[vinyl addict]

Has anyone tried the Elear in balanced mode?

I'm considering it and would like to hear if there are any improvements/benefits in doing so.

Cheers

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Thanks for the review.  Crisp and Tasty indeed! 

Thank you for the read. First one ever. So I'm a work in progress still. But interesting to me. I'm quite the critic in general. I tried,i don't have the professional lingo down yet so I tried to make it funny at least. lol

 

[abvolt]

Thank you for the read. First one ever. So I'm a work in progress still. But interesting to me. I'm quite the critic in general. I tried,i don't have the professional lingo down yet so I tried to make it funny at least. lol

good review I had that same distortion you got hopefully it was just a defective pair guess we'll see when my replacements arrive Friday..enjoy

 

[TMRaven]

My Elear has a recurring rattling noise in its right driver.  It's not distortion, it's a hair stuck somewhere on the diaphragm.  Blowing temporarily fixes it, but eventually it starts up again.  Having the rattle only happen when the volume is higher is likely because the diaphragm is moving back and forth at longer spans, thus interfering with any possible hair compared to lower volumes.

 

[jsplice]

  I have both in house myself, both have very low distortion so in that aspect very similar. I do think the Nighthawks have the better midrange of the two headphones. The mids are really a strong point of the Hawks, I rate them better than the HD 600/650 in the mids, only really liked the DT 1990 in the sub-$1000 category more in terms of mids(not as velvety smooth as the Hawks but so sweet sounding). Both the Elear and Nighthawks are both good for gaming as both have good imaging, the Elear does have the edge in imaging and detail retrieval, I've used both extensively for it.
 
I'm about to order a pair of Beyerdynamic Amiron's, curious how they compare to the Elears and Hawks as they are supposed to be another darker and smooth sounding headphone. I did have a chance to hear the Sony MDR-Z1R for a few hours earlier today and holy crap they are pretty much end game for me, simply a league above the Elear and Nighthawk. Time to start saving for a pair.

I spent some time in the shop today listening to a few different headphones, comparing them to the Elears.  The Amirons are very interesting headphones, but IMO not in the same league as the Elears.  They are, however, pretty fun.  I don't know that I would describe them as warm, especially when next to the Elears.  I also got to briefly listen to the MDR-Z1R, but I found them to have somewhat of a U curve that didn't suit my ears.  
 
Interestingly, I was disappointed in the performance of the EL-8.  After owning the Sines for a short while now, I was hoping to possibly send in my Elears and get a pair of EL-8s, to get that coveted planar midrange.  However, the EL-8s (open back) had a very annoying standing wave effect that took place inside the ear cups.  It gave the sound a congested and shouty character at times.  I used to own the LCD-2.2, now own the Sines, and have heard the LCD 3s and X's.  I can safely say that the EL-8s are the most disappointing headphone I've heard from Audeze to date.
 
I was very close to picking up a pair of Beyer T1s (2nd gen), but they are unfortunately not all-rounders for me.  They can sound fantastic with some recordings, but too harsh with others.
 
At this point, I can't find anything in the ~$1000 range that beats the Elear.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

good review I had that same distortion you got hopefully it was just a defective pair guess we'll see when my replacements arrive Friday..enjoy

Much appreciated. That rattle noise made me purchase a different set over Christmas. Next up for me is the Z1R. I should be settled down for a while after those.

 

[abvolt]

Much appreciated. That rattle noise made me purchase a different set over Christmas. Next up for me is the Z1R. I should be settled down for a while after those.

Does that mean the distortion you had is gone with this new pair? ..enjoy 

 

[abvolt]

tQuote:

  I spent some time in the shop today listening to a few different headphones, comparing them to the Elears.  The Amirons are very interesting headphones, but IMO not in the same league as the Elears.  They are, however, pretty fun.  I don't know that I would describe them as warm, especially when next to the Elears.  I also got to briefly listen to the MDR-Z1R, but I found them to have somewhat of a U curve that didn't suit my ears.  
 
Interestingly, I was disappointed in the performance of the EL-8.  After owning the Sines for a short while now, I was hoping to possibly send in my Elears and get a pair of EL-8s, to get that coveted planar midrange.  However, the EL-8s (open back) had a very annoying standing wave effect that took place inside the ear cups.  It gave the sound a congested and shouty character at times.  I used to own the LCD-2.2, now own the Sines, and have heard the LCD 3s and X's.  I can safely say that the EL-8s are the most disappointing headphone I've heard from Audeze to date.
 
I was very close to picking up a pair of Beyer T1s (2nd gen), but they are unfortunately not all-rounders for me.  They can sound fantastic with some recordings, but too harsh with others.
 
At this point, I can't find anything in the ~$1000 range that beats the Elear.

I  agree with what you've said the Elear's just can't be beat at that price point or above imo..

 

[JLoud]

Has anyone tried the Elear in balanced mode?

I'm considering it and would like to hear if there are any improvements/benefits in doing so.

Cheers

I bought a balanced cable and must say I really didn't hear much difference.  However I purchased a 6ft. cable so the improvement in ergonomics was well worth it.  Much more manageable weight andI'm not tangled up in the giant cable anymore.

 

[BlendedTwice]

My Elear has a recurring rattling noise in its right driver.  It's not distortion, it's a hair stuck somewhere on the diaphragm.  Blowing temporarily fixes it, but eventually it starts up again.  Having the rattle only happen when the volume is higher is likely because the diaphragm is moving back and forth at longer spans, thus interfering with any possible hair compared to lower volumes.

That sucks!
My friend was telling me that this happened to him the other day--with a vmoda headphone, not focal--what a bummer! How does one resolve that? I have a cat whose hair gets all over the place and am now a little worried that sooner or later this will happen to me!

**also the impedance reports I have gotten for my Elears have been a little skewed. Some say 32, some 80? I was using the norm low setting on MHA100 (for 32) and definitely found it preferable to a higher resistance setting. Anyone else have any input?

 

[TMRaven]

The impedance for dynamic headphones is generally never linear, it will vary based on different frequencies.  Consult this graph for reference.
 
 
As can be seen, it's around 80, but spikes to near 350 at 50-60hz.  
 
 
 
I'm not quite sure how to resolve stuck hairs.  It's something I'd ask the manufacturer maybe.  With my old DT990, I was able to open up the cups and take some tweezers to the diaphragm very carefully, because the DT990 diaphragms were actually sticky.  The diaphragm of the Elear doesn't seem to be sticky, but their chambers might be so well contained that it would be very hard to blow the hair out.

 

[frigginloony]

  good review I had that same distortion you got hopefully it was just a defective pair guess we'll see when my replacements arrive Friday..enjoy

Had mine for several months now with superb sound quality.  BUT, when i first got the elear, while trying different amp/dac combinations, I found that at around 3/4 volume on my micca and also on my monoprice there was a notable rattle heard.  I chalked that up to the need for burn in and the less powerful amp staging at the time since I didn't hear it in my other amps/dacs (teac 301, schiit magni,violectric HPA90 and my newest Oppo HA1.  I haven't tried it on those less powerful amps/dacs since. The Creative E5 was the worst of the bunch as it absolutely trashed the bass particularly on bass heavy cuts. (thus the NOT trying them since).  I  wonder if what TMRaven says regarding frequency related impedance spikes might have pushed the less powerful amps to distortion in the bass range.   The elears are so dynamic that even though you can drive them with nearly everything perhaps some reserve power is needed for full potential. That is my "Goomba non engineer average joe" hypothesis. Now the real engineers, scientists, and audiophiles can just laugh at me and call me silly names. In any case, the Elears are nirvana for 1/3 to 1/4 of the price of the big boys. I put them on my head for hours on end and i hear music as music begs to be heard.  It's that simple. Its that easy, its just that good!   Happy New year folks!

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

  Does that mean the distortion you had is gone with this new pair? ..enjoy 

It was a loaner pair. I had the rattle issue since the day i unpacked them and started listening to them. As one poster is stating it's passed a certain volume. But when i went passed a certain volume it only got bad during moderate to heavy bass. It was both cups. I bought the Nighthawks because of this issue. I did not want to purchase something i wasn't sure of anymore. Really disappointing. Because the Elear smokes the Nighthawk in the sound department. 

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

  Had mine for several months now with superb sound quality.  BUT, when i first got the elear, while trying different amp/dac combinations, I found that at around 3/4 volume on my micca and also on my monoprice there was a notable rattle heard.  I chalked that up to the need for burn in and the less powerful amp staging at the time since I didn't hear it in my other amps/dacs (teac 301, schiit magni,violectric HPA90 and my newest Oppo HA1.  I haven't tried it on those less powerful amps/dacs since. The Creative E5 was the worst of the bunch as it absolutely trashed the bass particularly on bass heavy cuts. (thus the NOT trying them since).  I  wonder if what TMRaven says regarding frequency related impedance spikes might have pushed the less powerful amps to distortion in the bass range.   The elears are so dynamic that even though you can drive them with nearly everything perhaps some reserve power is needed for full potential. That is my "Goomba non engineer average joe" hypothesis. Now the real engineers, scientists, and audiophiles can just laugh at me and call me silly names. In any case, the Elears are nirvana for 1/3 to 1/4 of the price of the big boys. I put them on my head for hours on end and i hear music as music begs to be heard.  It's that simple. Its that easy, its just that good!   Happy New year folks!

You're Goomba sounds similar to mines. I got you're back dude. And i tried that same weak amp with the Nighthawks and it pushes them just fine. So maybe it truly might be an impedance issue. But the amp says up to 150 ohms. 

 

[xrayman]

 
At this point, I can't find anything in the ~$1000 range that beats the Elear.

 
That's pretty much what I have read from the different reviews available online.  You won't find anything to that standard in the same price range.  They are  both enjoyable and all around cans, which make them worth it.