[Fsilva]

It has been a week since i´ve bought the Elegia, although i´m stil during the burn in process and waiting for a balanced cable with 4.4mm plug, i can say that this HP does not lack any Bass or Sub Bass as some have stated. I´ve come from a pair of Lime Ears Aether CIEM so i cannot comment or compare the Elegia to any other closed back HP.
Totally happy with this purchase, in terms of clarity, soundstage and tonal accuracy.

 

[doboo57]

Anyone tried the Elegia with a tube amp?

 

[Preachy1]

Anyone tried the Elegia with a tube amp?

I have. With both a smaller Xduoo TA-10 and a Woo Audio WA7. High yield superb results.

 

[Jthompson300]

That was my experience initially, after 20 hrs it gets much better. Now I’m over 50 hrs and still getting better. They sound great, sub bass is there , amazing mid and details. They are not thin at all when I pair with Jot. Only thing still desire a little harder on the drums. If that can be fix, they will be my perfect phones. hopefully the dekoni sheepskin pads can come in soon and helps a little.

My Utopia pads arrive tomorrow , I am very anxious to say the least.

 

[JamieCole]

Hi all, here's a cross post from the Audeze LCD2 closed back thread. I did like the Elegia, they're just not for me. My ears really missed a full, meaty, and rich low end. There's rumble and extension on the Elegia, but solid bass body was lost on these ears.
------------------------------------

I'm sending the Elegia back and swapping for the LCD2 closed backs. My wife has never complained about a closed back leaking until the Elegia. They have large ports on each ear cup (Focal logo) and the microfiber pads did little to keep the sound 'in' so to speak. At least in my experience. The LCD2 closed backs, in all the time I've spent auditioning them, didn't seem to leak much at all (and I do check/test because it does matter in my listening environment). It'll be interesting to revisit this post when I have the cans at home and spend more time with them. I'll confirm, either way, in the near future. I could be entirely wrong...

As a side, I didn't have the ability to audition the Elegia so I decided just to buy it. I had high hopes that the dynamics, layers, textures, and punch of the low end would satisfy me. But, I found the low end to be completely underwhelming on the Elegia. Like, I couldn't enjoy the music because I knew something was missing. That said, for folks that don't want a meaty, rich low end, the Elegia is a great can. I could almost, almost look past my issues with the low end. The mids are incredible, it's spacious in sound stage, well imaged (though on some tracks I swear there was a bit of channel imbalance that favored the left channel but was probably track dependent as it wasn't always noticeable), dynamic, full of textures, and the highs were never sibilant or too sharp. On poor recordings (and I have quite a a few bad punk, indie, and hardcore recordings which probably explains the imaging issue!) the Elegia could be relentless. I was reaching for the volume quite often depending on what I was listening to. However, I found that the Elegia could dazzle with masterful female recordings, acoustic, classical, and jazz. Lana, Janelle, Gillian Welch, Einaudi, Fiona, Beving, Cat Power, and Empress Of were some highlights. Also, Glass Animals. Sheesh, great out of the Elegia. There's a lot going on in those recordings.

For me, the Elegia was a good cup of tea. Clear and transparent, crisp, and light. Hell, refreshing at times. And, yet, every time I drink a cup of tea all I can think about is how much better a full bodied, rich single origin espresso tastes. Different flavors for different folks.

 

[obsidyen]

It's an interesting decision by Focal to make Elegia neutral in the low end. I like a potent low end that does not bleed into the mids, even in the silence of my home, but for portable use elevated bass is absolutely necessary. In a noisy environment, such as the metro or a plane, bass frequencies are the first to disappear. Elevated bass in home becomes neutral when it's noisy around you. I suspect Elegia was tuned this way to avoid resonances.

 

[JamieCole]

It's a super clean sounding headphone. And, some tracks had decent bass body and extension, so I could hear how the Elegia might have enough (or more than enough) bass depending on listening preferences. I think the Elegia will continue to be a divisive headphone when it comes to low end descriptors and experiences.

Those mids and sound stage though... Enjoyable for sure. Also, I didn't comment on the build. One word: quality. Save that damn cable. The case is nice too with room for a portable dap, amp/dac, etc. I wasn't a fan of the microfiber ear pads. While I do feel like they caused the headphone to leak more sound than it should, more so because I hate microfiber. @Jthompson300 curious to read about how the Elegia sounds with the Utopia leather pads. Perhaps I should wait another day before sending these back...

At any rate, I did enjoy my time with the Elegia and would recommend it to folks looking for something 'reference' like with not much color, especially in the low end. At least that's what my ears heard.

 

[obsidyen]

It's a super clean sounding headphone. And, some tracks had decent bass body and extension, so I could hear how the Elegia might have enough (or more than enough) bass depending on listening preferences. I think the Elegia will continue to be a divisive headphone when it comes to low end descriptors and experiences.

Those mids and sound stage though... Enjoyable for sure. Also, I didn't comment on the build. One word: quality. Save that damn cable. The case is nice too with room for a portable dap, amp/dac, etc. I wasn't a fan of the microfiber ear pads. While I do feel like they caused the headphone to leak more sound than it should, more so because I hate microfiber. @Jthompson300 curious to read about how the Elegia sounds with the Utopia leather pads. Perhaps I should wait another day before sending these back...

At any rate, I did enjoy my time with the Elegia and would recommend it to folks looking for something 'reference' like with not much color, especially in the low end. At least that's what my ears heard.

You're making it harder, Jamie. I also think you should give them a few more days, sometimes gradual love can be the best kind of love.

 

[329161]

They will seem light in the bass out of a smartphone. Amp them adequately and the bass is very punchy and present. They're superb from a desktop setup like a Schiit Jot or portably from a mojo or micro bl.

 

[doboo57]

I have. With both a smaller Xduoo TA-10 and a Woo Audio WA7. High yield superb results.

Does any (or both) of these tube amps adds some warmth to the Elegia's mids (especially to male vocals)?

 

[Preachy1]

Does any (or both) of these tube amps adds some warmth to the Elegia's mids (especially to male vocals)?

Compared to my other source (Chord Mojo), I'd say yes (the Woo more so than the Xduoo), but neither drastically so. So far, my fave paring is with the Woo WA7.

 

[Soundwave76]

I suspect I got a bad pair and need to replace them. Both me and my wife experience a weird and uncomfortable sense of pressure in the left ear, immediatelly when trying these on. Can anybody here explain this phenomenon??

 

[Preachy1]

I suspect I got a bad pair and need to replace them. Both me and my wife experience a weird and uncomfortable sense of pressure in the left ear, immediatelly when trying these on. Can anybody here explain this phenomenon??

You have to remove the Q-Tip before putting on the headphones!!!

 

[JamieCole]

They will seem light in the bass out of a smartphone. Amp them adequately and the bass is very punchy and present. They're superb from a desktop setup like a Schiit Jot or portably from a mojo or micro bl.

Oddly enough, I never even thought to try the Elegia out of a smartphone as I don't travel with or use full sized headphones on the go. At worst, I was listening to them through the DragonFly Red and borrowed Mojo. I did try them out of my Surface Book 2 headphone jack and they sounded fairly consistent. Things certainly tighten up and become more present with amplification but I wasn't blown away by the difference I heard. It would be an interesting listen out of something like the Jot or iDSD Micro to see what a lot of juice does to Elegia.

But, again, it's not that they don't have bass presence... it's just not my style of presentation.

 

[JamieCole]

You're making it harder, Jamie. I also think you should give them a few more days, sometimes gradual love can be the best kind of love.

Perhaps... Though, too many good headphones exist in the world to labor over something that doesn't enthrall you from the beginning.