[KCXT]

Thanks for the response. I'm kind of weary on both of these headphones due to lack of bass and possible build quality issues.

If you like your bass somewhat north of "neutral" or more harman target like, the Elegia with dekoni sheepskin will give you that, the Sundara won't.
Neither is bass head territory of course

Agreed - while the Elegia won't provide massive bass (they aren't intended to) they WILL provide accurate, present, and satisfying bass relative to the recording being played. From my perspective it takes a bit of minimal EQ to really unlock this. If a bass focus is what's desired though these are not intended for that and another headphone would be a better option.

With respect to build quality, Hifiman's QC issues are well-known but I would not say that Focal has any significant build quality issues. One could say their service is perhaps lacking for issues presented here but there are not systemic problems across the headphones themselves. If there is evidence otherwise I'm happy to see it for my own education.

It took some time for me but the more I use my Elegias - almost always with the mild EQ I've described before - the more I like them. They provide deep and detailed sound balanced across the frequency range, very good isolation (even with my glasses on), and are easy to drive. I'm sure there is better out there but at the current sale price I am 100% satisfied and my pair is now in full 'daily driver' rotation with my DT 1990s.

 

[gikigill]

Multiple Focal owner here, driver failure and build quality issues are well documented for their headphones and its my only set of headphones that creates that anxiety while using them.

Audezes, Hifiman, Sennheiser, Beyers and others don't create the same sense of fragility.

A replacement driver for the Utopia is $1500 as people have figured out the hard way.

2 Elegias, 1 Elear and 1 Clear here.

Only reason I own them is because of a 60-70% reduction from full price during a sale in Australia.

 

[cel4145]

Why? Technology advances

Tell that to the HD600 and HD650/HD6XX. lol

 

[gikigill]

The STAX SR007 is also older than a lot of folks here. It's a Gen-Z if I'm correct

 

[kyotousa]

Tell that to the HD600 and HD650/HD6XX. lol

Not sure I get it. It was $500 now it's $200. You don't think this $400 pair beats HD650 in almost every aspect except for sound stage?

 

[Benaudio]

Elegia have wider soundstage than sen 6 series, and also better imaging. I guess technically yes they are superior in maybe every way, but some might still prefer 650 softer presentation over Elegia.
In my opinion its still a matter of taste and there is nothing wrong with liking something from old technology over the latest.

 

[kyotousa]

Elegia have wider soundstage than sen 6 series, and also better imaging. I guess technically yes they are superior in maybe every way, but some might still prefer 650 softer presentation over Elegia.
Ij my opinion its still a matter of state and there is nothing wrong in liking something from old technology over the latest.

Nah, I have heard the6XX and own Elegia.
I feel sound stage wise 6XX > Elegia > 4XX.

 

[Benaudio]

Funny, I've owned the 3 at the same time (now have Elegia and Sundara), and to me soundstage wise it would be Elegia = 4xx > 6xx
On imaging, not even a contest

 

[cel4145]

Not sure I get it. It was $500 now it's $200. You don't think this $400 pair beats HD650 in almost every aspect except for sound stage?

The other poster said he wanted to get a second pair of Elegia. Your response to him indicated that he shouldn't because technology advances.

My point, and it should be obvious, is that some headphones manage to be a good headphone choice for many, many, many years, despite headphone technology advances.

 

[kyotousa]

The other poster said he wanted to get a second pair of Elegia. Your response to him indicated that he shouldn't because technology advances.

My point, and it should be obvious, is that some headphones manage to be a good headphone choice for many, many, many years, despite headphone technology advances.

Again, if you have no financial restrain then grab another pair. I don't see any reason not to buy a second pair just for fun even if you end up throwing it into the trash yrs later.
If you do have financial restrain, then it's simple that better headphone will come along despite that a good headphone would still be a good headphone years later.
Unless you are saying HD650 is still the best headphone Sennheisser can offer since it first came out. I don't believe even Sennheisser itself would agree.
Hence my response to the question, technology advances.

 

[cel4145]

Again, if you have no financial restrain then grab another pair. I don't see any reason not to buy a second pair just for fun even if you end up throwing it into the trash yrs later.
If you do have financial restrain, then it's simple that better headphone will come along despite that a good headphone would still be a good headphone years later.
Unless you are saying HD650 is still the best headphone Sennheisser can offer since it first came out. I don't believe even Sennheisser itself would agree.
Hence my response to the question, technology advances.

For some of us. It's not that simple. It's hard to find that headphone that suits us just so. And I can easily understand how someone would like the Elegia enough that there would be no replacement for them in the next 10 years.

 

[lalawilson168]

saw some site have the elegia on sale for 400 bucks, dont ship outside US though thinking of risking it using a forwarding service, but if driver fails or headband breaks, no warranty can save me...

 

[donato]

I just received my Elegia from Adorama. I had tried the Clear (EDIT: I meant the Elear. I've never tried the Clear) when it first came out, but there was something in FR that bugged me so I sold those. I've primarily owned and use open back orthos from my home desktop rig (Holo Spring KTE, Violectric V281) but for $399, I figured I may as well try the Elegia out. My first impression on putting them on was that they sounded less open (duh) than what I was used to, but it didn't take long to acclimate. They aren't bright but there is a bit more sibilance than I like from difficult recordings. I skimmed through the first 70 pages of this thread and read how much back and forth there was on the bass so I was curious to see what I'd find. The bass region seems ok to me, but it's a bit of a contrast to ortho bass for me and there doesn't appear to be sub-bass to me, or at least the kind of sub bass I'm used to. I also tried with a different cable (stock cable from my hifiman) since the Elegia stock cable is a bit short for my desktop setup, but the Hifiman cable really sucks and the stock Focal cable sound better. I should be getting back my reterminated Norne Silvergarde S3 next week, so I'm looking forward to trying the Elegia out with that. I'm hoping that and maybe a little break-in on the HPs will help a bit on the top and bottom (and detail). But for the money, it seems like a really good deal to me.

 

[lalawilson168]

I just received my Elegia from Adorama. I had tried the Clear when it first came out, but there was something in FR that bugged me so I sold those. I've primarily owned and use open back orthos from my home desktop rig (Holo Spring KTE, Violectric V281) but for $399, I figured I may as well try the Elegia out. My first impression on putting them on was that they sounded less open (duh) than what I was used to, but it didn't take long to acclimate. They aren't bright but there is a bit more sibilance than I like from difficult recordings. I skimmed through the first 70 pages of this thread and read how much back and forth there was on the bass so I was curious to see what I'd find. The bass region seems ok to me, but it's a bit of a contrast to ortho bass for me and there doesn't appear to be sub-bass to me, or at least the kind of sub bass I'm used to. I also tried with a different cable (stock cable from my hifiman) since the Elegia stock cable is a bit short for my desktop setup, but the Hifiman cable really sucks and the stock Focal cable sound better. I should be getting back my reterminated Norne Silvergarde S3 next week, so I'm looking forward to trying the Elegia out with that. I'm hoping that and maybe a little break-in on the HPs will help a bit on the top and bottom (and detail). But for the money, it seems like a really good deal to me.

So how would you compare this to the Clear you previously owned. From your first impressions, I see "sibilance", "no sub bass" and "less open", doesnt sound like you have too many good things to say about the Elegia apart from its a good discount from MSRP? I have seen somewhere people described the Elegia as a brighter sounding Eikon and man I really like the Eikons but I think its a bit bulky and heavy for my liking not even accounting for its a third of the price currently...

 

[donato]

So how would you compare this to the Clear you previously owned. From your first impressions, I see "sibilance", "no sub bass" and "less open", doesnt sound like you have too many good things to say about the Elegia apart from its a good discount from MSRP? I have seen somewhere people described the Elegia as a brighter sounding Eikon and man I really like the Eikons but I think its a bit bulky and heavy for my liking not even accounting for its a third of the price currently...

Fair enough. I suppose I spent more words talking about what I didn't think the Elegia had than what I thought it did have. It's unfortunately been too long since I've owned the Clears to make any direct comparison; I only remembered why I ultimately sold them. I think the Elegia offers a nice tonal balance albeit slightly forward for my tastes, good clarity and resolution, a reasonably taut (i.e. not bloated/emphasized) bass, and more open sounding than I expected I know this sounds a bit like damning with faint praise, but I don't currently have much point of comparison with comparable products (maybe I'll have some time to dust off some of my other cans this weekend and do some more comparisons). I was pretty upfront that my primary experience and preference has been open back orthos, but even so, this is a pretty solid deal IMO. To your specific question, is an Eikon worth the cost over the Elegia? I can't say since I haven't heard the Eikon (and all of the ZMFs I've owned have all been open back), but maybe someone else has an answer for you.