Massdrop Focal Elex Review
Hello all!. This is my review of the Massdrop Focal Elex. English is not my mother language, so I ask you all my apologies if you find any typos or grammatical mistakes. I decided to post this review to provide a perspective about the Focal Elex from someone who mostly listen to classic and latin music.
Before getting into the review, I would like to set a few things clear about myself:
About me and my music preferences:
I’m a Colombian guy, I pursued the academic career and I work as a University Professor. I consider myself a music lover and 85% of my listening time is distributed between classic music and Latin genres and the remaining is pop/rock. I’m skewed towards warm headphones, I’m not sensible to treble issues and I’m not very fond headphones/iems with a V-Shape signature. I have two places where I do most of my listening: my private office at work and my home.
Disclaimer:
I bought my Elex from another head-fier and I have no affiliation with Focal or Massdrop.
Design and Comfort:
The Elex is a beautiful headphone, with a solid construction comprised mostly of metal, leather, memory foam pads and premium materials. French designers are famous for their attention to details, and the Elex is not the exception. The headphone comes in a beautiful box, with a magnetic mechanism.
Packaging includes two cloth cables, one with a 1/4 in plug and the other with a balanced connector. Manuals and documentation come in a envelop that resembles the Apple style. The Focal logo is present on the earcups and cables.
This is a big headphone, as can be seen in the picture comparing it with the Sennheiser HD 700. The headband can accommodate big heads, as I tested by asking a colleague, who told me that it is the first headphone that fits him without too much clamp force. As many people in the forums have pointed, the Elex uses the Clear pads, which I found soft and of good quality. I tested them at 35°C and found no discomfort due to the temperature.
Despite the quality design and ample room of the headphone, I do need to say that comfort is the weak point of the Elex, not in absolute terms because they are a comfortable headphone, but when you compare it to similarly priced alternatives and even cheaper headphones. I have a Mr. Speaker AEON Flow, a Sennheiser HD 700 and a AKG K7XX and I found all of them more comfortable than the Elex. One thing I should note is that the Elex are a 1 pound headphone, and even though the weight is well distributed, gravity laws still apply and some people may find them a bit heavy for prolonged listening sessions.
Sound Impressions:
Dynamic and detailed. These are the two words that best describe the Elex sound. As I mentioned before, 85% of my music is classic and latin, so keep in mind that when reading the following comments:
Classic music listening impressions:
I had a very pleasant surprise with the Elex for classic music. Given its dynamism, the Elex somehow manages to convey the emotions of players, making you feel that you are listening to a live concert, instead of a recorded track. Furthermore, the Elex dynamics and detail leveIs are God-sent if you listen to live interpretation by artists like Ludovico Einaudi, Brooklyn Duo, Taylor Davis, Hauser; you can sense the amount of force they when they strike their piano, and the small nuances of the instruments strings. You can even listen their breath in some tracks.
I was also surprised by the Elex soundstage and imaging; at the beginning and I had issues trying to size it because the dynamism of the headphone was fooling my ears, but after my brain had its burn in, I found that it is of a very good size and fells very natural, although it is not as large as say, the AKG K7XX or the HD800. Imaging is really great in this headphone, as so is clarity as can be appreciated by in Ode to Joy (by Andre Rieu, the platin tenors, Mirusia Louwerse, Carla Mafflioleti and Carmen Monarcha).
Presently, the Elex is stealing lots of the classic listening time of the HD700 (modded) and the AKG K7XX. While the latter give an analytical presentation with nice soundstage and good imaging, the Elex gives a more live-like presentation. One of my colleagues, in addition to being an academic is a professional pianist and when she listened to Struggle for Pleasure by Wim Mertens, she pointed that it felt very alive and dynamic.
In this genre, I should mention that the Elex is very unforgiving of poorly recorded/arranged tracks; and I do mean it seriously, the HD700 and the K7XX are more tolerant of these tracks. I listened to a not so poor-quality track of Pie Jesu performed by Plácido Domingo and Jackie Evancho and I wanted to cry, Jackie’s voice felt almost lifeless and completely overshadowed by Placido’s. I have not noticed this before with neither of my headphones and when I found a better version, oh boy!
Latin music listening impressions:
This is a genre where some people may consider the Elex an endgame headphone (if such thing can really exist). Please, keep in mind that Latin genre include salsa, merengue, vallenato, bachata, reggaeton, bumbia, and many other subgenres. Instrument separation, detailing, clarity, dynamism and a nice impactful bass are the name of the game here.
The Elex manages to portray the nature of Latin music with its dynamism, with the bass hitting hard when needed and its soundstage and detailing reproducing all the instruments present in the music with a nice accuracy. As is known, the Elex and the Elear share drivers, but the Focal Clear pads used in the Elex where meant to decrease the bass of the Elear. This was in my opinion a very good decision, at least when Latin music is considered. In many songs, female and male voices sound very detailed in presence of the many instruments frequently found in this genre. Similarly, guitars, cymbals and accordions sound as if they were playing live.
The only downside that I can found is that when a track is poorly recorded, the treble can become a bit metallic (I’m not sure if that is the most accurate word), but as I stated above, I’m not sensitive to treble issues, so others may have a different experience.
Power requirements, amp pairings and headphone complementarity
The Elex is not a power-hungry headphone. It even sounds good connected to my iPhone. Nonetheless, it does scale very well with more power and better amps. I tested it using a Schiit Magni 3, a Schiit Vali 2, a Schiit Lyr 2 and a Cayin C5. I used low gain with all these amps at about 75% of their volume and they all have good synergy with the Elex. My personal preference for the Elex is the pairing with the tube amps, because they somehow enhance the dynamic nature of the Elex. I’d try to stay away from bright amps because of potential treble issues with poorly recorded tracks.
In terms of complementarity with other headphones, I’d say that the Elex and the Mr. Speaker AEON Flow Open are a great pair to complement each other. While the former is dynamic, detailed and with a nice soundstage; the latter is inviting, intimate and romantic. They can perfectly coexist in a headphone stable because each one excels in their unique representation of music.
About the clipping issue:
Several users have reported clipping issues with the Focal Elex and Focal themselves have provided an explanation to these reports. Apparently this occurs as a result of the driver design when volume is above a certain dB level, which according to members of the forums appears to not to be the same for all units. My sample did not exhibit any clipping at the volume levels that I listen.
Conclusion:
The Massdrop Focal Elex is a dynamic and detailed headphone that gives a vivid representation of music, capable of conveying the artists' emotions during the recording. Design and materials reflect good engineering judgement and an exquisite taste that finds its expression in an unapologetically black and grey headphone. Comfort, on the other hand is the Elex Achilles heel but only when it is compared to other headphones, I'm thus giving it a 4.5 stars rating. All things considered, at $699, Massdrop has made it again, giving audiophiles a dynamic and detailed headphone that in past times would have set a four-digit price. I must say that I absolutely recommend this headphone as a solid alternative in the sub-1k range.
Hello all!. This is my review of the Massdrop Focal Elex. English is not my mother language, so I ask you all my apologies if you find any typos or grammatical mistakes. I decided to post this review to provide a perspective about the Focal Elex from someone who mostly listen to classic and latin music.
Before getting into the review, I would like to set a few things clear about myself:
About me and my music preferences:
I’m a Colombian guy, I pursued the academic career and I work as a University Professor. I consider myself a music lover and 85% of my listening time is distributed between classic music and Latin genres and the remaining is pop/rock. I’m skewed towards warm headphones, I’m not sensible to treble issues and I’m not very fond headphones/iems with a V-Shape signature. I have two places where I do most of my listening: my private office at work and my home.
Disclaimer:
I bought my Elex from another head-fier and I have no affiliation with Focal or Massdrop.
Design and Comfort:
The Elex is a beautiful headphone, with a solid construction comprised mostly of metal, leather, memory foam pads and premium materials. French designers are famous for their attention to details, and the Elex is not the exception. The headphone comes in a beautiful box, with a magnetic mechanism.
Packaging includes two cloth cables, one with a 1/4 in plug and the other with a balanced connector. Manuals and documentation come in a envelop that resembles the Apple style. The Focal logo is present on the earcups and cables.
This is a big headphone, as can be seen in the picture comparing it with the Sennheiser HD 700. The headband can accommodate big heads, as I tested by asking a colleague, who told me that it is the first headphone that fits him without too much clamp force. As many people in the forums have pointed, the Elex uses the Clear pads, which I found soft and of good quality. I tested them at 35°C and found no discomfort due to the temperature.
Despite the quality design and ample room of the headphone, I do need to say that comfort is the weak point of the Elex, not in absolute terms because they are a comfortable headphone, but when you compare it to similarly priced alternatives and even cheaper headphones. I have a Mr. Speaker AEON Flow, a Sennheiser HD 700 and a AKG K7XX and I found all of them more comfortable than the Elex. One thing I should note is that the Elex are a 1 pound headphone, and even though the weight is well distributed, gravity laws still apply and some people may find them a bit heavy for prolonged listening sessions.
Sound Impressions:
Dynamic and detailed. These are the two words that best describe the Elex sound. As I mentioned before, 85% of my music is classic and latin, so keep in mind that when reading the following comments:
Classic music listening impressions:
I had a very pleasant surprise with the Elex for classic music. Given its dynamism, the Elex somehow manages to convey the emotions of players, making you feel that you are listening to a live concert, instead of a recorded track. Furthermore, the Elex dynamics and detail leveIs are God-sent if you listen to live interpretation by artists like Ludovico Einaudi, Brooklyn Duo, Taylor Davis, Hauser; you can sense the amount of force they when they strike their piano, and the small nuances of the instruments strings. You can even listen their breath in some tracks.
I was also surprised by the Elex soundstage and imaging; at the beginning and I had issues trying to size it because the dynamism of the headphone was fooling my ears, but after my brain had its burn in, I found that it is of a very good size and fells very natural, although it is not as large as say, the AKG K7XX or the HD800. Imaging is really great in this headphone, as so is clarity as can be appreciated by in Ode to Joy (by Andre Rieu, the platin tenors, Mirusia Louwerse, Carla Mafflioleti and Carmen Monarcha).
Presently, the Elex is stealing lots of the classic listening time of the HD700 (modded) and the AKG K7XX. While the latter give an analytical presentation with nice soundstage and good imaging, the Elex gives a more live-like presentation. One of my colleagues, in addition to being an academic is a professional pianist and when she listened to Struggle for Pleasure by Wim Mertens, she pointed that it felt very alive and dynamic.
In this genre, I should mention that the Elex is very unforgiving of poorly recorded/arranged tracks; and I do mean it seriously, the HD700 and the K7XX are more tolerant of these tracks. I listened to a not so poor-quality track of Pie Jesu performed by Plácido Domingo and Jackie Evancho and I wanted to cry, Jackie’s voice felt almost lifeless and completely overshadowed by Placido’s. I have not noticed this before with neither of my headphones and when I found a better version, oh boy!
Latin music listening impressions:
This is a genre where some people may consider the Elex an endgame headphone (if such thing can really exist). Please, keep in mind that Latin genre include salsa, merengue, vallenato, bachata, reggaeton, bumbia, and many other subgenres. Instrument separation, detailing, clarity, dynamism and a nice impactful bass are the name of the game here.
The Elex manages to portray the nature of Latin music with its dynamism, with the bass hitting hard when needed and its soundstage and detailing reproducing all the instruments present in the music with a nice accuracy. As is known, the Elex and the Elear share drivers, but the Focal Clear pads used in the Elex where meant to decrease the bass of the Elear. This was in my opinion a very good decision, at least when Latin music is considered. In many songs, female and male voices sound very detailed in presence of the many instruments frequently found in this genre. Similarly, guitars, cymbals and accordions sound as if they were playing live.
The only downside that I can found is that when a track is poorly recorded, the treble can become a bit metallic (I’m not sure if that is the most accurate word), but as I stated above, I’m not sensitive to treble issues, so others may have a different experience.
Power requirements, amp pairings and headphone complementarity
The Elex is not a power-hungry headphone. It even sounds good connected to my iPhone. Nonetheless, it does scale very well with more power and better amps. I tested it using a Schiit Magni 3, a Schiit Vali 2, a Schiit Lyr 2 and a Cayin C5. I used low gain with all these amps at about 75% of their volume and they all have good synergy with the Elex. My personal preference for the Elex is the pairing with the tube amps, because they somehow enhance the dynamic nature of the Elex. I’d try to stay away from bright amps because of potential treble issues with poorly recorded tracks.
In terms of complementarity with other headphones, I’d say that the Elex and the Mr. Speaker AEON Flow Open are a great pair to complement each other. While the former is dynamic, detailed and with a nice soundstage; the latter is inviting, intimate and romantic. They can perfectly coexist in a headphone stable because each one excels in their unique representation of music.
About the clipping issue:
Several users have reported clipping issues with the Focal Elex and Focal themselves have provided an explanation to these reports. Apparently this occurs as a result of the driver design when volume is above a certain dB level, which according to members of the forums appears to not to be the same for all units. My sample did not exhibit any clipping at the volume levels that I listen.
Conclusion:
The Massdrop Focal Elex is a dynamic and detailed headphone that gives a vivid representation of music, capable of conveying the artists' emotions during the recording. Design and materials reflect good engineering judgement and an exquisite taste that finds its expression in an unapologetically black and grey headphone. Comfort, on the other hand is the Elex Achilles heel but only when it is compared to other headphones, I'm thus giving it a 4.5 stars rating. All things considered, at $699, Massdrop has made it again, giving audiophiles a dynamic and detailed headphone that in past times would have set a four-digit price. I must say that I absolutely recommend this headphone as a solid alternative in the sub-1k range.