Yes, A2A sale so good I actually just got elegias after having the clears for a bit and loving them.

I'm in the same park as you, upgrading from 6xx the clear are the 6xx without the veil and with an even richer/thicker sound.

You've almost sold me on them.

You prefer them over the audeze? And if they sound like the clears I could probably blind buy, but I need to get rid of some.

Did you also try the clears at A2A sale?

I was considering getting a pair of closed backs and the elegia were tempting given how much I love the clears.

Very very nice, hd6xx is an amazing pair of headphones for the price, their vocal and mids presentation is insane versus what you pay for them.

I am fortunate, maybe unfortunate? Enough that my father has a pair of hd800 that I can borrow. However I do prefer the clears still, the hd800 don't have the richness and thickness that come with the clears and are sibilant and fatiguing at times, which the clear are not. I would say the hd800 are more picky with source.

>It just didn't give me the "wow factor" that some others have experienced when first listening to them.

Time to try focal clear? Haha. I had similar experience, wasn't blown away, got sundara and then after comparing I realised the beauty of both. 6xx is not fatiguing due to the veil, and the presentation of intimate mids lend very well for simple mixes. Privateering by Mark knopfler is an excellent listen with 6xx. So is pretty much anything with vocal and instrument focus without too much going on.

Agreed, they are an amazing pair of headphones and I haven't found myself using 6xx or sundara since. The 6xx sound veiled and a bit muddy now in comparison. The sundara also seems thin and tinny in comparison. I do wish the clear had a bit bigger soundstage sometimes though.

So I have 6xx, sundara and recently focal clear OG. I also have access to hd598, and hd800.

The sundara are really an amazing pair of headphones for the price, and diminishing returns kick in quickly.

Comparing hd6xx to sundara, the sundara are crisper and cleaner, however the mids on sundara are not as full bodied, rich and smooth as they are on the 6xx. So for simple tracks with a mid focus, I usually prefer listening with 6xx. Guitar and vocal tracks like most on privateering by knopfler sound incredible on both, but shine more on 6xx.

I got the focal clear because to me they feel like a mix of the sundara and the 6xx. They are not as narrow as 6xx, and have in my opinion better richer, thicker mids than even the 6xx. Also they do not have the sennheiser veil which is apparent when going from sundara to 6xx. So a nice combination in my opinion.

Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of listening to abyss, audeze or high end hifiman etc. But my favourite headphones are my new focal clear OG. Vocals are insane and it's the first headphone where I think the singer is there with me. Everything is so crisp and clear. They beat HD800 for me personally.

> Hifiman: " Lemme intoduce you to our cheaper tonally similar $6,000 headphone..."

I'm very new here, but susvara?

Welcome! As someone who is also new to the hobby, you can see my post history and I hope you do not fall into the same rabbit hole that I have fallen into haha. Upgradeitis is very real, and I pray you do not fall for it.

Thank you very much, currently I have an eq set up in roon, and I was looking for something that would work system wide so I'll definitely give that a shot. I'm going through and trying to find music to listen to now, it's interesting my music taste has broadened a bit with the new headphones.

Thank you!

Thank you, in my opinion it sounds very good, I wasn't wanting to spend so much initially, had my eyes on fiio k5 or ifi zen dac combo, however after listening to the topping decided to go with it.

In terms of keeping happy with it, quite difficult when there's a pair of HD800 to steal every now and then, however with the topping is a bit too harsh for my ears so potentially a blessing in disguise.

I have applied an EQ in roon as that is where most of my listening is done (roon with qobuz)

Regarding clamping force, it is fine now and I'm not brave enough to test that, I have seen others perform with some success, but I'm content at the minute. Thank you for the suggestion though.

After twiddling my thumbs for a few months and my old headphones annoying me, I decided to pull the trigger on a new audio set-up for my PC. What helped with the decision is comparing my gaming headset to families HD598/HD800 and realising how much I was missing out on. Old headset was a sennheiser gsp300. Initial clamping force of the hd6xx gave headaches, but after a few days they have loosened up nicely, very comfortable for hours long sessions.