[Mikoto67]

I see this helmet in promotion everywhere, at the base proposed at more than 900, to see it today at 400€ in France, that makes envy...

But first, I would like to know... I use an ATH MSR7B in symmetrical on an ibasso DX170, the ATH has a rather large sound stage, a rather neutral sound.

If I lose that with the Focal, I would be disappointed, what do I gain compared to the MSR7B? Thanks

 

[catom]

I see this helmet in promotion everywhere, at the base proposed at more than 900, to see it today at 400€ in France, that makes envy...

But first, I would like to know... I use an ATH MSR7B in symmetrical on an ibasso DX170, the ATH has a rather large sound stage, a rather neutral sound.

If I lose that with the Focal, I would be disappointed, what do I gain compared to the MSR7B? Thanks

I have the MSR7. It's bright, borderline sibilant. Also the headband hurt the top of my head. Though the MSR7 is a pretty good headphone technically speaking.

I don't think the soundstage is particularly great, but the Focal Elegia may be more narrow. Since I can't recall, I wouldn't consider it a major difference. I believe the Elegia is not as narrow as the Celesete that replaced it.

What you gain with the Elegia (or any Focal really) is dynamics. The headphones are very engaging. I would say long term listening fatigue is slightly better than with the MSR7.

The Elegia are also detail monsters. Sure, they aren't the Stellia with its beryllium drivers, but the detail is still good. I would suggest getting the Dekoni Ltd. Edition Stellia pads for it. That pad swap helps it a lot.

I prefer the Elegia to the MSR7 quite a bit in terms of sound quality and sound signature (leaving comfort out of it).

Focal has a "house sound" - you can pretty much identify headphones from Focal if you were blindfolded. Pretty much any of their headphones. Very distinct. It's like if you eat at a restaurant that makes their own bread stuff and they use that for everything, right? The bread, hamburger buns, even the pancakes and everything tastes the same. Different, but the same.

I would try to listen before you buy (and you can also listen to a different pair of Focal, or a few, to get an idea for their house sound). You can get these headphones at a really good price these days and they are, what I like to call, one of the "cheat codes" in the headphone game. They are an incredible value for the price point and are made even better with a pad swap.

 

[Spyronight]

Just got these and they arrived, were people saying they sound like the Celestee if you put on the celestee pads, the celestee were my first choice but they were over my budget. also, any EQ recommendations? (I listen to jazz and classical if that important and running them off a magni/modi)

 

[BobSmith8901]

I have the MSR7. It's bright, borderline sibilant. Also the headband hurt the top of my head. Though the MSR7 is a pretty good headphone technically speaking.

I don't think the soundstage is particularly great, but the Focal Elegia may be more narrow. Since I can't recall, I wouldn't consider it a major difference. I believe the Elegia is not as narrow as the Celesete that replaced it.

What you gain with the Elegia (or any Focal really) is dynamics. The headphones are very engaging. I would say long term listening fatigue is slightly better than with the MSR7.

The Elegia are also detail monsters. Sure, they aren't the Stellia with its beryllium drivers, but the detail is still good. I would suggest getting the Dekoni Ltd. Edition Stellia pads for it. That pad swap helps it a lot.

I prefer the Elegia to the MSR7 quite a bit in terms of sound quality and sound signature (leaving comfort out of it).

Focal has a "house sound" - you can pretty much identify headphones from Focal if you were blindfolded. Pretty much any of their headphones. Very distinct. It's like if you eat at a restaurant that makes their own bread stuff and they use that for everything, right? The bread, hamburger buns, even the pancakes and everything tastes the same. Different, but the same.

I would try to listen before you buy (and you can also listen to a different pair of Focal, or a few, to get an idea for their house sound). You can get these headphones at a really good price these days and they are, what I like to call, one of the "cheat codes" in the headphone game. They are an incredible value for the price point and are made even better with a pad swap.

I don't own a Focal headphone (yet) but your description of them and their house sound and sense of engagement is a very helpful piece of knowledge to have. I just had a couple questions: I've read criticisms of their bass output as on the light side. Can you describe how it sounds to you and, say, the source you generally use? Does the pad swap help in that regard? Thanks!

 

[peterinvan]

LI don't own a Focal headphone (yet) but your description of them and their house sound and sense of engagement is a very helpful piece of knowledge to have. I just had a couple questions: I've read criticisms of their bass output as on the light side. Can you describe how it sounds to you and, say, the source you generally use? Does the pad swap help in that regard? Thanks!

If you have the Elegia you owe it to yourself to experiment with different pads, especially as they are so easy to swap. My experience with Dekoni pads:

Sheepskin: significant bass boost. sounds very much like the Bently Radiance.
Fenestrated Sheepskin: improvement in comfort and sound quality over the stock pads.
Stellia Limited: bass boost and overall the best sound quality. I have not removed these since I got them.

 

[catom]

I don't own a Focal headphone (yet) but your description of them and their house sound and sense of engagement is a very helpful piece of knowledge to have. I just had a couple questions: I've read criticisms of their bass output as on the light side. Can you describe how it sounds to you and, say, the source you generally use? Does the pad swap help in that regard? Thanks!

Agreeing with the above from peterinvan here. The pad swap absolutely will get you more bass. I still don't think with stock pads I'd say the bass is lacking. It will depend on how much bass you want.

The Dekoni Stellia pads I think adds all the bass one could want. You can EQ for more if you really wanted.

I don't think Elegia are really much different from the Celestee. I've tried the Celestee too. The soundstage is better on the Elegia. They're kinda the same headphone really, just with a little different tuning. You can change ear pads and such to get them closer. You'd have to A/B to tell the difference.

The Radiance is a little different. That's the one people who find bass lacking with the Elegia gravitate towards. Even there I still feel like the Elegia is more than adequate for bass.

You just need to give it some good clean power from an amp. They're easy to drive, you don't need to crank the amp up, but the power of the amp helps. Even on portable solutions like the BTR5, the Elegia is very good.

 

[Spyronight]

Agreeing with the above from peterinvan here. The pad swap absolutely will get you more bass. I still don't think with stock pads I'd say the bass is lacking. It will depend on how much bass you want.

The Dekoni Stellia pads I think adds all the bass one could want. You can EQ for more if you really wanted.

I don't think Elegia are really much different from the Celestee. I've tried the Celestee too. The soundstage is better on the Elegia. They're kinda the same headphone really, just with a little different tuning. You can change ear pads and such to get them closer. You'd have to A/B to tell the difference.

The Radiance is a little different. That's the one people who find bass lacking with the Elegia gravitate towards. Even there I still feel like the Elegia is more than adequate for bass.

You just need to give it some good clean power from an amp. They're easy to drive, you don't need to crank the amp up, but the power of the amp helps. Even on portable solutions like the BTR5, the Elegia is very good.

which pads worked for you? they have adequate bass for me, just wish the soundstage was a bit more but Im coming from openbacks.

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Add me to the crowd of people who think the Elegia aren’t lacking in bass at all.

I think their bass is sufficient and it’s excellent quality.

If you’re looking for Beats or even Meze 99 Classics type bass, this ain’t it. But since I got my Elegia a couple weeks ago, I’ve never felt their bass was insufficient.

Some people find the tuning a bit strange because of the raised mids that make the 100-200hz region seem a little recessed by comparison, but I’ve never had a problem with that. I thought the tuning was a bit weird the first couple days, but then either the headphones burnt in or I simply became accustomed to this tuning (which is merely different, not bad), and I absolutely love my Elegia now. I’m so glad I jumped on that Adorama deal, as I love nearly everything about this headphone.

 

[Spyronight]

Add me to the crowd of people who think the Elegia aren’t lacking in bass at all.

I think their bass is sufficient and it’s excellent quality.

If you’re looking for Beats or even Meze 99 Classics type bass, this ain’t it. But since I got my Elegia a couple weeks ago, I’ve never felt their bass was insufficient.

Some people find the tuning a bit strange because of the raised mids that make the 100-200hz region seem a little recessed by comparison, but I’ve never had a problem with that. I thought the tuning was a bit weird the first couple days, but then either the headphones burnt in or I simply became accustomed to this tuning (which is merely different, not bad), and I absolutely love my Elegia now. I’m so glad I jumped on that Adorama deal, as I love nearly everything about this headphone.

consider some of the eq profiles on peace, I just found them and they improve the sound quite a bit, vocals are more enjoyable. Idk of its something in the mid or treble area but right out of stock while everything is good, something there sounds a little off to me. The eq profiles on peace fixed it, the headphone.com one was the most engaging. Mine is a second hand pair and I believe its been burned in already.

 

[InvisibleInk]

Just got these and they arrived, were people saying they sound like the Celestee if you put on the celestee pads, the celestee were my first choice but they were over my budget. also, any EQ recommendations? (I listen to jazz and classical if that important and running them off a magni/modi)

This link is to the acoustic engineer and foremost famous Elegia hater's EQ settings. If you have parametric equalizer software these settings will transform the Elegia into a different sounding headphone for sure.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ialbitfdqmx2jr4/Focal Elegia.pdf?dl=0

 

[catom]

which pads worked for you? they have adequate bass for me, just wish the soundstage was a bit more but Im coming from openbacks.

I use the Dekoni Stellia pads. It increased the bass. I'm not sure it did anything positive for sound stage. The stock pads are let more air pass through I believe so I'd expect them to be better for soundstage. I'd have to compare again.

I never thought soundstage was bad for closed back headphones...but there's definitely better soundstage available for closed back headphones.

 

[JaVerde]

which pads worked for you? they have adequate bass for me, just wish the soundstage was a bit more but Im coming from openbacks.

Have you tried the Dekoni Sheepskin pads? They are pretty good with the Elegia

 

[ngd3]

If you have the Elegia you owe it to yourself to experiment with different pads, especially as they are so easy to swap. My experience with Dekoni pads:

Sheepskin: significant bass boost. sounds very much like the Bently Radiance.
Fenestrated Sheepskin: improvement in comfort and sound quality over the stock pads.
Stellia Limited: bass boost and overall the best sound quality. I have not removed these since I got them.

Mostly agree with this

Sheepskin - meh, made them bassier and worse

Fenestrated - most similar to stock pads to me, just slightly better. I add a bass boost and love these

Stellia - like these a lot, but think I prefer fenestrated + EQ bass boost

 

[Spyronight]

Have you tried the Dekoni Sheepskin pads? They are pretty good with the Elegia

The problem I have with them is soundstage, i been listening to them and pads wont fix that. They sounded good on some J-pop songs, but classical and jazz ranged from being a mess to mediocre (This is just my personal opinion) I do like the tone of them so maybe a open back focal? With eq they are nice headphones. I recently bought a akg k812 thats coming and audeze lcd-2. Ill be using those probably for more intense (k812) and chill (lcd-2) sessions. I wouldnt mind one more headphone thats between the k812 and and lcd-2 but my budget is limited a bit after these purchases. Maybe something from Hifiman? never tried them and they seem interesting. Or an open back focal?

 

[Mikoto67]

I have the MSR7. It's bright, borderline sibilant. Also the headband hurt the top of my head. Though the MSR7 is a pretty good headphone technically speaking.

I don't think the soundstage is particularly great, but the Focal Elegia may be more narrow. Since I can't recall, I wouldn't consider it a major difference. I believe the Elegia is not as narrow as the Celesete that replaced it.

What you gain with the Elegia (or any Focal really) is dynamics. The headphones are very engaging. I would say long term listening fatigue is slightly better than with the MSR7.

The Elegia are also detail monsters. Sure, they aren't the Stellia with its beryllium drivers, but the detail is still good. I would suggest getting the Dekoni Ltd. Edition Stellia pads for it. That pad swap helps it a lot.

I prefer the Elegia to the MSR7 quite a bit in terms of sound quality and sound signature (leaving comfort out of it).

Focal has a "house sound" - you can pretty much identify headphones from Focal if you were blindfolded. Pretty much any of their headphones. Very distinct. It's like if you eat at a restaurant that makes their own bread stuff and they use that for everything, right? The bread, hamburger buns, even the pancakes and everything tastes the same. Different, but the same.

I would try to listen before you buy (and you can also listen to a different pair of Focal, or a few, to get an idea for their house sound). You can get these headphones at a really good price these days and they are, what I like to call, one of the "cheat codes" in the headphone game. They are an incredible value for the price point and are made even better with a pad swap.

Thank you for this clarification.

I bought it, it should arrive in a few days, there is no more the limited version of the pads, I took then the version Dekoni Audio Custom Series Replacement Ear Pads for Focal Headphones which seems to be the limited version but under another name, in any case the pads Stellia

I have another question, I also bought the symmetrical cable Meze 4.4 silver plated version https://www.son-video.com/article/a...t-balanced-4-4mm-1-2-m#ficheQuestionsReponses
I would like to know, for those who have it, does it fit well in the headphones? Is there any play? Does it clip well? Or at worst do you have a trick to lock it well?

Thanks