[MarkF786]

When listening to the Elear, I find myself turning up the volume too much, maybe to make up for the dip in the midrange.  Surely it wouldn't be good for my hearing if I used them all the time.

That's one of the reasons I've been sticking to my HD650 and now Amiron as my everyday "go to" headphones, saving the Elear for limited listening sessions.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

@MarkF786  what amp and dac are you paring with the Elear and the Amiron? Currently using the Aurlic Taurus for amp section and the Hugo TT for my comparison. Curious in regards  to synergy... Going to switch over to a different amp soon.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

  I use Centrance Hifi-m8 via USB from my computer with spotify or foobar. For comparison I had modded HD800 (sd & anax 2), Ether Open and HD650. From what I have been reading, Elear should be smooth and warm sounding, at least more so than HD800 and Ether Open but honestly I can't confirm this. For my ears, HD650 is smoothest, followed closely but Ether Open which is a bit thin sounding and Elear is more on par with HD800 in terms of aggressiveness / listening fatigue / earpearcing.

I had tried ELear in so many set up, included direct from dap like Opus 2, AK380, Questyle QP1R, Sony Walkman A35, and desktop set up like Bakoon amp (various model), Masskobo, Woo Audio (WA5, WA6SE, WA8, WA7), Questyle 800R, Chord products (Dave, Hugo TT, Hugo, Mojo)etc.
 
Each of them have their own signature, but none of them could bring Elear as bright or aggresive in high freq. Elear is still sound warm, full body mid and bass with smooth high
 
I used to be had Centrance M8 too, in flat setting, it's not a bright system too.
 
Something is a bit weird here I guess.
 
What songs you like sir?

 

[doctorjazz]

Interesting how dramatically different people's impressions are of these. Not just the usual, where there is a trait that bothers some, not others, but Elear seems to be a whole different experience for some, sounds like people are listening to different headphones.
(don't know if it is related to impressions, but I found them to change a whole lot, for the better, with extensive burn in)

 

[MarkF786]

  @MarkF786  what amp and dac are you paring with the Elear and the Amiron? Currently using the Aurlic Taurus for amp section and the Hugo TT for my comparison. Curious in regards  to synergy... Going to switch over to a different amp soon.

 
I primarily use the Chord Mojo.

 

[Dvdlucena]

Does Elear resemble in any matter the focal utopia?

 

[x RELIC x]

I primarily use the Chord Mojo.

What volume?

 

[abvolt]

I've now been listening to my Elear's with a balanced cable which are  replacements, the first pair had a terrible distortion with them. These hp's seem to have gotten much better over the past 21 days since I've gotten them back, whether it's a break in time or just my ear's getting used to them not sure but they for the 1k price are beautiful sounding hp's.
 
Yes their are some haters of the Elear's but we all hear differently, I have no idea on how many hp's I've owned over the past 50 years but I can  say the Focal Elear's are among my favorites..enjoy
 
Here's something you guys might like looking at.
http://visual.ly/history-headphones 

 

[xinghui0711]

just received my Elear today. The soundstage is very strange and feels like "in your head" rather than spreading out like a regular headphone.
The bass is fairly punchy for an open design. Imaging and separation are surprisingly good though not as resolving as HD800. Very good detail and engaging sound.
The only thing that disappointed me is the comfort. Elear puts a lot of clamping pressure on my head... Which reminds me a bit of LCD series headphones which I couldnt withstand. I'll give it a week and see if the clamping force reduces.

 

[abvolt]

I've also noticed that the clamping  was too much but over time you'll find they are very comfortable hp's..enjoy

 

[frigginloony]

  I will be hated for saying this but my Elear is continuing to give me hearing loss with its extremely rough and agressive signature and its elevated highs. It might be even worse than stock HD800.

I don't think anyone would hate you for spending 1 K on headphones that sound like nails on a chalkboard to you Maibu. God knows, 1 K isn't chump change even in this day and time.  I think that maybe we would all like to help, particularly those of us who have them and enjoy them immensely.  But, there is so much involved in a headphone chain that could and often do effect sound quality that it is difficult to get any one suggestion to work for you given posting on a forum.  Perhaps the best suggestion is to take them back to who you purchased them from, ask them to help diagnose the problem and to provide a solution or solutions to the problem. Even if you bought them as a research buy vs a live audition, most dealers would be happy to help and if not, any reputable vendor SHOULD offer to provide an exchange or remedy the situation.
 
I learned this lesson the hard way too. When I bought my Grado 225's , they were my answer to finally hear my music as it was intended. However, after several long sessions, I finally put them away. My ears simply could not manage to adjust to their highs and since they were past exchange time, they became a paperweight on my work desk. 
 
In short, many if not most of us that watch this thread truly do enjoy the elear and feel that we not only got our money’s worth from them, but for many the hp is the end all be all for us. I'm not sure that a few posts in a forum is going to change what you are obviously hearing.  If my elear caused me hearing loss, I'd certainly be looking for a way out quickly and with as little monetary pain as possible. Good Luck!

 

[Rchandra]

The elear is a truly amazing headphone. I don't think people are realizing that spending $2000-$4000 on just a headphone NO DAC included is kinda sort of a rip off. I spent a ton of time listening to my collection of headphones from the utopia to the elear hell even my v moda m100 and I can honestly tell you thst after a while all the headphones kind of sort of begin to somewhat sound the same, i think headphone companies are trying to see how much they csn get away with. For example sony putting 70m drivers in a headphone ofcourse you will hear deep bass (duh) to me out of all the headphones that I own if i can keep one besides my utopia in all honesty I would keep the elear. Its different it sounds great looks great and to me is one of the best values for its price period. All other headphones sound only very small differences

 

[zeloutre]

The elear is a truly amazing headphone. I don't think people are realizing that spending $2000-$4000 on just a headphone NO DAC included is kinda sort of a rip off. I spent a ton of time listening to my collection of headphones from the utopia to the elear hell even my v moda m100 and I can honestly tell you thst after a while all the headphones kind of sort of begin to somewhat sound the same, i think headphone companies are trying to see how much they csn get away with. For example sony putting 70m drivers in a headphone ofcourse you will hear deep bass (duh) to me out of all the headphones that I own if i can keep one besides my utopia in all honesty I would keep the elear. Its different it sounds great looks great and to me is one of the best values for its price period. All other headphones sound only very small differences

This.

 

[Selbi]

Does anyone have a comparison between Fostex TH-900 and Focal Elears?

 

[maibuN]

  I don't think anyone would hate you for spending 1 K on headphones that sound like nails on a chalkboard to you Maibu. God knows, 1 K isn't chump change even in this day and time.  I think that maybe we would all like to help, particularly those of us who have them and enjoy them immensely.  But, there is so much involved in a headphone chain that could and often do effect sound quality that it is difficult to get any one suggestion to work for you given posting on a forum.  Perhaps the best suggestion is to take them back to who you purchased them from, ask them to help diagnose the problem and to provide a solution or solutions to the problem. Even if you bought them as a research buy vs a live audition, most dealers would be happy to help and if not, any reputable vendor SHOULD offer to provide an exchange or remedy the situation.
 
I learned this lesson the hard way too. When I bought my Grado 225's , they were my answer to finally hear my music as it was intended. However, after several long sessions, I finally put them away. My ears simply could not manage to adjust to their highs and since they were past exchange time, they became a paperweight on my work desk. 
 
In short, many if not most of us that watch this thread truly do enjoy the elear and feel that we not only got our money’s worth from them, but for many the hp is the end all be all for us. I'm not sure that a few posts in a forum is going to change what you are obviously hearing.  If my elear caused me hearing loss, I'd certainly be looking for a way out quickly and with as little monetary pain as possible. Good Luck!

 
Thanks for your help. I think my chain is fine, it is just the headphone that sucks. As a said even a non audiophile friend could instantly tell that there is something wrong with the elear but I will not have monetary pain selling it because I already bought it used for a cheap price, so everything is fine. I hope I didn't slow down the hype train