I punctured the driver

Yeah I’m not sure why I dislike them specifically. I love other headphones with some treble veil, like the HD650s and I don’t know why the 900 Pro X sounds so bland and lifeless in comparison. It reminded me of how treble heavy headphones sound after putting toilet paper in front of the driver.

Wasn’t a huge fan of the aesthetics either, they looked a bit like they had an identity crisis wether they’re studio or gaming headphones.

I don’t know, my ears just hurt after a while. It wasn’t something I could ignore either.

Yeah but if OP prefers the sound it's cool. Also EQ isn't a good option for everyone.

Well it would be boring if every headphone sounded the same. I personally love the 650/6xx because of its tonality, you can listen to music the whole day without fatigue and everything sounds butter smooth. I actually think they’re really unique in that way and no other headphone does this as well as them.

But I found that the best of both worlds for me is the HD800. It has that neutral Sennheiser sound, they opened up the soundstage big time and brought the treble up. Yet it still somehow reminds me of the 600/650, they even managed to improve the superb comfort and take it to another level. Maybe this could be an interesting choice for you, second hand they’re only like 600 bucks. Still pretty steep but they are such a great value imo.

Yeah but the big plus with modding is that it will sound the same from every device. Which is relevant because I take them with me when making music and plug them into different interfaces and stuff. Having a baseline sound would be pretty cool. But yeah for now EQing does everything I want.

Yeah I’ve heard about the SDR mod and I’m considering it. Is it easy to do? I wouldn’t mind getting deeper into it tho, I’m just scared of bricking them.

And luckily the earpads are currently in stock in Germany. I’ll get them as soon as I can.

I don’t know if it’s manufacturing variation but my DT990s also don’t have super sharp or „ear piercing“ treble and I’m pretty treble sensitive due to my tinnitus. Other headphones make me wince, especially Hifimans seem to consistently pierce my ear drums.

My DT990s are definitely treble forward tho, no question about that.

No, it actually isn’t worse than on my DT990s, but it’s also like 7 times the price. I am pretty sure it’s the swivel mechanism but it’s not that bad. On my head it’s perfectly silent.

Another radiance owner! Just got mine today and I’m currently still testing it out. Really neutral sound with good clarity, didn’t expect that based on the FR.

Currently with my mic Interface which actually has a really decent DAC with a pretty low noise floor. That goes into an amp + headphone splitter combo, I still have enough head room to really push them but I might try to find my old O2 in the basement.

But it was pretty important to me to have something that’s easy to drive since I don’t have any amp with me when I’m somewhere else making music. Shitty laptops and analog gear with an headphone out as an afterthought are the norm. Maybe I’m getting a mini amp later on.

Im coming from an DT990 and tried to replace them many times, I’ve tried audeze (too bulky), the DT 900 Pro (too veiled) and many others but always ended up with the DT990.

Today I finally got my Focal Radiance. I’ll try to give my very first subjective impression of them. It’s a very lightly used unit (even the plastic wrap was still on the connectors). Got it for 740 bucks.

Build: I like the materials but it’s too creaky for my taste. It’s not really a problem when worn but it creaks and pops a lot when handling. Cable is a joke, really stiff and short. If this is one of the better focal cables I don’t wanna imagine what the others are like. But overall it’s built very well, I just don’t feel like it can survive quite as much abuse as my Beyers did.

Comfort:
Comfort is really good, it has got quite a clamp on the head but I will get used to it. The pads are pretty soft and feel quality with the perfect amount of give. The leather quality is INSANE. I also didn't have the common Focal problem of my ears touching the metal grill even though I have humongous ears.

Sound:
They didn't WOW me like the Audeze LCD-2C did but it's more of a HD650 effect where I think that you would appreciate them more and more the longer you listen.

I thought these would be way bassier and warmer than my DT990s but I actually found them to be tuned kinda similar. The Radiance has more energy in the upper mids which makes the transition to the treble much more natural. Also the bass isn’t louder but much more defined. I immediately tried mixing a few projects where I had some troubles getting the bass right and it was a breeze with the Focals. Vocals come across more natural and not extra sparkly like on the DT990s.

Weirdly enough I can make out a LOT more details in the treble even though it's more relaxed overall.

Transients are way snappier on the Focals, for example the song „Snake Ice“ by JonatanLeandoer96 has many percs and transient heavy drum hits and they sound kind of mashed together on my old beyers.

They just sound neutral and right, soundstage is pretty small but that’s to be expected from a closed back and I actually like a more intimate sound.

Overall:

I am pleased with them, I will test them in different scenarios today and report back. Will they send my DT990s into retirement? I don’t know yet but we will see. If I end up selling them again I will try the Aeon Noir or the legendary HD800.

Edit: Just listened to Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red (I know not everyones taste) and man the Radiance BLEW MY MIND. Loud growling bass, screaming synths and demented vocals is exactly where they excel. I felt like carti was screaming in my face from the top of his lungs and the bass dragged me deep into hell, couldn't stop nodding my head to the music. Had to fire up Teardown for the full experience of destroying stuff while listening to this. Gotta get some death grips going next.

You will never find a „perfect“ pair of headphones because it doesn’t exist. Taste (and ear shapes) are really individual and expectation is also a huge factor. If someone tells you that a certain headphone you have hasn’t got a lot of resolution you might believe it even if it’s not true.

It’s about making compromises and knowing your own taste.

I was under the impression that power and volume is the same thing. If that’s not the case you could theoretically built an amplifier that has tons of power and very little volume and vice versa, right?

Just trying to get this right as everybody seems to say something else.

I mean discord and stuff, sorry should have worded that better

Interesting, thank you for the link

They are not the same, I’ve owned both. The 80 Ohm has a bigger mid bass bump while the 250 Ohm has slightly more sibilance. Not a huge difference but it’s there.

It’s the other way around for me. I want the music directly between my ears, also there’s the convenience of seamlessly going from listening to music to talking with friends without switching the audio device.

I’ve tried fancy studio monitors but returned them again because I just didn’t use them very often. Maybe I need to try again some time.

Needs some slight blur to look convincing, no trail cam is that sharp