Focal Elegia - what do you think?
Aug 16, 2020 at 8:04 PM Post #2,101 of 4,827
Last night I tested out the Elegia on my Heed Canamp that lives in my 2 channel system. I used my Oppo HA-2 DAC in line out and threw on some tracks on Tidal.

What THE! I actually cannot believe the difference this head amp makes to these cans. I primarily use my Elegia on my Topping Dx3pro on my laptop and thought it drove them well. This however is another level!

I mean , it should be. This is a $1000 head amp vs the $350 for thr Topping but the synergy is just woah. With the Dekoni sheepskin I don't think any EQ is required on this setup. Bass was huge and the stereo image was massive.

Need to do a lot more listening through this!

Overall, I can't believe how much the Elegia has improved for me since day 1. They've just got better and better!
 
Aug 16, 2020 at 10:31 PM Post #2,102 of 4,827
Last night I tested out the Elegia on my Heed Canamp that lives in my 2 channel system. I used my Oppo HA-2 DAC in line out and threw on some tracks on Tidal.

What THE! I actually cannot believe the difference this head amp makes to these cans. I primarily use my Elegia on my Topping Dx3pro on my laptop and thought it drove them well. This however is another level!

I mean , it should be. This is a $1000 head amp vs the $350 for thr Topping but the synergy is just woah. With the Dekoni sheepskin I don't think any EQ is required on this setup. Bass was huge and the stereo image was massive.

Need to do a lot more listening through this!

Overall, I can't believe how much the Elegia has improved for me since day 1. They've just got better and better!
I remember when I had the Elegia, the cleaner the power, the better the low end becomes. They like a source with an output impedance below 1ohm. If you could get 0.9 or even lower. Perfect. The Elegia do scale with better amps and dacs though. They really have potential and most certainly, if they are feeling bass light, it's because fit, the amp/dac being used or the biggest factor, the music you are listening to is not mastered well in the low end. But I can whole heartedly agree, from my experience, the Elegia is an impressive headphone and 100% does not lack low end, it kicks hard when called for.
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 6:57 AM Post #2,103 of 4,827
I really don't understand how people feel the Elegia has low end that is "weak" or "lacking". I've owned the Audiosense T800, Vmoda M100, RHA T20 and other bass canons when I used to be a bass head and certainly, the low end on the Elegia is not bass head level, but for me. No where near lacking. It's either a bad seal or you music is lacking the low end where that dip is on the Elegia. Been listening to some seriously heavy EDM, The Prodigy, Wu Tang and so on and I can say the Elegia have awesome low end. Just to give it a boost, I also sometimes add 1.5 db at 31, 62 and 125 just to give it a little bit of extra oomph. But the low end for me is beyond satisfying. With Dekoni Sheepskin, it's a different story but I can't fault the low end at all with them. The treble part, it's extended but not extremely energetic like an Ananda or Edition 11. But it does have treble. Its a shame the Elegia didnt work out for you guys, hopefully something else comes along the way 😊 I for one, might get myself the Elegia again. Found an awesome deal in Australia and it's extremely tempting haha
Well, considering the fact that the Elegia might be discontinued soon, you can either hold out for its successor, which may or may not be an improved model, or you can just go with your heart, and enjoy the Elegia all over again. :wink:
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 7:18 AM Post #2,104 of 4,827
Well, considering the fact that the Elegia might be discontinued soon, you can either hold out for its successor, which may or may not be an improved model, or you can just go with your heart, and enjoy the Elegia all over again. :wink:
Also, there's no guarantee that there will be a successor. The Stellia's are Focal's TOTL offereing and is selling very well. Maybe even better than the Elegia's making them more profitable. At the current price, I don't see any reason to hold back of getting a pair of Elegia's. I'm listening to mine now. The only thing that is really standing out is the intimate soundstage. I turned on the crossfeed of the TT2 and that opened them right up. Now they sound fantastic.
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 8:12 AM Post #2,105 of 4,827
Well, considering the fact that the Elegia might be discontinued soon, you can either hold out for its successor, which may or may not be an improved model, or you can just go with your heart, and enjoy the Elegia all over again. :wink:

Do you think Elegia is a step up from TH610? I want to get another HP but I don't want to buy a side grade. Stellia is amazing but also very expensive, Elegia is very affordable but I'm not sure if it's really better than TH610.
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 12:46 PM Post #2,106 of 4,827
Do you think Elegia is a step up from TH610? I want to get another HP but I don't want to buy a side grade. Stellia is amazing but also very expensive, Elegia is very affordable but I'm not sure if it's really better than TH610.
It's been some time since I've heard the TH610 (November was my last audition), but I distinctly remember that it sounded like a "bass-light' version of the TH900, with a treble region that is not too dissimilar to the highs on the Fostex closed-back flagship; however, it lacks that extra bit of top-end sparkle and energy. The lows have adequate rumble and decent slam, and actually reproduce bass notes in a well-textured fashion.

With that said, the Elegia, in comparison, has a slightly leaner mid-bass region. Treble on the Focal is slightly attenuated, so you won't be getting some of that treble brilliance (that borders on sibilance) that the Fostex headphones are notorious for. Between the 2, the Elegia has a more balanced tone.

If you're asking me if it's an upgrade, I'd say, yes, but with a caveat. It's not an outright leap in quality; the TH610 is a great performer in the middle category, inheriting a lot of the famed characteristics of its bigger brother, the TH900. With the Elegia, you will lose a little of that energy and dynamism.
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 8:34 PM Post #2,107 of 4,827
I agree with folks that the Elegia's bass is very good even with stock pads. Not bass head level, but it hits hard and satisfactory to my ears. The mids like most have said is a bit mid centric, so vocals seem forward a bit. Treble is clean, clear and smooth. This headphone brings out the excitement in the music for me.
 
Aug 17, 2020 at 11:45 PM Post #2,108 of 4,827
I think I may have just saved myself a bit of money! I really want to spend more time listening to these in my lounge set-up through Tidal and had thought that the both the headphone output and DAC quality of my Denon X3500H would be 'wanting'. So was looking at external dac and streamer (node 2i).

Well last night I did some comparisons using the the Denon via Shield TV Pro (Tidal) vs Oppo HA-2 dac to my Heed Canamp.

Whilst I did have to the Denon up to about -10db to get the Elegia at a decent volume, once I did it was actually very comparable!

I also found that the Denon has a parametic eq for headphones! Never knew this! So can tweak these a bit more to liking this way. Win!

So I think of going external and just buy a long cable to use with Denon. Happy days!
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 4:25 PM Post #2,109 of 4,827
Mine just arrived from Adorama. They sound, in a word, amazing. They're incredibly clean, detailed, fast, with perfectly fine bass (if I want a bass cannon I'll listen to my E-MU Teaks).

For comparison's sake, I have... a lot of similarly-priced sets of headphones. HD-6XX, AKG K240 Sextett, E-MU Teak, Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany, and Hifiman Sundaras. Each pair has its own pluses and minuses, but these sound so beautiful, neutral, clear... I think they're the best all-arounders of the bunch. Comfortable as all heck, too, and driven easily by my iPad.

focals.jpg
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 4:40 PM Post #2,110 of 4,827
I agree with folks that the Elegia's bass is very good even with stock pads. Not bass head level, but it hits hard and satisfactory to my ears. The mids like most have said is a bit mid centric, so vocals seem forward a bit. Treble is clean, clear and smooth. This headphone brings out the excitement in the music for me.
What kind of amp are you running? Is it possible that your amp's output impedance is a bit high (10+ohm)
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 7:57 PM Post #2,112 of 4,827
Got mine today from Adorama as well. I can see why some don’t like the bass on these, as the mid-bass feels a bit flubby and shy, but the sub-bass is killer. Deep and powerful. Vocals sound tremendous on these. I’ve only had a chance to drive them from my phone, tonight I’ll hook them up to proper amps.
They do get better on better sources. You should also look into getting a silver cable for them. It’ll tighten and clean up the entire frequency spectrum for a better listening experience.
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 8:05 PM Post #2,113 of 4,827
What kind of amp are you running? Is it possible that your amp's output impedance is a bit high (10+ohm)
I used it with my Marantz HD-DAC1 (dac amp combo) in high gain. I also used it with my Vali2 in high gain with the Marantz in dac mode. Both have very good punch in the bass. I find the metal drivers on the Elegia hits harder than my Audioquest Nighthawk or my Sundara for a given volume level.
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 8:11 PM Post #2,114 of 4,827
Got mine today from Adorama as well. I can see why some don’t like the bass on these, as the mid-bass feels a bit flubby and shy, but the sub-bass is killer. Deep and powerful. Vocals sound tremendous on these. I’ve only had a chance to drive them from my phone, tonight I’ll hook them up to proper amps.
Also put some hours of play time on the Elegias because I feel the metal drivers need to flex more to get to their optimal state. I do believe in burn in for pistonic drivers like this. Just my opinion.
 
Aug 18, 2020 at 8:22 PM Post #2,115 of 4,827
Also put some hours of play time on the Elegias because I feel the metal drivers need to flex more to get to their optimal state. I do believe in burn in for pistonic drivers like this. Just my opinion.
Can definitely attest to burn-in on these, after 50hrs or so they seem to hit harder and faster. As many posts have also mentioned, the Dekoni sheep-skin are a great addition to these adding better seal, deeper more powerful bass and not seeming to effect soundstage at all. I don't think I'll ever go back to stock pads on these.
 

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