Focal Clear Mg Professional
The Clear Mg Professional delivers reference-grade detail with clean, textured bass, natural mids and an intimate, immersive presentation. The Honest Audiophile admired its exceptional separation and balanced, impactful low end, while MajorHifi highlights its uncompromising accuracy. Add a tank-like build, secure comfort and easy 55-ohm driveability for a formidable studio-minded open-back.
WATT RECOMMENDS
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Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
89/100
Comfort Fit
91/100
Build Quality
90/100
Features Usability
88/100
Value for Money
86/100
Pros
Exceptional detail retrieval and instrument separation make complex mixes easy to unravel.
Clean, textured, punchy bass reaches into the sub-bass without overpowering the mix.
Natural, clear midrange and accurate timbre support convincing vocals and instruments.
Rigid metal construction and cushioned fit combine durability with strong long-session comfort.
Cons
The treble can be relentlessly bright, exposing piercing cymbals and harmonics on challenging recordings.
Its intimate stage is not especially wide, and imaging is less pinpoint-precise than some alternatives.
The premium price is a meaningful consideration for a purpose-built reference headphone.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 89/100
Reviewers describe an intimate, highly revealing reference presentation with especially strong tonal coherence, bass definition and detail retrieval. Its main trade-off is a forward, bright top end, while the stage favors immersion and layering over expansive width.
Bass
93/100
Bass is repeatedly praised as clean, detailed, textured and well defined, with punch and impact that do not overpower the mix. One reviewer also found convincing sub-bass rumble, while another called the unassisted balance accurate and sufficiently full-bodied.
Midrange
92/100
The midrange is described as flat, natural and cohesive, with especially impressive clarity. Reviewers found voices and instruments cleanly articulated, with convincing timbre and neither obvious recession nor excessive emphasis.
Treble
86/100
Treble offers clear extension, air and strong separation, with one reviewer finding it bright but smooth rather than harsh. However, MajorHiFi found the brightness relentless at times, capable of making cymbals and harmonics piercing.
Resolution Detail
94/100
Detail retrieval is a standout: reviewers praise the Clear Mg Professional's ability to isolate instruments, reveal fine information and keep complex material clearly separated. Its revealing character can be somewhat in-your-face, but is not generally described as piercing.
Soundstage Imaging
86/100
The presentation is intimate rather than especially wide, but reviewers praise its immersion, depth, layering and stable placement of elements. Imaging is clear and articulate, though one reviewer felt it falls short of the most pinpoint-precise alternatives.
Dynamics
83/100
The bass is described as punchy and impactful, suggesting satisfying rhythmic drive. The reviews otherwise say little about large-scale swings or microdynamic nuance across a wide range of music.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Comfort Fit
91/100
Both reviewers are enthusiastic about fit: one says the headphones disappear on the head, while another finds them secure and steady around the ears. Despite their substantial physical presence, the supplied impressions point to comfortable extended wear.
Build Quality
90/100
Reviewers describe a rigid construction with respectable durability, and one calls the metal-headband design built like a tank. Long-term reliability is not discussed in depth, but the immediate construction impressions are very strong.
Features Usability
88/100
The package includes a carrying case, replaceable pads, and both long coiled and shorter straight cables for studio or desktop use. Its 55-ohm impedance is also described as easy to pair with almost any amplifier.
Value for Money
86/100
At roughly $1,490, it occupies a serious reference-headphone price bracket. The available value commentary is cautiously positive, suggesting its distinctive design may warrant the asking price against other reference models, but it stops short of calling it an outright bargain.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Weight
- 450 g / 0.99 lb
- Product type
- Open-back headphones
- Frequency response (+/- 3dB)
- 5 Hz – 23 kHz
- Harmonic distortion rate
- 0.25% @ 1kHz / 100 dB SPL
- Impedance
- 55 Ω
- Sensitivity
- 104dB SPL / 1mW @ 1kHz
- Carrying case included
- Yes
- Carrying case depth
- 250 mm / 9.87 in
- Carrying case height
- 120 mm / 4.75 in
- Carrying case width
- 240 mm / 9.5 in
- Replacement pads
- Yes
- Cables provided
- • 16.5 feet (5m) coiled asymmetric cable (1/4" - 6,35mm TRS jack) • 3.94 feet (1.2m) straight asymmetric cable (1/8" - 3.5mm TRS jack)
Manufacturer's Description — Focal
Excellent open-back headphones
Clear Mg Professional is an essential work tool for the most demanding sound engineers and producers. Its open design provides a perfect sense of spatialization and immersion. With the ability to reveal the smallest details, it offers excellent dynamics for smooth transitioning between monitoring speakers and headphones.
Extreme precision
The 40mm loudspeakers feature a magnesium diaphragm for extreme precision. The tonal balance is remarkable, as is the quality of audio transfer and bass articulation. The open-back grille inside the earcup follows the "M" profile of the membrane as closely as possible to optimize efficiency.
Comfort and openness
The design of the headband offers a constant curvature, ideal for wearing on the head. The solid aluminum yoke lacks the traditional vertical rotation mechanism, which is offset within the headband for even greater comfort.
DYNAMICS AND SPEED
With a break-up at 28 kHz, high frequencies are extremely linear and transients are respected. The headphones disappear in favor of the audio signal, whose transfer quality is uncompromising and even faster.
Refined finishes
The outside of the earcups features an elegant honeycomb pattern. This opening also enhances the feeling of spatialization and improves the image of the soundstage. The yoke, meanwhile, is covered in structured black paint for a sleek, scratch-resistant design.
RUNNING-IN PERIOD
These headphones need a running-in period to reach full performance. This will happen naturally after several hours of listening. If you wish to accelerate the process, we recommend that you play them for at least 24 hours at a relatively high volume level, on tracks rich in low frequencies. This will stabilize the loudspeakers and enable you to enjoy your headphones to the full.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Focal Clear Mg Professional
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- A Tube High Fidelity — online and in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- A/V Solutions — in-store — Pleasanton, California, United States (website)
- Abt Electronics — online and in-store — Glenview, Illinois, United States (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Accessories 4 less — online and in-store — Apopka, Florida, United States (website)
- Acoustic Designs Inc. — in-store — Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acoustic Streams — in-store — Lower Drift, England, United Kingdom (website)
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