[wazzupi]

I too bought the Adorama 429$ special and am really enjoying these phones. I have never owned a Focal product prior to this and always thought their lineup of speakers were a bit tight and technical sounding on the whole, but these Elegia's are right in the sweet spot. Firstly I would like to humbly mention that I am acoustician, who has recorded and mixed over 200 records, owned recording studios for over 20 years, owned a mastering studio for 8 years, built many many studios and theaters and currently consult in architectural acoustics which all adds up to that I know how to listen for me, but not anyone else. I also know my opinions may be just as useless as a newbie. I respect newbies as much as seasoned professionals and do not think that my experience adds any credibility whatsoever to my observations compared the some really good points made earlier in this thread.

What I like about these phones is overall design balance, all of the design tradeoffs fit well together, they are very cohesive, they do not fight themselves. That in itself is impressive. Many Elegia users favor EQ and this is a great phone to EQ because of the design balance. Adding in any frequency range does not cause chaos in other regions. That is very rare and speaks of the lack if inner fight I mentioned. I have decided for now not to EQ but if I did it would a slight bass increase, a decibel or so nothing drastic. An interesting note, I was using an Oppo HA-2 which is a nice little travel unit, in every other headphone I used with that over the years, the bass boost function threw every phone into a tizzy, but not the Elegia, I still won't use it but it was nearly acceptable. Very interesting to me. It would suggest that the phase coherence of the Elegia and the impulse responses would appear to be very good.

I like the depth and imaging, the dynamics are never a hammer; just relax and you and find yourself in the music. Other reviewers stated that these were better for acoustic music but I really didn't feel that at all, its just good all around. I had listened to the original HD 600's until they decomposed around my head, and I went back to the tracks from that time and I was shocked how many new details I heard in the tracks. How everything just seem integrated and mature. That made me think about the HD lineup evolution, they just could never deliver a single version that hit the sweet spot in depth, detail, imaging, weight and here Focal nailed it. While I fully expect that Focal will soon replace the Elegia, I would never assume that the replacement would automatically be better. Thats why at this price, this is another headphone that may yet decompose on my head.

I compared the Elegia to numerous HiFiman phones which I enjoy, starting with an old set of 400i's and going up the line. While I very much enjoy the transients of all of those phones, its only Arya and the HE1000V2 that would move me away, but I ask myself why? 429$ is a great number to pay for this much fun. Why in the world would I pay 3 X or 4 X, really get a life. I'm good here, with a closed back.

One thing thats a bit of an issue; so the Elegia is essentially a partially ported design or a pressure realease design which I think is a big part of this phones acoustical solution. Sleeping next to my wife where I do a fair amount of hardcore listening, a lot more sound escapes than I would have imagined. Since Focal designed the headphone like a small room with an energy or pressure release vent which is akin to a bass trap or air space in an acoustical room, I can feel her stir when I turn it up. Hadn't expected that.

Too bad she bought me these for my birthday.

When were these 429 ?

 

[sennfan83261]

When were these 429 ?

The weekend of May 23rd.

 

[Undun]

Are these good for rock or metal ?

Not the best for metal IMO, plenty good with my classic rock library--fairly solid timbre reproduction, natural slam in the bass region, good staging/positioning... Impact and dynamicism on instruments is excellent, and vocal performance comes through forward/intimate without being too shouty.

 

[Slim1970]

When were these 429 ?

I snagged a pair at that price from Adorama. These are totally worth it, but they do need some EQ and some time to break in the drivers. The Elegia's are not lite on bass like I've been reading. They do bass very well with plenty of punch.

 

[GiullianSN]

Agree is not the best for Metal, but it's really good on everything else. For metal, would need a bit of brain burn, then it sounds really good!

 

[Undun]

Agree is not the best for Metal, but it's really good on everything else. For metal, would need a bit of brain burn, then it sounds really good!

Yea, I feel like they can definitely keep up with speed, especially in the bass region w/ fast kick-drum and bass lines but my reservation is that they may come off a little too bright...

 

[GiullianSN]

yep, agree on the brightness. for some it may mean "details", for others (like me) not really what I would want for the "musicality". But nothing is perfect, so I'm still really happy with it. I just try to use a warmer source in this case.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

That's the regular sheepskin, not the fenestrated, right? I might try them

Yes regular sheepskin as the fenestrated kill the low end. Just letting you know, expect a bit more low end and will be tighter. Mids will warm up a bit and sound thicker, treble smooths out a bit but still has great clarity and detail. I tell you so you have an idea what to expect

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Yea, I feel like they can definitely keep up with speed, especially in the bass region w/ fast kick-drum and bass lines but my reservation is that they may come off a little too bright...

Dekoni Sheepskin earpads help out. I listen to heaps of metal. Tool, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Alice In Chains, Motorhead sounds amazing some black metal bands here and there too... and I can tell you, with the earpad swap, it makes them sounds great

 

[passernger10000]

Yea, I feel like they can definitely keep up with speed, especially in the bass region w/ fast kick-drum and bass lines but my reservation is that they may come off a little too bright...

I'm listening to tons of metal and hard rock on the Elegia's, can you give me an example of a specific song that would sound better on another phone?

 

[GiullianSN]

So many pros/cons of each variant...so less money to buy them all and try...

 

[Undun]

Dekoni Sheepskin earpads help out. I listen to heaps of metal. Tool, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Alice In Chains, Motorhead sounds amazing some black metal bands here and there too... and I can tell you, with the earpad swap, it makes them sounds great

Yea I have the same pads on mine, I agree generally. I still think they're on the brighter side of neutral even then. Nothing wrong with that, but I know some people like something a tad warmer for metal...

 

[Undun]

I'm listening to tons of metal and hard rock on the Elegia's, can you give me an example of a specific song that would sound better on another phone?

Yea sure... I'm not much of a metal head although one of my reference tracks is "Rust in Peace...Polaris" by Megadeth (or anything from the Rust in Peace album, actually). I thought the album sounded significantly better on Audeze LCD-Xs when I was able to test some tracks on them. The Elegia nearly keeps up on speed, but I much preferred the slightly darker leaning tonality (still EQd, I should add, with setting from the Reveal app) and ultimately the better sense of stage (to be expected, especially in depth) from the Audeze. I also liked that the mids were a tad fuller and that the treble energy, while still intense, sounded smoother yet and more organic. If you like metal/hard rock, I'd give the LCD-X a listen, if you haven't already . I'd still take the Elegia for my R&B library (my favorite genre) any day though .

 

[passernger10000]

Yea sure... I'm not much of a metal head although one of my reference tracks is "Rust in Peace...Polaris" by Megadeth (or anything from the Rust in Peace album, actually). I thought the album sounded significantly better on Audeze LCD-Xs when I was able to test some tracks on them. The Elegia nearly keeps up on speed, but I much preferred the slightly darker leaning tonality (still EQd, I should add, with setting from the Reveal app) and ultimately the better sense of stage (to be expected, especially in depth) from the Audeze. I also liked that the mids were a tad fuller and that the treble energy, while still intense, sounded smoother yet and more organic. If you like metal/hard rock, I'd give the LCD-X a listen, if you haven't already . I'd still take the Elegia for my R&B library (my favorite genre) any day though .

Thank you, I will take a listen. Check out Dancing with the Dead, 10 Years - Minus the Machine, I was also listening to Deftones - Gore, and Koi No Yokan, this band always has lean bass, massive mids and a lot of dynamics. the LCD-X may well be the better headphone it also was more than the 2X the cost that I paid for Elegia.

 

[GiullianSN]

And maybe 2x the weight.

I like Elegia as it is. Just would like a new pair of pads/cables that won't mess with the signature. But will make it comfortable.