[Ken G]

Likewise I’ve heard next to nil about the LCD-2 Closed. Compared to the reams of hype for the LCD-2C, the Closed is almost anonymous. At least the Elegia is getting reviewed and discussed - I haven’t seen a single in-depth review of the LCD-2 Closed anywhere.

I have the LCD2 Closed and I like them. They are more neutral than the LCD2C which seems to be a turn-off for some who purchased the LCD2 CB expecting it to be as warm as the LCD2C and pre-Fazor. Not as dynamic or transparent as the Focals high end HP (Elear/Elex on up) but a good compliment to them and although they are big I have no problem using them on a plane, coffee shop or at my son’s Karate sessions. It can easily be powered from a mid level DAP (Fiio X7 mk2 balanced)or Mojo.

Before I purchased them, I compared them and the LCDXC (for almost an hour) at a Head-Fi meet and found very little difference despite a disparity in price.

here are some minor reviews:
http://majorhifi.com/audeze-lcd2-closed-back-vs-audeze-lcd-2-open-back-review/

https://audio46.com/audeze-lcd-2-classic-closed-back-review/

 

[ShredderCO]

I have the LCD2 Closed and I like them. They are more neutral than the LCD2C which seems to be a turn-off for some who purchased the LCD2 CB expecting it to be as warm as the LCD2C and pre-Fazor. Not as dynamic or transparent as the Focals high end HP (Elear/Elex on up) but a good compliment to them and although they are big I have no problem using them on a plane, coffee shop or at my son’s Karate sessions. It can easily be powered from a mid level DAP (Fiio X7 mk2 balanced)or Mojo.

Before I purchased them, I compared them and the LCDXC (for almost an hour) at a Head-Fi meet and found very little difference despite a disparity in price.

here are some minor reviews:
http://majorhifi.com/audeze-lcd2-closed-back-vs-audeze-lcd-2-open-back-review/

https://audio46.com/audeze-lcd-2-classic-closed-back-review/[/QUOTE

As I mentioned earlier in this post, after CAn/Jam-RMAF, I chose the Focal over the Audeze (those were my two faves). I very much liked the LCD-2 closed and would be happy to own it. However, I went with the Focal because of its superior dynamics and clarity.

 

[gLer]

I have the LCD2 Closed and I like them. They are more neutral than the LCD2C which seems to be a turn-off for some who purchased the LCD2 CB expecting it to be as warm as the LCD2C and pre-Fazor. Not as dynamic or transparent as the Focals high end HP (Elear/Elex on up) but a good compliment to them and although they are big I have no problem using them on a plane, coffee shop or at my son’s Karate sessions. It can easily be powered from a mid level DAP (Fiio X7 mk2 balanced)or Mojo.

Before I purchased them, I compared them and the LCDXC (for almost an hour) at a Head-Fi meet and found very little difference despite a disparity in price.

here are some minor reviews:
http://majorhifi.com/audeze-lcd2-closed-back-vs-audeze-lcd-2-open-back-review/

https://audio46.com/audeze-lcd-2-classic-closed-back-review/

Great info and thanks for the links. I take it you haven’t heard the Elegia yet?

 

[Ken G]

Great info and thanks for the links. I take it you haven’t heard the Elegia yet?

Unfortunately no. I own The Clear and used to own the Elear. Love both. Haven’t heard the Elex but it is the best looking of the bunch. Focal make great headphones and I’m very interested in hearing the Elegia.

 

[Preachy1]

Okay, got it, thanks.

 

[doboo57]

I've just read the MajorHiFi review: http://majorhifi.com/focal-elegia-review/
Looks like promising from my personal expectations!

 

[SoundSquare]

I've just read the MajorHiFi review: http://majorhifi.com/focal-elegia-review/
Looks like promising from my personal expectations!

thanks for the link, very positive review, i agree with everything the reviewer said but the « warm » adjective. For me the Elegia is not a warm heaphone at all, nor cold, it’s very uncoloured and heaphonerz looking for a warm laid back sound may be disappointed.

 

[ctaxxxx]

thanks for the link, very positive review, i agree with everything the reviewer said but the « warm » adjective. For me the Elegia is not a warm heaphone at all, nor cold, it’s very uncoloured and heaphonerz looking for a warm laid back sound may be disappointed.

I agree. It's a pretty neutral tone to my ears.

I do agree with his review of the treble though. It's rolled off enough to where it could be considered smooth. It's the one region I've barely commented on because I have zero issues with it.

 

[doboo57]

thanks for the link, very positive review, i agree with everything the reviewer said but the « warm » adjective. For me the Elegia is not a warm heaphone at all, nor cold, it’s very uncoloured and heaphonerz looking for a warm laid back sound may be disappointed.

I hope so.

For me, a warm headphone have a noticeable bass emphasis, lush mids and rolled-off treble.

I wish that the Elegia will rather have good speedy bass (close to neutral), clear and quite upfront mids and non-sibilant (but not too much rolled-off) treble…

 

[JamieCole]

I find it very unlikely that someone who likes the sound signature of Fostex/Denon/EMU will like the Elegia, except you're deliberately looking for a different, complementary sound signature.

Thanks for the comment and concern. My reasons are a bit of both, and more. I like trying new things, which can always get one into trouble with this hobby. In my brief time with the Clear, I didn't find them flat or boring at all. To my ears, Focal and Fostex are dynamic and engaging headphones with different takes on tonality and frequency response. I appreciate the differences and nuances. I don't expect the Elegia to sound or slam like the 900's, so my expectations are tempered there. I'm looking for a solid closed back headphone capable of swinging between a wide range of genres. I personally enjoy the sound of dynamic drivers over planar, so that narrows the search.

Plus, for one reason or another, I haven't managed to keep any of the Foster variants. Out side of the highs, I did find the low end (and mid bass in the case of the mahogany X00's) to become distracting and fatiguing during long listening sessions that would inevitably range from hardcore, folk, classical, hip hop, ambient, punk, and pop. Dunno, I might be asking too much from a single closed back. :\

Not sure if everyone saw this review on Moon Audio? Same reviewer, slightly different word choice on the Elegia product page.

 

[SoundSquare]

I agree. It's a pretty neutral tone to my ears.

I do agree with his review of the treble though. It's rolled off enough to where it could be considered smooth. It's the one region I've barely commented on because I have zero issues with it.

I usually prefer when the highs extend far (without going sibilant though, but I'm among those who can deal with the HD800 or Sonorous VI treble) and at first I found the Elegia's high too rolled off for my taste but now I think it's one of the best highs I've heard in a closed set, it extends much more than I initially thought. Same with bass, it has such a wonderful impact and renders bass in such a clean and accurate way. The mids are so amazing that it's easy to focus on them and not notice the beautiful bass and highs at first.

 

[llamaluv]

I just stole an extra hour during my lunch break to try out the Elegia at the local shop, driven by a Sony WM1A DAP (using the single-ended output). I liked them quite a bit actually, and my TL/DR is that they're probably worth $900 if they fit your use case and prefs.

Random impressions:

- Isolation is okay but just okay.
- The light-silver and black colorway is on the tacky side IMO. The synthetic pads probably have a lot to do with that. I would want them for work so I really wish they had a more boring mono-tone look.
- The pads are way more comfortable for me than the Clear or the Utopia. Must be the material (go figure).
- The stiff-ass cable cut out a little in the left channel if I bent them in the wrong way (ie, defective). Not a great sign but oh well.
- So yea, the mids really are notably forward. More so than I remember the Clear being. I did feel they were a little shouty on first impression though. I don't want to make too much of that though, since I didn't mind after a few minutes.
- Highs are also quite forward. So as far as the detail that the headphone has to offer, it's going to give it to you.
- Bass is tight and articulate, which IMO is a signature quality of Focal cans. I usually need to juice up the bass a little on any setup (~3dB), and I did that this time as well. The bass responded well to this. I liked the tonal balance a lot more after doing this.
- Overall in terms of resolution, I thought it was quite good, coming out of the WM1A.
- Soundstage was Focal-sized, and slightly worse so for being closed. This was slightly off-putting on first impression, I can't lie, but after a few minutes, focusing on the music and the details, I actually really enjoyed the imaging.
- Instrument separation was very good, I found nothing to complain about on this.
- On several tracks, as soon as the music started, I kind-of went "Oh!", because it immediately sounded very good to me.
- I wanted to listen to them longer than the ~50 minutes I allowed myself during my lunch break, so that was of course a very good sign.

So the two biggest watchouts, I think, are the forward mids and the soundstage. I'm going to try to listen to them one more time with a Woo WA8 portable tube amp to see how that affects tonality, soundstage, and overall presentation, and if I like it more than with the WM1A, I'll probably get them for work.

 

[Ken G]

I just stole an extra hour during my lunch break to try out the Elegia at the local shop, driven by a Sony WM1A DAP (using the single-ended output). I liked them quite a bit actually, and my TL/DR is that they're probably worth $900 if they fit your use case and prefs.

Random impressions:

- Isolation is okay but just okay.
- The light-silver and black colorway is on the tacky side IMO. The synthetic pads probably have a lot to do with that. I would want them for work so I really wish they had a more boring mono-tone look.
- The pads are way more comfortable for me than the Clear or the Utopia. Must be the material (go figure).
- The stiff-ass cable cut out a little in the left channel if I bent them in the wrong way (ie, defective). Not a great sign but oh well.
- So yea, the mids really are notably forward. More so than I remember the Clear being. I did feel they were a little shouty on first impression though. I don't want to make too much of that though, since I didn't mind after a few minutes.
- Highs are also quite forward. So as far as the detail that the headphone has to offer, it's going to give it to you.
- Bass is tight and articulate, which IMO is a signature quality of Focal cans. I usually need to juice up the bass a little on any setup (~3dB), and I did that this time as well. The bass responded well to this. I liked the tonal balance a lot more after doing this.
- Overall in terms of resolution, I thought it was quite good, coming out of the WM1A.
- Soundstage was Focal-sized, and slightly worse so for being closed. This was slightly off-putting on first impression, I can't lie, but after a few minutes, focusing on the music and the details, I actually really enjoyed the imaging.
- Instrument separation was very good, I found nothing to complain about on this.
- On several tracks, as soon as the music started, I kind-of went "Oh!", because it immediately sounded very good to me.
- I wanted to listen to them longer than the ~50 minutes I allowed myself during my lunch break, so that was of course a very good sign.

So the two biggest watchouts, I think, are the forward mids and the soundstage. I'm going to try to listen to them one more time with a Woo WA8 portable tube amp to see how that affects tonality, soundstage, and overall presentation, and if I like it more than with the WM1A, I'll probably get them for work.

Great summary of your Impressions. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Preachy1]

Everyone keeps mentioning this thing called a "local shop". I have no idea what you're referring to.

 

[SoundSquare]

I just stole an extra hour during my lunch break to try out the Elegia at the local shop, driven by a Sony WM1A DAP (using the single-ended output). I liked them quite a bit actually, and my TL/DR is that they're probably worth $900 if they fit your use case and prefs.

Random impressions:

- Isolation is okay but just okay.
- The light-silver and black colorway is on the tacky side IMO. The synthetic pads probably have a lot to do with that. I would want them for work so I really wish they had a more boring mono-tone look.
- The pads are way more comfortable for me than the Clear or the Utopia. Must be the material (go figure).
- The stiff-ass cable cut out a little in the left channel if I bent them in the wrong way (ie, defective). Not a great sign but oh well.
- So yea, the mids really are notably forward. More so than I remember the Clear being. I did feel they were a little shouty on first impression though. I don't want to make too much of that though, since I didn't mind after a few minutes.
- Highs are also quite forward. So as far as the detail that the headphone has to offer, it's going to give it to you.
- Bass is tight and articulate, which IMO is a signature quality of Focal cans. I usually need to juice up the bass a little on any setup (~3dB), and I did that this time as well. The bass responded well to this. I liked the tonal balance a lot more after doing this.
- Overall in terms of resolution, I thought it was quite good, coming out of the WM1A.
- Soundstage was Focal-sized, and slightly worse so for being closed. This was slightly off-putting on first impression, I can't lie, but after a few minutes, focusing on the music and the details, I actually really enjoyed the imaging.
- Instrument separation was very good, I found nothing to complain about on this.
- On several tracks, as soon as the music started, I kind-of went "Oh!", because it immediately sounded very good to me.
- I wanted to listen to them longer than the ~50 minutes I allowed myself during my lunch break, so that was of course a very good sign.

So the two biggest watchouts, I think, are the forward mids and the soundstage. I'm going to try to listen to them one more time with a Woo WA8 portable tube amp to see how that affects tonality, soundstage, and overall presentation, and if I like it more than with the WM1A, I'll probably get them for work.

The first time i listened to them was also with my own WM1A, and i wasn’t so impressed. With a balanced cable on the balanced output of the WM1A it was another story, much, much better.

The mids lost their tendency to being shouty after 20h of burn in here.

Thank you for your impressions !