[MarkF786]

I hadn't used my Elear's for a year or two then got them out tonight and the left driver is dead. Yeah, I swapped the cables and did all the necessary troubleshooting to rule out other gear.

Oddly, I've seen reports that it's a common problem (though I'm baffled why only the left). Was there any common issue & fix identified?

I'll give it another look when I have more time & light, though obviously only a simple connection to resolder would be repairable from home; can't do much about a bad driver. Sadly, I'm past the five years.

Kinda crappy for a headphone that I put less than 100 hours on to fail. And I just bought the Utopia 2022!

 

[regaet]

I have lived in fear of driver failure for almost 3 years (Feb 2020) and recently bought a pair of open box Elegias from Adorama for $339. Thought if my Elears failed I would still have the "house" sound for less money than driver replacement or the cost of a pair of Elex. After about 150+ hours of break-in, I prefer them to my Elears. I just saw that they reduced the price to $279 which I think is an absolute steal. Just thought I'd pass it along.

 

[volly]

For what it's worth....I had a local electronic shop give me a quote to fix the Elear's.

800 bucks for new balanced drivers straight from Focal. They don't sell them seperately either. Just a hard No. I'm sorry, I love these headphones but No.

Greatly soured my experience with Focal unfortunately, I have other headphones but I will miss the Elear!

 

[MarkF786]

Has anyone tried swapping Elegia drivers into a pair of Elear? The left driver died is my barely-used Elear; they've been stored in their case for a year or so, working fine when I last used them. With the currently price of the Elegia, it's a tempting way to fix the Elear.

 

[flaxton]

I hadn't used my Elear's for a year or two then got them out tonight and the left driver is dead. Yeah, I swapped the cables and did all the necessary troubleshooting to rule out other gear.

Oddly, I've seen reports that it's a common problem (though I'm baffled why only the left). Was there any common issue & fix identified?

I'll give it another look when I have more time & light, though obviously only a simple connection to resolder would be repairable from home; can't do much about a bad driver. Sadly, I'm past the five years.

Kinda crappy for a headphone that I put less than 100 hours on to fail. And I just bought the Utopia 2022!

The same thing has happened to me. Have not used them for a few months. Left driver dead. Tried different cable same thing. Had a new cable and new pads. What a waste of money. Very disappointed.

 

[flaxton]

I hadn't used my Elear's for a year or two then got them out tonight and the left driver is dead. Yeah, I swapped the cables and did all the necessary troubleshooting to rule out other gear.

Oddly, I've seen reports that it's a common problem (though I'm baffled why only the left). Was there any common issue & fix identified?

I'll give it another look when I have more time & light, though obviously only a simple connection to resolder would be repairable from home; can't do much about a bad driver. Sadly, I'm past the five years.

Kinda crappy for a headphone that I put less than 100 hours on to fail. And I just bought the Utopia 2022!

Did you manage to get the headphones repaired. I have the same problem.

 

[MarkF786]

Did you manage to get the headphones repaired. I have the same problem.

Sadly, no.

 

[Nada]

Did you manage to get the headphones repaired. I have the same problem.

Early model? What's the date of manufacture on them, roughly?

 

[flaxton]

Early model? What's the date of manufacture on them, roughly?

I purchased them two years ago. They were used. From eBay.

 

[Kimmeri]

I purchased them two years ago. They were used. From eBay.

There is a serial number under the other earcup and you can check the the age from a Focal website.

 

[Flyfisher 60]

I thought I'd share my experience with the Elear... I bought a pair in 2017 and used them briefly then boxed them up. Yesterday I pulled them out to give them a listen and the left channel was dead. I did a bit of research and called Focal US. They gave me another Focal number and I ended up leaving a message. As I read all the horror stories I decided to try my luck and popped the left cup open. I removed the tiny screws and found the two thinnest wires running from the voice coil to the negative and positive plates. I unsoldered the plate side on both. Note, these things are tiny and I used magnifying glass to do this.
The first time I tried and got nothing but I saw I had a cold solder so I tried again. As it stands I'm listening to Yuko Mabuchi through my Elears as I write. It was a little scary as the wires are thin and I'm not sure I would have been able to repair them if the bad connection had been on the voice coil.
Anyway, I thought I share for those of you feeling adventurous and not needing a pair of $1000.00 paperweights.

 

[jasonb]

I thought I'd share my experience with the Elear... I bought a pair in 2017 and used them briefly then boxed them up. Yesterday I pulled them out to give them a listen and the left channel was dead. I did a bit of research and called Focal US. They gave me another Focal number and I ended up leaving a message. As I read all the horror stories I decided to try my luck and popped the left cup open. I removed the tiny screws and found the two thinnest wires running from the voice coil to the negative and positive plates. I unsoldered the plate side on both. Note, these things are tiny and I used magnifying glass to do this.
The first time I tried and got nothing but I saw I had a cold solder so I tried again. As it stands I'm listening to Yuko Mabuchi through my Elears as I write. It was a little scary as the wires are thin and I'm not sure I would have been able to repair them if the bad connection had been on the voice coil.
Anyway, I thought I share for those of you feeling adventurous and not needing a pair of $1000.00 paperweights.

I just don’t understand how they are dying while they are sitting boxed up. This of course isn’t the first time I’ve heard of them just being dead the next time they get used. I’ve had mine for almost 3 years and in the back of my mind I wonder when mine are going to die.

I just don’t know what I’d replace them with. I bought mine with some of the money from the first government corona check, otherwise idk if I ever would have bought a $600 headphone.

 

[Kimmeri]

What Im taking from the last pages of this thread is dont leave your Elears to sit unused for a long periods of time. Fire them up at least once a week.

 

[Flyfisher 60]

I'm guessing the contacts oxidize? I didn't even add new solder, just melted down the existing glob and made sure the wire was in the correct spot when it hardened. The tar like substance they coat the wire with may have everything to do with it I'm guessing. All I know is that they are working and I saved a ton of cash I didn't have to spend on repair.

 

[Flyfisher 60]