[Kammerat Rebekka]

^You can literally drive the Elear with a phone/dap/iPad/whathaveyou. It’s a highly sensitive can aka a 104 dB/mW...and the 80 ohm load is not a difficult load by any means.
That’s one of the main points of the Focals: regular folks, who just want the best sound they can get out of a headphone without having to clutter up the livingroom with an amp, can now safely invest in something like an Elear

 

[jasonb]

^You can literally drive the Elear with a phone/dap/iPad/whathaveyou. It’s a highly sensitive can aka a 104 dB/mW...and the 80 ohm load is not a difficult load by any means.
That’s one of the main points of the Focals: regular folks, who just want the best sound they can get out of a headphone without having to clutter up the livingroom with an amp, can now safely invest in something like an Elear

It does fine with just a Meizu Pro DAC dongle with an Android phone, but does better with my laptop with an ODAC and a Magni Heresy.

 

[Sqmeyer]

That is definitely a highlight of these. In my listening, I have found that the strengths of this headphone are highlighted with some extra headroom. To my ears, they just sound more visceral when driven by my Asgard 3 than when driven by a phone or a computer. The Asgard is probably a bit more than they need since I rarely listen much above 9 or 10 o'clock on high gain.

 

[jasonb]

That is definitely a highlight of these. In my listening, I have found that the strengths of this headphone are highlighted with some extra headroom. To my ears, they just sound more visceral when driven by my Asgard 3 than when driven by a phone or a computer.

More visceral is a good way to put it. I also noticed a bigger soundstage with my Heresy vs the phone and dongle.

 

[cel4145]

^You can literally drive the Elear with a phone/dap/iPad/whathaveyou. It’s a highly sensitive can aka a 104 dB/mW...and the 80 ohm load is not a difficult load by any means.
That’s one of the main points of the Focals: regular folks, who just want the best sound they can get out of a headphone without having to clutter up the livingroom with an amp, can now safely invest in something like an Elear

Yep. I've sworn off headphones that require more amplification than a good dongle can provide. And so now my primary headphones include both an Elear and the Elegia.

 

[Rei7]

Yep. I've sworn off headphones that require more amplification than a good dongle can provide. And so now my primary headphones include both an Elear and the Elegia.

How does your Elear compare to the Elegia?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I thought I was crazy back when I first tried this on. It was right after wearing a Clear for half an hour and was rather surprised in finding out that I prefered the cheaper Elear. I’ve done this thrice now and each and every time I end up hearing an unnatural sense of clarity over the Clear. Sorta reminds me of the 1 k punch that often comes with Staxes..but the Clear is way better in the lows.
Then I saw the reviews Sonarworks did for both headphones and things finally made sense to me. The Clear (and Elex) measures like I hear it: aggressive mids and treble. I can live with the latter but not the former. Also happens to be the reason most of my AKGs get sold off; not the treble peaks but rather the extra boot of energy right smack in the place where our hearing is at it’s most effective.
The Elear then seems to be the best bang for one’s buck inside the Focal line. I certainly wouldn’t pay extra for a sound I can replicate with a mere padswap.
All that being said..I still prefer my HD600

 

[cel4145]

How does your Elear compare to the Elegia?

The Elegia it much more mids-forward. And with just a couple db of midbass and sub bass boost to get it where I like it, it has a little more visceral punch, due to the sealed design. I really love the Elegia for classic and progressive rock. It brings out the guitars in a very Grado like way to me, only without the Grado poor bass extension, meh bass quality, lack of comfort, and fatiguing upper mids and treble.

 

[cactus_farmer]

Has anyone who's heard an Elear with Clear pads (i.e. an 'Eclair' or virtual Elex) comment on just how much bass energy is lost vs the stock Elear pads?

 

[cuiter23]

Has anyone who's heard an Elear with Clear pads (i.e. an 'Eclair' or virtual Elex) comment on just how much bass energy is lost vs the stock Elear pads?

I've heard from the majority who've swapped pads to not like the sound.

The Clear uses different pads than the Elex.

 

[Rei7]

This is a match made in heaven. Elears with Sendy Aiva v2 pads. I modified the pad adapter that was floating around and had it made in nylon. The shape of the pads match the focals perfect. The sound is glorious! and on top of that they are comfortable. They hug your head just right.



https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4324485 - for adapter used
https://shop.musicteck.com/products...one-replaceable-earpad?variant=19910738509886 - link for pads

I'm interested to know how to apply the adapter with the Senday Aiva pads. I don't really mod, so i have no clue lol

 

[jasonb]

Has anyone who's heard an Elear with Clear pads (i.e. an 'Eclair' or virtual Elex) comment on just how much bass energy is lost vs the stock Elear pads?

I use an Elear with the Utopia pads and love the sound. Perfect amount of bass for me. I've actually never used mine with the stock pads though.

 

[cactus_farmer]

ANyone know if the Clear pads (grey) are exactly the same as the Clear Pro pads (red)?

If I were getting a pair, I'd probably go with the Clear Pro pads just because they'd look better to me, but only if the sound was exactly the same as the Clear pads...

 

[dontfeedphils]

ANyone know if the Clear pads (grey) are exactly the same as the Clear Pro pads (red)?

If I were getting a pair, I'd probably go with the Clear Pro pads just because they'd look better to me, but only if the sound was exactly the same as the Clear pads...

They're the same, only difference is color.

 

[Kantilo]

The Focal Elear is better than the HD650 ?