[smashey]

Just taken delivery of a pair. Purchased from a French supplier (Son-Video) and noticed when I google translated my note of thanks to them, the description of my initial impression came out as "delicious". Well I think I'll just leave it there.

 

[Shane D]

Haven't owned an audiophile closed-back headphone in ages. Is the Focal Elegia the best option for 500$? I can also get the Denon D7200 for 550$ and the HIFIMAN HE-R9 for 400$, the Campfire Cascade for 550$.

It is really hard to give a reference as we all hear differently. Of your four:
1) Never heard or owned the D7200. Huge fan base though.
2) Just got my HE-R9's about two weeks ago and am just loving them. Loose and sloppy bass sound. Very fun if you're in the mood and with the right music. Isolation sucks. Wires can be problematic.
3) I love my Cascades! Bass for miles and pretty clean for a bassy 'phone. The headband, IMO, is horrible. Uncomfortable and lacking cup clamp. I prefer the XL leather pads. Will likely never sell.
4) I like my Elegia's, but do find them bass light. Probably the most well rounded sound of the four. Good bass, great mids and enough treble for lots of detail. After the HE-R9's, they felt too bass light.
I will probably move up to Celestee or Radiance eventually.

 

[Rob80b]

Haven't owned an audiophile closed-back headphone in ages. Is the Focal Elegia the best option for 500$? I can also get the Denon D7200 for 550$ and the HIFIMAN HE-R9 for 400$, the Campfire Cascade for 550$.

For under $500 they're not bad, but they all have their own peculiarities and only you can determine what is best...
mine replaced my open backed Sennheiser HD660s...although the staging is not bad the Focal do IMHO have a very strong in your head central image so sound great with pop music, solo singers for example, I also have the AKG K872s which are quite different, more linear in nature and my prefered sound signature but at 3x the price.
You may want to wonder over to...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-closed-back-headphone-thread-plus-comparisons-reviews.939901/

 

[Rob80b]

For those into period music, the Elegia does a great job on this one.
Rene Clemencic.. Carmina Burana!
https://listen.tidal.com/album/214530681
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René_Clemencic

 

[pk4425]

Haven't owned an audiophile closed-back headphone in ages. Is the Focal Elegia the best option for 500$? I can also get the Denon D7200 for 550$ and the HIFIMAN HE-R9 for 400$, the Campfire Cascade for 550$.

Depends on what you seek. The Elegia are magnificent stock for mids-centric music like acoustic, classical and vocals. They seem bass-light, but they do slam when called upon, so they're surprisingly good for EDM.

But the Elegia fell way short for me in rock, pop, alt-country and alt-rock -- my preferred genres -- because of the diminished bass, a treble peak that nailed my tinnitus and weird, metallic tuning with those genres. The stock Elegia -- without EQ or different pads -- isn't a great rock headphone, IMO. I sold them and don't regret it.

If you want warmer bass with less treble detail but much more conventional tuning, take a look at the Dan Clark Aeon Closed X for $500 at Drop. I had the Aeon 2 Closed with Noire pads, and the sound for my genres was much better than the stock Elegia. But the seal and clamping force of the DCA A2C with Noire pads was very strong and created a lot of in-ear pressure and pain for me and aggravated my tinnitus. So, I traded those for a pair of Audeze LCD-2C (open-back), which I'm enjoying immensely now.

In general, the Elegia would be a damn good value closed-back -- especially for the Adorama deal of $369 -- if you crave detail, don't need constant sub-bass and don't mind some wonky tuning with certain genres.

Your mileage may vary. Good luck!

 

[peterinvan]

It is really hard to give a reference as we all hear differently. Of your four:
1) Never heard or owned the D7200. Huge fan base though.
2) Just got my HE-R9's about two weeks ago and am just loving them. Loose and sloppy bass sound. Very fun if you're in the mood and with the right music. Isolation sucks. Wires can be problematic.
3) I love my Cascades! Bass for miles and pretty clean for a bassy 'phone. The headband, IMO, is horrible. Uncomfortable and lacking cup clamp. I prefer the XL leather pads. Will likely never sell.
4) I like my Elegia's, but do find them bass light. Probably the most well rounded sound of the four. Good bass, great mids and enough treble for lots of detail. After the HE-R9's, they felt too bass light.
I will probably move up to Celestee or Radiance eventually.

I experimented with Dekoni pads, and settled on the fenestrated sheepskins. The full sheepskins make the Elegia into the Radiance. My belief is they all pretty much have the same innards.

 

[Shane D]

I experimented with Dekoni pads, and settled on the fenestrated sheepskins. The full sheepskins make the Elegia into the Radiance. My belief is they all pretty much have the same innards.

I found the sheepskins made it bassier, but not better. I settled on the Dekoni Stellia's. And of course they can use a bit of bass boost from the iFi.

 

[jbhatnagar00]

I found the sheepskins made it bassier, but not better. I settled on the Dekoni Stellia's. And of course they can use a bit of bass boost from the iFi.

How do the stellia pads change the sound?

 

[Shane D]

How do the stellia pads change the sound?

To me, they sound sound like the stock pads, with a little more bottom end. I thought it was worth it as a mod.

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Found a worthy reason to hold onto the Elegia as they do a stellar job on Cat Stevens “Tea for the Tillerman”…maybe not perfect but the more intimate, in your head presentation works much better on this than the K872. Base from the Elegia is quite good on this recording, full bodied and taut and no sibilance or distortion in the higher registers.
https://tidal.com/album/77821398

Iconic album!

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

How do the stellia pads change the sound?

My thoughts... much like Shane D's

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-elegia-what-do-you-think.890031/post-16975954

 

[jbhatnagar00]

To me, they sound sound like the stock pads, with a little more bottom end. I thought it was worth it as a

To me, they sound sound like the stock pads, with a little more bottom end. I thought it was worth it as a mod.

How is the Elegia with the ZX300 (single ended)? I have a ZX507 so I was curious. Also, do you think the Apple lightning dongle would be a good source?

 

[Pege1012]

Hello,
I have been in elegance for about two months, my first big headphones. The first thing I did was buy a balanced 4.4 Pentacon cable and also replace the pads with Dekoni Audio EPZ-FOCAL-SK. Listening has improved it.
Now I have organized a DAP Fiio M17 so I am considering an upgrade towards Focal Stellia.
If anyone else has a recommendation for closed headphones please write. I don't use an amplifier, so the Fiio M17 has to tighten everything.
Thank you

 

[jbhatnagar00]

Hello,
I have been in elegance for about two months, my first big headphones. The first thing I did was buy a balanced 4.4 Pentacon cable and also replace the pads with Dekoni Audio EPZ-FOCAL-SK. Listening has improved it.
Now I have organized a DAP Fiio M17 so I am considering an upgrade towards Focal Stellia.
If anyone else has a recommendation for closed headphones please write. I don't use an amplifier, so the Fiio M17 has to tighten everything.
Thank you

Which cable do you use

 

[Pege1012]

Custom made by a colleague from Slovakia HPX Mini cable. 1.3 m for Focaly (2x3.5mm jack) finished with 4.4mm jack