Наушники — Focal CLEAR MG PROFESSIONAL

The Clear MG Professional is a studio headphone with open backs and circumaural cups, made by Focal for audio engineers and producers working in studios, and it is handcrafted in France. Released in February 2021 at USD 1,490, it succeeded the earlier Clear Professional, whose cones combined aluminium and magnesium. Focal says the new pure magnesium dome took four years of research and development, and the headphone is recognisable by its red colour scheme and a yoke finished in structured black paint to resist scratches.

Key specs that matter

The drivers are 40 mm units with an M-shaped magnesium diaphragm, moved by a copper voice coil 25 mm in diameter and 5.5 mm high. Frequency response is 5 Hz to 23 kHz within 3 dB, and Focal puts high-frequency break-up at 28 kHz. Impedance is 55 ohm, sensitivity 104 dB SPL at 1 mW and 1 kHz, and harmonic distortion 0.25 percent at 1 kHz and 100 dB SPL. Focal lists the weight as 450 g.

Engineering and use context

Magnesium gives the diaphragm a high damping factor at low mass, and the M profile of the grilles is shaped to follow the dome and raise efficiency. The earcups wear a honeycomb pattern on the outside. The yoke is solid aluminium with a constant curvature, and the rotation mechanism is offset inside the headband to improve comfort over long sessions at the desk. Two spare pairs of earpads are included, so worn pads can be replaced in the studio without ordering parts. According to Focal, the drivers need upwards of 24 hours of running-in before they reach full performance. A carrying case measuring 250 x 120 x 240 mm holds the headphone and its leads for moving between rooms or facilities.

Pairing

The cable set reflects studio use. A coiled asymmetric lead 5 m long ends in a 6.35 mm TRS jack, the plug used on mixing desks, interfaces and rack-mount headphone amps, and its length lets an engineer move around a control room. A straight 1.2 m asymmetric lead ends in a 3.5 mm TRS jack for laptops and portable recorders, and an adapter converts the smaller plug to 6.35 mm. Its efficiency means the headphone runs from the headphone outputs of typical interfaces as well as from dedicated amplifiers.

Alternatives

Focal also sells the home-oriented Clear MG with the same magnesium driver, but in a chestnut and mixed-metal finish, with a leather and microfiber headband and a 3 m 4-pin XLR cable in place of the coiled 6.35 mm studio lead.