[JMCIII]

This was a little earlier than I’d planned, but the deal was too good to pass up. Just added the Focal Elear to my group of headphones. My question though is this: will the Focal’s compliment or try to take the place of my Audeze 2C’s that I absolutely love? Anyone here have both, and willing to share their thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

They're a bit more metallic sounding than the LCD-2C but honestly do not see the point in owning both as they both are about on par when it comes to resolution, detail and both are in that mid level category. Just seems a waste of money to me.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Maybe I am understanding ‘complimentary’ differently to the previous poster, but doesn’t that entail a headphone that both sounds brilliant but also different?
You will end up owning a warm planar headphone with that unique Audeze tuning as well as one of the finest dynamic drivers housed in a Focal Elear. A completely different tuning to the Audeze mind you - more linear and ultimately sounds way more dynamic.
If you dig the Focal...well then you are getting yourself a complimentary can; what sounds uninteresting over one may just be the proverbial bee’s knees over the other. With two very different tunings that still adhere to the warmer side without any nastiness in the upper frequencies like the ones you’ll end up with...your chances of success go up imo

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

Maybe I am understanding ‘complimentary’ differently to the previous poster, but doesn’t that entail a headphone that both sounds brilliant but also different?
You will end up owning a warm planar headphone with that unique Audeze tuning as well as one of the finest dynamic drivers housed in a Focal Elear. A completely different tuning to the Audeze mind you - more linear and ultimately sounds way more dynamic.
If you dig the Focal...well then you are getting yourself a complimentary can; what sounds uninteresting over one may just be the proverbial bee’s knees over the other. With two very different tunings that still adhere to the warmer side without any nastiness in the upper frequencies like the ones you’ll end up with...your chances of success go up imo

They're not all that different. Both recessed upper mids, both slightly rough FR and the main difference is the 2C tilts dark while the Elear is slightly brighter.

When people want complimentary it's totally different experiences i.e HD800 and Audioquest Nighthawk for example.

 

[JMCIII]

Maybe I am understanding ‘complimentary’ differently to the previous poster, but doesn’t that entail a headphone that both sounds brilliant but also different?
You will end up owning a warm planar headphone with that unique Audeze tuning as well as one of the finest dynamic drivers housed in a Focal Elear. A completely different tuning to the Audeze mind you - more linear and ultimately sounds way more dynamic.
If you dig the Focal...well then you are getting yourself a complimentary can; what sounds uninteresting over one may just be the proverbial bee’s knees over the other. With two very different tunings that still adhere to the warmer side without any nastiness in the upper frequencies like the ones you’ll end up with...your chances of success go up imo

Perfect. That's exactly what I'm hoping for. And yes, that's what I meant by complimentary.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

They're not all that different. Both recessed upper mids, both slightly rough FR and the main difference is the 2C tilts dark while the Elear is slightly brighter.

When people want complimentary it's totally different experiences i.e HD800 and Audioquest Nighthawk for example.

Yeah but those are outer extremes of each other meaning it’s highly unlikely you’ll dig both. At least that is my experience.
I used to own the LCD-2C and currently own an Elear and can safely say the two sound nothing alike. While it’s true the two both share a depression in the upper mids, with the Audeze it’s a cliff whereas the Elear is more in line with what one encounters over fx a 660s. The LCD-2C also has that highly unique1 k punch of energy that I’ve only ever heard in Staxes and other Audezes.
The LCD-2C is a warm chocolaty affair whilst the Focal is a far more linear sounding can. I sold the former off to a friend because I prefered my Sundara, but I still get to listen to it every once in a while when I visit. It’s still a marvelous headphone and I think it’s a very different sounding experience to the one found in the Elear. One is laid-back and warm - the other balanced and highly dynamic.

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

Yeah but those are outer extremes of each other meaning it’s highly unlikely you’ll dig both. At least that is my experience.
I used to own the LCD-2C and currently own an Elear and can safely say the two sound nothing alike. While it’s true the two both share a depression in the upper mids, with the Audeze it’s a cliff whereas the Elear is more in line with what one encounters over fx a 660s. The LCD-2C also has that highly unique1 k punch of energy that I’ve only ever heard in Staxes and other Audezes.
The LCD-2C is a warm chocolaty affair whilst the Focal is a far more linear sounding can. I sold the former off to a friend because I prefered my Sundara, but I still get to listen to it every once in a while when I visit. It’s still a marvelous headphone and I think it’s a very different sounding experience to the one found in the Elear. One is laid-back and warm - the other balanced and highly dynamic.

The older LCD-2 sounds like that the classic definitely doesn't. It's a bit dry, grainy with recessed mids and some good heft in the low bass. Elear is far from linear, it's the opposite. Both a bit rough, dry but focals tend to sound more metallic. I stand by what I say in that both share a lot of traits. If we're talking about a current 2F then they have a much netter timbre, more natural characteristic. I used to used to love the 2C but after I got used to the colouration it really started to grate on me with the 6k peak and rolled coaster treble and weird timbre it just sounds off and shouldn't really be called the classic as it sounds different to the older LCD-2s. For EDM and bassy songs it is phenomenal they're very fast paced and aggressive like the elear.

Anyway my original point is I do think the OP would've been better off with a headphone with fuller upper mids like the HD650, Verum, rather than going for another phone with dipped upper mids. The elear obviously have a different in
timbre but the FR isn't that different in parts and the technical performance is close with the 2C having cleaner, more heft in the low bass and IMO better resolution.