[samandhi]

I’m curious, have any Canadians here taken advantage of the Adorama deal? How much were you hit with customs fees?

Alternatively, has anyone asked any local retailers to try to price match? The Adorama deal says $299 + $43, which works out to about $450 CAD at the current exchange rate. By comparison, they’re sold for $550 CAD on Amazon.ca as well as at certain Canadian headphone stores. Are any stores willing to drop that $550 CAD to $450 CAD to buy from them rather than Adorama?

It IS possible, but I sort of doubt it. The reason that Adorama is able to sell them so cheaply is because their stock was meant to be sold in EU (with all the customs and taxes that might involve). They sell them in the US because there are no customs or export taxes here. Thus, they don't have to tack that on to the total price of the product. They have done this since even when the Elegia were in full production (though not as steeply discounted back then), and as mentioned earlier, Focal has frowned upon it. Though, I am not sure why they didn't stop supplying to them. I suspect it might be because they have sold a crap-ton via Adorama, and they just finally gave up and gave in??? LOL (just conjecture on my part though)

From articles I have read, they consider items sold in this fashion "grey market" items.

 

[Waddiewadkins]

How much would it cost my brother to send them to me in Ireland from Chicago? Big thanks if you do that work for me!

 

[samandhi]

How much would it cost my brother to send them to me in Ireland from Chicago? Big thanks if you do that work for me!

Probably something like $30, but you will have to pay whatever taxes your country (more to the point the local customs and/or postal service) might charge you, which is usually based on the value of the item (maybe something like $100 or something like that). Could be totally different though because I am not familiar with those fees in Ireland. You will have to do the research locally.

 

[Waddiewadkins]

Probably something like $30, but you will have to pay whatever taxes your country (more to the point the local customs and/or postal service) might charge you, which is usually based on the value of the item (maybe something like $100 or something like that). Could be totally different though because I am not familiar with those fees in Ireland. You will have to do the research locally.

Thanks for ballparking.. edit..maybe aftersales for 650E be worth it over that.

 

[vcoheda]

focal elegia + dekoni pads is a very solid option for DAP use - easy to drive and decent isolation. the stock cable is not bad; just a little stiff.

 

[pk4425]

Very well put! And just on the bass response, I think what makes up for it sometimes feeling a bit lean in terms of bass quantity on some tracks is the bass quality and detail on offer is fantastic. I'd say it has a unique and enjoyable bass presentation in this regard, but if you're expecting to always feel (rather than hear) the bass then you might end up disappointed for *some* genres/tracks.

I owned the Elegia and sold them. Couldn't wrap my head around the weird midrange tuning. Hard to describe, but something just wasn't right for my ears and brain.

But the Elegia had intriguing and effective bass. It doesn't coat your ear canals in constant low end like some cans with strong bass and sub-bass. But when called upon, it punches -- hard. I could swear I felt air physically moving within the cups of the Elegia on bass drops.

The Elegia bass is like a quiet, well-behaved, smart child in school. It won't draw attention to itself when not called upon. But when the kid raises his or her hand and the teacher acknowledges, the kid will be more than happy to share his or her smarts with the class.

 

[yrstruly]

I owned the Elegia and sold them. Couldn't wrap my head around the weird midrange tuning. Hard to describe, but something just wasn't right for my ears and brain.

But the Elegia had intriguing and effective bass. It doesn't coat your ear canals in constant low end like some cans with strong bass and sub-bass. But when called upon, it punches -- hard. I could swear I felt air physically moving within the cups of the Elegia on bass drops.

The Elegia bass is like a quiet, well-behaved, smart child in school. It won't draw attention to itself when not called upon. But when the kid raises his or her hand and the teacher acknowledges, the kid will be more than happy to share his or her smarts with the class.

Yeah you nailed it re the bass. Sometimes the way it kicks is extremely (surprisingly) satisfying, sometimes it’s a bit…reserved. In a way (ironically) when it’s less present I feel like it allows me to pay attention to the detail and recognise individual bass lines more than I normally would.

Fair enough on the midrange not being to your liking, totally get that. It’s kinda weird, but I love it for that haha.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

After getting the Elegias (with the Focal upgrade cable) on a larf a few days ago, I find that I like them alot ( was originally trying to procure my second set of DCS Aeons, but my plans fell thru). Let it be known that I am part of the 'no-EQ cartel', and out the gate mines sounded good thru my Focal edition Questyle QP2R player (when the QP2R first debuted, Focal did a collaboration with Questyle the player which pairs well with it). So out the box, you already know these cans pair well with said players. But since so many people advocated for these to be EQ'd, I ventured to try it to Crin's and Oratory's settings--and damn did these setting hone in the Elegia's capabilities better than I originally thought. It's really good.

And to my no-EQ cartel members (and others), shoo, get a pair of these into your collection for a song , EQ them and thank me later. Though I haven't listened to the Celestee, I am betting the sound of these gets you to the same sound sig of that pair or better EQ'd.

 

[Waddiewadkins]

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/t...-focal-elegia/714/726?usage=20&threshold=0.10 Sounds better,, Less bulky... ?? Anyone care to chip their .02c in?

 

[Waddiewadkins]

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/t...c-dt-1770-pro/295/714?usage=19&threshold=0.10 about even,, sound consistency issue is a bit of a burn but I think I wouldn't notice. Like how often are you going to be walking down the road noticing "inconsitencies" in the music youre listening to?

 

[mainguy]

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/t...-focal-elegia/714/726?usage=20&threshold=0.10 Sounds better,, Less bulky... ?? Anyone care to chip their .02c in?

Rtings is beyond useless for headphones. They think a QC35 sounds close to a hd800s, according to their 'rtings'

 

[Waddiewadkins]

Rtings is beyond useless for headphones. They think a QC35 sounds close to a hd800s, according to their 'rtings'

Oo rtings been rtingd . That bad huh?

 

[pk4425]

Oo rtings been rtingd . That bad huh?

The only difference between Rtings' evaluation of headphones and a bucket of crap is the bucket.

 

[samandhi]

Oo rtings been rtingd . That bad huh?

Yes. Pay no attention to their reviews. I used to like to look at that site for the "science" part, but I am not (even) too sure about that anymore.

As an example, they marked the Focal off (on the mids) because it didn't match their curve, that they are too forward by +3dB. That is purely subjective, not objective, which is fine if you know their preference matches yours. On the other hand, if you don't like a mid forward set by about +3dB, then this will be accurate to you.

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Rtings is beyond useless for headphones. They think a QC35 sounds close to a hd800s, according to their 'rtings'

The thing about RTings is that they’re even terrible for TV reviews.

That’s supposed to be their bread and butter, and yet they’re terrible at it.

The problem is that RTings isn’t a product review site; it’s a product measurement site. They don’t actually look at a product and evaluate its quality; they just take a whole bunch of arbitrary measurements, assign value to those measurements, and then use that to rate the product.

That might sound good in theory, but it actually has negative effects on the consumer.

For example, RTings led so many people astray with Vizio TVs over the years. The TVs are unreliable pieces of junk with so many bugs, hardware failures, inconsistencies, performance problems, and QC issues, but because RTings measured them to have deeper blacks than an equivalent Sony or Samsung, they gave them higher overall review scores, which resulted in tons of people running out to buy these TVs, thinking they were getting a premium product at a budget price.

Nope.

The things are built like crap and perform like crap. You’re much better off getting something that maybe doesn’t achieve quite the same metrics, but is far better in all other aspects. But because RTings recommended them, so many people ran out to buy Vizio TVs, regretted it, and they ended up with sky-high return rates. The customer satisfaction on that brand is horrible.


RTings doesn’t understand what a product review is. They don’t know what criteria are important to consumers and they don’t know what makes a good product.

Whether it’s TVs, headphones, or anything else, they’re a great site if you’re looking for specs and measurements. But they’re not a product review site. Their scores are meaningless. Go to them for product specs, not for product reviews.