Focal Elear - Impressions Thread

[alota]

Please, an advice
I read parts of the thread but i don't understand if the elear is easy to drive
My amplifier is the xduoo xd-05 with burson op-amp
Now i have no intention to spend a lot of money in a dac-amp because i'm a retired audiophile
Thank you

 

[buzzlulu]

I hope others who actually have this HP will comment on this however I was surprised to see on the video review done by Jude that he said these could be powered directly from an iPhone

 

[doctorjazz]

It's interesting...I can listen directly from my HTC10 or my Pono and it sounds good, but I definitely hear differences when using an external amp. I'm comparing the Liquid Carbon and the MicroZOTL2, initially preferred the LC (a first for me...have always preferred the ZOTL up until now for any cans), but I'm in the middle of the kazillion hour break in of an Mojo Illuminati LPS for the ZOTL, will see what happens with that combination. Also breaking the Elear in at the same time.

 

[alota]

I hope others who actually have this HP will comment on this however I was surprised to see on the video review done by Jude that he said these could be powered directly from an iPhone

i have some doubts that sounds really good

 

[edsjo]

  i have some doubts that sounds really good

The Focal Elear are easy to drive. I can drive them with my phone (iPhone 6s), but it of course sounds better out of my Chord Mojo. The difference is not huge though at least not at the moderate listening levels I prefer.

 

[doctorjazz]

They're easy to drive, but, unusually, do seem to like more power to get the full bass and impact out of them. But I have enjoyed listening to them out of my phone.

 

[alota]

thank you. my amplifier is around 500 mW/32 ohm. i think i wil try

 

[buzzlulu]

 
The Focal Elear are easy to drive. I can drive them with my phone (iPhone 6s), but it of course sounds better out of my Chord Mojo. The difference is not huge though at least not at the moderate listening levels I prefer.

The difference is not huge?
 
How are you connecting your Mojo to the iPhone 6s?  If it is going into the headphone jack then I believe you are using the Mojo strictly as a headphone amplifier and bypassing its DAC capabilities.  You are then relying on the DAC of the iPhone 6s to do the digital/analogue conversion.  In this case I would speculate you are missing out on a significant performance boost which the Mojo could bring to the table.  
 
I am looking at a Mojo to use with the new iPhone 7.  In this case the Mojo will be obligated to provide DAC duties as the iPhone 7 outputs only digital from the lighting port.  It requires either the Apple supplied dongle with built in DAC ($9) or something like a Mojo - which I would think has significantly better DAC capabilities than the Apple dongle or the built in DAC of your iPhone 6s

 

[edsjo]

 
The difference is not huge?
 
How are you connecting your Mojo to the iPhone 6s?  If it is going into the headphone jack then I believe you are using the Mojo strictly as a headphone amplifier and bypassing its DAC capabilities.  You are then relying on the DAC of the iPhone 6s to do the digital/analogue conversion.  In this case I would speculate you are missing out on a significant performance boost which the Mojo could bring to the table.  
 
I am looking at a Mojo to use with the new iPhone 7.  In this case the Mojo will be obligated to provide DAC duties as the iPhone 7 outputs only digital from the lighting port.  It requires either the Apple supplied dongle with built in DAC ($9) or something like a Mojo - which I would think has significantly better DAC capabilities than the Apple dongle or the built in DAC of your iPhone 6s

I of course connect the Mojo with the lightning camera connection kit and then the USB cable to use it as a DAC and headphone amp (or directly via USB to my computer), you cannot even use the Mojo as an amp only. With the Mojo, the bass is tighter, instrument placement is better and clarity is better. But, I think it is pretty good already from the iPhone directly I must say. There is a difference, but it is not huge. If you listen at high volumes the difference might be bigger, but I never do that. In the shop I tried the Hifiman HE-400i and they were clearly a no-go with the iPhone directly I must say, there the difference by using the Mojo was huge. For the Elears, the difference is still there, but I don't find it huge, but what differences we consider huge might of course be personal.

 

[x RELIC x]

They're easy to drive, but, unusually, do seem to like more power to get the full bass and impact out of them. But I have enjoyed listening to them out of my phone.

The Focal Elear/Utopia headphones are easy to drive to quite loud levels from modest sources. The better sound comes from the better amp design, not strictly from more power. Power=volume. Sound quality=design.

The difference is not huge?

How are you connecting your Mojo to the iPhone 6s?  If it is going into the headphone jack then I believe you are using the Mojo strictly as a headphone amplifier and bypassing its DAC capabilities.  You are then relying on the DAC of the iPhone 6s to do the digital/analogue conversion.  In this case I would speculate you are missing out on a significant performance boost which the Mojo could bring to the table.  

I am looking at a Mojo to use with the new iPhone 7.  In this case the Mojo will be obligated to provide DAC duties as the iPhone 7 outputs only digital from the lighting port.  It requires either the Apple supplied dongle with built in DAC ($9) or something like a Mojo - which I would think has significantly better DAC capabilities than the Apple dongle or the built in DAC of your iPhone 6s

You can't use the amp in the Mojo for two reasons. One, the Mojo only accepts a digital input. Two, the Mojo drives headphones from the DAC's line-out stage.... there is no seperate headphone amp like in conventional designs. Mojo is strictly a DAC with the ability to drive headphones.

 

[buzzlulu]

Thanks to both of you for the replies.
 
It almost seems that, in the case of the Elears, a Mojo is unnecessary?  Bizarre.  That seems to indicate that the built in DAC of the iPhone 6s is rather good - as good as the Mojo?  Why are people ranting and raving about the Mojo so much?
 
In my case with an iPhone 7, if I were to purchase Elears, I would have to see how the $9 supplied Apple dongle compares with the Mojo.  I ran into an online analysis which compared the dongle to the iPhone 6s built in DAC and amplifier - and the dongle did quite well.  Bizarre that the $9 dongle can potentially compete with a Mojo - in the case of using Elears.
 
I am confused

 

[paulgc]

Brand new to the thread so apologies... Does anyone have feedback on how they pair with the Chord Mojo in sound?

 

[x RELIC x]

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

It almost seems that, in the case of the Elears, a Mojo is unnecessary?  Bizarre.  That seems to indicate that the built in DAC of the iPhone 6s is rather good - as good as the Mojo?  Why are people ranting and raving about the Mojo so much?

In my case with an iPhone 7, if I were to purchase Elears, I would have to see how the $9 supplied Apple dongle compares with the Mojo.  I ran into an online analysis which compared the dongle to the iPhone 6s built in DAC and amplifier - and the dongle did quite well.  Bizarre that the $9 dongle can potentially compete with a Mojo - in the case of using Elears.

I am confused

You may not appreciate the difference, but there is a difference. Measurably the iPhone dongle can't compete. Audibly, to each listener, is a different story. After using the Mojo for quite a wile when I go back to other less capable sources they sound fake and off to me. Like most gear a short demo is not very productive as the outward differences are usually subtle unless you are used to focusing on certain aspects like timeing, timbre, micro detail, etc.. If it's not worth it to you then I would suggest sticking with what you feel is good enough and save some money.

To keep it on topic, the Elear should be resolving enough to hear the differences between sources (I own the Utopia not the Elear so I can't say from experience). Other headphones with poor distortion or a very coloured frequency response would also mask differences between sources.

 

[doctorjazz]

They're easy to drive, but, unusually, do seem to like more power to get the full bass and impact out of them. But I have enjoyed listening to them out of my phone.

The Focal Elear/Utopia headphones are easy to drive to quite loud levels from modest sources. The better sound comes from the better amp design, not strictly from more power. Power=volume. Sound quality=design.

The difference is not huge?

How are you connecting your Mojo to the iPhone 6s?  If it is going into the headphone jack then I believe you are using the Mojo strictly as a headphone amplifier and bypassing its DAC capabilities.  You are then relying on the DAC of the iPhone 6s to do the digital/analogue conversion.  In this case I would speculate you are missing out on a significant performance boost which the Mojo could bring to the table.  

I don't actually agree completely here. Yes, better compliments/parts/design will sound better than lesser designs. But, in the same design, more power can tighten up bass and add other improvements sonically that are not just playing louder. In this specific case, I have always found the MicroZOTL2 better than the LC (which is a good amp, BTW). It is more clear, open, better detail, tighter bass, better imaging and Soundstage. The LC had more power, though. My initial impression (before kazillion hour burn in) was that the LC with the Elear has more/stronger bass, more impact. I'm also now going to try an upgraded LPS for the ZOTL, see what happens. It coupons be done idiosyncratic synergy. The ZOTL delivered 1 watt, which is plenty for most applications, but I understand the LC delivered more.
Just sayin'

 

[x RELIC x]

I don't actually agree completely here. Yes, better compliments/parts/design will sound better than lesser designs. But, in the same design, more power can tighten up bass and add other improvements sonically that are not just playing louder. In this specific case, I have always found the MicroZOTL2 better than the LC (which is a good amp, BTW). It is more clear, open, better detail, tighter bass, better imaging and Soundstage. The LC had more power, though. My initial impression (before kazillion hour burn in) was that the LC with the Elear has more/stronger bass, more impact. I'm also now going to try an upgraded LPS for the ZOTL, see what happens. It coupons be done idiosyncratic synergy. The ZOTL delivered 1 watt, which is plenty for most applications, but I understand the LC delivered more.
Just sayin'

The headphones simply don't see unused power and don't care if it's available or not if the power isn't being fed to the headphone to reach a certain SPL. There are a lot of considerations, not just the power spec. Voltage vs current output, impedance, feedback, distortion, solid state vs tubes, clean power supply, etc., all contribute. Yes, I'm being pedantic about it. You basically demonstrated my point though... the LC (which I used to own) has more power but you liked the ZOTL better with other headphones, but with the Elear the LC was better. Synergy. The consideration for impedance matching (dynamic headphones) and current output (for planar headphones) is also a factor. There is no magic bullet with regard to more power=better performance, it's not that simple. I've heard powerful amps that sound like garbage compared to less powerful amps. Just sayin'.