[Resolve]

The Elegia is about 90% of the clear' technically wise and saying he would 'rather get the clear' when the Elegia WAS $900)

Oh boy. Depends on what you're referring to. For tuning/tonality, that's a hard no. Totally different kind of sound. It's also hard to separate out the tonality from some of the other subjective stuff - and honestly, these days I think it would be a mistake to quantify things like that anyway, because depending on the person you could say the same about the M50x... and I certainly wouldn't want to make that claim. Instead, I'd think of it more like... a similar driver, just with a closed-back implementation, and at the time it was closer to the Clear than the other ones. These days, you have the Celestee and Radiance that are far closer to the Clear.

EDIT:
Just another thing to note - in my view the biggest issue with the Elegia is that you'll end up seeing vastly different reports as a result of its tonality being highly dependent on the coupling. For users with glasses for example, you'll end up with a very different result for the bass and lower mids than for those who don't (and various other differences depending on the head shape) - and it's something I even did a video on years ago. Maybe it's time for an updated one. But that's also why the Elegia is one of the most notoriously difficult headphones to measure. If the coupling isn't 100% exact, you'll end up with a meaningfully different outcome, not just slight variation like you see commonly with other headphones.

 

[wolfstar76]

Oh boy. Depends on what you're referring to. For tuning/tonality, that's a hard no. Totally different kind of sound. It's also hard to separate out the tonality from some of the other subjective stuff - and honestly, these days I think it would be a mistake to quantify things like that anyway, because depending on the person you could say the same about the M50x... and I certainly wouldn't want to make that claim. Instead, I'd think of it more like... a similar driver, just with a closed-back implementation, and at the time it was closer to the Clear than the other ones. These days, you have the Celestee and Radiance that are far closer to the Clear.

EDIT:
Just another thing to note - in my view the biggest issue with the Elegia is that you'll end up seeing vastly different reports as a result of its tonality being highly dependent on the coupling. For users with glasses for example, you'll end up with a very different result for the bass and lower mids than for those who don't (and various other differences depending on the head shape) - and it's something I even did a video on years ago. Maybe it's time for an updated one. But that's also why the Elegia is one of the most notoriously difficult headphones to measure. If the coupling isn't 100% exact, you'll end up with a meaningfully different outcome, not just slight variation like you see commonly with other headphones.

I was attracted by the recent lower price, however, given that I already have Sundara and HE6SE V2, I resisted the temptation even though dynamic drive and close seems to be perfectly complementary to what I have. I am wearing glasses and I don't really need a close headphone in my home.

 

[the1andonly]

I don't want to keep roping Resolve into this, you have his quote on the matter. My video[link] addressed exactly what he said about the tuning, that it wasn't so much close to the clear but at the time as close to a closed back clear as focal had... That said what I said about it being on the level AT LEAST of the Elear/Elex if not better has come up, again, and again, and again by multiple people excluding Resolve.(This is an A- rating of Elear level via crin vs the Clear's A+..... if you really want me to dig up all the quotes and time stamps I will)

Also, Resolve is a literal saint he has done 2 videos directly on the Elegia and at least 1 more indirectly and is concerned he wasn't thorough enough. I feel bad for giving him that notion at all. I think he was more than thorough enough and is correct, these things are hard to quantify... I also think the Elegia is a smooth headphone, I think that makes it hard to pin down.

EDIT-Really appreciating Resolve's reply, he is the hero we deserve.

EDIT2-Here

"does the Elegia have TOTL technicalities found in the Utopia? LOL, no. But I think we can effectively say that it's on the level of the Elex and Clear. "
Won't post the link to another forum, google "purr1n Elegia"




'gets closer to the Clear than to the Elex'("in terms of it's performance")


'technical performance of Elegia matches the Celestee'



"From a purely technical perspective, the Focal Elegia have resolution and clarity, as well as micro-dynamic performance that falls somewhere between the Elex/Elear and the Clear and otherwise perform on about the same level as the Elex."
https://www.headphones.com/communit...l-elegia-closed-back-dynamic-headphone-review


I could literally find probably more

Edit3- more....

"These headphones offer audio quality that's slightly more refined than the Elear, if not quite as precise and breathtaking as the Clear, which we reviewed in full here."
https://www.themasterswitch.com/review-focal-elegia

 

[Resolve]

I mean... I still think it needs EQ haha. It's very mid forward.

 

[the1andonly]

I mean... I still think it needs EQ haha. It's very mid forward.

Yeah for sure the FR is funky, not trash but not great by any means....
I prefer bass boost switch though I admit I am a complete degenerate and all treble under painfully sibilant is the same to me, save for severe severe recession.
This will probably change as I get older and my music taste does.

 

[mainguy]

Oh boy. Depends on what you're referring to. For tuning/tonality, that's a hard no.... and I certainly wouldn't want to make that claim. Instead, I'd think of it more like... a similar driver, just with a closed-back implementation, and at the time it was closer to the Clear than the other ones. These days, you have the Celestee and Radiance that are far closer to the Clear.

I'd agree with this for sure, I recently got a Celestee and it has a more balanced tuning than the Elegia I have here, much closer to the Clear in tonal balance and doesn't really seem to need EQ. It's also such a gorgeous looking headphone too, really great iteration from Focal I think.

The note about vast differences in impressions due to fit is very true on Elegia. Even head size, the way the pads seal changes a lot, I have a small head, but if I slightly push the cups inward the difference is quite significant.

 

[Ivan4you]

I,m getting old (51).I hear no difference between my Focal Elegia and the Sennheiser HD 599.

 

[trellus]

Bear in mind, only Resolve says the Elegia come that close to Clear (as far as i'm aware) and thats only in technicalities. Resolve, I quote, "Dont' get me wrong, I'd take a clear over these every single time". DMS certainly doesn't rank Elegia anywhere near clear i thought, as clear is an S tier headphone for him? Same with Crinnacle, pretty sure there's a huge discrepency between them for him. Zeos was ambiguous, he said the Clear MG was the best focal he'd heard, and he has the Stellia...Not sure about his take on OG.

Yup, ive used both with some great gear. Chord Hugo is what I usually run the Clear off. Ive taken Elegia to a friends and we've run it off a stack that costs over 10k lol.
He agreed with me, miles below Clear for him. He actually thought it was an even bigger gap than me, as I do quite like Elegia myself and he had big problems with the bass region without EQ.

But if you have the two at home and trade to the Clear, its gnawingly obvious. When resolve says 90% of the clear, he means technically. And he's right, the Elegia has all the detail of the Clear, as you'd expect as they share a driver.

But the tonality and balance of the Clear is so, so far ahead of the Elegia. That's the open back design at work with the same driver. And its the difference between a 'good' and an 'S tier' headphone imo. actually without EQ I'd go far as to say the Elegia shouldn't be even compared to the Clear, as we're talking about a fundamentally unbalanced headphone vs a very nicely balanced one. Not hating on Elegia, i love the thing, for $400 its a steal, and with EQ it improves. But it's still a closed back headphone, and hoping a under 1k closed back will compete with one of the most acclaimed open backs under 3k....Well, we have to be reasonable.

Hmmm, I've never done a direct comparison between my Elegia and OG Clear... but I am thinking I may pull them both out together soon. Just from memory of my impressions, I definitely do favor the Clear rather substantially over Elegia but for me I think that's because I just plain favor open over closed headphones generally.

I definitely remember being more impressed with the Clear when I got them then the Elegia when I first got those, as those had to grow me on a bit more than the Clear, which I immediately liked.

Having said that, I like the Elegia more now than when I first got them at least partially because of the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia pads now on my Elegia, which helped add some warmth to the bottom that was lacking before with the stock pads.

I think you may be on to something about the "90% of the Clear" being with respect to the technical capabilities and not just "overall."

I do still rather like my Elegia a lot as a closed back, though, for sure, but if I can use open headphones, I am always pulling those out before the closed headphones.

 

[Resolve]

I definitely do favor the Clear rather substantially over Elegia but for me I think that's because I just plain favor open over closed headphones generally.

Yeah exactly, for one part of the sound quality there's a similarity or familiarity between the two, but the Clear is a lot better sounding overall IMO. Like there's no contest if you just A/B them.

 

[trellus]

Yeah exactly, for one part of the sound quality there's a similarity or familiarity between the two, but the Clear is a lot better sounding overall IMO. Like there's no contest if you just A/B them.

Yeah, which is one reason I have never directly A/B'ed them as it didn't occur to me that the comparison would be all that enlightening as I am 100% certain I know which I one like better already as an overall headphone, and that's "Clear" -- but I definitely need closed, sealed headphones at times and in those cases, I really do like Elegia, particularly with the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia pads which seem to make them even more isolating besides adding just a little boost to the mid-bass.

 

[mainguy]

Yeah, which is one reason I have never directly A/B'ed them as it didn't occur to me that the comparison would be all that enlightening as I am 100% certain I know which I one like better already as an overall headphone, and that's "Clear" -- but I definitely need closed, sealed headphones at times and in those cases, I really do like Elegia, particularly with the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia pads which seem to make them even more isolating besides adding just a little boost to the mid-bass.

It can be a useful comparison to make. This whole discussion here was started by someone who has Elegia in the thread, and was explicitly asking if Clear could be a direct upgrade for them.

Some people buy Elegia because its closed, others because it's so cheap. Knowing that a big jump can be had with the Clear is useful knowledge if you're already enjoying Elegia, as it gives you a nice upgrade path or open back option. Whereas, if people think the Elegia is very close to the Clear, they might miss that opportunity.

Yeah exactly, for one part of the sound quality there's a similarity or familiarity between the two, but the Clear is a lot better sounding overall IMO. Like there's no contest if you just A/B them.

Absolutely. I'd say the same for the Celestee. The sound of the driver really benefits from being open in this case I think. When I got the Clear, being an Elegia owner, I was really surprised and taken aback by the change. Was expecting it to be a lot more subtle but it just felt like a straightforward upgrade.

 

[Unterstuffz]

Pardon my curiosity, but your signature says "Meze Empyrean", are these not "good"?

I said my first not my only and they are indeed my first pair of really good headphones and the one that Kickstarter my interest in Hifi Headphones.

 

[BubbaJay]

I guess I don't really like to EQ my headphones other than maybe some added bass because I like the unique sound of each one and because I have quite a few I can always find one to suit my need at that time. The Elegia might be mid-forward but I've always liked that kind of signature going back to the old Hifiman RE262 IEM so I'm fine with it and I really like the bass presentation of them a lot. Overall I really enjoy how the Elegia sounds but I would like to try the Celestee sometime in the future.

 

[lpd2]

Wish I had the Clear too but not instead. These are so niche as audiophile daily driver. Anything better than this shouldn't be listened to all day imo. I'd been separated from my asgard3 for some long months and added smsl su9n dac on being reunited. Had been using Q3 mini-amp balanced for that time and well I think the q3 sounds better with elegia than the asgard but i gotta do a bit more listening and maybe turn the dac down a bit. Been playing the witcher3 pc game with these - pretty engrossing and definitley cleaner than whatever i had when this game first came out in 2016.

 

[BubbaJay]

The more I listen to these the more I love them because they don't sound like any other headphone I have and the signature is right up my alley. Electronic music sounds so good on them because of how dynamic they are and the bass is just about perfect imo. The highs have a good amount of sparkle as well as good detail. While the soundstage width isn't anything to write home about they still have that great Focal imaging and separation along with a really good depth. To me the Elegia is better than the Elear in pretty much every way.