[Mani ATH 87]

Reading through a lot of the older posts on this thread I noticed a lot of discussion regarding mechanical clipping with the Elear/Elex/Clear/Utopia.

Focal seemed to clarify that this was in the nature of the drivers and not something considered a defect. I've spent quite a few hours now with my Elear and haven't experienced this.

I'm guessing this is still something that's currently an "issue" for some users? I've tried listening to the suggested tracks where this can happen: Why So Serious? from the Dark knight soundtrack as well as Max Richter War Anthem. I can't seem to reproduce this effect at my normal listening level.

I have the Elear connected to the Schiit Asgard 2 and listening with the volume dial between 12 and 3 o'clock most of the time (low gain). No EQ or filters of any kind being used. I feel I'm listening at a relatively loud volume but nothing to far out of the ordinary. I'm not really into trying to crank the volume up to levels I can't listen to in attempt to induce the mechanical clipping, as that seems kind of useless.

Is this still something that Focal considers normal behavior for the headphones? Something people still are experiencing? I bought the Elear brand new just recently so I would assume it was a recently manufactured headphone.

I should note that I listen to plenty of bass heavy music.

 

[441879]

Reading through a lot of the older posts on this thread I noticed a lot of discussion regarding mechanical clipping with the Elear/Elex/Clear/Utopia.

Focal seemed to clarify that this was in the nature of the drivers and not something considered a defect. I've spent quite a few hours now with my Elear and haven't experienced this.

I'm guessing this is still something that's currently an "issue" for some users? I've tried listening to the suggested tracks where this can happen: Why So Serious? from the Dark knight soundtrack as well as Max Richter War Anthem. I can't seem to reproduce this effect at my normal listening level.

I have the Elear connected to the Schiit Asgard 2 and listening with the volume dial between 12 and 3 o'clock most of the time (low gain). No EQ or filters of any kind being used. I feel I'm listening at a relatively loud volume but nothing to far out of the ordinary. I'm not really into trying to crank the volume up to levels I can't listen to in attempt to induce the mechanical clipping, as that seems kind of useless.

Is this still something that Focal considers normal behavior for the headphones? Something people still are experiencing? I bought the Elear brand new just recently so I would assume it was a recently manufactured headphone.

I should note that I listen to plenty of bass heavy music.

I have an Elex and I’ve never heard it either. I don’t know if it’s because my amp has good control of the driver (amp is a Lyr3) or I just don’t play loud enough, or what.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

I have an Elex and I’ve never heard it either. I don’t know if it’s because my amp has good control of the driver (amp is a Lyr3) or I just don’t play loud enough, or what.

I'm thinking maybe I'm just not listening to a loud enough volume...so I guess that's fine. If it doesn't occur until volumes beyond my comfortable listening level then it's nothing to be bothered with.

I notice in your signature that you have a Schiit Loki. I was thinking of adding a Schiit Loki to my chain - how well does it play with the Elex?

 

[441879]

I'm thinking maybe I'm just not listening to a loud enough volume...so I guess that's fine. If it doesn't occur until volumes beyond my comfortable listening level then it's nothing to be bothered with.

I notice in your signature that you have a Schiit Loki. I was thinking of adding a Schiit Loki to my chain - how well does it play with the Elex?

The Elex takes eq very well so yes, they do play nice. That said, the Loki is good for adjusting the overall balance of the headphone (e.g. adding more sub bass, taking away a little brightness).

As the quality of my headphones have gone up, I’ve found adjusting the balance unnecessary because I like the way they sound.

The finer grained peaks, valleys and other deviations from the Harmon ideal response curve are not something the Loki can address. That requires sound shaping apps like Sonarworks. I’m not really a fan, but it’s worth checking out to at least listen to what it does. I’ve tried it with the Elex and it works in the sense that the Elex sounds clean, clear and distortion free. However, to my ears sound shapers wreck the soundstage and are fatiguing.

I guess I would summarize with yes, the Elex works well with the Loki but I wouldn’t bother unless the Elear sounds unbalanced to you.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

The Elex takes eq very well so yes, they do play nice. That said, the Loki is good for adjusting the overall balance of the headphone (e.g. adding more sub bass, taking away a little brightness).

As the quality of my headphones have gone up, I’ve found adjusting the balance unnecessary because I like the way they sound.

The finer grained peaks, valleys and other deviations from the Harmon ideal response curve are not something the Loki can address. That requires sound shaping apps like Sonarworks. I’m not really a fan, but it’s worth checking out to at least listen to what it does. I’ve tried it with the Elex and it works in the sense that the Elex sounds clean, clear and distortion free. However, to my ears sound shapers wreck the soundstage and are fatiguing.

I guess I would summarize with yes, the Elex works well with the Loki but I wouldn’t bother unless the Elear sounds unbalanced to you.

I've tried Sonarworks in the past and it sounds pretty good. In my opinion, it's too expensive for what it is though. I'm not a huge fan myself of making sweeping alternations to FR, I like that headphones have certain unique character to them. Sonarworks might be more useful in a studio environment or for critical listening...I'm more looking for minor adjustments, like a small bump to sub bass or mid range, etc. The Loki seemed like it would be good for that.

 

[441879]

I've tried Sonarworks in the past and it sounds pretty good. In my opinion, it's too expensive for what it is though. I'm not a huge fan myself of making sweeping alternations to FR, I like that headphones have certain unique character to them. Sonarworks might be more useful in a studio environment or for critical listening...I'm more looking for minor adjustments, like a small bump to sub bass or mid range, etc. The Loki seemed like it would be good for that.

In that case, the Loki will serve you very well

 

[Textfeud]

Getting the Focal Elear tomorrow. Gonna pair it with my Accuphase E-210 amplifier. Anyone had good luck with "vintage" speaker amps driving them?

 

[redryder]

Hi all,

I recently bought a used Elear for cheap but I need to change the original pads. The Amazon reviews for the Dekoni Frenestrated sheepskin pads mention a treble spike, which I'm wary of. Anyone else has this experience?

 

[Jearly410]

Hi all,

I recently bought a used Elear for cheap but I need to change the original pads. The Amazon reviews for the Dekoni Frenestrated sheepskin pads mention a treble spike, which I'm wary of. Anyone else has this experience?

No treble spike I hear. Overall there is more energy and clarity which might be heard as a treble spike?

 

[judomaniak57]

i hear no treble spike but overall improved midrange

Hi all,

I recently bought a used Elear for cheap but I need to change the original pads. The Amazon reviews for the Dekoni Frenestrated sheepskin pads mention a treble spike, which I'm wary of. Anyone else has this experience?

 

[abirdie4me]

i hear no treble spike but overall improved midrange

+1

 

[441879]

Hi all,

I recently bought a used Elear for cheap but I need to change the original pads. The Amazon reviews for the Dekoni Frenestrated sheepskin pads mention a treble spike, which I'm wary of. Anyone else has this experience?

If there is a spike, I can’t hear it.

 

[Oregonian]

Getting the Focal Elear tomorrow. Gonna pair it with my Accuphase E-210 amplifier. Anyone had good luck with "vintage" speaker amps driving them?

When I auditioned them a couple of years ago I ran them out of my Pioneer Spec system (Spec 1 preamp/Spec 2 amp). Liked them, but the issue I had was what has been brought up numerous times - the driver "bottomed out" on my pair with only moderate volume/bass tone control. All I have are vintage speaker amps so didn't try the Elear with anything else.

 

[Textfeud]

What does bottomed out mean @Oregonian ? I'm listening to them right now and only heard them on the Accuphase. They sound pretty nice but I can indeed only turn the dial open a little bit before it becomes too loud.

 

[Oregonian]

It's like a thud or like a woofer that is overpowered. Hard for me to put into words but it's mentioned throughout the thread if you read it. It doesn't happen to all Elears - but enough that a few members noticed it. It's kind of disconcerting as it sounds like it's damaged. Focal has commented on it as has Jason from TSAV.