[JWahl]

Major bummer here. I was planning on selling my Elear soon to help offset another purchase I recently made. I put them on today to listen a bit, and the right driver went out. I'm guessing over excursion. I heard the infamous "clicking" and then the right side went dead. At least it failed on me, rather than the person who may have bought them from me.

I've had them for over a year with no problems until now. I'm looking to see if they're still covered under warranty. On the plus side, if I can get them replaced under warranty, then maybe I can sell them NIB. Unless they only do repair and return.

 

[Ken G]

Major bummer here. I was planning on selling my Elear soon to help offset another purchase I recently made. I put them on today to listen a bit, and the right driver went out. I'm guessing over excursion. I heard the infamous "clicking" and then the right side went dead. At least it failed on me, rather than the person who may have bought them from me.

I've had them for over a year with no problems until now. I'm looking to see if they're still covered under warranty. On the plus side, if I can get them replaced under warranty, then maybe I can sell them NIB. Unless they only do repair and return.

As long as you purchased them from an authorized dealer, they have a 2 year warranty.

 

[TSAVJason]

Major bummer here. I was planning on selling my Elear soon to help offset another purchase I recently made. I put them on today to listen a bit, and the right driver went out. I'm guessing over excursion. I heard the infamous "clicking" and then the right side went dead. At least it failed on me, rather than the person who may have bought them from me.

I've had them for over a year with no problems until now. I'm looking to see if they're still covered under warranty. On the plus side, if I can get them replaced under warranty, then maybe I can sell them NIB. Unless they only do repair and return.

If you bought a “new” Elear from an authorized dealer you get a 2 year warranty with proof you are the original owner. The receipt. This is the US warranty policy.

 

[abvolt]

Major bummer here. I was planning on selling my Elear soon to help offset another purchase I recently made. I put them on today to listen a bit, and the right driver went out. I'm guessing over excursion. I heard the infamous "clicking" and then the right side went dead. At least it failed on me, rather than the person who may have bought them from me.

I've had them for over a year with no problems until now. I'm looking to see if they're still covered under warranty. On the plus side, if I can get them replaced under warranty, then maybe I can sell them NIB. Unless they only do repair and return.

Too bad dude I'm on my third pair of Elear's, Focal is very good on their warranty service provided you have proof of purchase they will insist on that. It took me about 3 weeks to get mine back. Good luck..enjoy

 

[JWahl]

Thanks, all. I bought it new from an authorized dealer, so I should be good. Bought it in November 2016. Just waiting to hear back from my dealer now.

 

[JWahl]

One more thing to add after looking back through some of the older posts. I'm guessing mine was apart of that older batch of defective units that has since been identified and corrected by Focal. I had previously noticed the clicking before, though it was rare enough that it didn't bother me. Like I said though, I'm actually more relieved that they failed on me (with warranty) than on a second hand buyer.

I really do like the Focal headphones, and may still consider the Clear in the future.

 

[ribosradagast]

I purchased my Elear in September. Both sides make pretty loud creaking sounds when they are being twisted or stretched. Turns out I move my head a lot while listening to music, and this noise is pretty distracting. Most reviewers praised Focal for the outstanding build quality of these headphones, only fow people mentioned similar issues. I think my dealer is willing to replace my headphones, but I only want to do so if this issue has been resolved. Focal wasn't able to confirm this as a known and fixed problem. Do any of you experience this with your new Elears?

Here is a video I made to demonstrate the problem:



Other than this, I love them. My HD-700 and HE-400i don't come close to them in any way. I listen to them with a Mojo, but they sound surprisingly good connected straight to a phone. I am concerned about the non-replacable headband padding, that seems like a design oversight at this price point.

did you ever get a resolution on this? I've had a bunch of pairs of Elear and each one has developed squeaking, just like yours. Since they're my work headphones, I move my head all the time and they squeak like crazy

 

[Doneko]

did you ever get a resolution on this? I've had a bunch of pairs of Elear and each one has developed squeaking, just like yours. Since they're my work headphones, I move my head all the time and they squeak like crazy

Focal acted they didn’t really know what I was talking about but they replaced my headphones with a new pair. That didn’t creak for a couple months, but now they are as bad as the old ones were. I kind of gave up on this...

 

[ribosradagast]

Focal acted they didn’t really know what I was talking about but they replaced my headphones with a new pair. That didn’t creak for a couple months, but now they are as bad as the old ones were. I kind of gave up on this...

Yeah, as I've said all throughout this thread it's pretty bad. I've had friction with them too saying that there's no problem with headphones I've sent back, even though I did as you did and recorded videos clearly documented them squeaking. The new ones always seem to be better, but then within 30-60 days they'll squeak again. Frustrating, to say the least. I'm just kind of "living with it" too.

If anyone has hacks or mods or repairs that fix this, I'd be interested to hear them.

 

[koover]

Yeah, as I've said all throughout this thread it's pretty bad. I've had friction with them too saying that there's no problem with headphones I've sent back, even though I did as you did and recorded videos clearly documented them squeaking. The new ones always seem to be better, but then within 30-60 days they'll squeak again. Frustrating, to say the least. I'm just kind of "living with it" too.

If anyone has hacks or mods or repairs that fix this, I'd be interested to hear them.

Same with mine. I try not to move my head to much, but that’s almost impossible. It isn’t to the point I don’t want to listen to them, but at times it can get irritating. Unfortunately for me, I bought them “like new” from another head-fier so I’m SOL. Gotta deal with it and I will because I’m not giving up on them.

 

[Jackpot77]

Pretty sure the internet is already riddled with impressions of these cans, but I've finally decided to add my ramblings to the list - if anyone is interested, please feel free to have a look at the below:

https://audioprimate.blog/2018/03/14/focal-elear-dynamism-with-a-dash-of-french-flair/#more-7277

Also thrown in some comparisons to the Aeon Closed and Campfire Audio Cascade, so will be interested to know if anyone Ernst has this combo to compare thoughts?

 

[makne]

Interesting that so many of you are experiencing this... So it's like a squeaky sound, and not just rattling?
I've heard 4 different pairs of Elears, and none of them have squeaked :O they all have rattling headbands though, on the yoke joint that allows the cups to angle forwards/backwards. I don't have any noises once they're on my head though.. Weird

 

[jkim951]

Interesting that so many of you are experiencing this... So it's like a squeaky sound, and not just rattling?
I've heard 4 different pairs of Elears, and none of them have squeaked :O they all have rattling headbands though, on the yoke joint that allows the cups to angle forwards/backwards. I don't have any noises once they're on my head though.. Weird

I had the exact same rattling problem on the pair that I sold...was kind of scary to hear on an expensive pair of headphones.

 

[abvolt]

That is weird I've now owned 3 different pairs of Elear's and none of them did that, I'm not doubting those who have this issue and hope you get them replaced/repaired, It's really too bad this hp has had so many problems since it's release, but I still do love their sq..enjoy

 

[BubbaJay]

My Elear has always had a kind of crackling sound from the headband when I put them on but nothing more. They make no noise while I'm wearing them or when I move my head while I have them on. I've had my pair for about a year and a half now and luckily I've had no real issues them on any level.