[wormsdriver]

Ok guys after a week with the Focal Elegia here are my brief impressions. The Elegia is a full size headphone, it is a bit on the heavy side but very well balanced and comfortable when wearing. I was able to wear them for hours on end with no problems of them feeling to heavy on my head.

Very well built, nice aesthetics and quality materials. The plastic on the cups looks and feels a tiny bit cheap to me but really only compared with their open back models which have metal grills so no biggie here.

Nice carrying case, cable is a bit stiff and can be microphonic. I noticed it on several occasions rubbing on my shirt or jacket and the noise was very noticeable. It is the shorter cable that also comes with the Focal Clear, it is terminated in a 3.5mm jack and includes a screw on 6.4mm adapter.
For what it's worth packaging is top notch as all Focal headphones. Double boxed, lots of padding and very sturdy retail box.

For a closed headphone isolation was lacking in my opinion. I asked my wife on a couple of occasions if she could hear my music and she replied yes! I can hear it clearly!
As far as isolation from the outside world, I usually have no trouble when listening to music at moderately high levels so no problem here and it definitely gets the job done.

As far as the sound goes I definitely agree with the above reviewers and I found the Eligia to be mid forward. The mids are bit dominant over the treble and bass but the good news is I did not find it fatiguing as I was able to listen hours on end with no problems of it sounding shouty.

By the way if you haven't read @buffer's review a few posts up, please do yourself a favor and read it! He absolutely nailed it in my opinion, great job @buffer!

- Ahem - back to the Elegia, the bass does have some punch to it and is not missing but at the same time it is lacking. I listen mostly to rock music and while the music was lively I felt it was missing some groove. I felt it lacking in PRAT. Most of my listening sessions were not very emotionally invested. I did not feel emotionally connected to the music for the most part.

Treble is well done and controlled except for the fact that the midrange usually seems to overshadow it. It was no problem when listening casually but when it came to focus on each frequency to evaluate for this review that it became a bit of a problem just how much the midrange calls attention to itself. I found it distracting trying to focus on the treble, my attention would veer over to the midrange.

Although the Elegia is a closed back headphone I found it relatively open sounding which was definitely a good thing but when it comes to doing more critical listening that openness does start feeling a bit fake in a sense. Like I said, I feel this headphone is great for casual listening but once you start to evaluate it and start listening critically it is that these flaws will start to be most apparent.

On a more positive note, the Elegia is not hard to drive and it matches well with whatever you throw at it so that's a big plus in my book.

I currently do not own any closed back headphones for comparison and in reality I've only own two other closed back headphones in this range. One being the Ultrasone Signature Pro and the other being the Mr.Speakers Ether C. Technically I feel the Elegia fall in the middle of these two.
From memory the Ether C might be a bit more revealing or maybe the fact that it was a bit more balanced although still on the brighter side it gave me more of a "higher end" headphone in comparison. I believe it was more resolving.
The Signature Pro was a bit behind in resolution compared to both, but boy was it perfect for what it is intended to be. Portable, rugged, comfortable, isolating and a very fun listen, so personally I would choose it over the Elegia... (and probably the Ether C for that matter).

In conclusion the Elegia at $899 is a hard sell for me personally. I've no doubt the prices on these will go down sooner than later as Focal has been having significant sales on the rest of their models in recent times. I would wait for the Elegia to drop considerably in price before going out and buying one. I would consider the a Elegia a great closed back mid-fi can but not TOTL.

I would personally like to thank Todd Green of TTVJ Audio for hosting these loaner tours of his gear. I have been a part of several loaner tours and I'm very thankful for the opportunity of demoing new gear and sharing my views with the rest of you. BTW, Todd is a great guy to deal with, I've bought a few headphones over the years from him and it's always been a wonderful experience. Check out his used gear section on the TTVJ Audio website for some killer deals!!!

Cheers,
Wormsdriver

 

[ngoshawk]

Elegia safely in hand, all functioning. Hooked to my iFi stack right now of iTubes2/iDAC2/micro iDSD Black Label/MBP. Nice sound so far. I will admit that I have @PinkyPowers Atticus on hand, so there is stiff competition.

Merry Christmas to me! Cheers.

 

[gc335]

Pros: Fantastic, engaging and detailed sound. Accurate and wide soundstage (for a closed can).

Cons: Bass-heads should look elsewhere. Comfort issues for those sensitive to clamping force. Treble could be fatiguing over long listening sessions. Unforgiving to poorly recorded tracks.

Introduction:
First of all, I would like to thank Todd over at TTVJ Audio for the opportunity to spend some time with the Elegia in exchange for my honest impressions.

After I signed up for the review tour, I was very careful to avoid reading any reviews or impression threads of the Elegia in order to avoid coloring my impressions. I knew very little about the Elegia when signing up and absolutely nothing about their sound signature. I had recently spent some time with the Focal Clear and was seriously impressed. That headphone has probably some of the best bass in both quantity and quality that I’ve heard from an open headphone. The Clear and Elegia have similar drivers so I was expecting a serious bass cannon.

The first few seconds of the Elegia were shocking to say the least. There was no prodigious bass. It sounded thin and I was a little disappointed. I was using my DX150, so I dismissed it as needing better amplification. I was on a business trip and didn’t have much else to use as a source. I pressed on and kept listening. The more I listened, the more I started to like Elegia’s sound signature.

Sources use:
iBasso DX150 (AMP6)
Chord Hugo 2
Schiit Asgard 2 (Hugo 2 as a DAC)

Some Tracks Used:
Old Love - Eric Clapton
Take Five - Dave Brubeck
Kangaroo Court - Capital Cities
For You - Angus & Julia Stone


Unboxing:
The Elegia has similar packaging to the Clear minus the extra box for the two addition cables. There is a nice exterior box that holds the Elegia inside their outstanding carrying case. While not compact, it is still easily transportable and keeps the headphones secure and protected. There is even room inside the case for the cable, 1/4” adapter as well as a smaller DAP. The brick like iBasso DX150 didn’t fit.

One definitely gets the feel that the Elegia is designed for portable use. The stock cable is short and is terminated to a 3.5 SE plug but there is a screw on 1/4” adapter included. The longer 1/4” and 4 pin XLR cable that comes with the Clear would have been a nice addition.

Comfort:
The cups of the Elegia don’t articulate all that far and as a result I did experience a little more pressure than I would have liked in front of my ears. I’m a little sensitive to pressure in this area so most people probably won’t have an issue with it. It reminded me a little bit of a new pair of Sennheiser HD600s. It may improve with time.

Build Quality:
While they don’t feel substantial in the hand, the Elegia is very well build and every surface has a quality feel to it. The cable has a nice feel to it. Again, very similar to the look and feel of the Clear cable.

Sound:

Treble:
These are fairly bright headphones but I at no point felt like there was any sibilance or harshness to the highs. Cymbals have a nice metallic sound to them and sound like they should. Kangaroo Court is a track that sounds a little sibilant with my ESRs (with Spiral Dots). I thought for sure that the Elegia would be a little harsh here but it wasn’t at all. The highs went just high enough and were never uncomfortable.

Mids:
I would say that the mids are just slightly forward. Julia Stone’s vocals are very unique in my option and really shine with the Elegia. It’s a very engaging and seriously enjoyable listening experience. Again, the term natural comes to mind. The saxophone at the beginning of Take Five is just wonderful. You really feel like you’re there. Closing your eyes almost makes you feel like the person playing is in the room with you. I haven’t had this feeling with other headphones besides the HD800S. Extremely impressive.

Bass:
Here is where things become a little more of a mixed bag. With some genres, the bass is a little light. Bass-heads will want to look elsewhere. I found them a little thin with genres like EDM and hard rock. If you like classical, jazz, folk or anything instrumental look no farther.

What little bass there is digs very deep and after a while no longer left me wanting more. The sub-bass is very good. You really get the feeling that these drivers are different than your traditional DD headphone or planar.

Sound Stage:
The soundstage is wide for a closed can and also very accurate. On the track Old Love there is a cymbal at around the 3 o’clock position. It felt very precise as if I were listening to a live performance. It really stood out to me. I swapped to my Eikons (which I seriously like) and the specific instruments were not as easy to pinpoint. Very impressive. I stopped analyzing this track and just sat back and enjoyed it.

Drivability:
The DX150 had no issues powering the Elegia to uncomfortable volumes with headroom to spare. That being said, they do scale well. I noticed the bass is a little more present and digs deeper when hooked up to something like the Hugo 2 or Asgard. You also get more separation and depth to the sound. The Asgard 2 is one of my favorite amps regardless of price and really makes the Elegia shine. It adds a touch of warmth and musicality to many headphones including the Elegia.

Other thoughts:
Like the fairly bright ESRs, the Elegia is pretty unforgiving when it comes to poorly recorded music. The Elegia is a treat with well recorded music.

Focal stock pads are VERY expensive. At the time of writing this review, I was not able to find the cost of the Elegia pads. The Clear pads are almost $200 so I'm guessing they will be in the $150-$200 range. The pads will get nasty over time and will need to be replaced.

Conclusion:
Like I said before, I didn’t like the Elegia at first but the more time I spent with them the more I liked them. I was sad to see them go because I definitely enjoyed the week I had with them. My experience with Focal headphones has been brief but I’m seriously impressed so far. My time with the Clear and Elegia really makes me want to try the rest of the Focal line up.

 

[gtbrown50]

Pros: Fantastic, engaging and detailed sound. Accurate and wide soundstage (for a closed can).

Cons: Bass-heads should look elsewhere. Comfort issues for those sensitive to clamping force. Treble could be fatiguing over long listening sessions. Unforgiving to poorly recorded tracks.

Great write-up, very much appreciated! I have both the Clear and Elgia (and Utopia) and really like the Focal sound also. I am having a hard time giving the Elgia much listening time; so far the sound has not been what I really like, and I have so many cans to choose from that its easy to just let them sit.

You've inspired me to get serious about these, and I'll either put them in my normal rotation or let them go to another home.

 

[gc335]

Great write-up, very much appreciated! I have both the Clear and Elgia (and Utopia) and really like the Focal sound also. I am having a hard time giving the Elgia much listening time; so far the sound has not been what I really like, and I have so many cans to choose from that its easy to just let them sit.

You've inspired me to get serious about these, and I'll either put them in my normal rotation or let them go to another home.

Thanks a lot! It's my first review so I'm open to feedback if there is stuff you think I missed etc.

I feel headphones are like tools. No one tool does everything perfectly. The Elegia is on my short list of headphones to pick up next.

 

[ngoshawk]

My review is posted here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/focal-elegia.23447/reviews

and here: https://ngoshawksounds.blog/2019/01/10/focal-elegia-a-closed-back-that-opens-new-doors-almost/

I must say that I was underwhelmed by the Elegia. I was hoping for a closed-back Elear, but ended up with what I will call an "enhance Listen," or "Super Listen." I feel (from my review), that Focal missed a tremendous opportunity to something completely different, like they did with the Elear, then the Utopia. I was hoping they would take more of a chance (like the two mentioned), and it could have been a tremendous hit. It will still sell many, many copies; but I feel let down overall because they played it cautious this time.

It is still quite good, but to me not up to the usual Focal sound and build standards...my two cents.

Thank you, @Todd. Your tours are my favorite on Head-Fi and if I had a spare $4500, I'd jump on the Manley Absolute loaner. It looks stunning. I shall keep memories of the Apex Pinnacle II, instead...sigh.

 

[elira]

Hi all, sorry for the delay but here is my review.

First of all thanks TTVJ for the tour. The Elegia are the first closed back headphones from Focal, some people may say they are semi closed because of small vents in the focal logo but there is not much sound leaking in or out through those vents so it can be considered closed back headphones. The construction is solid, everything feels high quality and they look nice. The bottom part of the headband and the interior of the pads are made of the same material that looks like micro suede, the other parts of the ear pads are made of velour and the top of the headband is made of a leather like material (not sure if it’s real leather).

Additionally they come with a hard case, the case is specifically designed for the headphones and they fit perfectly inside it, there’s a small space to place the cable, and overall is a practical design. On the outside the case is made of cloth like material and a leather like handle, overall it’s very stylish. The only downside I find is that the case is a little too big, and it didn’t fit inside my backpack.

I liked these headphones to be used at work, where I could listen to music without bothering my coworkers, the comfort is good for long listening sessions and they feel very spacious so I don’t feel claustrophobic while wearing them. Overall I would rate the comfort as excellent.

A completely different story is the cable provided by Focal, overall is very stiff and short, I certainly don’t like it but the connectors are standard 3.5mm so it’s easy to get a replacement. On a side note regarding the cable, it died after 20 minutes using it, probably due to all the packing and unpacking during the tour. I sent an email to Todd about the problem with the cable, he contacted Focal and they sent a new cable next day, the issue was solved very quickly and it shows very nice support from TTVJ and Focal.

In the sound department these headphones are very interesting. The mids and highs are very clear and slightly pronounced without being harsh or sibilant, on the other hand the low end is a little recessed and I think that is the only weak point of the headphones. Female voices sound very good but male voices sound lean. The best sound I could get was by using the XBass+ of my iFi Micro iDSD BL, which essentially increases the low end a little bit. Other than that the sound quality is good, and the level of detail is very good, I can hear all the details and they are a little forgiving, so overall it’s nice to listen music with them. I only have a couple of entry level closed back headphones (GermanMAESTRO GMP 8.35 and ESS 422H) both have definitely more bass than the Elegia, but as far as detail and clarity the Elegia are just in another level. I’m actually surprised how these can be that clear and smooth at the same time.

As per pairing, I found them to behave fine with all my amplifiers (WooAudio WA6-SE, Audio-gd NFB-1AMP, Massdrop THX AAA 789, iFi Micro iDSD BL, PS Audio GCHA, Fiio BTR3), not big changes in presentation were evident, I assume they would sound fine on almost any source. The best pairings were the iFi Micro iDSD BL with the XBass+ turned on, and the PS Audio GCHA which added some warmth to the sound.

Overall the Elegia are a solid option in the closed back department, I think anyone that can live with a slightly recessed low end might be very happy with these headphones.

 

[Mediahound]

Thanks Todd for the opportunity to demo these headphones.

Here is my review.

The fit and comfort on the Focal Elegia is very nice and I can wear them for long periods of time without them feeling the least bit uncomfortable. The included fabric covered hard case is quite nice and fits the headphones perfectly. There is no balanced cable included, only a relatively short 1.2M single-ended cable. This cable is a bit stiff and heavy and is also a bit microphonic. Although the headphones have plastic earcups, the overall build quality seems premium and the microsuede earpads are quite plush.

They are fairly easy to drive but also don't scale up very well when you plug them in to a higher end headphone amp. That said, although they sound pretty good direct out of my iPhone, I would still recommend some external headphone amp/DAC. They sound great out of my Chord Mojo for example.

These headphones have Focal's 'house' sound signature, which to me is a bit too bass lean. The mids and highs are quite nice, not brittle or harsh at all and the sound-stage seems quite wide for closed backs. I just found myself longing for a bit more bass so that is my only complaint with them.

If you're a fan of the Focal house sound signature and looking for closed back headphones under $1,000, I would certainly consider the Elegia.

 

[Voxata]

Elegia in the house! Many thanks to Todd for putting this up on tour for us all to experience. Will put forth more info on my experience after a few days of head-time.

 

[Voxata]

Focal Elegia Impressions:

I want to start off giving thanks to Todd of TTVJ for putting these up for tour. He has offered all types of different equipment for us to experience and this definitely doesn’t go unnoticed in the community. My first experience with Todd was when on a tour for a quite pricey Audioquest power conditioner. I tried for the life of me but couldn’t rationally put a review on something in which I couldn’t tell a difference in my chain. Still, thanks to Todd I learned that in my situation I wouldn’t benefit from such a product and I am thankful for that.

This time around I’m very excited to actually have something in my hands to put words to. I’ve always wanted some extended time with a Focal product and that day has finally come. When I’ve visited CanJam given the show conditions, different setups and other factors I’ve never been able to really take things in at my own pace. These tour allow me the time to really take things in and make an educated purchase decision and develop my tastes further in audio.

I’ve been keeping an eye on the market for a closed back headphone and with Elegia in my budget and on my radar this tour has come at the perfect time. I’ve plenty of experience with closed back headphones ranging from my beat’em up DT770, Ether C 1.1 and Shure 1540’s. I’ll touch on a few key areas on the Elegia.

Comfort – The cups on these headphones fit with room to adjust to preference. Sound is not impacted heavily due to positioning thanks to the angled driver. Clamping force is present however given the metal yokes can be firmly adjusted if need be (I did not do this, it is a tour pair after all!) The headband is solid with perforated leather at the top of the head however pleather wraps the top of the headband which I’m not a fan of. Weight is however evenly distributed and I did not have any pressure spot issues. Isolation is not the best given the light velour pads with perforated inner section, however it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the Shure 1540’s.

Durability - The Elegia cups are primarily plastic which is alright as it saves on weight. They have heft and feel great in hand. The only issue I’ve got here is with the pleather over the top of the headband. If this was to get worn it would get unsightly very quick.

Sound – For a closed back these sound quite decent. Easily besting the DT770’s of course and playing with the bigger contenders. However, for *my* preferences the treble comes in a little forward and the bass a bit shy in the lower mids. This was most noticeable on guitar plucks and drum hits however some genres this actually played quite nicely with. Vocals are portrayed with clarity and are engaging. Violins are crisp and the treble has great sparkle and expanse for a closed back headphone. These generally played nicer at lower volumes, anything much higher would bring forth fatigue.

Scalability – With gear changes the character follows suit however this is minor and these are very easily driven from just about anything. They saw little benefit moving up my ladder of gear which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as you won’t need $1,000 worth of equipment for the Elegia to sound great.

In closing you may think I’m pretty mixed on my impressions on the Elegia. Actually I’ve truly enjoyed my time with it and I’m quite curious what else Focal has to offer. Sadly, for my preferences this headphone is not what I’ve been looking for as I prefer a bit more laid back treble and neutral or very slightly lifted bass. I did however find quite a few songs that clicked well with the Elegia and when this headphone clicks it does so quite well. Some people stick to certain genres however my tasted vary wildly so strong all around performance is a must in my book. I'd give it a 3.75/5


Gear: For this review I used the following

iFi iDSD Silver

Grace SDAC+JDS Atom

Topping DX7S+THX789

Fiio X5iii