[Imusicman]

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'm running my Elears balanced with Black Dragon V2 cable. I would say the improvements are subtle, not night and day, but nevertheless still there to be heard. I am 49 so maybe younger ears may hear more of a drastic improvement. Definitely still worth doing though IMHO The improvements I noticed were that all through the range clarity improved inc both male and female voicing, everything just seemed more in focus and there were no issues in the highs to my ears

 

[doctorjazz]

I'm still evaluating them, trying to get adaptors so I can listen to the Elears balanced through the Liquid Carbon, but, while the sound presentation is quite different, I wouldn't, at this point, say the Elear smokes the HE-560... Different animals, plusses and minuses for each (but this is with the ZOTL... Maybe it isn't the best match for the Elears). More to come.

 

[jsplice]

   
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.  

I ordered a pair of the T1.2's last night so I can do a comparison.  I still think the Elear are fantastic headphones when all things are considered (sound, build quality, etc.), but there are a lot of times where they just aren't as engaging for me as I am hoping for.  I still haven't been able to put my finger on it.  There are a of elements there: smoothness, lushness, dynamics, etc.  But for whatever reason, I put my Audeze Sines back on and immediately I just feel more connected to the music.  I felt this when I listened to the T1.2 yesterday, although they were a bit bright sometimes.  I'll get this pair in-house and see how they all stack up.  Point is, I can't keep $1000 headphones if it doesn't get me engaged with the music, no matter how good of a value it is.

 

[jsplice]

I think I may have just pinpointed my issue with the Elears.  Although the headphones sound "warm," there is some harmonic detail that is missing when listening.  This is something I've noticed many times with speakers and headphones that are tuned towards a "fast" and resolving sound.  The Elears are somewhat of a paradox in that they are fast and detailed, yet warm.  It's a very unique tuning.  This is why I wasn't able to initially detect the slight lack of harmonic detail, since I normally have a corresponding brightness with these types of headphones/speakers that clues me into this more quickly.  Although my Sines aren't able to retrieve nearly as much detail overall as the Elears, there is harmonic detail in the midrange that the Sines are able to portray more clearly.

 

[Oregonian]

  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. 

I'm wondering if that "rattle" you guys are hearing is the driver bottoming out due to power/bass.  I had that weird thud sound with the loaner pair only when I was cranking both the volume and bass a bit more than earlier and it went away and never returned when I lowered the bass tone controls.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

 
I'm wondering if that "rattle" you guys are hearing is the driver bottoming out due to power/bass.  I had that weird thud sound with the loaner pair only when I was cranking both the volume and bass a bit more than earlier and it went away and never returned when I lowered the bass tone controls.

I had bass on negative and still got the rattle. If this is how they sound. Than i will never buy these. And they would be a big slap to the face, Especially the lovely signature it has. 

 

[xrayman]

  I ordered a pair of the T1.2's last night so I can do a comparison.  I still think the Elear are fantastic headphones when all things are considered (sound, build quality, etc.), but there are a lot of times where they just aren't as engaging for me as I am hoping for.  I still haven't been able to put my finger on it.  There are a of elements there: smoothness, lushness, dynamics, etc.  But for whatever reason, I put my Audeze Sines back on and immediately I just feel more connected to the music.  I felt this when I listened to the T1.2 yesterday, although they were a bit bright sometimes.  I'll get this pair in-house and see how they all stack up.  Point is, I can't keep $1000 headphones if it doesn't get me engaged with the music, no matter how good of a value it is.

 
Unfortunately, I do not know the Audeze Sines, but it looks like they fit your need very well. The sound signature of the  Beyer T1 (v2) is not for me (too bright and fatiguing).   

 

[jsplice]

   
Unfortunately, I do not know the Audeze Sines, but it looks like they fit your need very well. The sound signature of the  Beyer T1 (v2) is not for me (too bright and fatiguing).   

Yea, they have the potential to be fatiguing.  I will have to see how it goes.  Only way to tell is to "buy and try."  Who knows, I may end up just returning both the Elear and T1 and making the Sines my main at-home headphone, which is a bit strange since they are supposed to be portables.  The Sines do scale pretty well, surprisingly.  I was very disappointed with the EL-8s. I thought they would be a nice blend of the Sines and LCD-2s (better sounding than the Sines, not as good as LCD-2, but more comfortable than both).  Unfortunately that was not the case.

 

[xrayman]

  Yea, they have the potential to be fatiguing.  I will have to see how it goes.  Only way to tell is to "buy and try."  Who knows, I may end up just returning both the Elear and T1 and making the Sines my main at-home headphone, which is a bit strange since they are supposed to be portables.  The Sines do scale pretty well, surprisingly.  I was very disappointed with the EL-8s. I thought they would be a nice blend of the Sines and LCD-2s (better sounding than the Sines, not as good as LCD-2, but more comfortable than both).  Unfortunately that was not the case.

 
Do you have the D7000 (profile picture)?   I always wondered how those cans sound.   
 
I am actually very impressed with the Elear.  As you say, it is fast, detailed and more importantly warm (which strengthen female voices).  It is exactly what I was looking for as far as the sound signature goes.   The D5000 are great headphones, but they lack a bit of details and sound separation.  The Elears are excellent for this.

 

[jsplice]

   
Do you have the D7000 (profile picture)?   I always wondered how those cans sound.   
 
I am actually very impressed with the Elear.  As you say, it is fast, detailed and more importantly warm (which strengthen female voices).  It is exactly what I was looking for as far as the sound signature goes.   The D5000 are great headphones, but they lack a bit of details and sound separation.  The Elears are excellent for this.
 

That's actually an old picture.  I sold my D7000s several years ago.  It's hard for me to recall how they sounded just from memory, but I did enjoy them a lot during the time that I had them.  I sold them  because I ended up getting the LCD-2.2 back in 2012.  The amount of texture and tone that the LCD's provided over the D7000s was huge, and that's what made me switch.  The D7000s were very "fun" sounding, but I would not say that they excelled at tone and texture, or even midrange for that matter.  They were also very comfortable, although I do recall the pleather pads causing my ears to get pretty warm.
 
The Elear are definitely detailed and fast.  It's so hard to describe a "warm" sound.  Traditionally I think most people use this term when trying to describe the treble response.  Most commonly, when a speaker/headphone/component sounds "warm," there is an accompanying strength to its tone/texture.  Warm components also tend to have softer transient attack, and for some people may have an overall boring sound.  The Elear don't really fit into those categories we've gotten used to (bright/sterile/fast/dynamic vs. warm/smooth/textured/soft).  They sort of are a mix of those two categories, which makes them very interesting.  It's also why it has taken me a while to analyze why they aren't quite doing it for me.  Yes, they sound warm and smooth, but fast and dynamic.  However, IMO they have not taken the strength of good tone/texture from the one category.  The mids do sound full and present, but there is a certain texture that is missing.  I think a tube amp would help add some of that back in.

 

[kman1211]

  Yea, they have the potential to be fatiguing.  I will have to see how it goes.  Only way to tell is to "buy and try."  Who knows, I may end up just returning both the Elear and T1 and making the Sines my main at-home headphone, which is a bit strange since they are supposed to be portables.  The Sines do scale pretty well, surprisingly.  I was very disappointed with the EL-8s. I thought they would be a nice blend of the Sines and LCD-2s (better sounding than the Sines, not as good as LCD-2, but more comfortable than both).  Unfortunately that was not the case.

Honestly if the T1.2's don't work out due to brightness or fatigue, I would look into getting a pair of DT 1990's or Amirons instead, both are warmer and not as bright as the T1.2 but still have a lot of harmonic detail like the T1.2, heck maybe more even as the T1.2 does sound slightly lacking to me compared to the DT 1990.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

  That's actually an old picture.  I sold my D7000s several years ago.  It's hard for me to recall how they sounded just from memory, but I did enjoy them a lot during the time that I had them.  I sold them  because I ended up getting the LCD-2.2 back in 2012.  The amount of texture and tone that the LCD's provided over the D7000s was huge, and that's what made me switch.  The D7000s were very "fun" sounding, but I would not say that they excelled at tone and texture, or even midrange for that matter.  They were also very comfortable, although I do recall the pleather pads causing my ears to get pretty warm.
 
The Elear are definitely detailed and fast.  It's so hard to describe a "warm" sound.  Traditionally I think most people use this term when trying to describe the treble response.  Most commonly, when a speaker/headphone/component sounds "warm," there is an accompanying strength to its tone/texture.  Warm components also tend to have softer transient attack, and for some people may have an overall boring sound.  The Elear don't really fit into those categories we've gotten used to (bright/sterile/fast/dynamic vs. warm/smooth/textured/soft).  They sort of are a mix of those two categories, which makes them very interesting.  It's also why it has taken me a while to analyze why they aren't quite doing it for me.  Yes, they sound warm and smooth, but fast and dynamic.  However, IMO they have not taken the strength of good tone/texture from the one category.  The mids do sound full and present, but there is a certain texture that is missing.  I think a tube amp would help add some of that back in.

Maybe it's the sound stage ? Or all the sounds just smacking you in the face, all at once. It's so tough to decide sounds with other people... Because we hear everything so differently. 

 

[cradon]

I had bass on negative and still got the rattle. If this is how they sound. Than i will never buy these. And they would be a big slap to the face, Especially the lovely signature it has. 

Hasn't it already been established that pairs with distortion aren't working properly and should be returned? I have had no such problem with either the Utopia or Elear.

 

[donato]

  That's actually an old picture.  I sold my D7000s several years ago.  It's hard for me to recall how they sounded just from memory, but I did enjoy them a lot during the time that I had them.  I sold them  because I ended up getting the LCD-2.2 back in 2012.  The amount of texture and tone that the LCD's provided over the D7000s was huge, and that's what made me switch.  The D7000s were very "fun" sounding, but I would not say that they excelled at tone and texture, or even midrange for that matter.  They were also very comfortable, although I do recall the pleather pads causing my ears to get pretty warm.
 
The Elear are definitely detailed and fast.  It's so hard to describe a "warm" sound.  Traditionally I think most people use this term when trying to describe the treble response.  Most commonly, when a speaker/headphone/component sounds "warm," there is an accompanying strength to its tone/texture.  Warm components also tend to have softer transient attack, and for some people may have an overall boring sound.  The Elear don't really fit into those categories we've gotten used to (bright/sterile/fast/dynamic vs. warm/smooth/textured/soft).  They sort of are a mix of those two categories, which makes them very interesting.  It's also why it has taken me a while to analyze why they aren't quite doing it for me.  Yes, they sound warm and smooth, but fast and dynamic.  However, IMO they have not taken the strength of good tone/texture from the one category.  The mids do sound full and present, but there is a certain texture that is missing.  I think a tube amp would help add some of that back in.

I think it's that suckout.  I agree, it's not what people would say is traditionally warm/rolled off completely, but there is a frequency in the mids that appears to be.  So, it does have the benefit of reducing sibilance which is something I greatly appreciate.  Tradeoffs.

 

[eargasam]

Hey I think I'm having a problem with my elears it seems on certain bass levels they start to sound distorted or sounds like the drivers are breaking up . I notice that when I plug it in to my ifi ican se with the bass boost on or on extra bass . Is it just my pair or what , my other headphones don't do that and they are even more sensitive than the elears