[abvolt]

Well guys my second pair of Elear's has issues the left driver died last nite, 2 pair's in less than 10 months not really good odds is it. Makes me wonder if there's even a thing called quality control at Focal, Oh well live & learn I guess it is kinda funny though..enjoy

 

[makne]

cables really change the sound on the elears? the only time I've noticed a cable changes the sound was after replacing the fidelios x1 cable.
with the elear I've used the original and both of the cables of the denon d600 and can't really tell a difference

Tbh I don't think there are audible differences between decent cables, but I haven't tried A/B-ing cables though. The stock Elear cable is of great quality, but the practicality is another thing...

 

[DivaFonda]

Well guys my second pair of Elear's has issues the left driver died last nite, 2 pair's in less than 10 months not really good odds is it. Makes me wonder if there's even a thing called quality control at Focal, Oh well live & learn I guess it is kinda funny though..enjoy

Wow, sorry to hear that! I just ordered these, now I'm worried.

 

[TSAVJason]

Wow, sorry to hear that! I just ordered these, now I'm worried.

It's unfortunate. I wonder if they are old inventory? I don't mean used or something I mean product that's been in some warehouse waiting for a home for a long time.

 

[abvolt]

I'm not sure about that maybe I've emailed Focal today with my name & proof of purchase etc. Hopefully they'll get back to me soon I sure do love their sound though..

 

[liopleus]

Just curious, could the driver failure being caused by the voice coil detaching from the dome?

I think the former-less voice coil may have a higher possibility being detached from the driver since it's never been done before and there might be some issue not being discover in the testing process.

 

[BubbaJay]

Wow, sorry to hear that! I just ordered these, now I'm worried.

I wouldn't worry, I've had mine for almost a year and they still sound and look great. There will always be some outliers but the vast majority will be fine. I do feel for the guy that has had 2 defective pairs in 10 months, that's some crazy bad luck.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Sorry @abvolt that is bad luck . I hope you get taken care of quick and easy!!

 

[nahpungnome]

It's unfortunate. I wonder if they are old inventory? I don't mean used or something I mean product that's been in some warehouse waiting for a home for a long time.

From what I've read, the "older" ones have a creak and a 4 meter cable. The newer ones have a 3 meter cable and no creak. I bought mine recently for $699 from AudioLab (great service btw) and it has no creaking and a 3 meter cable.

 

[nahpungnome]

Well guys my second pair of Elear's has issues the left driver died last nite, 2 pair's in less than 10 months not really good odds is it. Makes me wonder if there's even a thing called quality control at Focal, Oh well live & learn I guess it is kinda funny though..enjoy

How long did it take for this one to die? That really is disappointing..considering my Mono 8323's feel like utter crap, sound good, and have no fatal issues like you're having...

 

[RatFarm]

Today I picked up a new Elear that was just shipped to my dealer yesterday. I wanted to try the Elear as an alternative to my Beyer T1 v1 in hopes that it was a more full-bodied fun sounding headphone. To my surprise while playing a Patricia Barber track I suddenly start hearing a loud cracking sound that was startling. I initially thought it was some powerline noise affecting my amp but as I lowered the volume the cracking noise went away. Raising the volume again resulted in the noise coming back so I plugged in my T1 and no cracking noise at full volume. I can only guess that the Elear suffers from driver bottoming on bass tracks as the T1 handled the same tracks with ease. I was also surprised that the Elear was no fuller and dynamic sounding than the T1. In fact, switching back to the T1, I was surprised that it sounded every bit as dynamic but with better spacial cues and air. The Elear, while close, was no match for the T1. Anyone have the same cracking noise issue with the Elear?

 

[nahpungnome]

Today I picked up a new Elear that was just shipped to my dealer yesterday. I wanted to try the Elear as an alternative to my Beyer T1 v1 in hopes that it was a more full-bodied fun sounding headphone. To my surprise while playing a Patricia Barber track I suddenly start hearing a loud cracking sound that was startling. I initially thought it was some powerline noise affecting my amp but as I lowered the volume the cracking noise went away. Raising the volume again resulted in the noise coming back so I plugged in my T1 and no cracking noise at full volume. I can only guess that the Elear suffers from driver bottoming on bass tracks as the T1 handled the same tracks with ease. I was also surprised that the Elear was no fuller and dynamic sounding than the T1. In fact, switching back to the T1, I was surprised that it sounded every bit as dynamic but with better spacial cues and air. The Elear, while close, was no match for the T1. Anyone have the same cracking noise issue with the Elear?

How loud is loud? My loud and yours may differ quite a bit...For instance I played Super Soul Sis on Warren G's Regulate album, which has nice deep bass hits and I didn't get any kind of distortion while playing louder than I usually do...I just wanted to test the bass when I first received my pair and they don't disappoint.

 

[RatFarm]

How loud is loud? My loud and yours may differ quite a bit...For instance I played Super Soul Sis on Warren G's Regulate album, which has nice deep bass hits and I didn't get any kind of distortion while playing louder than I usually do...I just wanted to test the bass when I first received my pair and they don't disappoint.

Not sure how to answer other than less loud than a club. The Elear is more efficient than the T1 but at the same volume levels (manually adjusted) the Elear has some major issues on bassy tracks such as Patricia Barber's Light My Fire. I turned up the volume even louder on the T1 trying to replicate the noise but I could not get the T1 to 'crack' at higher volumes like the Elear would at lower volume. A major disappointment since I spent tons of time researching them before finally buying them today.

 

[nahpungnome]

Not sure how to answer other than less loud than a club. The Elear is more efficient than the T1 but at the same volume levels (manually adjusted) the Elear has some major issues on bassy tracks such as Patricia Barber's Light My Fire. I turned up the volume even louder on the T1 trying to replicate the noise but I could not get the T1 to 'crack' at higher volumes like the Elear would at lower volume. A major disappointment since I spent tons of time researching them before finally buying them today.

Yeah I'm not sure...I don't play my music too loud...usually 85db max, maybe a bit more if I'm in the mood, but not much more...yes I use a db Meter to make sure I'm not playing too loudly Maybe the T1's just handle loud volume better.

 

[TSAVJason]

From what I've read, the "older" ones have a creak and a 4 meter cable. The newer ones have a 3 meter cable and no creak. I bought mine recently for $699 from AudioLab (great service btw) and it has no creaking and a 3 meter cable.

Yes the older units do have a longer cable. I'm not able to agree to the creaking on them as a whole although we know some have had that issue.