Recent content by The Fed
  1. The Fed

    New Loaner Program - Audeze LCD-1

    Took me way to long to get this together but.... I made a promise There has already been quite a bit of ink spilled over the LCD-1 and the packaging up of the Audeze sound into a sub $500 portable headphone. I won’t spend a lot of time treading a well-worn road. I won’t be going into depth...
  2. The Fed

    Reply to review by 'the fed' on item 'Focal Elear'

    Rchandra.... Depends on what the market says after its been out for a minute but yeah, I really am satisfied with where my system is and the only wildcard out there is the Z1R, primarily because I really respect Sony's "destroy all who oppose you" approach when they are releasing a flagship...
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  3. The Fed

    Reply to review by 'the fed' on item 'Focal Elear'

    Yeah, I actually got hands on a second pair that didn't have as pronounced noise as mine does but did still creak a bit... mine doesn't appear to have any fatal flaw but is noisier. Also the review on Headfonics says the headband is noisy so some specimens may be worse that others... underlying...
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  4. The Fed

    Review by 'The Fed' on item 'Focal Elear'

    PROLOGUE When I got into this hobby back in 2010 my seminal purchase was a Klipsch Image One headphone. At the time it was the first headphone I had spent over $100 on and the first audio product I had purchased in a long time. I had owned countless numbers of beater Sony’s and Koss Porta...
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  5. The Fed

    [Reviewers Wanted] World Tour for Cayin i5 - Android based AK4490 DAP with WiFi, Dropbox and Google Play

    I would actually like to throw my hat in on this one. I am not a big fan of DAPs in general because I tend to use my iPhone with a couple apps and Tidal.   That said I love the C5Dac.... And it's not practical to keep an amp strapped to my iPhone 24/7. The C5dac has turned my iFi, ALO Audio...
  6. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I know. And I completely understand that it's an unfair comparison to stack a portable amp no matter what model it may be, against desktop units that MSRP out the door for $1300 and $2900 respectively.   I was just trying to add a counterweight because a couple people specifically asked about...
  7. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I listened to the Mojo with my iPhone last night via of friend of mine in Lakewood. I don't disagree that is has enough output power to play the Elear loud and the DAC is definitely superior to the iDSD, but I still hold to my original position. The Elear sounds good with it, just like it sounds...
  8. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I tend to think so. Like the Mojo, I've not heard the Elear with the the QP1R, but the QP1R is pretty obviously designed for easier loads direct from its headphone socket.   It won't sound bad per se.... It just won't sound anywhere near as good as it could.            
  9. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I was listening to the Elear last night for about 4 hours with the C5 (dac version) and it sounds pretty good with the bass boost switch engaged.  Without the bass switch engaged the sound is fairly lean compared to what the Elear sounds like out of a full sized amp.   I think that is...
  10. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    Yeah my Luxman amp is a tube amp and the Elear sounds absolutely glorious through that thing. Good to know I am not crazy. My Stello (Solid State) sounds a bit thin when connected direct but adds a good helping of body and that dynamic richness back when I use the analog filter. Maybe falls...
  11. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I know right? I am pretty stunned by Elear.... The Utopia must really be something special if it is a significant improvement over the Elear.
  12. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    You know I just hooked up the iDSD to handle USB to SPDIF duty to feed my other dac which feeds the Luxman rig, so I could switch between the Luxman and iDSD and the difference is really something. The iDSD really sucks all the life out of it.   I wonder if because the Focal driver has the...
  13. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    I just got back into the office yesterday after a extended weekend vacation and lo and behold what was waiting on my desk but a box from Headroom with a Focal Elear inside.   Out of the box, the Elear actually shares a lot of qualities with the T1.... A slider/ pivot mechanism built into the...
  14. The Fed

    Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

    Good impressions.... Glad to hear that you think the Elear trumps the T1 in the sonic dept.   I've never been completely satisfied with the build quality on the T1... Always felt that the suspension system, headband/ slider mechanism was a bit lacking in the durability dept. The Elear looks to...
  15. The Fed

    The Official Sony MDR-Z1R Flagship Headphone Thread (Live From IFA 2016)

    And that is often where a lot of the money gets spent that can't be easily quantified.... Down to the quality of the PCB... number of layers and thickness of traces, grade of resistors and capacitors, premium or custom wound transformers etc...   Sony doesn't pull punches on flagships (IMHO)...
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