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SeeminglyUselessData t1_ir7jq2q wrote

Reply to comment by mcjasonb in What the material of Airpods Max's diaphragm? The black color makes it look super cool by GreenNerve

It completely depends what music you listen to. I’m talking levels below what most people would consider their maximum. Like 80db. Many Hans Zimmer songs will cause the problem at extremely comfortable levels, when you still want to turn it up higher. “Why so serious” for example

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blorg t1_ir91dm0 wrote

I can hear the clipping on the Clear at high volumes if I go specifically looking for it with test tones or very sub-bassy tracks. These aren't crazy volumes but they are well above what I would actually listen at. I actually thought it was broken when I first got it as it clipped on pink noise (which is bass-weighted) at a loud but not extreme volume.

I never however get it in actual listening, an this includes sub-bass heavy tracks and using Oratory's Harman EQ which has +8.6dB in the bass. So while I can certainly understand why it could be an issue, it's not for my listening volumes, on my specific unit.

Focal say they do this deliberately for dynamics, I think the idea is the diaphragm is very free in its movement but has a hard limit for excursion. I can't say, but the Focal Clear does subjectively seem to have great dynamics, great sense of slam.

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