[geoffalter11]

Howdy ya'll - have a question for those HD650/Elear owners, I know this type of question has been raised before, but I want to ask it more specifically to the community here. I am going to purchase my first "hifi" headphone, the Elear, current most hifi is my HD650. I have seen information saying the Elear is a "better" HD650, I have also seen information saying they are very, very different. My understanding is the Elear is neutral with slightly recessed upper-midrange, while the HD650 is warm, midrange-centric with relaxed treble. I would like to keep my HD650 and purchase the Elear. My question is, will the two complement each other in any way, are they different enough to justify owning both, or are they so similar that owning both is more redundant than not? Thanks for you thoughts

In my opinion, they are very different. The Elear is incredibly dynamic, punchy and intense. The kind of sound that can punch out your eyeballs if you set the volume wrong. Yet, it is warm and inviting. It isn't a mellow as the 650, and to me they don't resemble one another. Whether or not they compliment each other is subjective. I think complimenting means a different tuning for different needs. In that sense, I think they are very complimentary. I also don't find the upper midrange to be an issue. Especially paired with my Wells Audio Milo as it is renowned for its magical midrange presentation. My advice is to get the Elear and don't look back. A great and worthy listen.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

In my opinion, they are very different. The Elear is incredibly dynamic, punchy and intense. The kind of sound that can punch out your eyeballs if you set the volume wrong. Yet, it is warm and inviting. It isn't a mellow as the 650, and to me they don't resemble one another. Whether or not they compliment each other is subjective. I think complimenting means a different tuning for different needs. In that sense, I think they are very complimentary. I also don't find the upper midrange to be an issue. Especially paired with my Wells Audio Milo as it is renowned for its magical midrange presentation. My advice is to get the Elear and don't look back. A great and worthy listen.

Thanks very much for your response! This is what I was hoping to hear. I like the idea of keeping the HD650 for its laid-back character, while having a more lively, punchy listening experience available, especially because I have graduate schoolwork to do, the Elear might be a bit distracting, and I am going to need both of my eyes lol

 

[geoffalter11]

Thanks very much for your response! This is what I was hoping to hear. I like the idea of keeping the HD650 for its laid-back character, while having a more lively, punchy listening experience available, especially because I have graduate schoolwork to do, the Elear might be a bit distracting, and I am going to need both of my eyes lol

Welcome. Enjoy! It is very efficient but I do think a bit source dependent when mitigating the upper midrange hole. For me, not an issue. For others, it is... My Elears are my 2nd favorite pair after my EnigmAcoustic Dharma D1000.

 

[sparkofinsanity]

In my opinion, they are very different. The Elear is incredibly dynamic, punchy and intense. The kind of sound that can punch out your eyeballs if you set the volume wrong. Yet, it is warm and inviting. It isn't a mellow as the 650, and to me they don't resemble one another. Whether or not they compliment each other is subjective. I think complimenting means a different tuning for different needs. In that sense, I think they are very complimentary. I also don't find the upper midrange to be an issue. Especially paired with my Wells Audio Milo as it is renowned for its magical midrange presentation. My advice is to get the Elear and don't look back. A great and worthy listen.

Mirrors my experience. The HD650's basically lives in the box now though.

 

[guliver]

repost

 

[guliver]

In my opinion, they are very different. The Elear is incredibly dynamic, punchy and intense. The kind of sound that can punch out your eyeballs if you set the volume wrong. Yet, it is warm and inviting. It isn't a mellow as the 650, and to me they don't resemble one another. Whether or not they compliment each other is subjective. I think complimenting means a different tuning for different needs. In that sense, I think they are very complimentary. I also don't find the upper midrange to be an issue. Especially paired with my Wells Audio Milo as it is renowned for its magical midrange presentation. My advice is to get the Elear and don't look back. A great and worthy listen.

Mirrors my experience. The HD650's basically lives in the box now though.

Completely agree.

 

[ribosradagast]

Mirrors my experience. The HD650's basically lives in the box now though.

I had this experience as well... The 650 pales in comparison when you have the Elear available

 

[Ken G]

In my opinion, they are very different. The Elear is incredibly dynamic, punchy and intense. The kind of sound that can punch out your eyeballs if you set the volume wrong. Yet, it is warm and inviting. It isn't a mellow as the 650, and to me they don't resemble one another. Whether or not they compliment each other is subjective. I think complimenting means a different tuning for different needs. In that sense, I think they are very complimentary. I also don't find the upper midrange to be an issue. Especially paired with my Wells Audio Milo as it is renowned for its magical midrange presentation. My advice is to get the Elear and don't look back. A great and worthy listen.

I would concur that this description is pretty accurate.

I tried out the Elear at a Hifi shop because I had heard the same thing about the Elear being a better version of the HD650 which at the time I had fell in love with. I ended up buying the Elear but it is different in many areas highlighted above. In addition where it really shines is in it’s realism of the music. IMO, in that regard it blows away the HD650 (and most other non-TOTL headphones).

However I do think the HD650 and Elear are similar in their “musicality”. They both aren’t “analytic” headphones. They are both very good at wringing out the emotion from the music but the Elear is able to do it more clearly and dynamically.

I highly recommended the Elear especially for the $699 price.

 

[makne]

Howdy ya'll - have a question for those HD650/Elear owners, I know this type of question has been raised before, but I want to ask it more specifically to the community here. I am going to purchase my first "hifi" headphone, the Elear, current most hifi is my HD650. I have seen information saying the Elear is a "better" HD650, I have also seen information saying they are very, very different. My understanding is the Elear is neutral with slightly recessed upper-midrange, while the HD650 is warm, midrange-centric with relaxed treble. I would like to keep my HD650 and purchase the Elear. My question is, will the two complement each other in any way, are they different enough to justify owning both, or are they so similar that owning both is more redundant than not? Thanks for you thoughts

Honestly, I don't think they're different enough to justify keeping the HD650. The Elear has a slightly warm but still balanced, musical sound signature, that sometimes gets forgotten when everyone talks about their awesome dynamics and thereby engaging sound. IMO, the Elear can also be a great, warm-ish laid-back listening experience at lower volumes, and I think you'll find yourself choosing the Elear over the HD650 for that purpose too. You'll have to see for yourself though, but there's absolutely no doubt that the Elear will be a big step up from the HD650.
Personally, I would rather pair the Elear with a more revealing, brighter set of cans. I currently have the Stax L300 sitting next to my Elears. If you don't want/like that kind of sound, I think the Elear is all you need.

Oh, and if the 4kHz dip starts to bother you, I posted my pad-swapping experiment a few pages back. In short it removed the 4k dip and increased the soundstage (especially height/depth that the Elear is not great at in stock form). I'm not 100% sold on it yet because I somehow feel like it ruins the "purity" of the Elears beautiful stock design and feel, but I can't refuse to admit that it does sound better to my ears.

 

[makne]

I have tried couple of cheap alternatives for a 3.5 mm connection from the Elear to my Chord Mojo. I’m noticing ever so slight loss of detail with all those cheap cables and adapters. None of them have the rich sound which the OFC cable has.

Could you guys please suggest a good cable (atleast as good as the OFC) which terminates in 3.5 mm adaptor end.

Chord Mojo cable pack is another alternative. I cannot find the very useful search thread function in new head-fi.

I've ordered a Forza audioworks cable, will post some pictures when it gets here. Custom made so you can get any length and termination, around 75 Euros. They do look great on pictures at least.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Sounds like I will have to wait until I have the Elear in hand and decide if the 650 is still worth holding on to (no duh, I know), just wanted to get an idea of how substantial a difference it is going to make. If I find them living in a box, I will likely sell or give them as a gift, gotta let them live and fulfill their purpose! lol

 

[radiocalm]

I have owned the hd650 for close to 10 years, it's a great headphone. And even though most of my listening is done on the elear now that I have it I have no plans of getting rid of the 650, it's just a staple and a classic in our little headphone world and I still love it. To me they sound very different from each other there are things I love about both and I feel they do compliment each other. There are still little things that I feel the 650 does better than the elear, don't get me wrong the elear is way better, the 650 is also 10+ years old! I'm keeping my 650 and I still enjoy them, for what it's worth.

 

[oppman99]

Thanks for the link. I noticed that maker also make a balanced version. Has anyone tried that one?

I posted a few pages back that I have the balanced version. It is a bit microphonic if it is hanging loose. If already hanging against a solid object, it's not noticeable. Differences compared to stock are subtle at best.

 

[bronco1015]

Hey all, long time reader of head-Fi forums, first post of any kind. I appreciate everything that's been posted about these headphones, I've considered them off and on for a long time. I have a dilemma though. Right now I own: oppo PM3 and Sennheiser HD800S. I've been looking at several options for upgrading my components first however, as all I own is an OPPO HA-2SE. I've thought about various DACAmps E.G. NuPrime DAC10H, or Oppo Sonica with a tube amp, but which one to get. Then the Elear's go on sale and I get wondering again whether or not these would be a complement to my HD800 S. Mor for rock, metal HipHop etc. I don't expect them to be an upgrade to HD800S however, as those are amazing with Classical, jazz, Classic rock, Folk, instrumental. plus I love the soundstage and imaging. sorry for the rambling post, any thoughts/perspective would be very appreciated.

 

[DivaFonda]

Hey all, long time reader of head-Fi forums, first post of any kind. I appreciate everything that's been posted about these headphones, I've considered them off and on for a long time. I have a dilemma though. Right now I own: oppo PM3 and Sennheiser HD800S. I've been looking at several options for upgrading my components first however, as all I own is an OPPO HA-2SE. I've thought about various DACAmps E.G. NuPrime DAC10H, or Oppo Sonica with a tube amp, but which one to get. Then the Elear's go on sale and I get wondering again whether or not these would be a complement to my HD800 S. Mor for rock, metal HipHop etc. I don't expect them to be an upgrade to HD800S however, as those are amazing with Classical, jazz, Classic rock, Folk, instrumental. plus I love the soundstage and imaging. sorry for the rambling post, any thoughts/perspective would be very appreciated.

On my end, I'm finding the Elears are doing better with your preferred HD800S genres than they are with what I bought them mainly for(EDM, trance, etc.). Go figure. I'm still considering an amp or DAC for those genres. They sound OK, don't get me wrong. But sometimes I'm not feeling what I used to. I love R&B and hip-hop too. Listening to some classic disco now, and either these need breaking in more, a new cable, or a DAC/amp. However, I'm getting some interesting details not heard before in these old recordings.