to jump with the Clear Mg because of the promise of increased accuracy from a lighter driver. And the favorable reviews vs. HiFiMan offerings and others. I wanted an open back headphone so I could hear better, like when dictating, and the improved openness. I am extremely pleased with these headphones. The accuracy and details are startling! Meaning good! The Radiance is good as well, but the presence and accuracy of the Clear MG is significant.
@@stephendenagy3396 Thanks. I like the Clear Pro og very much. The coiled cable is terrific too. The Radiance is also great as a closed back option. Open and Closed Focals.... Vive la difference!
Try the Utopia next 😂
Useless review unless you can compare it to the Clear OG. IN fact, etc. 😉
Can't tell if you're joking or serious...
@@LakerTriangle Look at the comments under his Meze Elite impressions