The Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 is the most that the Japanese company can present if the goal is to listen to music at home with headphones in the best possible sound quality. All we had to do was listen for as long as we could and formulate the experience. No, the written word can’t accurately reproduce the knowledge of such headphones, but if we used to take courage from much more expensive competitors, why would we make an exception now?
The Focal Clear MG is an updated version of the Clear headphones. Its predecessor was also made of aluminum and magnesium alloy, the so-called It included an “M-shaped” speaker. As its name suggests, the new model already runs entirely on a magnesium membrane, which means less mass and better damping compared to the previous alloy.
The developers of Focal did not sit back comfortably after the Focal Clear Utopia headphones, which can be considered the reference series, were completed. Barely three years after the original Clear, the MG-marked offspring, updated inside and out, proves that the French still see plenty of options for progress.
Pros and Cons
Technica ATH-ADX5000
+ Dynamic-fast headphones include insanely fast, airy, analytical detail-scanning capability.
+ Captivating, intimate presence effect with appropriate music and electronics, lively stereo stage
+ If necessary, a well-defined, unobtrusive, integrated, yet expressive bass.
+ Exclusive garnish (bag, cable, design)
+ Long-term comfort, minimal weight
+ The position of the earpads could be a hair more even.
– What would be more practical for many people with such a product in addition to / instead of the aluminum case: a shorter cable or a cable with a different type of connection, possibly a headphone stand
– Getting to the top is always high.
Focal Clear MG
+ Compared to previous clear headphones, the mg’s sound is more advanced, natural, and balanced.
+ Musically extremely universal choice, listening to everything from pop hits to jazz is a special experience.
+ Pleasant long-term comfort
+ Exquisite garnish (protective case, cable, incomparable metallic brown honeycomb pattern design)
– As an open system, the resulting negatives can be a trade-off depending on the situation; it must be accepted that there is no
– The color brown may not win everyone’s taste
General
| Technica ATH-ADX5000 | Focal Clear MG | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Brand | Technica | Focal |
| Type | Over-Ear | Over-Ear |
| Colors | Black | Chestnut and Mixed Metal |
| Weight | 270 g | 450 g |
| Connectivity | Wired | Wired |
Design
| Technica ATH-ADX5000 | Focal Clear MG | |
| Type | Over-Ear | Over-Ear |
| Driver Type | Air dynamic | Dynamic |
| Wireless | No | No |
| Noise Cancelling | No | No |
| Drivers | 58 mm | 40 mm |
| Dimensions earphone | – | 312 x 304 x 233 mm |
| Foldable Design | No | No |
Technica ATH-ADX5000
The Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 is not designed to take you jogging. Nor is it ideal for disc jockeys or sound engineers to run around with it – it’s too big and expensive for that. The producer has clearly stated that it is intended for listening to music at home, for idyllic situations where the user can take some time to leave everything (out) calm while listening to one of his favorite albums as a recreation. Why is a calm environment a condition?
Because the ATH-ADX5000 is about as closed as a dough filter, between its breath-thin speaker and the outside world is just a metal mesh patterned by a honeycomb. But it’s not really its functional look that makes it special; it’s the speaker sitting in it that makes it special.
The newly developed, so-called Core Mount (proprietary) forms a 58mm dynamic speaker unit with a surrounding enclosure. The membrane is tungsten coated, under which a Permendur (iron-cobalt-vanadium alloy) magnet moves the swing coil.
Focal Clear MG
The designers did their best to make you feel the high value of Focal Clear MG. This endeavor accompanies the moment of unpacking. From the rugged box, we picked up a rugged, durable carrying case with a brownish color and brightly shiny zipper carefully matched to the color scheme of the headphones. The accessory cable with 24 AWG cross-section OFC copper conductor also makes a pleasant impression.
It is a special positive that the standard 1.2-meter, 3.5 / 6.3 mm Jack (adaptable) option is complemented by a 4-pin for a symmetrical drive. XLR cable. A Focal-designed headphone stand is also available separately for those who don’t always want to put the earphones back in their case when not in use.
The appearance of Focal Clear MG is clearly different from its predecessor. The former gray style was replaced by an exterior based mainly on metallic and brown shades. The exterior of the headband is still leather and microfiber upholstery; the ear pads have also been given the microfiber exterior previously used. Perforated fabric for acoustic reasons helps to widen the stage.
Features
| Technica ATH-ADX5000 | Focal Clear MG | |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Music Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Charge | No | No |
| Speakers | Yes | Yes |
| Frequency Response | 5 Hz | 5 Hz to 28 kHz |
| Impedance | 420 Ohms | 55 Ohms |
Technica ATH-ADX5000
The low weight is surprising and, of course, exemplary—the lighter a headphone, the less pressure it puts on the head. The ADX5000 doesn’t try to present jewel-like kitsch. However, it feels like every little bit of it is in place, so to speak. Despite its lightweight construction, it does not at all have the effect of crushing its own weight in hand.
The three-meter cable wrapped everywhere on our desks, a fact that had to be used, but it is worth mentioning that the steel connection housings and the thick, textile sheathed wire also suggested durability. Because the headphones are open, they let in any sound that is created around the user. Therefore, quiet, calm conditions are essential for ideal use.
The pillows are huge, the Alcantara upholstery on them made a strange effect at first, and the lower half of the lining didn’t fit snugly against our jaws. Therefore, it always seemed as if the ADX5000 was tailored to someone else’s head in the first few minutes. After some administration (and as the liner pretty slowly tried to pick up the skull lines), that feeling improved significantly. There is a skinny layer of sponge in the headband, so it made a bit of a hard impact on the top of the head, but it didn’t cause a depressing, sore feeling at all.
Focal Clear MG
The comfort is especially pleasing as it does not differ significantly from the previous Clear generation. The total weight of 450 grams is relatively heavy, and you can also feel the headphones weigh heavily on the skull, but thanks to the wide and thick liners, it doesn’t get tiring in the long run. It’s worth noting that because Clear is completely open, it lets in all ambient noise, and if we listen to music on it, it can be heard more or less by others. The Focal closed headphones produce also thinking of those who want a private music experience.
The impedance of the Clear Mg is relatively low at only 55 Ohms so that it can be driven very easily, even with lower power electronics. Of course, for best results, it is advisable to pair it with a harmonizing device. The Focal Clear Mg headphones continuously for a week because several users indicated that the sound quality could be expected to improve after a few days of use.
The manufacturer’s website also states that approx. With 24 hours of relatively loud, bass-intense music, the result will be refined. We note in parentheses that we think the earpiece showed many convincing properties even when freshly unpacked, so you don’t have to worry about it performing poorly in its factory condition. Still, after a week, it became noticeably even more balanced and natural.
Connectivity
| Technica ATH-ADX5000 | Focal Clear MG | |
| Bluetooth | No | No |
| Multi-Device Connection | No | No |
| Connection Type | 3.5 mm | 3.5 mm |
| Connection | Wired | Wireless |
| Cable Length | 3 m | 3 m |
The Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 was able to go further in some features than our reference Sennheiser HD 800 S earphones took us. As we know, even in the high-end category, there is often a high premium for a tiny extra. For some, the breath is a much clearer stage, the more vivid center may be worth it if they are obsessed with real music and mostly listen to acoustic/instrumental/symphonic music styles.
The ADX5000as delicate as an audiophile speaker: it doesn’t matter at all what we drive, and it’s also important that getting to know it begins after a thorough run-in. Overall, the Japanese top-notch, but its high price and open design really show us extraordinary endowments; rather, it showed us how well (and in some respects even more) the titanium’s married little brother did.
The Focal Clear MG is considered in the category of about half a million forints with it; maybe it looks nice. It’s clearly a matter of taste, but some may find this design ostentatious or kitschy, as it gives the impression of being from the props of an ultra-high-budget sci-fi movie. In any case, it is not a sin if both producers and consumers want to combine technology with beauty and aesthetics.
The real advantage of the Focal Clear MG, on the other hand, lies in the glare and cool-patterned grid: the magnesium speaker combines benefits that are still very rare in dynamic headphones today. It seems that the French can be outstanding not only in cheese and wine. A lot of money is half a million forints. Still, considering that the Focal Utopia headphones, known as the French benchmark, currently cost HUF 1.4 million, Clear MG is a more attractive and affordable option in terms of price-value ratio. Considering that our own reference ear features with similar value have been surpassed by Focal, especially in terms of bass and energy, it deserves to be a Recommended Buy.
