Tried both in Munich, would take the Focals over the HD800 any day. Mostly because I’m not a fan of that much treble, but also because the HD800’s imaging seems a bit “stretched” to fit the wide soundstage, and because the dynamics on the Focals really are something!

I would take the Sennys for build and comfort any day. They also have a sound that is almost entirely unique to them. The Clear MGs sounded warm and lovely from the one demo I had, but if they’re anything like the Radiance that I have also tried, the weight and clamp force end up being a turn-off.

Clear MGs are 450g, might aswell wear a Planar at that points, it goes right in the “too heavy to be considered” category

Owned Clear OG for over a year and had the 800S for 4 years before selling it.

Clear is easily my preferred. Warmer, punchier, better dynamics and a more natural tone. Add a little 1-2db bass shelf at 200Hz and they become even better.

The 800S hates extra bass and gets muddled and distorted if you force it too much in the low end. Clearer high end and vocals but I think the tradeoff isn’t worth it except for classical and Jazz music.

Clear mg. I prefer it and is what I use

I’ve only tried the focal clear pro. I’m assuming they are somewhat similar to the MG.

I would take the hd800s every time over them.

I know this doesn’t answer your question - so, apologies - but I’ve found a really happy middle ground with a pair of Senny 6’s and my Aryas (the latter of which, admittedly, I do generally prefer to eq a bit).

Having a pair of wide sounding planars that image well, and a pair of 600’s that give you almost a diametrically opposite sound, presentation and driver type mostly leaves me feeling like I’m not left missing out.

No, neither stages as well as the 800’s or images and hits quite as clinically as the Clear MG’s, but they do a close enough job to make me happy. Gun to my head having to answer your question though? 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day the Clear MG’s. They’re so much more versatile and can comfortably be used without EQ.

The only reason I’d buy 800’s would literally be for a totally and wildly unique use case….like if I were a professional gamer and the staging on the 800’s improved my chances of winning competitions even by 1% or 2%. Other than that, other manufacturers are making cans that stage really well nowadays but actually have some bass to speak of in their original state.

Only owned Focal Clear OG and didn’t like them. Dynamics were too much in addition to the treble spice, very fatiguing at moderate to high volumes. Also too warm for my tastes and not more detailed/resolving than a 560s, except for the bass (but quantity can’t reach 560s EQed level as Focal is prone to clipping)