By aspect — in detail
The defining disagreement. Everyone measures the same narrow high-Q peaks (near 6, 9 and 11 kHz), but listeners split on what they mean. The measurement crowd and many owners hear them as metallic, sibilant and fatiguing; Stereophile and The Absolute Sound hear a treble that's essentially spot-on with only a hint of edge. The divide tracks treble sensitivity, source and recordings.
Measured
Measured treble carries narrow peaks — Headphones.com reads a minor 6 kHz peak plus peaks near 9 and 11 kHz; ASR singles out an 11.3 kHz peak as the source of the brightness; Sonarworks calls the highs 'peaky.' The peaks are real and agreed; whether they land as fatiguing/metallic or as 'just a hint of edge' is the split.
⚠ vs. listeners — The high-Q peaks measure the same for everyone; hearing them as sibilant and metallic versus 'spot on and wonderfully resolving' tracks listener treble sensitivity, source and recordings — not a measured difference.
Where it splits
Peaky, metallic, sibilant and fatiguing — the treble is the dealbreaker.73%
“It created fair amount of "lispiness" with female vocals for example.”
Audio Science Review (amirm)
Spot-on and wonderfully resolving — only the slightest edge.27%
“Treble tonal balance is spot on and wonderfully resolving. Cymbals, strings, and trumpets sound fantastically true to nature.”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
Broadly read as neutral-warm — a gently warm tilt with a present, mids-forward balance. Most sources call it well-balanced and natural; the measurement/studio view is that it's a touch dark and less accurate than Focal's own Elear or the HD 650, colored by the upper-mid and treble peaks. Pleasant for listening, a little colored for critical work.
“The Clear is, in a word, clear. It's got a lovely, warm bass; coherent and even mids; and responsive treble that's neither too bright or too muted.”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
“The general tonality is a bit dark with mids taking front stage.”
Sonarworks
Measured
Sonarworks measures it within ±3 dB of flat across most of the range, but with a 1.4 kHz peak, a ~3 kHz scoop and peaky highs; ASR calls the no-EQ response 'not too bad' and 'decent.' The warmth is real; the coloration lives in the upper-mid/treble.
Warm, punchy and, for a dynamic, well-controlled, extending fairly deep — several reviewers rate it among the best of open dynamics. Two honest caveats are agreed: the sub-bass rolls off below ~30–50 Hz, and the driver has limited clean headroom, so it distorts or audibly 'clips' when bass-EQ'd or played loud.
“It is near-neutral and extends fairly deep.”
Headphones.com (Theo Lee)
“you may yearn for that satisfying rumble that seems to well up from just below the threshold of audibility”
The Absolute Sound (Steven Stone)
Measured
ASR found distortion concentrated in the bass and rising exponentially with level, and describes a driver 'clipping' when pushed; Stereophile notes a large 350 Ω primary-driver resonance at 55 Hz that can bloat the bass on high-output-impedance amps. Owners repeatedly report clipping/distortion when they EQ in sub-bass or listen loud.
Mostly heard as natural, rich and pure — piano and vocals draw specific praise — but shadowed by a measured ~1.3–1.5 kHz peak that some hear as honky, boxy or nasal, and a ~3–4 kHz dip that softens presence and 'bite,' a knock for critical/mixing use.
“piano tones sound incredibly exuberant and rich on the Clear”
Headphones.com (Theo Lee)
“1.4kHz have a curious peak that's absent from Elear. This will make working with most instruments and voices harder.”
Sonarworks
Measured
A measured peak around 1.4–1.5 kHz (Sonarworks and Headphones.com) reads as a boxy/honky coloration to some, and a ~3–4 kHz scoop (both) pulls back presence — so the same midrange is called 'rich and natural' and '1.3k honky' by different listeners.
Detail
Strong consensus · 6 srcA near-universal strength — the trait it's literally named for. Editorial and community sources alike call it clear, resolving and high-detail, and even reviewers who dislike the tuning single out its clarity as the strong suit.
“the Clear is a remarkably strong performer for a sense of internal detail”
Headphones.com (Theo Lee)
“highly resolving and detailed”
r/headphones (Tman450x)
Measured
Rooted in a clean, low-distortion driver (Sonarworks scores harmonic distortion 9/10); clarity is the one thing praised across every source, including the tuning's critics.
Dynamics
Strong consensus · 5 srcFocal's signature and a consistent highlight: effortless, punchy macro- and micro-dynamics that make the Clear sound lively and immediate. It's the one quality even critics of the tuning reliably defend.
“it can be almost unsettlingly dynamic”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
“Focal dynamics are what separate these headphones from others imo.”
r/headphones (BigLorry)
Measured
Repeatedly cited for both macro slam and micro-dynamic nuance (The Absolute Sound: 'dynamic acuity'; Headphones.com: 'excellent macrodynamic contrast' plus standout microdynamics) — a highlight across measurement, editorial and community sources.
Soundstage
Moderate · 6 srcThe most common knock: for an open-back, the stage is widely called intimate, small or narrow — several place it near the HD 6XX. One reviewer is the clear outlier, hearing a holographic, three-dimensional image with the right recordings, but the majority verdict is 'intimate.'
“For most listeners, I think the Clear's most apparent weakness will be soundstage size.”
Headphones.com (Theo Lee)
“it can project a remarkably three-dimensional image with a level of specificity and focus that will cause you to jerk your head around”
The Absolute Sound (Steven Stone)
Measured
A perceptual split, not a measured one: Headphones.com, two Reddit owners and Sonarworks land on intimate/narrow (comparable to the HD 6XX), while The Absolute Sound heard a strikingly wide, 3D image — the majority sit on 'intimate but accurate.'
Mixed-to-positive. The phase-coherence and localization precision draw real praise, but the flip side of the intimate stage is limited depth and a 'left-center-right' placement that a few find flat between the anchors.
“the Clear headphones are so phase-coherent and phase-transparent that they retain the subtlest phase cues well enough to fool my ear/brain”
The Absolute Sound (Steven Stone)
“Imaging is ok but feels a bit left-right-center without much in between.”
r/headphones (EscaOfficial)
Measured
Stereophile notes shallow image depth ('not much image depth'), consistent with the intimate stage; left/right localization and phase precision are rated highly (The Absolute Sound).
Mostly comfortable for long sessions — low clamp and soft perforated pads, with most reviewers wearing it for hours. The caveats: a stiff, uneven headband for some, noticeable weight (~450 g) versus lighter rivals, and a little side-pressure.
“Like its siblings, the Clear is a wonderfully comfortable headphone.”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
“You go from no pressure to a lot of pressure on your head.”
Audio Science Review (amirm)
Measured
About 450 g on a low-clamp headband with soft microfiber-over-memory-foam pads; most report multi-hour comfort (Sonarworks: 5 hours, no hot spots), while ASR found the headband stiff/uneven and a few note weight and side-pressure versus lighter open-backs like the HD 800 S.
Two-sided. The materials, finish and accessories are near-universally called premium and beautiful — an aluminum frame, leather headband and a standout case. But there's a real durability track record that shadows the luxury feel: stiff or failing cables, headband finish that deteriorates, pad discoloration, and scattered reports of driver failure.
“the Clear is a harmonious symphony of premium materials at play in the light, teasing you for attention”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
“both unbalanced cables have failed on one channel; shop replaced one; waiting to hear about the short one.”
r/headphones (abmwinnoch)
Measured
Aluminum frame, perforated leather headband, microfiber/memory-foam pads and detachable cotton-sheathed cables — praised as premium by reviewers. Against that, owners report a recurring pattern: cable failures and a headband finish that deteriorates or turns sticky, pad discoloration (replacements aren't cheap), and driver failures (one owner's died within ~7 weeks). ASR also flags the driver 'clipping' as a real flaw and the stock cord as stiff.
Isolation
Strong consensus · 3 srcOpen-back by design: essentially no passive isolation, and it leaks freely both ways. Expected for the type and not treated as a flaw — but it rules out offices, commutes and shared rooms.
“Because this is an open-back headphone, do be aware that there is zero isolation.”
Headphones.com (Theo Lee)
Measured
Fully open-back — negligible passive isolation and free leakage in both directions; The Absolute Sound notes only slight attenuation at higher frequencies. A quiet-room, solo-listening headphone.
Genuinely split. To one camp the clarity, dynamics and build make it a money's-worth endgame — the first $1,000+ headphone a couple of reviewers called worth it. To the other it's overpriced: Focal's own cheaper Elear is said to do as much or more for the money, and the treble peaks and QC record undercut the premium. Now discontinued, it's cross-shopped used.
Measured
Launched at $1,499 (now discontinued; it settled near $990 late in its life and trades used/open-box for roughly $700–$1,000). Sonarworks cross-shops it against Focal's own Elear at a third less money and scores its value 4/10; the split tracks whether you weight the build, dynamics and detail or measured accuracy-per-dollar.
Where it splits
Money's-worth endgame — the first $1,000+ headphone worth the price.41%
“You'll get your money's worth with the Focal Clear.”
Stereophile (Tyll Hertsens)
Overpriced — the compromises don't belong at this price, and the cheaper Elear does as much.59%
“At these prices we better not have such compromises.”
Audio Science Review (amirm)
