[DDDYKI]

Why does it matter ?

Vegetarians and vegans probably wouldn't want to use a pair of headphones with real leather.
I'm holding my pair right now and I can't tell if the top of the headband is leather or not. It feels synthetic and thin to me, but I'm not an expert at spotting the difference and I don't want to steer you wrong (my wife is vegetarian).

 

[JoePR31]

Hey guys. Just bought the Elegia and wanted to chime in. Eight hours in, and the Elegia is starting to grow on me. Even though both it and my B&W P9 are upper MidFi closed cans (more like closed’ish) with premium builds, they really couldn’t be more different. Not yet ready to talk about sound, but the more I wrap my head around the Elegias sound signature, the more I like what it brings to the table.

That being said, I had to stop 5 minutes into my first listening session...and not because of the headphones themselves. I had to stop to jump on Amazon and order the first halfway decent cable that I came across. Because, literally, anything is better than the piece of **** that Focal threw in the box with it! What the heck Focal!!?? I know that practically everyone has complained about the cable...but none of those complaints managed to prepare me for what it would be like to actually have to use this so called “cable”. It is very short, is literally the stiffest cable I’ve ever seen, and must have been born in the very bowels of microphonic hell.

Anyhow, I should have a decent cable by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll add some listening impressions after a few more days.

 

[JoePR31]

Well...my 1st attempt at replacing the Elegias stock cable has failed. I ordered a NewFantasia branded silver plated OFC cable from Amazon. Paid $43 for a 5ft cable. It looks pretty...but that’s about the only thing that I liked about it. It’s less stiff than the stock cable, but not by much. It’s coated in a some kind of transparent vinyl or plastic that is hard and almost as microphonic as the stock cable.

It also changes the sound...which is the most interesting thing about it. To my ears, it adds a bit of thickness to the low end..which most would probably agree is a good thing for the Elegia. But, it also seems to narrow the soundstage and hurts imaging a bit. It just didn’t seem as holographic to me. And the biggest issue for me is that it seems to slightly tone down the excellent dynamics of the Elegia. So, back to the stock cable : ( .

I’d like to try a different cable, but I don’t want to spend more than $60’ish USD. I don’t have a balanced amp right now, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on a cable until that changes so that I can buy a good balanced cable. I’m open to suggestions, though.

 

[alexlevn0791]

Hi folks! Would any confirm the level of sound leakage with the Elegia? I am planning to get it strictly for office use and I do not want to be a distractor in my cubicle. I do tend to listen at about 60% of volume. Thanks!

 

[JoePR31]

Hi folks! Would any confirm the level of sound leakage with the Elegia? I am planning to get it strictly for office use and I do not want to be a distractor in my cubicle. I do tend to listen at about 60% of volume. Thanks!

My wife is laying about 2 feet away from me watching TV and she says that she can barely tell that I’m even listening to music. In an office, I think someone would have to get within 3 or 4 feet from you to hear any leakage...and even then it would be very faint and certainly nothing that should disturb anyone...as long as you’re not blasting your music.

Isolation is just average, though. I find that my Bowers & WIlkins PX isolate quite a bit better even with the ANC turned off. The Elegia does isolate better than my B&W P9, though.

 

[alexlevn0791]

My wife is laying about 2 feet away from me watching TV and she says that she can barely tell that I’m even listening to music. In an office, I think someone would have to get within 3 or 4 feet from you to hear any leakage...and even then it would be very faint and certainly nothing that should disturb anyone...as long as you’re not blasting your music.

Isolation is just average, though. I find that my Bowers & WIlkins PX isolate quite a bit better even with the ANC turned off. The Elegia does isolate better than my B&W P9, though.

Great info! I appreciate your experiences with it. That seems to help relieve my concern with leakages for it. Btw, would you also help me confirm that the cable connectors on the Elegia is dual 3.5mm and non-proprietary? I will make a 2.5 balance cable for it. Thanks and look forward to hearing it myself.

 

[JoePR31]

Great info! I appreciate your experiences with it. That seems to help relieve my concern with leakages for it. Btw, would you also help me confirm that the cable connectors on the Elegia is dual 3.5mm and non-proprietary? I will make a 2.5 balance cable for it. Thanks and look forward to hearing it myself.

You’re welcome, and yes, it is just a basic dual 3.5mm...nothing proprietary about it. In my opinion, the Elegia is an incredible value at the $699 USD sale price that it seems to be settling into.

Just know that the bass is very neutral...and that the stock tuning lacks a bit of energy from 100 to 200 Hz, which can give the impression that its bass light if the music you’re listening to doesn’t have much going on below 80 Hz. It really isn’t, though. The sub bass extends way down, and is very detailed and tight. I do use a parametric EQ to cut all frequencies by 2.5db, except for the 100 to 200 range. Below 35 Hz, I only cut 1db. To my ears, these corrections make it sound almost perfectly neutral...with just a tiny bit of added rumble when a song calls for it.

 

[Old Music Lover]

Well...my 1st attempt at replacing the Elegias stock cable has failed. I ordered a NewFantasia branded silver plated OFC cable from Amazon. Paid $43 for a 5ft cable. It looks pretty...but that’s about the only thing that I liked about it. It’s less stiff than the stock cable, but not by much. It’s coated in a some kind of transparent vinyl or plastic that is hard and almost as microphonic as the stock cable.

It also changes the sound...which is the most interesting thing about it. To my ears, it adds a bit of thickness to the low end..which most would probably agree is a good thing for the Elegia. But, it also seems to narrow the soundstage and hurts imaging a bit. It just didn’t seem as holographic to me. And the biggest issue for me is that it seems to slightly tone down the excellent dynamics of the Elegia. So, back to the stock cable : ( .

I’d like to try a different cable, but I don’t want to spend more than $60’ish USD. I don’t have a balanced amp right now, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on a cable until that changes so that I can buy a good balanced cable. I’m open to suggestions, though.

you can get a cable from hart cables. The nice thing about them is you can start off with single ended and then just get a module for balanced. The website explains it. Joe

 

[shane55]

Well...my 1st attempt at replacing the Elegias stock cable has failed. I ordered a NewFantasia branded silver plated OFC cable from Amazon. Paid $43 for a 5ft cable. It looks pretty...but that’s about the only thing that I liked about it. It’s less stiff than the stock cable, but not by much. It’s coated in a some kind of transparent vinyl or plastic that is hard and almost as microphonic as the stock cable.

It also changes the sound...which is the most interesting thing about it. To my ears, it adds a bit of thickness to the low end..which most would probably agree is a good thing for the Elegia. But, it also seems to narrow the soundstage and hurts imaging a bit. It just didn’t seem as holographic to me. And the biggest issue for me is that it seems to slightly tone down the excellent dynamics of the Elegia. So, back to the stock cable : ( .

I’d like to try a different cable, but I don’t want to spend more than $60’ish USD. I don’t have a balanced amp right now, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on a cable until that changes so that I can buy a good balanced cable. I’m open to suggestions, though.

Look on page 87 for a link to Arctic Cables.
I bought the 2.5mm balanced, 4 conductor, and they are great.

 

[JoePR31]

Look on page 87 for a link to Arctic Cables.
I bought the 2.5mm balanced, 4 conductor, and they are great.

Thanks! I saw your post about them the other day, and they’re definitely on my short list when I get around to buying a balanced cable. Their UP-OCC cables seem like a pretty good value...at least compared to what others are charging for similar cables.

 

[JoePR31]

you can get a cable from hart cables. The nice thing about them is you can start off with single ended and then just get a module for balanced. The website explains it. Joe

I just finished browsing through their website, and their cables seem like a great deal! Their modular cable systems are a great idea. The only concern that I have is that I didn’t come across any mention of the types of materials that they use to build their cables. Is that information available anywhere that you know of?

 

[alexlevn0791]

You’re welcome, and yes, it is just a basic dual 3.5mm...nothing proprietary about it. In my opinion, the Elegia is an incredible value at the $699 USD sale price that it seems to be settling into.

Just know that the bass is very neutral...and that the stock tuning lacks a bit of energy from 100 to 200 Hz, which can give the impression that its bass light if the music you’re listening to doesn’t have much going on below 80 Hz. It really isn’t, though. The sub bass extends way down, and is very detailed and tight. I do use a parametric EQ to cut all frequencies by 2.5db, except for the 100 to 200 range. Below 35 Hz, I only cut 1db. To my ears, these corrections make it sound almost perfectly neutral...with just a tiny bit of added rumble when a song calls for it.

Hi just grabbed a pair of Elegia today and not sure if I am hearing it right but I feel that the left side is a bit dominant in sound. A slight imbalance is what I mean. I wonder if this is because of the pads that do not fit my left and right ears similarly or easily a driver issue? Will the channel get better with more break-in?

 

[Old Music Lover]

I just finished browsing through their website, and their cables seem like a great deal! Their modular cable systems are a great idea. The only concern that I have is that I didn’t come across any mention of the types of materials that they use to build their cables. Is that information available anywhere that you know of?

Just send him an email. He is very quick to respond. He can answer your questions on materials used.

 

[alexlevn0791]

Hi just grabbed a pair of Elegia today and not sure if I am hearing it right but I feel that the left side is a bit dominant in sound. A slight imbalance is what I mean. I wonder if this is because of the pads that do not fit my left and right ears similarly or easily a driver issue? Will the channel get better with more break-in?

Nevermind this. I figured it out. Replaced the damn stupid stock cable with something else and bam the sound is perfect. I can't believe how Focal includes this sub-par thing in such wonderful headphone package. Almost gave me a heart attack for a brand-new pair with channel imbalance.

Also, I happily confirm that my pairing with the IFI iDSD BL and Kann Cube was a success. The bass boost gives the elegia additional punch and I am loving the sound so far. So resolving and surprisingly wide (for a closed can). Lovely and refined mids (more so than my Senn HD660s). Will listen more in the coming weeks, but I can't wait to finally bring it to my office. So glad I skipped over the AK Beyerdynamic T5P for the Elegia!

 

[MrPanda]

Nevermind this. I figured it out. Replaced the damn stupid stock cable with something else and bam the sound is perfect. I can't believe how Focal includes this sub-par thing in such wonderful headphone package. Almost gave me a heart attack for a brand-new pair with channel imbalance.

Also, I happily confirm that my pairing with the IFI iDSD BL and Kann Cube was a success. The bass boost gives the elegia additional punch and I am loving the sound so far. So resolving and surprisingly wide (for a closed can). Lovely and refined mids (more so than my Senn HD660s). Will listen more in the coming weeks, but I can't wait to finally bring it to my office. So glad I skipped over the AK Beyerdynamic T5P for the Elegia!

I never even took my cable out of the box!