[judomaniak57]

grrrr... not sure how my question got put in with the quote or how to fix. oh well

 

[one-eyed-xander]

do the ends lock into the headphones and is that a hard plastic 4 pin plug, how is the quality? I am also on the look out for a affordable cable replacement and they look good on the website

Yeah they lock in pretty well - there’s a small gap between the plug and the housing, but overall it fits great. The XLR is an Amphenol branded hard plastic plug. The y-splitter is fairly chunky but looks well made. Overall, very happy.

 

[ShreyasMax]

Folks, need some amping advice here. Apologies in advance for not being patient enough to read through the 5000+ messages on the thread, will probably read through in due course.

So I'm using the Mojo (hooked to my Fiio X3 1st gen) as my main source for the Elear, and would like to know your thoughts & opinions on any amps (portable or otherwise) that would 'better' the sound. I'd ideally like the budget to be around 300$, but if something's worth the extra 100 dollars or so, I'm willing to wait a while and look into it.

Thanks in advance, cheers!

 

[designbykai]

Thinking about a future purchase of these.. interested in opinions comparing them to LCD-X And maybe LCD-2C.. is LCD-X a more neutral signature and thus better suited for studio work (music production/mixing)? How does the sub bass extension and quality compare? Soundstage?

To me from my research thus far it seems like the Elear would be a more enjoyable (and comfortable) listening enjoyment headphone, but the LCD-X more suited for pro use, and with the 2C somewhere in between (a lower price point and clarity/detail and quality than elear) . Wish I could try them might have to find a local store that has them..

The other headphone that really has me intrigued is the zmf atticus but it sounds like thats a more relaxed headphone and its closed. Beautiful though, If I prefer the wood to the elear's clinical metal grill look and big logo...

 

[Aerocraft67]

I've had my eye on these for a while. I perked up when the Massdrop Elex came around, but then I noticed Elear getting juicy on the used market and stepped in. I also grabbed Brainwavz protein PU leather pads, angled (HM5 pads)—in blue, just for fun. It's cumbersome to A/B them, but I kind of prefer stock head to head, since HM5 tones things down. Removes some splash on the high end and muddies the bass a little. But the HM5 comfort is definitely superior, and the sound isn't otherwise wrong, so I'll probably stick with them.

I do a lot of classic classic rock and I really like the bass, percussion, and vocals these deliver. Nothing special about guitar or soundstage, but the front-to-back imaging is O.K. Nice complement to studio monitors that deliver better on ambiance, such as it is. I miss the HE-500 for that, but I don't miss the contraption feeling of those cans. I also don't miss the veil of the HD-650, but that's been a while. My TH-X00 hold their own, but don't deliver the same punch.

 

[designbykai]

I've had my eye on these for a while. I perked up when the Massdrop Elex came around, but then I noticed Elear getting juicy on the used market and stepped in. I also grabbed Brainwavz protein PU leather pads, angled (HM5 pads)—in blue, just for fun. It's cumbersome to A/B them, but I kind of prefer stock head to head, since HM5 tones things down. Removes some splash on the high end and muddies the bass a little. But the HM5 comfort is definitely superior, and the sound isn't otherwise wrong, so I'll probably stick with them.

I do a lot of classic classic rock and I really like the bass, percussion, and vocals these deliver. Nothing special about guitar or soundstage, but the front-to-back imaging is O.K. Nice complement to studio monitors that deliver better on ambiance, such as it is. I miss the HE-500 for that, but I don't miss the contraption feeling of those cans. I also don't miss the veil of the HD-650, but that's been a while. My TH-X00 hold their own, but don't deliver the same punch.

Dang, I didn't even realise about the Elex... there's a drop right now with 7 days or like 30 copies left... mighty tempting.. Gahhhh
A bit less bass / more neutral than the Elear.. which could be good for studio use hmm

 

[H-Money]

Has anyone tried the Dekoni Focal replacement pads?

wondering how it changes the sound.

https://dekoniaudio.com/filter/?product_cat=focal+elear&product_cat=focal+elear

 

[PopZeus]

Has anyone tried the Dekoni Focal replacement pads?

wondering how it changes the sound.

https://dekoniaudio.com/filter/?product_cat=focal+elear&product_cat=focal+elear

Same. They're much cheaper than the OEM pads. If this can get me 99% there, I'll just get these instead when it's time to replace. Considering how much "eartime" my pair of Elears get, and how tight the clamping pressure is, I suspect I'll have to replace them sooner rather than later.

 

[exdmd]

Bought a pair of Elears off Amazon based on that glowing review from InnerFidelity. Bad judgment. While at first the dynamics were fun but the fun wears off and the Elears do not scale with better amps. I should have used my gut feeling and bought the HD800S to begin with. I now own the HD800S and a TOTL tube amp. I keep the Elears as a spare but can listen to them for about an hour before I change to the HD800S. If you want soundstage, imaging and inner detail you won't be happy with the Elears so use your judgment. The old rule is use half your budget for speakers or phones if you have to have Focal at least go for the Clears. I would still buy the HD800S over Clears though.

 

[TSAVJason]

Bought a pair of Elears off Amazon based on that glowing review from InnerFidelity. Bad judgment. While at first the dynamics were fun but the fun wears off and the Elears do not scale with better amps. I should have used my gut feeling and bought the HD800S to begin with. I now own the HD800S and a TOTL tube amp. I keep the Elears as a spare but can listen to them for about an hour before I change to the HD800S. If you want soundstage, imaging and inner detail you won't be happy with the Elears so use your judgment. The old rule is use half your budget for speakers or phones if you have to have Focal at least go for the Clears. I would still buy the HD800S over Clears though.

That’s an interesting comment. I find the Elear does scale pretty well with better amps and dacs. Any chance you can further this finding of your by an example or 2?

 

[tbollier]

That’s an interesting comment. I find the Elear does scale pretty well with better amps and dacs. Any chance you can further this finding of your by an example or 2?

Yes, I found a very noticeable improvement in the Elears just when moving from a Dragonfly Black to a Chord Mojo, and that's on the lower end of what's out there.

 

[Glasha]

Bought a pair of Elears off Amazon based on that glowing review from InnerFidelity. Bad judgment. While at first the dynamics were fun but the fun wears off and the Elears do not scale with better amps. I should have used my gut feeling and bought the HD800S to begin with. I now own the HD800S and a TOTL tube amp. I keep the Elears as a spare but can listen to them for about an hour before I change to the HD800S. If you want soundstage, imaging and inner detail you won't be happy with the Elears so use your judgment. The old rule is use half your budget for speakers or phones if you have to have Focal at least go for the Clears. I would still buy the HD800S over Clears though.

How do you compare the bass between the two cans?

 

[exdmd]

Bought a pair of Elears off Amazon based on that glowing review from InnerFidelity. Bad judgment. While at first the dynamics were fun but the fun wears off and the Elears do not scale with better amps. I should have used my gut feeling and bought the HD800S to begin with. I now own the HD800S and a TOTL tube amp. I keep the Elears as a spare but can listen to them for about an hour before I change to the HD800S. If you want soundstage, imaging and inner detail you won't be happy with the Elears so use your judgment. The old rule is use half your budget for speakers or phones if you have to have Focal at least go for the Clears. I would still buy the HD800S over Clears though.

@TSAVJason sure, no problem. Amps I have on hand are Magni 3, Vali 2 and a modded Amps & Sound Kenzie. The Kenzie has a set of outboard input transformers Justin made for me and I am using my preferred tubes over stock: 1944 Tung Sol 1626 matched power tubes and a 1963 Telefunken "Black Diamond" ECC801S input tube. The Kenzie has holographic imaging and remarkable inner detail and clarity with these tubes. Still has the Amps & Sound house sound but kicked up a few notches.

The HD800S scales well when going from Magni 3 > Vali 2 > Kenzie. As I move from least expensive to most expensive amp SQ improves as expected. The HD800S are known to be very resolving phones with one of the best soundstage.

I'm not hearing as great a change using the Elears. My Kenzie was made with 32 Ohm and 300 Ohm taps and the Senns clearly sound best on 300 ohm jack and Elears on the 32 Ohm headphone jack. While the Elears do sound somewhat better on the Kenzie vs the Vali 2 the soundstage does not improve, nor does imaging or inner detail. This is what I hear with my ears and setup YMMV. Hope this helps.

 

[exdmd]

How do you compare the bass between the two cans?

Bass is a bit more punchy for the Elears compared to HD800S using my Kenzie but extension is comparable. I consider bass more accurate on the HD800S.

 

[bidn]

Bought a pair of Elears off Amazon based on that glowing review from InnerFidelity. Bad judgment. While at first the dynamics were fun but the fun wears off and the Elears do not scale with better amps. I should have used my gut feeling and bought the HD800S to begin with. I now own the HD800S and a TOTL tube amp. I keep the Elears as a spare but can listen to them for about an hour before I change to the HD800S. If you want soundstage, imaging and inner detail you won't be happy with the Elears so use your judgment. The old rule is use half your budget for speakers or phones if you have to have Focal at least go for the Clears. I would still buy the HD800S over Clears though.

In my experience the Elear clearly scale with "better" amps, and when I used to follow the combined Elear-Utopia threads, this was what most people would experience.

However, sometimes it was reported that they did not scale up, and even sounded worse, when paired with very powerful amps designed for high-impedance headphones, typically expensive tube amps, and this matches your setup and experience.
This is the downside of their being so easy to drive, and the same thing has been reported re. the Utopia and the Clear.
On paper their impedance and efficiency numbers indicate that they are very easy to drive and in practice they are even easier to drive that some headphones with "better" numbers, but this mean that they do not fit tube amps meant for high impedance headphones.

I personally prefer very much the Elear and the Clear (and of course the Utopia) over the HD 800 and HD 800 S, but it depends on the amps and on the kind of music one listens to. With metal music, the more dynamic and the faster the amp is, the more the drum attacks, dynamics and speed of the Focals do shine, and the more the Sennheiser seem lifeless.

Back to comparing with the Clear: so the Clear will react badly to your TOTL tube amp, like the Elear.
BTW. the Elear have actually better drum attacks and dynamics than the Clear, the Clear have been softened to down to become general all-rounder headphones. I mean the Elear are more fun for listening to metal than the Clear.

If you want to give your Elear a second chance, I can recommend the RME ADI-2 Pro DAC-amp (or a good AK DAP, a Hugo 2 or even a Mojo).