[H-Money]

More thoughts on the Elears.
 
It reminds me of my band/music days,
 
I was always seated in front of the snare or bass drum (I played the trumpet).
 
So I could always feel the snare or the bass drum.

 

[TWerk]

  Anyone compare the Elear to an HE6?
If one owns the HE6 is there any reason for the Elear?

Gathered thus far it has bass but not as much LCDs?
Its bright but not quite as T1 or HD800?
Mids vs.HE-500?

Sound stage? Imaging?

Sound about right?

 
I don't think anything can beat HE-500 mids.

 

[Monsterzero]

   
I don't think anything can beat HE-500 mids.

One can only hope,right?

 

[TWerk]

Have you heard anything with better mids?
 
He-500 puts vocals just front and center. To me, they are made for mid-range, and they do amazing for it.
 
(Not that it has poor bass/treble at all, but the spotlight is centered in the midrange)

 

[Monsterzero]

  Have you heard anything with better mids?
 
He-500 puts vocals just front and center. To me, they are made for mid-range, and they do amazing for it.
 
(Not that it has poor bass/treble, but the spotlight is centered in the midrange)

no,I havent based upon whats good vs.bad...HE-500 has the best mids ive heard thus far.

As far as preferences go with certain types of music tho I actually prefer my 40 year old AKG sextetts for old skool metal over the HE-500s.

The presentation is like the guitar players are standing right next to you,and imaging is tight.Its a much more aggressive in-your-face presentation that works great for guitar driven metal.

 

 

[xrayman]

Personally I found the sound signature of the he-500 to be too boring. It makes the music more analytical and less entertaining. Maybe more importantly, I found them very annoying over a long period of time. Not comfortable, quite heavy and the clamp way too right. Ears get way too warm with those guys. The D5000 are much much better in the comfort department. Albeit being heavier than the D5000, the Elear are also very comfortable and do not feel their presence over a long period of time.

As for the vocals go, Elear >> he-500 > D5000

 

[abvolt]

I also own the he-500's great hp's their sound is really nice but the Elear's have them in a big way imo in every way better..enjoy  

 

[TWerk]

You think the Elear mids are better than the HE-500 mids? Vocals? 
 
Just curious, why do you keep the HE-500 if the Elear is better in every way?

 

[Monsterzero]

  I also own the he-500's great hp's their sound is really nice but the Elear's have them in a big way imo in every way better..enjoy  

I wont touch this since I have never heard an Elear,but my original question is unanswered....

If I already own an HE6,is there any reason to pursue an Elear?

 

[abvolt]

  I wont touch this since I have never heard an Elear,but my original question is unanswered....

If I already own an HE6,is there any reason to pursue an Elear?

 
Dude I think you owe it to your self to at least take a listen these hp's they are so dynamic so good  you really should give them a try, better then the he-6  can't say but if the he-6's are just a little better then the he-500's then no way..enjoy 

 

[deutschemark]

Was fortunate to be a tour member for TTVJ's Elear loaner program and posted the following on that thread. 


So first off, thanks again to Todd for making this loaner program a reality, and my apologies for the week delay in putting up my impressions from my time with the Elear.

First impressions - a quality piece of hardware..........no question.  The box, presentation and looks are first class all the way. The Elear feels quality, looks quality and is built like a tank with refined fit and finish.  Overall the looks of the headphone are basic and understated - it's classic looks and feel in your hands like a well made piece of equipment. 

How I listen - all I own are vintage speaker amps - 8 systems in all and all in use in various locations.  Pioneer is my manufacturer of choice and the flagship is the Spec 1 pre/Spec 2 amp combo in the rack system shown below.  I feed it with either an iPhone6 through a NuForce iDo DAC, a Pioneer CD player or you guessed it, a Pioneer vintage turntable.  For the Elear audition I played a variety of Smooth Jazz music (Paul Harcastle, Paul Taylor, Rick Braun to name a few artists), Rush 2112 and for a change of genre, a bit of classical in the form of The Nutcracker (a favorite of mine from my daughter's ballerina days dancing the lead in a local production of the Nutcracker). 

A few initial comments - the Elear felt heavy to me and the clamp was a bit tighter than I preferred (and I like a firm clamp) much like the Senn 650 but because of the added weight it felt a bit too tight, too heavy, and therefore a bit on the uncomfortable side to me.  The next item I noticed was how CLOSED they sound to me - even putting my hands around the cups had little impact on the soundstaging so honestly it was a bit of a surprise.  Also a surprise - how dark they are - very bass-capable, normally a huge plus in my book as I'm a reformed/audiophile basshead.  My system allows for both EQ (both with the tone controls of my Spec 1 preamp and in the form of a hardware EQ in the chain) as well as electronic EQ profiling (both with the iPhone6 app I run my playlists through - EQ10 which I highly recommend by the way and my Chase RLC-1 remote control/preamp) which allows for a huge amount of fine tuning ability.  So for the purists, I am the anti-purist I guess - I like being able to make the music sound exactly how I want it. 

Overall sound - the thing is............I have a pair of HE-6's that are fully modded and fed from the Spec system from the speaker taps and honestly, after owning and/or auditioning over 60 headphones now, nothing comes close to the HE-6.  Nothing.  The bass on them is visceral and the overall sound to my ears is almost to the point that I wonder if anything can beat them.  So the Elear had an uphill battle on it's hands - I chose to not listen to the HE-6 for a few days before the Elear arrived and did not A/B them against each other till the final day of having the Elear in the house - I wanted to let my mind acclimate to the Elear sound and see if it was a possible replacement for the HE-6.  Well, the Elear sounds good - very good, but it is not a HE-6 killer - the search continues - not that I want to replace the HE-6 but if I find something better I WILL switch. 

What I felt was outstanding on the Elear was the tonal quality - I'm not sure how to describe it but the sound was just so................good.  Very musical and crisp with all areas sounding excellent - treble, bass and mids are well represented.  Mids especially were a nice revelation - female vocals (Hardcastle has his daughter do vocals on some of his songs) are excellent.  I kept going back to the disappointment I felt though with the closed in sound - I love open back headphones and these just didn't sound like an open back headphone.  Listened to a few key passages off the Nutcracker CD, comparing the HE-6 and Elear and the HD700.  The Elear clearly was the most closed in sound - though the positional cues were good they still were in my head - if that makes any sense. 

Overall I'd put the Elear in my top 5 - below the HE-6, Dharma (which is my second favorite open back), HD800 (anyone who thinks they are bass light has not heard them out of a vintage speaker amp!) Denon LA7000 all best it in my preferences. 

Thanks for your input but I'm really scratching my head at the comment about how closed they sound. I agree with the almost universally accepted notion that these are extremely open headphones. I placed my hands over the cups and they changed everything about the headphone in an extremely negative way. Not even a remotely similar soundstage.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thanks for your input but I'm really scratching my head at the comment about how closed they sound. I agree with the almost universally accepted notion that these are extremely open headphones. I placed my hands over the cups and they changed everything about the headphone in an extremely negative way. Not even a remotely similar soundstage.

It is perhaps relative to what other headphone the user is comparing them to.

 

[abvolt]

  You think the Elear mids are better than the HE-500 mids? Vocals? 
 
Just curious, why do you keep the HE-500 if the Elear is better in every way?

The Elear's are better in ever way, Dude I'm saying you need to find out why these are so good listen to them you'll see ..enjoy 

 

[Monsterzero]

  The Elear's are better in ever way, Dude I'm saying you need to find out why these are so good listen to them you'll see ..enjoy 

Im not debating with you on it,cuz,as I said I havent heard The Elear yet,so anything I say to the contrary would be ignorant fanboydom.

Considering a used pair of HE-500s can be found for around 450-500usd these days,and to my ears theyre the best mids Ive personally heard,its a tough sell.

Many headphones claim the title of FotM,and then once the newness goes away,more practical and unbiased opinions start rolling in.Im not saying thats the case here...all I am saying is the HE-500s have been around for many years and many will agree that their mids are top notch.

If im gonna shell out a grand or so for new headphones I dont want a tad better,or a sidegrade...Im looking for something clearly on a whole new level of what I already own.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Im not debating with you on it,cuz,as I said I havent heard The Elear yet,so anything I say to the contrary would be ignorant fanboydom.

Considering a used pair of HE-500s can be found for around 450-500usd these days,and to my ears theyre the best mids Ive personally heard,its a tough sell.

Many headphones claim the title of FotM,and then once the newness goes away,more practical and unbiased opinions start rolling in.Im not saying thats the case here...all I am saying is the HE-500s have been around for many years and many will agree that their mids are top notch.

If im gonna shell out a grand or so for new headphones I dont want a tad better,or a sidegrade...Im looking for something clearly on a whole new level of what I already own.

Fair enough, and time will tell if the Elear is really as good as all that, and they could be, but I agree, with any new headphone you need to wait for the shine to come off sometimes.