All 3 PF those are rough with utopia imo…
I believe the EC Af leans dry for tube amps and the EC lineup due to the output transformers used. Some also strongly prefer the feedback vs no feedback modes.
I’ve found Utopia and DNA to pair quite well, also the Feliks Envy - which lean more wet.
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Focal Radiance : General thoughts
If you don’t have time for an essay, skipping to the last paragraph of concluding thoughts will give you everything you might need, be interested in
Hello! I wanted to do a short write up of this headphone since I’ve owned it for a short amount of time but thought someone might appreciate the extra input.
Disclaimer: Only owned this for a few weeks, maybe 3? Lol. Source, Luxury Precision P6 Pro DAP. I’m decently familiar with the DAC from it since I’ve been using it essentially as only a Dap the past 3 and a half months. When it comes to using it as a DAP (DAC + INSIDE AMP) however, I have less experience. Got to use it as DAP for an entire month when using it with the Hyla Sarda that was generously loaned to me, and now with the Radiance for the past weeks.
2nd Disclaimer: Unlike most people here and in audio in general, I do not have another set up at the moment in terms of different chain nor different transducer (no other headphone atm). I know for example @j.fopps recently bought a Focal Radiance as well and is starting to vibe with it but for example his take on the bass might not be as gushing as mine since he has the awesome Fostex TH-900 MK2 PW edition. In addition for the past 4 months essentially I’ve wanted a IEM or closed back to block out outside noise who increasingly became something that began annoying me alot. Essentially what I am trying to say with this 2nd disclaimer that if I absolutely gush over this headphone keep in mind I don’t have other gear maybe balancing out my love for it, and it 10000% fulfilled my closed back need as it’s amazing for blocking out noise. Either way I will elaborate, and I will draw a few comparisons.
First of all, the last Focal headphone I liked a ton was the Elex (and the elegia before I realized it dosent have soul). But when it comes to Focal I’ve actually owned Focal Speakers for I want to say a few years now (although I’ve tried selling them 6 months ago and no bite, they just sit in storage atm). And I absolutely LOVED them. From my perspective as someone who has owners the Elex, Celsetsee, Elegia, and Clears the immediate stand outs of the Radiance are the following
- Most soulful mids
- Best bass I’ve heard in a Focal
- Best Focal Closed back
First of all, I had the clear in a very reputable chain (RNHP Amp + Bifrost 2 DAC), and while the mids were pretty awesome and extremely detailed they did NOT have what I call the “soul” that this headphone has. Been absolutely enjoying the detail, textures and general vocals that these guys have. I think when it comes to vocals they are second to none in the Focal line up. When it comes to piano, Violins I do think it’s another story. They sound good, but not particularly great. I think it may be due to two things, focal headphone staging which is a bit limited in space and also this headphone in particular has many sonic aspects that remind me of my Wadia 25 dac (which I haven’t been able to use with this headphone yet as I don’t have a different amp to hook it up to atm). The aspect that I’m talking about is that the headphone is incredibly intimate, but the best way to describe this particular characteristic is that it has the opposite of “holographic” imaging/sound. The Wadia dac is the best, love it to death but in comparison to all modern dacs I’ve heard it’s the least holographic for sure, the Radiance might be only headphone that comes to mind that reminds me of that. In addition to the fact that this headphone carries other traits the Wadia has, it’s got excellent and I mean EXCELLENT punch. Not just is the bass incredibly punchy, texture and also has toooons of bass quantity but the mids too are very thick, rich and carry amazing heft and lunch everytime. It’s just such a damn punchy, dynamic sound that I’ve only heard from Focal really. Love it.
Bass: I touched up on it before, but I tend to love very round and borderline boomy bass. I just love it. Dosent have to be the tightest, and it just makes me smile from ear to ear. This Radiance headphone for sure meets my standards of fun boombox bass, that just manages to costar in the show for every single song. I know I loved my Verite Closed (WA8 Amp + RS6 DAC) for its mix of amazing mids + fun rounded bass. It wasn’t as prominent as the fairly damn elevated Radiance bass is to where the sound signature is completely different but both fulfilled some similar aspects. The Radiance really encompasses a bass that fills out every single song, including older style songs like Tom Jones - It’s not unusual , Albert Hammond - Echame a mi la culpa tend to be missing. The surpluss of bass just really has been amazing for making this headphone very forgiving to most recording and just plays well with everything.
This headphone, I don’t know if it’s the bass or what but just like the Fostex, and WADIA 25 DAC it’s been encouraging me to listen to my rock music more often, Asian Kung-fu Generation, LA Oreja De Van Gogh, Falling In Reverse, everything man it’s crazy. If I had to guess, while V shapes where the thing that got me to enjoy rock in this case while the Radiance is more W shape-ish because it’s far from neutral where bass, mids and treble are all boosted to my ears it works just as great as V shapes have for me with rock.
Its a closed back, filled with soul, it’s punchy and blocks out so much noise from the outside. Love it. The build is so fucking PREMIUM. THIS IS ALSO WHAT IM PAYING 1K FOR. IT’S SO STURDY, BEAUTIFUL. FEELS GOOD.
Concluding thoughts: Theres a mix of reasons I love this headphone. First of all, price to performance. The reason I let go of the Verite Closed was because sound-wise it felt too expensive for what it provided to me to where I felt if I downgraded I could get a fraction of that for a more reasonable price. The Radiance is the perfect example of that. It’s still not as natural sounding, it’s most definitely no where near as wide as the Verite Closed and while vocals are nearly as good the strings and piano don’t compare to the VC. But, BUT the Radiance is much cheaper (got open box for under 1k), it is much more engaging (due to the punchy sound, focal presentation, bass, speed, cleanliness, just more energetic sound) and most importantly it is plug and play. The VC simply sounded best with the WA8 + seperate dac and that was after tons of warm up time from the Dac and the amp, the Radiance in the other hand I hook up to my P6p Dap and PLAY I JUST HIT THE PLAY BUTTON. DOES THE DAP SOUND BETTER WITH WARMUP? SURE. BUT IT ALREADY SOUNDS BETTER THNA THE RS6 DAC WITHOUT WARMUP. IT SOUDNS ENGAGING AND HAS SOUL OFF THE GET GO. NO NEED TO WARMUP ANYTHING JUST PLAY AND GO. So yeah, essentially I looove this headphone for its unique sound, immediate, intimate, punchy, BASS +it’s value proposition + use case (plug and play, I literally have most sessions laying down on bed before sleeping).
I don’t visit other forums, maybe it’s the most hyped headphone at the moment, I don’t know. But I do know that I’m this forum, it’s not spoken enough. Everyone that does speak of it loves it. But. THEY DONT STRESS HOW FUCKING GOOD IT REALLY FUCKING IS. FOCAL GANG GANG
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@j.fopps Cowon s Radiance Cowon s Radiance Cowon s Radiance Cowon s Radiance Cowon s Radiance @j.fopps
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Excuuuuuuse me?!?!
I also would suggest you and @j.fopps do trade daps at one point, especially if you have a balanced cable for the Cowon S. It adds good depth and that 3D holographic sound youre missing now. Heck i would offer mine if i didnt use it daily.
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Is that a norne cable? Absolutely beautiful cable!
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Your right. I messed up in this statement. Because YOU are actually driving, hyping these a ton. It’s like when @acoconut or whatever his name was hyped the Grado hemps on the hifiguides forum.
Sam’s with me dude, I only have my Dap and I use it fairly often. And it looks like I won’t be able to change that anytime soon.
Also I should clarify this. I used to be the biggest fan of 3D Holographic stages. Still am a huge fan of them. However let me clarify that not having a holographic stage is something that I now also consider a plus. It’s hard to explain, but the Wadia 25 dac changer everything for me. What I consider good and what I consider bad. And in my experience now, not having a holographic stage can be absolutely awesome too with the more intimate sound and at least 2/2 with the Wadia and radiance the very punchy sound in general.
Maybe when I look for a standalone amp I’ll consider a spacious amp for another combo of a more spatious radiance. But maybe not dude.Maybe I’ll let the radiance just be what it is, because it’s plenty awesome with its own sound.
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PlusSound x8. It hits exactly what i want for a cable in that chain. The x6 may also do the same/similar for slightly less but i have not tried it.
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It reminds me of the Viking Weave cable I owned. Beautiful colors and workmanship on this type of cable look
Hey radiance gang, just curious about chain recommendations for this beauty. Anything to consider or it is not as picky as clear or utopia?
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You looking for a desktop or portable set up? Currently i only have experience woth it on a few daps but i can test a few chains if needed.
Probably both lol. I should be fine with my main chain but curious what is considered solid pairing.
I kind of found a deal I could not pass on and I love the looks so hopefully they will arrive next week.
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Right now this is the only chain I have that if something happened I would replace it EXACTLY.
Cowon Plenue S: Bal Out → PlusSound x8 Copper → Radiance
The Cowon S dap is older so you need pick it up used, and they are no frills players. Tbh i saw a decent bunch used on your side of the pond, and i picked up my current one from a seller in England. I also had it modded before getting it sent over, but it is a great pairing either way and i sold my unmodded unit to another SA’er. (I can pm you the modders details so you can look into it if you want).
I found the hiby i had to be a bit too forward. The Radiance can have it’s treble nudged forward, but too much and it turns from pleasant to glaring.
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I have my eyes on lp6k but not sure I will go for a dap anytime soon.
Might have to go to office eventually so maybe at that point I will pick something but thanks for insight
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I don’t have a DAP yet and that is what I picked the Radiance up for but, I have worked it from a couple desktop setups
The Spring3 KTE & Ferrum ORR/Hypsos and the Yggdrasil & Violectric v550 . With both setups I used the Radiance with a FAW Noir Mk2 cable.
The Radiance is punchy and alive on both setups no issues with sound quality. The differnces noted are from the inherent differences in the two chains.
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How do you like radiance compared to fostex?
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The office is what i use mine for right now. Youll love the isolation from coworkers.
I would say anywhere on the slight sides of neutral will work. Slight warm to accentuate the bass and mids, teeny tiny slightly bright to help the highs. Anything that can spread out the stage and add seperation will be eaten up by the Radiance and alleviate any “closed” feeling. Little touches let the Radiance cary the load.
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They are different - the Radiance doesn’t have the quantity of bass or the impact of the Fostex and the stage is much narrower but also is more holographic.
The Radiance for me, is not a replacement for the TH909s which I prefer all around. This is not to mean the Radiance is not great - I totally dig it and it stays in my collection, but its use case is slated to be my portable HP - and I think it will shine in that effort. For the desktop the Fostex is best for me.
This is the exact reason I picked up the radiance - its has what I want in sound signature and works across my library very well - but is closed back and seals better internally and externally. Where the Fostex are a bit too leaky for an office setting.
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I havent heard a Fostex so no comment on how it compares, but i agree on the stage. I would say it feel like a modest jazz club or coffee shop stage. Depth on my chain does feel pretty good though, tons of defined layers which i feel makes that 3D/holographic stage just very… 
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The Radiance is a solid piece - please don’t think that I’m not appreciative. I love what it does. I just spent a couple weeks with it as the sole HP used on my primary chain while giving the Susvara a break, and I was not disappointed in the least with it.
I feel it is going to be exactly what I’m after for portable/office duty and I’ve stopped looking for any other HP for that use case. But for the desktop, I do have others I enjoy a little more, but if I did not have them I’d not be hurting a bit if the Radiance was the only headphone I had.
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