[Sound Eq]

To follow up that last post, I received my revised pad adapters today. Had them made using SLS/Nylon rather than FDM/ABS since FDM/ABS wasn't giving me the resolution/tolerances I wanted and ABS is fairly brittle and in-flexible.

Also made a couple of fitment adjustments and all is well. Had to clean them up a bit, smooth some edges, and clean out the gap where the pad lip inserts (due to how SLS printing takes place). All in all I'm pretty happy with the end result. (Got white because they were cheaper and you won't see them anyway).

from where can u buy those adapter and which pads do they fit as I am looking to replace the stock pads for bigger pads but not on the expense of sound quality

 

[Jazic]

I'd love to have a pair of rings as well to try a few different pads I have lying around.

 

[makne]

I'd love to have a pair of rings as well to try a few different pads I have lying around.

just hold the pads on the cups and put on your head, let the clamp force hold them in place. Try the different pads, if you like one just use a "weak" double-sided tape as a temporary solution. That's what I did

 

[lugnut]

What seems to set Focal apart from other manufacturers is that they don't offer out-of-warranty repairs on their headphones, even at the customer's expense; that is, they don't service out of warranty headphones at all. So the lack of replacement parts and no possibility of authorized repair makes a second-hand purchase a risky proposition. I'm now on my third pair of Elear's my first lasted maybe a week the second 9 months I'm waiting for my third pair to be shipped. I'd really like to consider the Focal Clear's but given the issues with the Elear's and no way of getting repairs after warranty are they worth it..enjoy

Out of warranty service is available. In some cases like Yoke damage are cost prohibitive in some cases. Simply put some types of repairs would prove to be more expensive than might be practical

What I would like to know about the out of service warranty is, driver failure. Not yokes or headband or cables, will a person be able to buy driver replacements when out of warranty ?

 

[TSAVJason]

What I would like to know about the out of service warranty is, driver failure. Not yokes or headband or cables, will a person be able to buy driver replacements when out of warranty ?

Fair question. It’s a very specialized soldering process. You can get the driver replaced but you wouldn’t want to try to attempt that yourself unless you happen to work at a facility that has the type of equipment required.

 

[Sound Eq]

just hold the pads on the cups and put on your head, let the clamp force hold them in place. Try the different pads, if you like one just use a "weak" double-sided tape as a temporary solution. That's what I did

i liked the angled leather pads by brainwavz but i am really looking for that adapter as a professional solution fit, the angled pads add just a little more bass it did not affect so much the mids in my opinion. The comfort level is much better with the brainwavz

I really hope to see those adapter rings being sold as this headphone is amazing and changing pads is something many would consider

 

[lugnut]

Fair question. It’s a very specialized soldering process. You can get the driver replaced but you wouldn’t want to try to attempt that yourself unless you happen to work at a facility that has the type of equipment required.

So are you saying they (Focal) would not install a driver into a pair of their headphones, out of service warranty ?

 

[TSAVJason]

So are you saying they (Focal) would not install a driver into a pair of their headphones, out of service warranty ?

How did you read that out of what I said. I’m saying the repair is so specialized you wouldn’t want to do it yourself. You absolutely want the factory being responsible for the repair and they will do the repairs.

 

[makne]

i liked the angled leather pads by brainwavz but i am really looking for that adapter as a professional solution fit, the angled pads add just a little more bass it did not affect so much the mids in my opinion. The comfort level is much better with the brainwavz

I really hope to see those adapter rings being sold as this headphone is amazing and changing pads is something many would consider

I see. Actually, there's been very little talk about pad-swapping on the Elear, compared to many other cans that also have a "normal" shaped cup.

I wonder if anyone have tried using flat pleather/leather pads on the Elear?
Personally I've only tried angled ones (ZMF) and while they helped with the 4k dip, ultimately I felt they lacked coherency and changed (expanded) the soundstage in an unnatural way. The soundstage and imaging felt impressive and improved at first, but further listening showed that it sounded the same on every track and was unprecise and unnatural.
This is something I've experiened with other cans aswell, when changing from stock flat pads to angled ones. That's why I suspect that it's the angle of the pads that screw up the soundstage, and am wondering what results flat leather pads would give.

 

[Sound Eq]

we really to get those rings to start proper pad swapping, i would be nice if focal releases different pads we can as clearly using different pads gives different sound impressions

and hopefully ones with bigger pads as to me they are not really over ear like an audeze pad as comfort is not the ultimate with stock pads

 

[lugnut]

How did you read that out of what I said. I’m saying the repair is so specialized you wouldn’t want to do it yourself. You absolutely want the factory being responsible for the repair and they will do the repairs.

Sorry if I misunderstood the above comment. However all I am asking for is a yes or no answer.
Will a person be able to buy driver replacements & have them installed by the factory when out of warranty ?

 

[TSAVJason]

Sorry if I misunderstood the above comment. However all I am asking for is a yes or no answer.
Will a person be able to buy driver replacements & have them installed by the factory when out of warranty ?

Yes

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

At Jazic, i did say yesterday, that the pair i baught crackled and they do, but i think it's only fair to say that i don't think that's normal for a lot of people but it has been for some.today i listened to the Elear's at RMAF and they do not crackle. They're closer to what i thought they'd sound like, and they do sound pretty good. Whomever asked how the Clear compared, IMO they are sooo much warmer than the elears. i definitely prefer them between the 2.

I found the complete opposite with the set up at RMAF. The Clears sound closer to the Utopia's sound signature with the tip of the highs rolled off. I am talking the very tip... I don't find the Utopias fatiguing but others seem to do? So other then the slight bass boost (compared to the Utopia) the second thing after multiple A/B was the Treble that I mentioned.

In my opinion this is totally in between the sound of the Elear and the Utopia. From warmest to neutral

 

[gardibolt]

This is my 10th day with the Elears and I have to say hot damn I love them. For me they're the perfect blend of warmth and clarity. Even on sale it was more than I thought I'd ever spend on headphones but so far not regretting it one bit. Zero problems, no crackle, comfy and just a delight

 

[ZenGentleman]

This is my 10th day with the Elears and I have to say hot damn I love them. For me they're the perfect blend of warmth and clarity. Even on sale it was more than I thought I'd ever spend on headphones but so far not regretting it one bit. Zero problems, no crackle, comfy and just a delight

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm on my 5th day and I am thrilled with these headphones. A clear upgrade in most ways from my Sennheiser HD700's, minus their amazing sound staging and imaging. It's been such a thrill to go back and listen to some of my favorite albums through these Elears and experience noticeably more musical enjoyment and emotional connection to the music. The "open box" pricing at Moon Audio made this expensive purchase possible. However, now I'm considering upgrading my Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 OTL headphone amp with a solid state amp to see if I can squeeze out some better sound staging and imaging. I loved the Valhalla 2 with the Sennheiser HD700's, taming a bit of their analytical tendencies, but maybe there is a better pairing for the Elears? If anyone has any positive experiences/suggestions pairing a sub-$1K headphone amp to the Elears, I'd love to hear them.