[bronzboy]

So right now I have a gungnir multibit feeding into an Asgard 2 for my Elear. Would an amp like the Mjolnir 2 be a significant step up in clarity / sound quality? I listen to a little of everything (classic rock, alt / indie rock, electronic, hip hop, synth pop) and always FLAC or DSD. Also I tend to prefer solid state over tubes (at least that's what I concluded when I had a Valhalla for several months), so would prob go w/ the LISST tubes. I don't mind spending the money if the advantages are tangible. Certainly the Asgard 2 puts out enough power, even in low gain mode.

I'm using a Bifrost Multi-bit and I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading to the Gungnir. When I first got my Elear I was using an Asgard 2, which sounded great, and then I switched to a Liguid Carbon (balanced), and I'm in heaven. Now, I'm thinking about that Gungnir. What do you think about it. I see you're thinking about the Jot; here's a great review by John Darko - http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/03/schiits-jotunheim-entry-level-endgame-head-fi/

 

[prazvt]

I'm using a Bifrost Multi-bit and I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading to the Gungnir. When I first got my Elear I was using an Asgard 2, which sounded great, and then I switched to a Liguid Carbon (balanced), and I'm in heaven. Now, I'm thinking about that Gungnir. What do you think about it. I see you're thinking about the Jot; here's a great review by John Darko - http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/03/schiits-jotunheim-entry-level-endgame-head-fi/

Compared to my previous Wyred4Sound DAC1, the Gungnir was much less bright and more detailed. Upgrading to multi-bit improved things even more. I read somewhere that the Schiit guys said there's not a lot of difference b/t bifrost multi-bit and gungnir multibit if you're using single ended connections. So my guess is that your amp upgrade has been more impactful than a DAC upgrade. (but just my speculation).

 

[Jackpot77]

Hi guys - new owner of the Elear here, so been reading through chunks of the thread - quickly learning it seems to be Schiit or bust when it comes to amping suggestions for these cans!

For anyone who likes rambling unboxing impressions and pictures, have posted something up on the other blog I write on this afternoon, so feel free to check it out.

https://audioprimate.blog/2017/08/04/focal-elear-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/

If anyone has any suggestions apart from the Mojo for a good portable source with decent synergy for these, please let me know - or is it the general opinion that these need a desktop rig to really get the most out of them?

 

[makne]

Hi guys - new owner of the Elear here, so been reading through chunks of the thread - quickly learning it seems to be Schiit or bust when it comes to amping suggestions for these cans!

For anyone who likes rambling unboxing impressions and pictures, have posted something up on the other blog I write on this afternoon, so feel free to check it out.

https://audioprimate.blog/2017/08/04/focal-elear-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/

If anyone has any suggestions apart from the Mojo for a good portable source with decent synergy for these, please let me know - or is it the general opinion that these need a desktop rig to really get the most out of them?

The Elears don't really need a lot of power as they're quite efficient, recommendation of the Jot is more because it's just a great amp. Schiit's multibit dacs are great price/performance too, so that's probably why they're so popular. Elears are really resolving, and benefit a lot from a good dac.
I think a lot of people successfully use Elear with Mojo, personally I use a Hugo and I love the combo. Plenty power for the Elear, preferred this combo over the more powerful Oppo HA-1 for example. Only thing I noticed is that the Elear had more powerful and fuller bass on HA-1, but I don't know if that's because of power differences or sound signatures. I prefer the leaner, tighter bass on the Hugo though, sounds more natural to me.

 

[imbroke]

Ok I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the WA8 Eclipse, can I get some input on the pairing and how it is with the elear? Unable to demo so would be very nice to have some input

 

[makne]

Ok I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the WA8 Eclipse, can I get some input on the pairing and how it is with the elear? Unable to demo so would be very nice to have some input

The Elear is already slightly on the warm side, so a tube amp wouldn't be my preference. I haven't heard the WA8 though, just my 2 cents.

 

[abvolt]

I got to say the Elear's sound really fine with a tube amp currently my favorite hp's..

 

[Ampeezy]

Have had these phones for close to two months, and I prefer these over the sr-007, lcd-2, and the HE-X. Those I drove with dedicated Dacs and Amps, like the KGSSHV for the sr-007, but I am only driving these with a Asus STX II sound card, and though I have been tempted to purchase the mojo I am really just loving the sound. These phones sound faster and more resolving than the setups I had before. May not have a massive soundstage, but damn they sound so good. Really good stuff from Focal. Honestly, I am going to keep these until I am in a position to buy the Utopia.

One compaint was a slight roughness to the sound that has gone away with use, also my upgrade to an UP-OCC cable helped even more. Really detailed and smooth now.

This is with Tidal Hifi being streamed via Roon. I would invest in either roon or Amarra as they sound noticeably better than the stock tidal player. Roon might burn a hole in your bank acct though. Were I to use a car metaphor I would say Amarra is like a run down car with a surprisingly clean interior (SQ), and Roon is like a brand spanking new Bugatti Veyron. You can imgaine how the interior looks...

 

[abvolt]

The Elear's are easy to drive, the stx II is a decent sound card I've owned one, how is the tidal play list I'm using spotify their list is just massive is size..enjoy

 

[Ampeezy]

The Elear's are easy to drive, the stx II is a decent sound card I've owned one, how is the tidal play list I'm using spotify their list is just massive is size..enjoy

Tidal has a pretty big selection as well, though unfortunately not as large as spotify's. I used spotify before I switched, and yes, there are one or two songs that you wont find on tidal. However for me that is a rare occurence. It would depend on your music tastes, but for me Tidal is a no brainer.

I also upgrade the muses opamps with the Burson V5i and it was quite the improvement. I ordered the v6 vivid, so I'm excited to hear that.

Sorry for straying a bit off topic

 

[makne]

Have had these phones for close to two months, and I prefer these over the sr-007, lcd-2, and the HE-X. Those I drove with dedicated Dacs and Amps, like the KGSSHV for the sr-007, but I am only driving these with a Asus STX II sound card, and though I have been tempted to purchase the mojo I am really just loving the sound. These phones sound faster and more resolving than the setups I had before. May not have a massive soundstage, but damn they sound so good. Really good stuff from Focal. Honestly, I am going to keep these until I am in a position to buy the Utopia.

One compaint was a slight roughness to the sound that has gone away with use, also my upgrade to an UP-OCC cable helped even more. Really detailed and smooth now.

This is with Tidal Hifi being streamed via Roon. I would invest in either roon or Amarra as they sound noticeably better than the stock tidal player. Roon might burn a hole in your bank acct though. Were I to use a car metaphor I would say Amarra is like a run down car with a surprisingly clean interior (SQ), and Roon is like a brand spanking new Bugatti Veyron. You can imgaine how the interior looks...

I also found the Elear superior to the HEX and LCD-2
Haven't heard your soundcard, but I think any dac upgrade will be pretty substantial on the Elear as they are really resolving.
I also use Roon to stream Tidal. I haven't noticed any difference in SQ as long as you use ASIO or WASAPI on both. But the interface and DSP possibilities in Roon makes it worth the price imo.

 

[mtoc]

this is also the pretty popular cans (besides m1060) in recent years

 

[jbsu30]

I bought the Audeze Deckard . While I wait, what gain setting are you guys using with it ?

Any idea ?

 

[alota]

i´m concerned because i sold the hugo before to buy the elear. i´m pretty happy about ibasso dx200-elear but the volume is near to maximum. now i ordered a balanced black widow from toxic cables because in balanced mode the ibasso is 6V. i will write my impressions.
but i´m really tempted to buy a mojo for the elear.

 

[Brahmsian]

How does classical music sound on the Elear, particularly orchestras? I'm sure the Utopia's better but not interested in $4,000 headphones. Elear sounds appealing because it's supposedly easy to drive. I'm working with DFR and ME2, two very small amps. I hear the Elear doesn't have a vast soundstage, but even for classical that's not my number one concern. I hear pianos sound nice on the Elear.