[DAPpower]

They are appropriately driven by M11Pro (balanced) so for M15 it should be a piece of cake even from the single ended.

Thanks!
I should be able to take advantage of the PEQ on the Fiio as well!

 

[Nvain]

Hi everyone. I'm a happy owner of a focal elegia, I'm in Europe, so I can sell my mint condition elegia for the price of a very good condition used clear. Apart from the money which I don't really care about, it means to buy them used in the states and have my friend send them to me. So it's a bit to go through.
My question is how do they compare, mainly if you guys think it's worth to go through it to upgrade? Do I really get a lot more from the clears? I listen mainly to folk/rock with a mix of other genres like ambient, reggae.
I only listen at home with them. So I don't care about the sound leakage.

Thanks.

 

[roskodan]

You would need to add at least 300EUR to get a Clear. Getting it from the US is not convenient at all. 3-5x the shipping cost, 20% customs VAT, no warranty. You can get a second hand Clear with some EU warranty left for ~800EUR.

It's a great headphone, totally worth the 800EUR. But need to keep in mind it will scale substantially with properly matched gear. It EQ nicely too. From what I understand it's warmer and more open sounding (obviously).

 

[Luckyleo]

Really don’t mind paying for the repair regardless of warranty and told Focal that but they don’t reply at all.
Tried contacting both Focal US and Focal France.

I've been reading all 500+ pages on this thread. Finally in 2021! Someone a couple years ago was complaining about the customer service. Focal came on head-fi and explained that if you use their website to contact them, the site automatically forwards the request to the autorized distributor in your country and they are supposed to respond. It never gets to Focal France per se. They never even see it.

 

[descloud]

My question is how do they compare, mainly if you guys think it's worth to go through it to upgrade? Do I really get a lot more from the clears? I listen mainly to folk/rock with a mix of other genres like ambient, reggae.

Had the Clear last year and currently own the Elegia. If you compare them only by stock tuning, IMO the Clear has the better tonality. The Clear is well balanced overall, whereas the Elegia is mid-forward and seems to really lack upper-midrange to treble presence (Crinacle seems to share my findings). I've been playing with EQ on the Elegia, and it addresses the tonality for the most part while showing off its technical ability, but still I find the tonality is a step below the Clear.

Do you really get a lot more from the clears?
There is no clear metric on what is "more". You'll have differing opinions based on who responds. So here's my two cents - if you're not one to utilize with EQ, the Clear is giving you more in terms of sonic quality and I find the gap relatively large. If you're one to utilize EQ, the gap becomes smaller, and you'd be saving a lot when using EQ on the Elegia. However, I haven't been able to find an EQ profile that addresses some of the echo quality in the midrange of the Elegia to match the balanced sound of the Clear. Being closed-back kind of shows its limitations here. Based on these two metrics, one can say that it's worth an upgrade from the Elegia to the Clear.

If you're one to explore, there are other options within the price range of the Elegia, such as the Sundara, HD600, or even a DT1990 (when EQ'd properly) that can possibly compete with the Clear, depending on who you ask. Out of the three mentioned, I've owned two of them, and I find the HD600 and DT1990 (EQ'd) are not that far from the Clear.

 

[roskodan]

What about Elear and Elex? If one finds a good deal, I guess those could be good contenders too, and end up shelling substantially less? What intrigues me most about the Elear is that it was reported being more punchy than the Clear. Tyll mentioned that too in the Clear review, both Elear and Utopia being more punchy.

 

[DivineCurrent]

Had the Clear last year and currently own the Elegia. If you compare them only by stock tuning, IMO the Clear has the better tonality. The Clear is well balanced overall, whereas the Elegia is mid-forward and seems to really lack upper-midrange to treble presence (Crinacle seems to share my findings). I've been playing with EQ on the Elegia, and it addresses the tonality for the most part while showing off its technical ability, but still I find the tonality is a step below the Clear.

Do you really get a lot more from the clears?
There is no clear metric on what is "more". You'll have differing opinions based on who responds. So here's my two cents - if you're not one to utilize with EQ, the Clear is giving you more in terms of sonic quality and I find the gap relatively large. If you're one to utilize EQ, the gap becomes smaller, and you'd be saving a lot when using EQ on the Elegia. However, I haven't been able to find an EQ profile that addresses some of the echo quality in the midrange of the Elegia to match the balanced sound of the Clear. Being closed-back kind of shows its limitations here. Based on these two metrics, one can say that it's worth an upgrade from the Elegia to the Clear.

If you're one to explore, there are other options within the price range of the Elegia, such as the Sundara, HD600, or even a DT1990 (when EQ'd properly) that can possibly compete with the Clear, depending on who you ask. Out of the three mentioned, I've owned two of them, and I find the HD600 and DT1990 (EQ'd) are not that far from the Clear.

Speaking of EQ with the Clear, I am just blown away by how well the Clear can take EQ. You can fix the slight metallic timbre everyone talks about by EQing 6 kHz and 10.5 kHz, two slightly bright spots I'm hearing compared to my reference HD 58X (and 600). And you can boost the sub bass if you ever need to, and it handles it like a champ.

I've never heard the DT1990, but I do have the HD58X, 600, and Sundara, and actually it's the 58X that reminds me the most of the Clear's overall tonality. It is kind of like a warmer mini-Clear to me, with like 80% of the technical performance but also with better timbre in the mids and treble. So I do highly recommend the 58X if you want a low cost but still very high performing headphone with excellent Sennheiser timbre. HD 660S is also a great option, haven't heard it in years though, it's probably brighter than the 58X.

Of course, the Clear is on a different level when it comes to detail and dynamic realism. It's sometimes startling how realistic things sound on the Clear.

What about Elear and Elex? If one finds a good deal, I guess those could be good contenders too, and end up shelling substantially less? What intrigues me most about the Elear is that it was reported being more punchy than the Clear. Tyll mentioned that too in the Clear review, both Elear and Utopia being more punchy.

I didn't find the Elex any more punchy than the Clear when I compared the two, honestly they sounded the same to me. Maybe I wasn't listening to the right tracks, but I just found the Clear to be better in the upper treble air and had an overall smoother balance. Elex did have a warmer midrange closer to a Sennheiser though. But I agree the Elex is a great option, especially if you can get one below $700.

 

[HTSkywalker]

I've been reading all 500+ pages on this thread. Finally in 2021! Someone a couple years ago was complaining about the customer service. Focal came on head-fi and explained that if you use their website to contact them, the site automatically forwards the request to the autorized distributor in your country and they are supposed to respond. It never gets to Focal France per se. They never even see it.

A quick update, Focal.com France & Focal-America US are not replying nor forwarding any request due to the lockdown. after contacting Focal Naim America (based in Canada) they manned up and honored the extended 5 years warranty regardless if bought from an authorized distributor or not or even warranty registration or not, They took full responsibility on their product and took immediate correcting action.
Thumbs Up Focal Naim America, They did the honorable thing and stood behind their product going the extra mile, will be pulling the trigger on the Utopia with confidence.

 

[HTSkywalker]

Anyone tried the Massdrop Cavalli CTH with the Clear or Elear ? or maybe the WA6 ?

 

[Warrenk]

Which eq software are people using

 

[kith86]

A quick update, Focal.com France & Focal-America US are not replying nor forwarding any request due to the lockdown. after contacting Focal Naim America (based in Canada) they manned up and honored the extended 5 years warranty regardless if bought from an authorized distributor or not or even warranty registration or not, They took full responsibility on their product and took immediate correcting action.
Thumbs Up Focal Naim America, They did the honorable thing and stood behind their product going the extra mile, will be pulling the trigger on the Utopia with confidence.

How do they manage to handle it, do you receive their instruction to send the broken elear or what, this is good news but can you be more specific ? how about some ppl that bought the product from SEA region like some ppl here, who should i contacted at, because some of my friends i knew also not bought from the dealer

 

[roskodan]

Which eq software are people using

Free Parametric EQ (Windows): www.sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo
Free GUI (Windows): www.sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension

Preamp: -5.3 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 40 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 2: ON LS Fc 75 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 2.0
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 11319 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 3.0

I use +6dB at 40Hz and +4dB at 75Hz. And increase to +12 and +8 respectively for EDM and such. With "Prevent clipping" checked, it will automatically avoid the DSP clipping.

 

[Barnstormer13]

Anyone tried the Massdrop Cavalli CTH with the Clear or Elear ? or maybe the WA6 ?

I’ve used the Clear and Elex with a WA-6SE. I think the performance will be similar. for reference, I’ll compare the Woo to my Lyr 3. Tube choices will make a little difference, your mileage may vary etc.

Focal Clear- this is my favorite headphone with the Lyr 3 because of its clarity, resolution and dynamics but it can be a little dry and analytical. Compared to the Lyr 3, the Woo emphasizes and adds some cloudiness from upper bass the down to the low bass. The result is a warmer signature with a touch of bloom. The Lyr 3 is less colored and sounds clearer and cooler and with a little sibilance. The Woo is less fatiguing at moderately loud volumes. Bass is where the Lyr outperforms the Woo, though the Woo has better micro dynamics, mids detail and separation, not to mention imaging. Both avoid the metallic character Focals (and Aeons) sometimes exhibit.

Focal Elex- Similar to the Clear though I prefer the Elex- tighter bass with no perceptible bloom. I suspect if the Clear were a little higher impedance the overall sound signature would be extremely close. The Elex synergizes with the Woo very well and delivers a little more clarity than the Clear. If you’re looking for clarity, detail, dynamic detailed bass, great imaging and sweet mids it’s a great pairing that exceeds the Lyr 3 / Elex combo and IMHO the Woo / Clear combo.

 

[HTSkywalker]

How do they manage to handle it, do you receive their instruction to send the broken elear or what, this is good news but can you be more specific ? how about some ppl that bought the product from SEA region like some ppl here, who should i contacted at, because some of my friends i knew also not bought from the dealer

In my case it was a US purchase through Amazon and the can needs to be sent for repair and shipped back inside the US. But the support people are very helpful.

 

[Nvain]

You would need to add at least 300EUR to get a Clear. Getting it from the US is not convenient at all. 3-5x the shipping cost, 20% customs VAT, no warranty. You can get a second hand Clear with some EU warranty left for ~800EUR.

It's a great headphone, totally worth the 800EUR. But need to keep in mind it will scale substantially with properly matched gear. It EQ nicely too. From what I understand it's warmer and more open sounding (obviously).

Thanks for the replay.
I am /family is traveling from time to time to the the states, so I for sure can wait until that happens, so could probably get a used one for a little cheaper in the US, with time passing.

Had the Clear last year and currently own the Elegia. If you compare them only by stock tuning, IMO the Clear has the better tonality. The Clear is well balanced overall, whereas the Elegia is mid-forward and seems to really lack upper-midrange to treble presence (Crinacle seems to share my findings). I've been playing with EQ on the Elegia, and it addresses the tonality for the most part while showing off its technical ability, but still I find the tonality is a step below the Clear.

Do you really get a lot more from the clears?
There is no clear metric on what is "more". You'll have differing opinions based on who responds. So here's my two cents - if you're not one to utilize with EQ, the Clear is giving you more in terms of sonic quality and I find the gap relatively large. If you're one to utilize EQ, the gap becomes smaller, and you'd be saving a lot when using EQ on the Elegia. However, I haven't been able to find an EQ profile that addresses some of the echo quality in the midrange of the Elegia to match the balanced sound of the Clear. Being closed-back kind of shows its limitations here. Based on these two metrics, one can say that it's worth an upgrade from the Elegia to the Clear.

If you're one to explore, there are other options within the price range of the Elegia, such as the Sundara, HD600, or even a DT1990 (when EQ'd properly) that can possibly compete with the Clear, depending on who you ask. Out of the three mentioned, I've owned two of them, and I find the HD600 and DT1990 (EQ'd) are not that far from the Clear.

I tend to agree with you on the upper midd range - treble, that said, I do enjoy them, but could think it is better to benefit from the open design when I only listen to them at home.
I completely agree that "more" is subjective, that's why I thought I asked for help from ppl who experienced both, and I'm glad you came with a really good replay! So thank you for that!
I don't think I am going to mess too much with EQ, and after I send the Elegia I can for sure afford a used Clear (even though my wife is pisses already ). So I would like to get as much as I can, and willing to spend a bit more.

Thank you all for the wonderful answers. They were very helpful. I'm going next week to try the clear at the store. And will definitely take a look at the Elex as well.
I have some time to figure out what to go for, read some more, hopefully try some, and most important, wait for the wife to calm down a bit .