Bengineer

Ask @Rickus nicely if you can go demo the Empyrean Is Utopia quite similar to the Clear in general sound? I wonder if the Stellia would be more my thing. Listen to Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band. Toward the end it gets hectic, and there is this drum fill/run that happens. With the Z1R that was just awesome. Really shone through. The Clear, not so much. Sits in the background a bit too much.

I know I haven't given the Focal Clears the "omglul these are amazeballs". They did just smash out Spoonman by Soundgarden damn fine.

Ah true. What did you like about them? I think the HD800 mid/treble/soundstage/"air" was all top notch. If you could acheive that with a better bass kick it'd be a truly great headphone. And the comfort 😮

Get the HD800s. I don't think the HD800 is quite right, even modded. The HD800s is probably the sweet spot. Sonarworks has a free trial. You select your headphone and it basically tweaks every aspect of the frequency plot (they measure in their lab) to try make it dead flat. Then you can add more bass. I don't know if the full version has more control? Seems to had like 3bd or so of volume at the same time, maybe to trick you into thinking it sounds better, when its just louder. Anyway, didn't like it on the Clear. More bass, but overall worse sound.

Have you heard the Bose QC35 II too? Comparison? Bose NC is awesome, but sound is just OK.

I'll give the True-Fi a run on the HD6xx a bit later and see what I think. Didn't like it on the Clear, messed around with the sound too much.

Current office setup, the Focal Clear on loan from Rickus, and a HD6xx because why not. JDS Labs Element DAC/Amp.

Will check out and report back!

Nothing off topic if its remotely headphone related bud! Point of this thread. I want to try the Yaxi pads on the HD6xx actually.

I haven't had my HD800 for like a year or so now. But different beast again. It's hard to beat the soundstage/air/clarity of the HD800. They were impressive. My opinion of them would be that the HD800 was bass light. You could hear it sure, but it never really made you think it was enough. The Focal seems a bit weird. It's always there, sometimes is just right, some bass heavy tracks it does thump, but a lot of songs for me it just didn't have enough. HD800 was always bass light, every song. Clear is sometimes. Z1R had a good punch to all the drums, could use that level of impact on all cans.

As per title. Just a thread for general back and forth headphone and headphone amp/dac related chat. Saves clogging up other threads. I'll start. @Rickus has been kind enough to lend me his Sony Z1R and Focal Clear lately. Coming out of my office Dac/Amp (JDS Elements), pretty basic little thing around $400 USD. Well reviewed. Really warmed to the Sony after a rough start. The low end and the way drums just hit is satisfying. They have something weird going on in the upper mid/treble on some songs, but otherwise enjoyed them overall. Build quality is top notch, albeit cups sit on my jaw, can ache after a while. As for the Clear. Completely different sound. They are clear and airy, separation is crazy good. Low end is there but always feels in the background a bit in most tracks. Heavier than the Sony, start to feel it after a while. Can see why people love them. I think with a bit more ooomph down there they would be close to perfect.

Will look into it, thanks! Don't mind a bit fiddly, most good stuff is.

Some suggestions? My main aim is to slightly tweak the bass on a pair of headphones to get a bit more impact, no real need to touch anything else. I briefly tried SonarWorks (free trial), and whilst it gives more bass as desired, it also has a bit of a muffling/veiled effect. Noticeable enough to not want to use it. So after either a Spotify/App specific type software, or a blanket windows override solution. Tweak some frequencies without losing quality/clarity etc. I'll keep google researching, but usually most helpful hearing it from people who have already tested a few out.

Thats what I'm finding with the Clear too actually. Some crappier recorded pieces, and some songs in general, reallllly dont sound that good on them. Most sounds really good, just some...

Haha. @Rickus actually has my brand new (warranty replacement) set of Aeons Closed at the moment! Seems he offers the same service.