There's been talk of pad-swapping between the Elear and Utopia. Then
@Stillhart sent me this message:
Hey Jude, I just swapped the Elear pads onto the Utopia. Got more bass and didn't seem to have much detrimental effect. Have you tried it yet?
Up to that point, I hadn't tried swapping the pads, so was thrilled to read that. As I said in an earlier post...
I'm one of the people who'd Elearize the tonal balance of the Utopia if I could. For me what the Utopia does better is resolution--it is no doubt the more resolving of the two. However, the Elear's tonal balance is more to my tastes, which have shifted a bit toward a fuller sound (than what I'd deem neutral) over the past couple of years...
This is obviously a personal preference thing, and Stillhart preferred the stock Utopia to the Utopia with Elear earpads. The other day I made the swap, and I'll spend more time with the Utopia with the Elear pads, but so far I'm digging it--
a lot. I'll spend the next several days comparing, but this may be the Utopia I want, with more richness down low, but still Utopia-level resolving, in terms of details.
The earpads are very easy to change, so I have a feeling Focal is going to be getting
a lot of Elear earpad orders for those who want both sound signatures with their Utopias.
I was curious about how the pad-swapped measurements would compare to stock, to each other, to the HD800, so here are the measurements:
(Above) Frequency response: Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted line) and Utopia stock (solid line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Total harmonic distortion (THD): Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted line) and Utopia stock (solid line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Frequency response: Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted blue line) and Focal Elear stock (dotted green line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Total harmonic distortion (THD): Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted blue line) and Focal Elear stock (dotted green line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Frequency response: Focal Utopia stock (blue line) and Focal Elear with Utopia pads (green line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Total harmonic distortion (THD): Focal Utopia stock (blue line) and Focal Elear with Utopia pads (green line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Frequency response: Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted blue line) and Sennheiser HD 800 (black dotted line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Total harmonic distortion (THD): Focal Utopia with Elear pads (dotted blue line) and Sennheiser HD 800 (black dotted line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Frequency response: Focal Elear stock (dotted line) and Elear with Utopia pads (solid line). (Click on image to see full size.)
(Above) Total harmonic distortion (THD): Focal Elear stock (dotted line) and Elear with Utopia pads (solid line). (Click on image to see full size.)
NOTE: The measurements reflect diffuse field correction applied via the APx555's input EQ.
It's obvious (and not entirely surprising) that the earpads have
a lot to do with the tonal balance of these headphones. In early listening, I'm happy to say my first impressions, again, have the Utopia doing their Utopia-resolution thing, but with most of what I love about the Elear's tonal balance.
What's most interesting about using the pad swap to bring the two headphones' spectral tilts into closer alignment is that it helps isolate and highlight the differences between the drivers. That is, when their tonal balances are more in line with each other, the Utopia driver's superiority--in terms of its resolving ability, transparency, and refinement--is even more evident.
In other words, frequency response alone does not tell the whole story of the differences between these headphones.
One other thing that I found very cool was that, in terms of THD, there's no penalty to pay for either earned choice, with either of the headphones.
Again, there's no doubt this will come down to personal preference. When Elear replacement earpads become available, I think a lot of people will opt to have
both choices at their disposal.
Audio measurements were made using:
- Audio Precision APx555 audio analyzer
- G.R.A.S. 45CA Headphone/Hearing-protector Test Fixture
- G.R.A.S. KB0072/KB0073 small pinnae; G.R.A.S. RA0045 IEC 60318-4 ear simulators including G.R.A.S. 40AG microphones; G.R.A.S. 26AS 1/4" microphone preamplifier; G.R.A.S. 12AP microphone power module
- Rupert Neve Designs RNHP headphone amplifier
- Herzan acoustic enclosure (custom)