[Tsukuyomi]

Got a bit of a listen in with a chap last week who bought them because he needed the isolation, plus he owns a set of Focal speakers. A bit uneven and rough is how I would describe my hearings with regards to the treble (he came to the same finish), but to be fair, I am coming from planar headphones, but still, the Elegia headphones response does nasty things to hiss and the like. You can pick out the coloration with pink noise test and such. Perhaps the Utopia may be the ideal but a asking price is a bit rich for my blood!

ive heard people say the utopia isnt worth the price, and that the Elex or Clears are better value.
in what way do you mean colouration for the noise? as in the elegia is a revealing headphone for quality level or source or does it distort when certain frequencies are played?

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Planar headphones are generally known for flat and smooth bass, not treble. There are quite a few planar cans with uneven treble, hell even the Utopia is notoriously uneven in the treble. Also even if your other point was true, people don't listen to pink noise. But again I don't hear a particularly rough treble on the Elegia. It is more even than say high end Sennheisers or Beyers which can have nasty spikes which can be almost unlistenable.

out of curiosity and i know they may not be comparable in terms of price, but in terms of enjoyment, how much different do you find the elegia vs the b&o h6 2nd gen. i myself love my h62nd its my headphone for mellowing and relaxing to a movie or tv show. but when it comes to critical listening i pull out my DT1990 Pros. i'm in love with my beyers, love that clean clean detailed sound. i just wish the sound stage was a tad better but the detail is there. do you think the elegias can go toe to toe with the DT1990 pros ? because if they sound very similar or exactly the same... would be a tiny bit of a waste of money for me to buy two headphones that sound very similar

 

[329161]

out of curiosity and i know they may not be comparable in terms of price, but in terms of enjoyment, how much different do you find the elegia vs the b&o h6 2nd gen. i myself love my h62nd its my headphone for mellowing and relaxing to a movie or tv show. but when it comes to critical listening i pull out my DT1990 Pros. i'm in love with my beyers, love that clean clean detailed sound. i just wish the sound stage was a tad better but the detail is there. do you think the elegias can go toe to toe with the DT1990 pros ? because if they sound very similar or exactly the same... would be a tiny bit of a waste of money for me to buy two headphones that sound very similar

The B&o has more, but less detailed bass than the Elegia. Soundstage, imaging and refinement are also better on the Focal. Treble quality and extension is also a win for the Elegia. The H6 is lighter and more portable. IMO if you have no need for a closed can, then your 1990 is sufficient. The Elegia wouldn't be that much of a necessary addition. But only u can judge this for yourself.

 

[up late]

Planar headphones are generally known for flat and smooth bass, not treble. There are quite a few planar cans with uneven treble, hell even the Utopia is notoriously uneven in the treble. Also even if your other point was true, people don't listen to pink noise. But again I don't hear a particularly rough treble on the Elegia. It is more even than say high end Sennheisers or Beyers which can have nasty spikes which can be almost unlistenable.

the utopia's treble has never sounded uneven and unnatural to me, whereas the elegia's did

 

[329161]

the utopia's treble has never sounded uneven and unnatural to me, whereas the elegia's did

As with everything audio, YMMV. How long did you listen to the Elegia for? What do you mean by "unnatural"? It seems smooth enough to me, certainly more accurate than hd700, 800, typical Beyer teslas etc. But hey, we all hear differently with different tolerances and sensitivities.

 

[Beagle]

The treble, to me, isn't harsh or sibilant, if that's what you're getting at. It's almost ideal for me. Again, have you actually heard it?

I was referring to the graph and the uneven spikiness apparent. I haven't heard it. Not sure I want to. If you like the Elegia, fine. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I have owned the Clear and the Elear and, while they were nice headphones, the upper mid and treble were a bit disjointed for me in the long term.

 

[Jthompson300]

I was referring to the graph and the uneven spikiness apparent. I haven't heard it. Not sure I want to. If you like the Elegia, fine. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I have owned the Clear and the Elear and, while they were nice headphones, the upper mid and treble were a bit disjointed for me in the long term.

I was 99.9% sure that you were talking about the graph and I was thinking to myself “why are these guys upset that he didn’t like the brainwave pads chart to the point that they are bashing him” but it wasn’t my place to step in to question the brainwaves love that they have or defend your position about the treble on the graph.

It is really odd that some people can’t put things together even though you didn’t quote the post but I will state my opinion as someone who did buy the Utopia pads and put them on the Elegia, if you change the pads you will destroy the sound that Focal was going for with the Elegia and not just the bass, everything. The treble on that graph is about what I heard with the Utopia pads, horrible.

 

[Beagle]

I was 99.9% sure that you were talking about the graph and I was thinking to myself “why are these guys upset that he didn’t like the brainwave pads chart to the point that they are bashing him” but it wasn’t my place to step in to question the brainwaves love that they have or defend your position about the treble on the graph.

It is really odd that some people can’t put things together even though you didn’t quote the post but I will state my opinion as someone who did buy the Utopia pads and put them on the Elegia, if you change the pads you will destroy the sound that Focal was going for with the Elegia and not just the bass, everything. The treble on that graph is about what I heard with the Utopia pads, horrible.

Yep. I bought a set of the Utopia pads for my Elear and it was not a success. True, it did seem to increase a bit in clarity but the bottom just fell out. Similar things happened when I swapped pads on the Beyer DT880 and one of the others (DT770 perhaps). One has breathing holes that let the bass out and will not work on the other. The sealed pad obviously holds the bass in.

 

[antdroid]

Take treble response in my graphs and most diy/diy-like measurements with a huge grain of salt. Treble is probably the hardest thing to measure accurately.

Just to be clear, the BW pads aren't recommended for the Elegia.

Edit: I also want to add, I don't smooth my graphs as much as some more formal published graphs are like on headfi and innerfidelity where they may smooth it up to 1/3. I smooth usually 1/48. Smoothing will remove the jagged look significantly.

 

[Jthompson300]

Take treble response in my graphs and most diy/diy-like measurements with a huge grain of salt. Treble is probably the hardest thing to measure accurately.

Just to be clear, the BW pads aren't recommended for the Elegia.

To be honest I think the graph was pretty spot on.

 

[antdroid]

Add-on to my previous statement:

I also want to add, I don't smooth my graphs as much as some more formal published graphs are like on headfi and innerfidelity where they may smooth it up to 1/3. I smooth usually 1/48. Smoothing will remove the jagged look significantly.

 

[Jthompson300]

Add-on to my previous statement:

I also want to add, I don't smooth my graphs as much as some more formal published graphs are like on headfi and innerfidelity where they may smooth it up to 1/3. I smooth usually 1/48. Smoothing will remove the jagged look significantly.

To be fair it could be my gear, it’s pretty much direct with 0 color but either way, with the Utopia pads it was nothing more than squealing, like I mentioned when I first got the pads here in this thread it was like someone with apple ear buds in front of you on an airplane playing their music loud.

 

[antdroid]

To be fair it could be my gear, it’s pretty much direct with 0 color but either way, with the Utopia pads it was nothing more than squealing, like I mentioned when I first got the pads here in this thread it was like someone with apple ear buds in front of you on an airplane playing their music loud.

No I totally agree with you. I've tried various pads on the Elegia, and another person (Torq) has as well and the stock one is by far the best sounding. The Elex pad on the Elegia also sucks all the bass out. The BW Microsuede actually increases it, but I feel you lose a little detail and stagewidth with it. Elear, Clear pads are also a no go and Utopia pads. I also didnt like the BW Sheepskin Leather pads either.

 

[329161]

I was referring to the graph and the uneven spikiness apparent. I haven't heard it. Not sure I want to. If you like the Elegia, fine. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I have owned the Clear and the Elear and, while they were nice headphones, the upper mid and treble were a bit disjointed for me in the long term.

Bit unfair to be so critical of a headphone when you haven't heard it, no?

 

[up late]

As with everything audio, YMMV. How long did you listen to the Elegia for? What do you mean by "unnatural"? It seems smooth enough to me, certainly more accurate than hd700, 800, typical Beyer teslas etc. But hey, we all hear differently with different tolerances and sensitivities.

that almost goes without saying really but seeing as you have - i agree. i only listened to it for a short time because i disliked it that much. i rarely have such an adverse reaction to a headphone. what i mean by "unnatural" is tonally off in a way that sounds artificial rather than realistic to my ears. it was the combination of the elegia's upfront presentation and treble that did me in. i also listened to the hd820 and z1r and found their presentations much more agreeable.