[styks]

Looks like it might be your lucky day:
https://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphones-audiophile-high-end-hd-660-s

Some first impressions:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...sor-for-the-hd650.862308/page-8#post-13786777

Hi Ken G ....... Coincidence that, my brother told me of the new sennheiser yesterday.
Thanks for the link, I've flicked through it, will read properly later on. From the little I've read it appears not to be a great step up, I'll see if I can find stock and go audition them along with some Elear's. Cheers!

 

[waveSounds]

 

[styks]

Nice tidy setup there WaveSounds. ...... I'm glad you're able to proudly display your "crackle free" Elears.
Keep us up to date on how well your trouble free Elear's hold up. ...... Cheers!

 

[ribosradagast]

that custom cable looks nice !

 

[waveSounds]

Cheers! It's also nice on the wallet

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Have Elears for eight months, and no problems. Doing a bath remodel - The first tub sent to me was the wrong tub; tried a different seller and manufacturer, and the tub shipped to me had a large crack; the second tub, with a bottom front corner clipped off about two inches, was sent back today. The remodel has been on hold now for almost seven weeks. Oh, and then there was the toilet that Lowes shattered in front of me last week. Sure glad I got them Elears to listen to.

WOW! Now that is bad luck... Seven weeks is also a really long time. Since you have been without a tub for so long I recommend cleaning the Elear pads before letting a friend listen.

 

[tuan2195]

I am getting my Elear tomorrow from Adorama and this thread makes me concerned. Maybe I should just return it and wait for the LCD-2C...

Either way, have anyone tried the Elear with a Bottlehead Crack? I know it might not be the best pairing in the world but it's what I have right now, and I wonder if it will be a good match for the Elear, considering it's an OTL amp.

 

[dontfeedphils]

FWIW, I think the issues with the Elear and Utopia are over exaggerated (not to take away from those who are experiencing problems). I've listened to at least 4 pairs of Elear (including my own) and 3-4 pairs of Utopia, all with varying numbers of hours on them, and I've never had any issues with them. Just amazing audio.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

FWIW, I think the issues with the Elear and Utopia are over exaggerated (not to take away from those who are experiencing problems). I've listened to at least 4 pairs of Elear (including my own) and 3-4 pairs of Utopia, all with varying numbers of hours on them, and I've never had any issues with them. Just amazing audio.

Both our Utopia and 2 Elear Demos have held up at the store without issue. we have had only 2 customer owned Elears replaced since we started selling them. This site (and any other headphone site for the matter) is a great place for people who did have issues come forth and try and get help. It's a community of people that own the same product, and also luckily enough Focal is here on the thread to help them. So, like you, I don't find it alarming or that the vast majority of Focal owners are having problems.

 

[Ken G]

So after “seeking out the crackle” I finally found it (the second time around) at around the 4:50 mark in War Anthem. It’s concerning but I can’t say I normally listen to that type of music. So I was wondering from the folks that also experienced this:

• Did experiencing the crackle make it more likely to happen again?
• Did you experience it on any Pop, rock or R&B/Rap tracks.
• Does anyone have a link to the Focal response to the crackle?

Thanks.

 

[AuditoryCanvas]

FWIW, I think the issues with the Elear and Utopia are over exaggerated (not to take away from those who are experiencing problems). I've listened to at least 4 pairs of Elear (including my own) and 3-4 pairs of Utopia, all with varying numbers of hours on them, and I've never had any issues with them. Just amazing audio.

I agree. I don't think it is an issue. They were transparent and stated that they were designed with the intention of high dynamic ability rather than SPL, and I totally prefer the dynamic ability to a high SPL. It's a bit like the loudness war in music mastering of recent times, with a lot of music being over compressed/limited to push everything up towards the loudness ceiling, resulting in no dynamics in the music, there's no real low/high variation, it's all just loud.

It's fair to say that they are more sensitive to driver breakup than some cans I own, but they are much more dynamic, so it's more of a trade off, and one I'm happy to make for the quality of listening enjoyment they give me.

That's not to say that there aren't any with faults where the breakup is happening at a much lower volume that normal, but I think they're few, considering how many people don't voice how happy they are, all we really get to see are the people that have an issue with them, so it's likely offsetting the perception. This is obviously an assumption, so I could well be wrong, but that's my two cents.

 

[DivaFonda]

If the War Anthem I listened to was the correct version, there should be no driver breakup. I didn't even get an uncomfortable distortion. I have songs with more bass and they didn't break up either. I can't really say Focal is being correct here unless they mean driver breakup at very high volume or too much added bass with your amp, which I can understand. I blew a speaker that way long ago. Too high gain, and/or volume, and/or overemphasized bass could be the death of a lot of equipment. No matter the price. But if this was at normal volume(your ears aren't ringing and the volume isn't uncomfortable), there's a consistency issue. The problem is it's hard to tell until it happens.

I still have yet to see anyone here mention the uncomfortable treble spike mentioned in another off-site review. That threw me off because the Elear don't strike me as treble monsters, far from it in fact.

 

[waveSounds]

Going back over some reviews of the Elear, one written by Mike Piskor on Headfonics is particularly interesting for referencing in the discussion on Elear's ability to handle bass. I quote:

DSP and EQ

I can actually run with an absurd +7dB on the bass with Foobar2000’s ‘realbassexciter’ DPS, which is a free plugin for bass enthusiasts. There are no TOTL headphones that can achieve this level of control without getting ugly that I’ve ever heard. Not the LCD-3, not the HD800, not the Stax 007 or Noble K10c. None of the above retain control at these levels of low-end enhancement. If you want, you can lower the bass instead and get a more linear experience. No worries, the Elear the response to EQ better than any TOTL on the market that I’ve yet reviewed.

His whole review is glowing with praise for the Elear's ability to portray bass, and deep, impactful bass at that. I just can't wrap my head around how there is such variation on people's experiences with regard to the bass performance for these cans...

 

[styks]

Hi again all,
I had my "driver breakup" issue very quickly into the War Anthem Track, at the very beggining well before 4.50.
I switched from my HD650 to the Elear's, I always reduce volume before switching headphones.
Increased volume to a level that was about the equivalent and the first crack was actually uncomfortable bordering on painful.
One thing I forgot to mention was that I contact another stockists for a second opinion, sorry can't remember now who. The chap was very interested and ask for the track details so he could listen on their demo unit.
He called back about half hour later to say that he also had the clipping (the term he used) but it was at quite a high level. .....
Now, as I pointed out in my first post on this I have sensitive hearing and Im autistic actually (aspergers) I can't endure high volume levels and/or busy disordered places, it causes mental and physical distress. .... I can hear a knat fart at 30 paces! Haha
So I can only guess that mine were particularly suseptable, which would back up the inconsistency question.
If we are to believe complaints from others, and there is no reason not to, there has to be an issue somewhere, be it my system, unlikely but not impossible, or wherever.

However I do most certainly agree, and I've also said this in an earlier post, that generally you get a higher percentage of posted complaints than posted positive experiences, considerably higher if the subject matter has fewer grey areas, or less subjective. ..... This is human nature, we do shout louder when offended.
Therefore the offending percentage may be very low, these posts are unlikely to be a true / accurate representation of the whole...... Well, we hope not!
4
It's NOT my intention to try and turn anyone away from the Elear, I'll state my case firmly but it doesn't mean that I'll end up being a "brand basher" ...... If I feel a company is turning it's back I'll also say so.
If after all that I find its my fault, or I was hasty, I'll hold my hands up, apologise, reverse my position and hopefully I can be more positive towards the Elear's.

Anyhow, I'll have the chance to do just that, I've reasoned that my negative experience may be one in a low percentage, as discussed above. ........ I've ordered another pair and will let you know how it goes.

 

[makne]

Just wanted to share the cable I received from Forza audioworks today!

Looks and feels like quality. Lightwheight and flexible, love it.
Greatly improves comfort for me, the thick heavy stock cable has bothered both my head and my neck since day one. Now, the excellent wheight distribution and plush padding makes the Elear almost dissappear on my head, it feels like wearing it without a cable attached.
Not gonna comment on sound because, well, reasons, but yeah both build and ergonomics are definitely living up to my expectations!