[TSAVJason]

With the Elear deal, do you have to pay the full price up front and reimbursed later or do you just pay the sale price ?

No! The discount is at the point of purchase. You pay the $699 for the Elear and $2999 for the Utopia. Shipping and tax may vary depending on the dealer but the Focal Factory sale is straight, no rebates or back side money.

 

[jamescheru]

After eyeing the headphones for over an year, I finally made the purchase. I use my Astell&Kern AK70 as the source and am planning to connect the headphones directly to the player. Do you guys have any thoughts on that ? Should I be immediately budgeting for an amplifier (I'm sure it makes the sound better) ? Cant wait for the headphones to reach me.

Couldn't find the very useful search thread tool in new head-fi .

 

[dontfeedphils]

After eyeing the headphones for over an year, I finally made the purchase. I use my Astell&Kern AK70 as the source and am planning to connect the headphones directly to the player. Do you guys have any thoughts on that ? Should I be immediately budgeting for an amplifier (I'm sure it makes the sound better) ? Cant wait for the headphones to reach me.

Couldn't find the very useful search thread tool in new head-fi .

I don't really consider these portable cans, given that, and the fact that they seem to fair well with decent power SS amps, I would start saving up your schmeckles for a desktop amp. I'm currently running an Asgard 2 and I'm pretty happy, but plan on moving up to the Jot for balanced output and better power/flexibility driving other cans.

That being said, they're still great un-amped.

 

[strojo]

After eyeing the headphones for over an year, I finally made the purchase. I use my Astell&Kern AK70 as the source and am planning to connect the headphones directly to the player. Do you guys have any thoughts on that ? Should I be immediately budgeting for an amplifier (I'm sure it makes the sound better) ? Cant wait for the headphones to reach me.

Couldn't find the very useful search thread tool in new head-fi .

I drive them with my Sony WM1A portable player and have no problems getting them to sound great. I would try them with your player first before you drop money on an amp you may not need.

 

[makne]

After eyeing the headphones for over an year, I finally made the purchase. I use my Astell&Kern AK70 as the source and am planning to connect the headphones directly to the player. Do you guys have any thoughts on that ? Should I be immediately budgeting for an amplifier (I'm sure it makes the sound better) ? Cant wait for the headphones to reach me.

Couldn't find the very useful search thread tool in new head-fi .

They don't need a lot of power to shine. The stock cable is 1/4" and there's no 3.5mm adapter though.

 

[makne]

The texture on the Elear is insane. Subtle vibrato. Hand claps, finger snaps... not splashy at all. Even though the bass isn't that loud, it pushes so much air and doesn't roll-off like the planars I've heard. If it the treble dips weren't as steep it would be a bit more technically neutral to my ears but also maybe more fatiguing.

And yeah, the cable is of quality but ridiculously long and heavy. The aftermarket is happy.

These are definitely end-game for me. I didn't know a single headphone could do all this. It sounds pretty fantastic with the grace m9XX, btw. I'm sure when I get the CTH in the added power will help, but for now I'm digging my set-up.

Hand claps, finger snaps etc. sound great in the Elear yes, stuff like that really shines with the Elear's dynamics. You could try a small eq boost at 4kHz, gave voices and acoustic instruments a little more presence for me. If you're too aggressive with the EQ you may introduce some grain-ish, but just around 3dB should sound great, and a little more neutral without more fatigue.

 

[geoffalter11]

They don't need a lot of power to shine. The stock cable is 1/4" and there's no 3.5mm adapter though.

That is true. But, they sure do love power. I power witha Wells Audio Milo which may be a bit of overkill, but the Milo has a magical midrange. It tightens up the low end and fills out the midrange. They sound like a $3000 pair of headphones, in my opinion. The Elear is very efficient, but wow they love my Milo.

 

[makne]

That is true. But, they sure do love power. I power witha Wells Audio Milo which may be a bit of overkill, but the Milo has a magical midrange. It tightens up the low end and fills out the midrange. They sound like a $3000 pair of headphones, in my opinion. The Elear is very efficient, but wow they love my Milo.

well that's a great amp!
I drove mine with the Chord Hugo and it sounded far better than some more powerful amps. I think with the Elear, the quality of the amp is more important than pure power. But hey, if you can get an amp with both quality and power, why not!

 

[geoffalter11]

well that's a great amp!
I drove mine with the Chord Hugo and it sounded far better than some more powerful amps. I think with the Elear, the quality of the amp is more important than pure power. But hey, if you can get an amp with both quality and power, why not!

I agree, the quality matters. The Hugo sounds amazing with the Elear. Then again, Hugo sounds good with most everything. The Milo is both powerful and soulful. It just sounds right. I used to have a Deckard and I couldn't listen to my Elears for more than an hr without fatigue. After switching to the Milo everything changed.

 

[one-eyed-xander]

Yeah I tried contacting them, got put on hold for 20 mins then disconnected. I think this is a sign I need to cancel and order from somewhere else.

OK, canceled with adorama and ordered from Moon Audio, saved a bunch on tax too!

Can't wait

 

[jamescheru]

Thank you guys for your comments. I will start saving for a good amp. Meanwhile, I will try connecting the Elear to my AK70 through the 2.5 mm balanced out.

 

[Rawrbington]

Just got mine today. They're def interesting headphones and sound quite good. Its always fun hearing the different notes and instruments presented in a more or less forward way. Just part of the new headphone experience i guess. Havent gotten much head time yet but i can say one thing for sure, the build quality is excellent.

Also mine came from headphones.com. No tax and free shipping for anyone still looking

 

[abvolt]

Congrats on the new hp's they are among my favorites..enjoy

 

[thecrow]

Anyone using elear with the alo cdm?

 

[meomap]

Anyone using elear with the alo cdm?

Used to have Elear with CDM.
Now, Utopia balanced 2.5mm connector into CDM; very open and transparent sq.
Using DX200 as source. Also, using mbp with CDM as Dac to watch some movies.