[Dvdlucena]

Hello music friends!
 
I'm looking forward a new headphone. I only have a shure 846 connected to a fiio x5ii. I also have a schiit lyr2 with some Siemens Tubes, put i found it is no good with IEM.
My thoughts are between the sennheiser HD 800, the audeze lcd-2 and now I'm a little inclined to the Focal elear.... Wish i had the money to go to Utopia.... 

 
 
Any recommendations?
 
your opinions are very well accepted
 
cheers from Brazil

 

[donlin]

  Hello music friends!
 
I'm looking forward a new headphone. I only have a shure 846 connected to a fiio x5ii. I also have a schiit lyr2 with some Siemens Tubes, put i found it is no good with IEM.
My thoughts are between the sennheiser HD 800, the audeze lcd-2 and now I'm a little inclined to the Focal elear.... Wish i had the money to go to Utopia.... 

 
 
Any recommendations?
 
your opinions are very well accepted
 
cheers from Brazil

I had the LCD-2.2 for a couple years and also owned the HD800.  I currently have the HD800S and the Elear.  In my opinion the LCD-2 is the worst of this group. I prefer the HD800S quite a bit compared to the HD800.  The HD800S and Elear are about equal in absolute quality but very different sounding and would depend on your personal taste.  If I had to pick only one today, it would be the HD800S.  Things that bother me about the Elear are comfort, recessed midrange and a strange "honky" quality at times in the midrange, especially on classical strings which I listen to a lot.  The HD800S's bass is a lot less weighty than the Elear but just as extended and cleaner/tighter.  If heavy bass is important, you should probably go with the Elear.  If you listen to a lot of classical music, the HD800S is better.

 

[Dvdlucena]

 
I had the LCD-2.2 for a couple years and also owned the HD800.  I currently have the HD800S and the Elear.  In my opinion the LCD-2 is the worst of this group. I prefer the HD800S quite a bit compared to the HD800.  The HD800S and Elear are about equal in absolute quality but very different sounding and would depend on your personal taste.  If I had to pick only one today, it would be the HD800S.  Things that bother me about the Elear are comfort, recessed midrange and a strange "honky" quality at times in the midrange, especially on classical strings which I listen to a lot.  The HD800S's bass is a lot less weighty than the Elear but just as extended and cleaner/tighter.  If heavy bass is important, you should probably go with the Elear.  If you listen to a lot of classical music, the HD800S is better.

 
WELL!!
 
THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT
 
MANY THANKS

 

[davehg]

  Hello music friends!
 
I'm looking forward a new headphone. I only have a shure 846 connected to a fiio x5ii. I also have a schiit lyr2 with some Siemens Tubes, put i found it is no good with IEM.
My thoughts are between the sennheiser HD 800, the audeze lcd-2 and now I'm a little inclined to the Focal elear.... Wish i had the money to go to Utopia.... 

 
 
Any recommendations?
 
your opinions are very well accepted
 
cheers from Brazil

I have the HD650 and LCD3f - the HD800 IMHO requires a very powerful amp, otherwise I find the low end to be much too light weight. While it does some things well, I can't get used to its colder sound.
 
 Like the others, I find the LCD2 the least interesting of the Audeze line up - the LCD-X is far more musical, and the LCD3 is the sweet spot.
 
I liked the Elear a lot during a recent listen...until I heard the Utopia, and then I found it really hard to go back to the Elear. I'd like to hear the Elear on my Woo WA5 - bet it would sound a lot better than the amp I heard it on.
 
BTW, on a great amp, with good cables, the HD650 is still fantastic. 

 

[donlin]

  I have the HD650 and LCD3f - the HD800 IMHO requires a very powerful amp, otherwise I find the low end to be much too light weight. While it does some things well, I can't get used to its colder sound.
 
 Like the others, I find the LCD2 the least interesting of the Audeze line up - the LCD-X is far more musical, and the LCD3 is the sweet spot.
 
I liked the Elear a lot during a recent listen...until I heard the Utopia, and then I found it really hard to go back to the Elear. I'd like to hear the Elear on my Woo WA5 - bet it would sound a lot better than the amp I heard it on.
 
BTW, on a great amp, with good cables, the HD650 is still fantastic. 

Couldn't agree more about the HD650 which I also own. Still one of the best available.

 

[Dvdlucena]

I have the HD650 and LCD3f - the HD800 IMHO requires a very powerful amp, otherwise I find the low end to be much too light weight. While it does some things well, I can't get used to its colder sound.

 Like the others, I find the LCD2 the least interesting of the Audeze line up - the LCD-X is far more musical, and the LCD3 is the sweet spot.

I liked the Elear a lot during a recent listen...until I heard the Utopia, and then I found it really hard to go back to the Elear. I'd like to hear the Elear on my Woo WA5 - bet it would sound a lot better than the amp I heard it on.

BTW, on a great amp, with good cables, the HD650 is still fantastic. 

Many thanks.
Do you think that schiit lyr2 can make a good job with the HD 800?

 

[Imusicman]

Guys, with which amp/dac you are driving the Focal Elear?  Any good suggestions for a 1k USD budget?
I'm enjoying them immensely on my oppo audiocom se with balanced black widow v2

Edit:  though the Elear are pretty easy to drive so I might not need to buy another dac/amp combo. Any feedback are more than welcome though!  

 

[xrayman]

  I am currently using the Oppo HA-1 to drive the Elear with balanced output.  I've tried with the HA-2, Asgard 2 and Ragnarok, but actually always came back to the HA-1 for some reason.  
 
However, now I'm trying to save space so I'm selling the HA-1 and replacing it with the Woo WA7 2nd Gen (with the same DAC as the HA-1).  I'm hoping the synergy will be good for a smaller, compact package!

 
Let me know if the combo Woo WA7 2nd Gen and the Elear works well.  I am also interested in the Woo products, though they might be a bit out of my budget.  Since the Elear is not too difficult to drive, I wonder if SS vs Tube amps makes a lot of difference.  

 

[donlin]

   
Let me know if the combo Woo WA7 2nd Gen and the Elear works well.  I am also interested in the Woo products, though they might be a bit out of my budget.  Since the Elear is not too difficult to drive, I wonder if SS vs Tube amps makes a lot of difference.  

My ifi pro Ican can run fully SS and fully tube and I definitely prefer the solid state with the Elear.

 

[xrayman]

  Personally I always feel there's something magical bond between Focal (both Elear and Utopia) and Chord Products (Tried them with Mojo, Hugo TT, and Dave)
 
Even Utopia is singing beautifully and full of authority with Mojo. Elear is awesome with Mojo too, and in fact this is a very synergy set up in my book.
 
Ymmv of course, but I think giving a shot to Chord Mojo is worth to try,

 
Thanks for the tips.   Chord Mojo has been bookmarked  
 
I also wonder about the Matrix M stage HPA-3.   Highly praised on head-fi:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/matrix-m-stage-hpa-3b-class-a-full-balance-headphone-amp/reviews/13705
http://www.head-fi.org/t/770610/introducing-the-matrix-m-stage-hpa-3u-and-hpa-3b-review-to-follow

 

[xrayman]

 
My ifi pro Ican can run fully SS and fully tube and I definitely prefer the solid state with the Elear.

 
That makes sense to me as the Elear headphones do have a warmer sound to begin with.    

 

[Danx3k]

Just got my elears today. Have to say they sound fantastic although they are by far the best headphones I have owned and listened to. I had a pair of oppo pm3s but sold them yesterday to make way for the Focals. They just don't compare at all, these are on a completely different level.

Now I just need to invest in a better dac/amp, although the Dragonfly Red is decent, I feel the headphones deserve better.

I might get a chord mojo as my next step up.

 

[vinyl addict]

Regarding the Elear stock cable....

I want to modify the cable end to a balanced 4-Pin XLR....is this possible?

Can someone help me with info on how this is done?
Any links on how to DIY would be really helpful....

Cheers :happy_face1:

 

[doctorjazz]

I'm no expert (couldn't MOD a paper bag), but my impression is that you can use a balanced cable with an adaptor ďso presumably you could change the termination), but you can't go the other way (single ended to balanced) that way.

 

[abvolt]

   
Did you send your Elear back?  Those headphones are so fun and clear.   I am now listening Enigma The Fall of a Rebel Angel, and they sound so dynamic on electronic music.  Super fun!!!  

 
Yes I did just waiting for my replacements their sound is simply great I also feel there a very fun hp to listen to I only had them 2 days and really miss them..enjoy