[Ysound]

Does the Elear sounds bright?

 

[strojo]

I would definitely NOT characterize them as bright.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

yeah I don't either. If anything they are warm, yet the treble gets good extension. It just isn't piercing

 

[dontfeedphils]

For anyone interested in experimenting with different pads, I'm having my first revision of an aftermarket pad adapter I mocked up printed this week. Only worried about post/hole alignment at this point.

 

[guliver]

For anyone interested in experimenting with different pads, I'm having my first revision of an aftermarket pad adapter I mocked up printed this week. Only worried about post/hole alignment at this point.

Would you mind to share the file I might be able to do a print on my friend 3D printer?

 

[TSAVJason]

My Elears are a fantastic match with my Feliks Euphoria and Elise. The Beyer T1s (600 ohms) don't get any playing time at all.

You should put a caption with your icon of "What me worry?" I always liked that from mad magazine

 

[makne]

For anyone interested in experimenting with different pads, I'm having my first revision of an aftermarket pad adapter I mocked up printed this week. Only worried about post/hole alignment at this point.

Nice! Looks very interesting.
Haven't seen people have too much success pad-swapping the Elear, apart from one mod mentioned earlier here. Would be fun if someone explored more on the topic though.
Personally I tried them with angled pleathers and flat velours, and didn't like it. I didn't mod them in any other way though, no foam over drivers etc.
If I still had my Elears, I'd be pretty interested in these and doing more pad-rolling.

 

[makne]

Does the Elear sounds bright?

Not bright no. Slightly on the warm side of neutral, with a 4k dip that gives the tonality a little laid-back signature, love it or hate it.
A lot of people have described it as a more balanced HD650, I don't fully agree on that but in terms of dark/bright tonality it's about right.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Nice! Looks very interesting.
Haven't seen people have too much success pad-swapping the Elear, apart from one mod mentioned earlier here. Would be fun if someone explored more on the topic though.
Personally I tried them with angled pleathers and flat velours, and didn't like it. I didn't mod them in any other way though, no foam over drivers etc.
If I still had my Elears, I'd be pretty interested in these and doing more pad-rolling.

I auditioned them at a local dealer and fell in love. After a couple of weeks I was starting to sour on them due to the mid-bass hump and the upper-mids recession (coming from HD600 it's a little understandable), but I love everything else about them. I'm running HM5 angled pleather pads with 1/4 thick charcoal foam over the driver. It seems to have smoothed out the mid-bass hump a bit, brought out the upper-mid recession, and made the treble nice and smooth, but not on the dull side.

Once I have the final revision finished and fitment confirmed I can share the file with those interested.

 

[makne]

I auditioned them at a local dealer and fell in love. After a couple of weeks I was starting to sour on them due to the mid-bass hump and the upper-mids recession (coming from HD600 it's a little understandable), but I love everything else about them. I'm running HM5 angled pleather pads with 1/4 thick charcoal foam over the driver. It seems to have smoothed out the mid-bass hump a bit, brought out the upper-mid recession, and made the treble nice and smooth, but not on the dull side.

Once I have the final revision finished and fitment confirmed I can share the file with those interested.

Yeah I've seen that on another site, looks great! I couldn't seem to find any of the charcoal foam in Norway though, so I never bothered with it myself. Using just the angled pleather pads I felt like the sound was thinned out too much, voices in particular lacked body and sounded a little nasal. Soundstage was expanded by quite a bit, but felt unnatural and less precise to me. With that said the pads I used were HM5's bought from ebay, so I have a suspicion that they're knock-offs. With genuine pads and charcoal foam, I'm sure the result would've been different. I'll keep your mod in mind if (when) I decide to buy the Elears back

 

[USP40guy]

There is so much subjectivity with the Elear let alone all headfi topics... The biggest questions that should be thought about should be- (my opinion of course!!)
"Have you had your hearing tested? or, how old are your ears?"
"What headphones have you heard in the past to be able to compare to the Elear?"
"What sound signature do YOU ultimately prefer?"

I feel like these 3 questions can explain A LOT to what people say about a headphone and therefore the take away from it. Granted it could take a while to explain all that ha. Tyll's impression of a headphone is different then a ton of peoples. But knowing what Tyll ultimately appreciates can greatly help someone choose for them self.

Absolutely true statement you have with the questions....

If you are accustomed to listening to certain sonic signatures, anything else may sound foreign to someone: too warm, too bright, too thin, too shouty, too....whatever. I just went through that with Senn HD650. I tried to like them, because I'd read so many audio critics praise them as their reference for evaluating all others. That usually means they do everything right - but clearly they admit they are imperfect in some things. I started doubting my own critical listening. I ultimately found them to be just too inaccurate and instrumentally unrealistic. Songs I knew intimately on my Magneplanar's sounded indistinct on the Senn's. But others like their musicality, their rolled-off top and their laid-back sound, but I just couldn't reconcile my own impressions and knew over time I'd stop using them. I did even more research and it is so hard to find a consistent positive opinion on anything -- except the more expensive headphones. I've now ordered the Elear's because they seem to match the kind of sonic similarity to the MG 1.6's - fast, dynamic, neutral (too a degree), and a tendency towards accuracy to what instruments truly sound like.

Also, the opinions are formed by many reviewers (my own included) using the equipment they currently have for their existing headphone. A certain DAC/amp/headphone pairing may sound great. Change headphones and factors such as SPL, impedance, etc may skew an opinion negatively when comparing one headphone to another. Perhaps another amp better suited would change their mind? Perhaps that other amp paired with their beloved phones may sound awful? So I take the opinions to be valid - but it just makes it hard to know if you are going to feel disappointed with any set of headphones unless you know all the variables and listen to the same kind of music the same way as that reviewer does.

I'm sure that so many people can't all be wrong about the Senn 600/650 being quality phones. So my own experiment proved that although countless threads had encouraging success stories about pairing the OPPO BDP-105 with the HD650, my own experience was not so.

 

[BubbaJay]

Not bright no. Slightly on the warm side of neutral, with a 4k dip that gives the tonality a little laid-back signature, love it or hate it.
A lot of people have described it as a more balanced HD650, I don't fully agree on that but in terms of dark/bright tonality it's about right.

Yeah, I wouldn't call them a more balanced HD650 either, though they do have similar signatures. The Elear is a bit more detailed than the HD650 with better bass texture and highs that are more crisp and clean. I also don't mind the 4k dip, my original HE-400 had a dip in about the same area so maybe I'm used to it by now.

 

[Ampeezy]

I feel like there have been an increase in negative impressions of the Elear lately. Most of the posts I can understand, but some of the most negative ones are just beyond me. Like someone claiming that the HD650 sounds better, whaat?

Personally I really like the Elear, as I've stated before. It's biggest flaw for me is the 4k dip which can give them a honky-ish sound in the midrange. This I can fix pretty easily with EQ, although that introduces just a slight graininess in some vocals. The other flaws that are mentioned: Bloated bass, zingy treble, poor soundstage etc... I just can't hear it. I mean, the soundstage isn't massively expansive like the HD800, but it isn't bad IMO. Width is decent and I have no problems with depth either, although with that said I usually prefer a more intimate presentation of vocals.

The Elear is still my "endgame" for dynamic/planar, I've heard quite a few 1000$+ competitors and IMO the Elear can compete with pretty much anything.
With that said I actually sold my Elears about a week ago (I miss them already lol). Sold them in favor of a Stax system, imo electrostats have an amazing clarity and resolution that can't be matched by normal dynamics/planars. Still, with the Elear's many great qualities, I might end up buying them back one day.

I use Tidal via Roon and add a boost at 4kz, really really improves the experience for me. These drivers are amazing, but the tuning was not the best possible. I use the Essence STX II with the new Burson V6 vivids and boy am I having a good time. This is what Hi Fi should sound like.

And let me tell you this too, I owned the stax sr-007. They were spritzer modded to give the bass more tautness and get rid of a pretty bad bloat. It worked excellently with the KGSSHV carbon which is like a crazy powerful amp running at 20ma. I can say that the elears on this very modest setup on my gaming rig are a better experience.


The one thing stax had going for it was a very dark background, but the elears come close enough that it is not obvious to me. The elears on this setup are more resolving to my ears and just a lot more musical. The sr-009 would best the elears for sure though, but that could very well be a matter of preference.

 

[makne]

I use Tidal via Roon and add a boost at 4kz, really really improves the experience for me. These drivers are amazing, but the tuning was not the best possible. I use the Essence STX II with the new Burson V6 vivids and boy am I having a good time. This is what Hi Fi should sound like.

And let me tell you this too, I owned the stax sr-007. They were spritzer modded to give the bass more tautness and get rid of a pretty bad bloat. It worked excellently with the KGSSHV carbon which is like a crazy powerful amp running at 20ma. I can say that the elears on this very modest setup on my gaming rig are a better experience.


The one thing stax had going for it was a very dark background, but the elears come close enough that it is not obvious to me. The elears on this setup are more resolving to my ears and just a lot more musical. The sr-009 would best the elears for sure though, but that could very well be a matter of preference.

I also use Roon to stream tidal, and used a 4k boost like you (although a little more aggressive bump). Powered the Elears with a Chord Hugo.

To me, the Stax setups I listened to (L300, L700 and 009) were in another league when it came to resolution, detail retrieval, separation and just a natural-sounding treble. They were all easily superior to all dynamic/planars I've heard in this regard, maybe except the Susvara.
The Elear does have a more expansive soundstage than the Lambdas, and is also way more dynamic, punchy and engaging. They're still what I'd call my dynamic/planar end-game. But in the end, I just knew I needed the clarity of electrostats in my life. Haven't heard the 007 sadly, but obviously it's down to personal preference as they have very different strengths and presentations.

 

[Bern2]

I'd like to take advantage of the sale on the Elear's...but have been scared off with comments regarding the low end "bottoming out". Can these headphones handle EQ in the sub-bass region? I will probably wait til next year regardless...I've already spent my HP allowance for the year. But trying to come up with some ideas. Atticus is also on my maybe list.

Bern