[BubbaJay]

After a long courtship and several in store demos and comparisons to phones I own, I yesterday bought the Elears. In store I found them superior to the LCD-X, HE-X and HD800X. The HD800S are generally my default phones but I have recently become intolerant of the Sennheiser sound.

At home in the light of day I feel there is an awful lot of zing in the treble and anything that has fingersnaps, handclaps or snare drum rattle really stands out, almost to the point of hitting peak at times. It's not a sibilance, but rather what just seems like an extended dynamic. Not a deal breaker, but if it were any worse it would be and I suppose I bear some disappointment at how different they are to the pair I had demoed. Not the same smooth yet resolved sound. Something like Portishead's Numb sounds very weird indeed through these, far too punchy. Even Morcheeba's super smooth Almost Done is presented in a difficult light with the snare and high hat going far too loud.

Perhaps they will settle in, but I am not a big break in believer.

The other side of the coin is that they bear a sort of presence and resolution that easily outclasses the HD800S. There have been a few spooky moments with the Elear where you get an "in the room" feeling of live performance that I can't say I have heard with any other dynamic phone. So this is enough to keep going with them for the time being.

I was never a believer in burn-in until I got my Elear. After about 20 hours or so I noticed that they sounded a bit more open compared to new and the highs were sounding clearer and cleaner. At around 50 hours the soundstage width was much better than before and everything just sounded better, its hard to explain but I just found all frequencies to sound cleaner. Now I don't know how much my Modi Multibit had to do with it but I didn't get that until about 30 hours in or so. Now it might just be a placebo effect but I don't think it is.

Since the headphone bug hit me I've always been looking to upgrade after a while but with my current little desktop setup (Elear - Magni 2 - Modi Multibit - Foobar2000 or X5II coaxial out) I don't feel the need to anymore. I'm sure I will at some point but for now, I'm very satisfied.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

As I said, that's just my impression after reading reviews and comparisons. I haven't heard the Mojo personally, if you can make a comparison between the Mojo and Jot, and other amps in the price range, I would be happy to hear.

i wish you could hear the Mojo because its an excellent piece of tech... are you just interested in an amp in that price range, or amp/dac combo?

 

[makne]

i wish you could hear the Mojo because its an excellent piece of tech... are you just interested in an amp in that price range, or amp/dac combo?

Already own a modi multibit, so I think I'm covered on the DAC part. So I'm just looking for the best amp in the price range. Right now I'm looking at the Jot, Mojo, idsd Black Label, Marantz HD-dac1, and Audio-gd nfb-28. Those are the ones I can easily get here in Norway, and are roughly the same price. Unfortunately, I can only get the Jot to demo. I did however A/B the Jot against a warmer Violectric amp and never found the Jot to be too bright or shouty, so that won't be an issue. All comparisons, impressions and reviews are very welcome.

 

[x RELIC x]

Already own a modi multibit, so I think I'm covered on the DAC part. So I'm just looking for the best amp in the price range. Right now I'm looking at the Jot, Mojo, idsd Black Label, Marantz HD-dac1, and Audio-gd nfb-28. Those are the ones I can easily get here in Norway, and are roughly the same price. Unfortunately, I can only get the Jot to demo. I did however A/B the Jot against a warmer Violectric amp and never found the Jot to be too bright or shouty, so that won't be an issue. All comparisons, impressions and reviews are very welcome.

If you're looking for an amp only then cross the Mojo off your list. You can't connect an analogue signal to the Mojo because it doesn't have a traditional separate amp. It more or less drives headphone's from the DAC's line-out stage.

 

[makne]

If you're looking for an amp only then cross the Mojo off your list. You can't connect an analogue signal to the Mojo because it doesn't have a traditional separate amp. It more or less drives headphone's from the DAC's line-out stage.

Oh thanks, didn't know that. Although I could sell the mimby if I go for the Mojo which would make the upgrade even cheaper.

 

[waveSounds]

This review from Darko might help you make a more informed decision. Here's a snippet;

"4) The NightHawk nicely offset the the Mojo’s only real weakness: a slightly undernourished tonal body; it’s not the meatiest player in town, but only properly noticeable when stood off against the warmer, thicker, more congealed Multibit Bifrost from Schiit. And even more so when contrasted by the comparative cornflour of the Aqua La Voce S2. Mojo lays recordings bare, deformities and all. The Schiit and Aqua are more forgiving (veiled?), particularly the latter. Then again, no D/A converter other than the Mojo packs a headphone output."

 

[Blueshound24]

just pull them off. The pads and plastic rings are held in place with 5 pegs that just pop off. Might take some force to pull off, I was a little scared to tear the pad the first time I did it.

Thanks! I'll give it a go.

I also had asked,

Also, any tips on how to clean the pads once taken off headphones?

Any thoughts on that?

 

[Gridlinked]

Hi, thank you for the feedback. Gustard A20H is somehow hard to get in France, while the Audeze Deckard is super easy but also more expensive. Anyone have more feeback for the Audeze ? Schiit is also hard to get in Europe

I bought my A20H from ShenzenAudio and they ship worldwide for free. It may also be available on Ebay and a slightly higher cost.

 

[jbsu30]

I bought my A20H from ShenzenAudio and they ship worldwide for free. It may also be available on Ebay and a slightly higher cost.

With VAT it will be over 1K €

 

[Gridlinked]

With VAT it will be over 1K €

Ouch, I didn't realize there'd be VAT on it. There is a lightly used one for sale on the forums from a seller in Germany https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/s...lver-1-5-years-warranty.854929/#post-13595025

 

[makne]

This review from Darko might help you make a more informed decision. Here's a snippet;

"4) The NightHawk nicely offset the the Mojo’s only real weakness: a slightly undernourished tonal body; it’s not the meatiest player in town, but only properly noticeable when stood off against the warmer, thicker, more congealed Multibit Bifrost from Schiit. And even more so when contrasted by the comparative cornflour of the Aqua La Voce S2. Mojo lays recordings bare, deformities and all. The Schiit and Aqua are more forgiving (veiled?), particularly the latter. Then again, no D/A converter other than the Mojo packs a headphone output."

thanks. Seems that he reviewed the mojo mainly as a dac though. Different, but on par with schiit multibits from what I can understand? The same reviewer gave the Jot a great review. Again I sit with the feeling that the Jot is the superior amp.

 

[canali]

that elear still intrigues me for a portable (or at home, too)
....have the senn 650 i might unload.
seeking to replace my sony mdr 7520 for portables...maybe the elear
..would be using the dragonfly red or mojo on the road.
for home: ifi micro idsd (for now, but am hoping to step up my dac: hugo 2, gumby, halo...etc)

 

[makne]

that elear still intrigues me for a portable (or at home, too)
....have the senn 650 i might unload.
seeking to replace my sony mdr 7520 for portables...maybe the elear
..would be using the dragonfly red or mojo on the road.
for home: ifi micro idsd (for now, but am hoping to step up my dac: hugo 2, gumby, halo...etc)

wouldn't really call the Elear portable. Its very open, kinda heavy, stock cable is massive and doesn't come with a case. But for home use I love them.

 

[canali]

wouldn't really call the Elear portable. Its very open, kinda heavy, stock cable is massive and doesn't come with a case. But for home use I love them.

for portable i should have been more specific: more for my office.

 

[makne]

for portable i should have been more specific: more for my office.

ah, I see. If you want something to use on the move aswell, I recommend you take a look at the isine 10/20. Not quite on the level of Elear, but not far off. Certainly an upgrade from HD650.