[Ekul61]

Let me get this straight.
The$1500 clear is 80 % the $4000 Utopias
The $800 Elex is as good as the $1500 Clear

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Let me get this straight.
The$1500 clear is 80 % the $4000 Utopias
The $800 Elex is as good as the $1500 Clear

 

[TSAVJason]

Let me get this straight.
The$1500 clear is 80 % the $4000 Utopias
The $800 Elex is as good as the $1500 Clear

Hahaha I don’t think you can get there from any starting point

 

[Svatopluk]

Let me get this straight.
The$1500 clear is 80 % the $4000 Utopias
The $800 Elex is as good as the $1500 Clear

Currently only a hand full of people have had the opportunity to hear the Elex and they're all working with Massdrop on the introduction. At this point, everything should be taken with a big old grain of salt and when comes to headphones, I'm not a fan of Massdrop's way of doing things anyway.

 

[givemetacos]

@TSAVJason and @TSAVAlan - Since you guys have multiple pairs of Elear and Clear, have you tried swapping Clear pads on an Elear and then making side-by-side comparisons against a stock Clear?

 

[Ken G]

@TSAVJason will the Clear pads be available for sale anytime soon?

 

[TSAVJason]

@TSAVJason will the Clear pads be available for sale anytime soon?

Yes of course but likely not until late January or early February. The Clear isn’t in full production yet

 

[bgbkt]

@TSAVJason and @TSAVAlan - Since you guys have multiple pairs of Elear and Clear, have you tried swapping Clear pads on an Elear and then making side-by-side comparisons against a stock Clear?

One guy in Elear forum did that. Check it out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-elear-impressions-thread.811961/page-315#post-13855886

 

[givemetacos]

One guy in Elear forum did that. Check it out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-elear-impressions-thread.811961/page-315#post-13855886

Yeah I saw that already. But the problem with that is the comparisons aren't side-by-side. I was hoping that since The Source AV guys have multiple pairs they could stick Clear pads on an Elear and also have a 2nd stock Clear next to it and then do direct comparisons. They also have amps like the Questyle CMA600i that have dual headphone outputs for easy switching (though impedance differences might need some volume adjustment). They basically have the ideal setup in order to do this kind of testing. Plus, the more impressions on this specific comparison, the better for those of us considering Elex.

 

[TSAVAlan]

So little impressions, used the stock short Clear cable to the Hugo 2 on the yellow marble volume between all the headphones, Clear and Elear.

So just between the Clear stock to the Elear w/ Clear pads has a quite similar tonal balance. The Clear's are without a doubt bassier than the Elear w/ Clear pads, the Elear combo does kind of roll off pretty quick. The Clears had a sort of fuller sound and was more resolute/detailed but I did just really try it out with just a quick bassy track I like to use to test subbass.

For a little fun I tried the Elear with the left side on a Clear pad and the right side being the stock Elear pads. Kinda interesting just the right side being so bassy in comparison.

 

[givemetacos]

So little impressions, used the stock short Clear cable to the Hugo 2 on the yellow marble volume between all the headphones, Clear and Elear.

So just between the Clear stock to the Elear w/ Clear pads has a quite similar tonal balance. The Clear's are without a doubt bassier than the Elear w/ Clear pads, the Elear combo does kind of roll off pretty quick. The Clears had a sort of fuller sound and was more resolute/detailed but I did just really try it out with just a quick bassy track I like to use to test subbass.

For a little fun I tried the Elear with the left side on a Clear pad and the right side being the stock Elear pads. Kinda interesting just the right side being so bassy in comparison.

Thanks! I think the thing that interests me the most is that when I auditioned Elear and Clear together the Clear felt more refined and resolving over stock Elear, but the Clear was still far from the resolving power of Utopia. So I was curious if Elear with Clear pads is similar to stock Clear in detail retrieval, or if Clear still stays a step ahead? Also, the other interesting comparison that has come up is that many people feel the Clear is more laid back compared to Elear and sort of misses that aggressive, visceral punch of Elear that initially attracted people. And the Elex impressions are saying Elex maintains the Elear punch, but in a more balanced tonality. Do you feel that Clear is any more laid back than Elear with Clear pads?

 

[TSAVJason]

Thanks! I think the thing that interests me the most is that when I auditioned Elear and Clear together the Clear felt more refined and resolving over stock Elear, but the Clear was still far from the resolving power of Utopia. So I was curious if Elear with Clear pads is similar to stock Clear in detail retrieval, or if Clear still stays a step ahead? Also, the other interesting comparison that has come up is that many people feel the Clear is more laid back compared to Elear and sort of misses that aggressive, visceral punch of Elear that initially attracted people. And the Elex impressions are saying Elex maintains the Elear punch, but in a more balanced tonality. Do you feel that Clear is any more laid back than Elear with Clear pads?

Those impressions sound more like a sales pitch to what I’ve actually heard. [Comment on Elex removed by Mod] I don’t hear an improvement in resolution when applying the Clear pads to the Elear.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

For a little fun I tried the Elear with the left side on a Clear pad and the right side being the stock Elear pads. Kinda interesting just the right side being so bassy in comparison.

LOL. I bet there are a few Focal engineers lurking this thread and ROFL ...

Thanks for sharing the experiment @TSAVAlan, 4 headphones, 4 different pads, 6 different cables = 96 combinations, maybe we find how to brew a 21 year Scotch mixing tea and gin or an Utopia with Elex pads... btw, Scottish people took 500 years to find how to separate water from Whisky and a few people think adding water improves it... LOL

 

[TSAVJason]

LOL. I bet there are a few Focal engineers lurking this thread and ROFL ...

Thanks for sharing the experiment @TSAVAlan, 4 headphones, 4 different pads, 6 different cables = 96 combinations, maybe we find how to brew a 21 year Scotch mixing tea and gin or an Utopia with Elex pads... btw, Scottish people took 500 years to find how to separate water from Whisky and a few people think adding water improves it... LOL

Hahaha that’s funny.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

Michel Petrucciani Trio in Tokyo, live and CLEAR - Wow ... ...