[MacMan31]

I currently have a loaner pair and I am sorry to say that so far I'm unimpressed, especially how it sometimes throws up a veil for certain tracks. The most egregious example is Mozart's "Symphony No.41 in C Major ("Jupiter"), K.551: IV. Molto allegro" performed by the Orchestra of the 18th Century, which can be found on The Mozart 225 Box Set (Disc 60, Track 8). This track is one of my go-to tracks to test the headphone's technical ability. On my home setup, the Elex sounds like it throws a blanket over the section starting at 0:40 such that the sound becomes muffled. None of my other cans that I compared against the Elex had this issue [see below, L to R: LCD-2 rev. 1, Elex, HE-6 (prototype modded), HE-500, and the HD6XX. Very strange; also, I used the same cable with the Elex and the HE-6). One thing though is that the Elex likes power, as my Schitt stack at work doesn't drive the Elex to its full potential.

First of all I looked up that Mozart box set on Amazon and damn that is expensive! Almost $1,000 US. I did have the Elex and generally enjoyed them overall aside from the weight. But I ended up selling them. So what would you recommend for instrumental music like classical or movie scores or jazz?

 

[kalsonc]

I had elear and i can tell you, 650 and elear is different, 650 more darker, relaxed one or laidback (this can be said as not lively sound) and less dynamic, elear also have intimate soundstage, the kind of sound elear offer is like in your face sound, so it's kindda different, elear somehow similar/closer to hd660s instead in sennheiser sound signature.

thank you for your input

would you say its a step up from the 650 or would I be better with a 660s?

 

[kith86]

thank you for your input

would you say its a step up from the 650 or would I be better with a 660s?

Honestly it's just more different presentation, more engaging/no veil sound on elear and 660s, but elear in my ears sounds more dynamic and easier to drive, more lively than hd650 or 660s, just dont sell your hd650 yet or audition first because like i said it sounds different, if you think 650 sounds is boring then i would say it's an upgrade, but if that's not the case, hd650 to elear or 660s sounds like side grade but with different presentation, if you looking for true upgrade to hd650 with improvement and like hd650 tonality maybe you can considered aeolus instead.

 

[sennfan83261]

The above shot of the Elex includes some of my other cans that I compared it against [L to R: LCD-2 rev. 1, Elex, HE-6 (prototype modded), HE-500, and the HD6XX (AKG K501 missing)]

First off, I'd like to thank @Mshenay and Drop for providing redditors the opportunity to evaluate several different headphones, including the Drop+Focal collaboration that yielded the Elex.

My daily driver is the HE-6.

I already posted this review on reddit. What follows is my take on the Elex pair that came across my desk. My opinions are not sponsored by anyone or any entity, and they are mine alone.

--------

Information / Specs:

* Type: Dynamic

* Impedance: 80 ohms

* Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL / 1 mW at 1 kHz

* Weight: 450g

* MSRP: $700 USD

--------

Packaging:

The Elex comes in a box that befits a headphone well above its price point. The inner lid is lined with a nicely textured acoustic foam of which my co-worker couldn't stop brushing her hand through, lol, and the headphones are nicely secured in a denser foam cutout below. The box includes a compartment containing two sheathed cables, one single-ended TRS and one balanced 4-pin XLR, both terminating with 3mm left/right mono connectors. Thus, there are plenty of aftermarket options available, which are needed since the Elex cables are stiff and can easily form kinks; also, I read on HF that the sheathing is prone to fraying, so there could be longevity issues with regards to their cosmetics. Despite the Elex cables looking rather aesthetically pleasing, they suffer usability issues similar to that of the terrible Hifiman cables but less so. Anyways, the cables are best left in the box IMO.

--------

Build / Comfort and Fit:

At a distance, the build is very impressive. The all-black look is sleek, and the metal portion of the spring-loaded cups and gimbals certainly gave me an impression of a well-built and sturdy headphone. The suede (microcloth?) pads are nicely constructed and feel great. However, on closer inspection, the plastic portions of the ear cups near the edge of the ear pads are unusually sharp. They appear to be sharp enough so that someone can cut themselves even without having any emo playing in the background (okay, bad joke). Also, the Elex noticeably creaks when being handled.

As to comfort and fit, I received the loaner Elex having the one crumpling ear pad. It felt a bit awkward at first, but both pads are soft enough that both eventually settled rather evenly on my ears. The one thing that got to me was the inferior weight distribution of the Elex headband. Having been used to wearing Hifiman's HE-500 and Audeze's LCD-2 rev. 1, both heavier than the Elex, to my surprise I found that the weight distribution of the Elex's headband to be inferior to that of the other two. Specifically, the Elex's headband forms a hotspot on my head after putting them on. A simple downward press to have more of the headband rest on my head for better weight distribution helped quite a bit. As to whether the creaking persists when being worn, my answer is that I heard a bit of creaking very infrequently whenever I moved my head, so it is mostly a non-issue for me.

--------

Setup:

* Home: SDAC-B > THX AAA 789

* Work: Modi 3 > Magni 3

--------

Sound

Bass:

Probably the most impressive part of the Elex's FR. For a dynamic, the bass extension is rather excellent but not as low as planars can go around this price range. The bass is punchy, just about as punchy as the HE-500. Furthermore, the bass can get a bit wooly at times similar to the LCD-2 rev. 1. Really impressive bass for a dynamic.

Mids:

The mids are definitely forward in the Elex, particularly the upper mids, somewhat similar to what some call the Sennheiser "shout." I don't mind the shout too much on the Elex and the HD6XX except for the mids of the former sound a tad bit thinner than those of the latter.

Treble:

Okay, this is where I take issue with the Elex. Like others have stated before, the treble is a rather uneven with weird peaks and dips here and there, which leads to an odd timbre to my ears. In some songs, some of the treble frequency went almost missing or strangely subdued. Treble suckout anyone?

Timbre:

"Metallic" and "glare" are some terms used to describe the timbre of the Elex, and I have to agree after having them for a week. On many tracks, piano keys just sound so off. On one of my test tracks (see below), there was this weird resonance or prolonged decay with piano keys that lead to their smearing. Very disappointing and unnatural to my ears. There was no audible difference between the Focal cable and the cable that I built.

--------

Soundstage/Imaging:

Soundstage is wider than the HD6XX and I was able to get a pretty good sense of where instruments were placed positionally. Solid.

Dynamics:

I guess this is a calling card of the Elex. The Elex dynamics are nice, but they didn't wow me over the HE-500 or the LCD-2 for example. I can certainly see how someone coming from the more relaxed sound of the HD6XX would be impressed with the more aggressive sounding Elex.

--------

Driver Clipping:

I usually listen around 65-70dB or below (unscientifically measured by my phone while listening to my car stereo), so I am well below the 104dB mark for clipping of Elex's drivers. Putting it in another way, I listen to the Elex (balanced) on the THX AAA 789 at the lowest gain stage with the volume pot at 9 o'clock. I did notice that the track "2049" from Blade Runner 2049 caused the most noticeable excursion of the drivers than any other track I threw at the Elex, but "2049" did not cause any audible clipping at my typical listening levels. I went a tad bit louder on the track, but no clipping resulted. Anyways, I am not going to sacrifice my hearing to seek out the supposedly lower dB clipping when it comes to a track like "2049."

--------

Tracks:

* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2016] Mozart 225: 060 [Orchestral] Symphonies {478 9849, CD}: 08. Symphony No.41 in C Major ("Jupiter"), K.551: IV. Molto allegro

My initial disappointment with the Elex began with this track, performed by the Orchestra of the 18th Century, which can be found on The Mozart 225 Box Set (Disc 60, Track 8). This track is one of my go-to tracks to test a headphone's technical ability. On my home setup, the Elex sounds like it throws a blanket over the section starting at 0:40 such that the sound becomes muffled. None of my other cans that I compared against the Elex had this issue [see top pic]. Very strange.


* Joseph Haydn [2009] Symphonies (Orchestra of the 18th Century) {Decca, CD}: 04. Symphony No.50 in C Major, Hob.I:50: IV. Finale. Presto

After listening to this track from my recabled balanced AKG K501, the Elex comes off muted.

* The Epic of Zektbach: Piano Collection [2010] {GFCA-194, CD}: 02. Fragment

Probably the track most negatively affected by the Elex. Horrible, metallic timbre with piano keys smearing together with the addition of a bit of glare. The smearing sounds like some weird resonance or prolonged decay that I mentioned earlier at a volume range beween 65-70dB. The piano sounds here, and elsewhere, unnatural on the Elex.

* Alpha [2003] Stargazing {DoToCD001, CD}: 05. Elvis

At 2:18, vocals sound disjointed with respect to the music, moreso than the HD6XX.

* Engineers [2005] Engineers {ECHUS 4, CD}: 01. Home

On Elex, vocals were more in the forefront than the HE-500, but the HE-500 presented a fuller, richer sound than the Elex on this track, especially at 1:24.

* Fleeting Joys [2019] Speeding Away to Someday {[Self-Released], WEB}: 02. You Want To

One of my favorite genres is shoegaze and this was one of the shoegaze albums of the year last year, which might be important to a handful of you here, lol. Anyways, the Elex separated the vocals from the mix in a way that dulled (if not ruined) the hazy, dream-like atmosphere associated with this genre.

* Kid Loco [1998] A Grand Love Story {3984 22785 2, CD}: 1-02. Relaxin' with Cherry

Bass goes deep and is just barely less punchy than the HE-500, otherwise impressive bass from a dynamic that doesn't rely on a mid-bass boost to hide a lack of sub-bass extension.

* Whiskeytown [1995] Faithless Street [1998 Reissue] {ORPD-30002, CD}: 02. Drank Like a River

Timbre is off on the Elex due to the metallic sheen throughout this track. Not really euphonic. Guitars not separated all that well.

--------

Conclusion / TLDR:

I love how the Elex looks, shame about its sound.

NB: This pair has already passed through several hands before it got to me with one of the ear pads already starting to crumple, noticed by a few loanees before me. One loanee measured this pair on his MiniDSP EARS rig (caveats of its treble accuracy aside), which revealed a 5.5-6.5k trough that may have coincided with what I heard [reddit link]. Also, track times on the albums may not reflect track times as shown in the Youtube videos.

 

[Marlowe]

The Elex has been my principal headphone for music since around Thanksgiving 2018. I won't take issue with your subjective take on its sound, especially since our musical tastes appear to wildly differ. (I don't listen to classical music and, frankly, I never heard of any on the non-classical (?) tracks or artists you used in your review; I primarily listen to virtually every possible genre of rock and folk.) However, I do take issue with your comments on build quality. While I don't have any TOTL headphones, I have a good range of mid-fi cans (e.g., Sennheiser HD700 and 6XX, Hifiman 400i, Philips Fidelio X2) and the Elex has the highest quality materials and build quality, though I agree that it probably has a bit more plastic than appears on first glance. But the claim that you could cut yourself on any portion of the ear cup is--to my mind at least--ridiculous. And I've used them almost daily for more than a year and have never heard any creaking. I'd agree that there are QC issues with the cables. In the first four or five months I had them, the OEM XLR cable suddenly lost a channel. Both times, Massdrop replaced the entire package and the third cable, which I got last spring, is still working. Aesthetically, it's not my favorite cable for various issues, and I'll probably replace it one day, but since I only use it while stationary and sitting, they work reasonably well.

 

[Shane D]

I just placed my order. Very excited as I have been wanting these for at least a year. I will now read the whole thread.

Shane D

 

[adeadcrab]

They pair well with the AAA 789 amp.

 

[Shane D]

They pair well with the AAA 789 amp.

My amp selection is:
SMSL SP200 (THX 888)
Burson Fun-Classic
Cavalli Liquid Spark
Cavalli LCX
Schiit Vali 2
XDuoo TA-20

I am curious about the THX 888 and looking forward to the Burson.

All being fed by an SMSL SU-8.

Shane D

PS: This is my first Drop order with free shipping!

 

[Shane D]

The above shot of the Elex includes some of my other cans that I compared it against [L to R: LCD-2 rev. 1, Elex, HE-6 (prototype modded), HE-500, and the HD6XX (AKG K501 missing)]

First off, I'd like to thank @Mshenay and Drop for providing redditors the opportunity to evaluate several different headphones, including the Drop+Focal collaboration that yielded the Elex.

My daily driver is the HE-6.

I already posted this review on reddit. What follows is my take on the Elex pair that came across my desk. My opinions are not sponsored by anyone or any entity, and they are mine alone.

--------

Information / Specs:

* Type: Dynamic

* Impedance: 80 ohms

* Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL / 1 mW at 1 kHz

* Weight: 450g

* MSRP: $700 USD

--------

Packaging:

The Elex comes in a box that befits a headphone well above its price point. The inner lid is lined with a nicely textured acoustic foam of which my co-worker couldn't stop brushing her hand through, lol, and the headphones are nicely secured in a denser foam cutout below. The box includes a compartment containing two sheathed cables, one single-ended TRS and one balanced 4-pin XLR, both terminating with 3mm left/right mono connectors. Thus, there are plenty of aftermarket options available, which are needed since the Elex cables are stiff and can easily form kinks; also, I read on HF that the sheathing is prone to fraying, so there could be longevity issues with regards to their cosmetics. Despite the Elex cables looking rather aesthetically pleasing, they suffer usability issues similar to that of the terrible Hifiman cables but less so. Anyways, the cables are best left in the box IMO.

--------

Build / Comfort and Fit:

At a distance, the build is very impressive. The all-black look is sleek, and the metal portion of the spring-loaded cups and gimbals certainly gave me an impression of a well-built and sturdy headphone. The suede (microcloth?) pads are nicely constructed and feel great. However, on closer inspection, the plastic portions of the ear cups near the edge of the ear pads are unusually sharp. They appear to be sharp enough so that someone can cut themselves even without having any emo playing in the background (okay, bad joke). Also, the Elex noticeably creaks when being handled.

As to comfort and fit, I received the loaner Elex having the one crumpling ear pad. It felt a bit awkward at first, but both pads are soft enough that both eventually settled rather evenly on my ears. The one thing that got to me was the inferior weight distribution of the Elex headband. Having been used to wearing Hifiman's HE-500 and Audeze's LCD-2 rev. 1, both heavier than the Elex, to my surprise I found that the weight distribution of the Elex's headband to be inferior to that of the other two. Specifically, the Elex's headband forms a hotspot on my head after putting them on. A simple downward press to have more of the headband rest on my head for better weight distribution helped quite a bit. As to whether the creaking persists when being worn, my answer is that I heard a bit of creaking very infrequently whenever I moved my head, so it is mostly a non-issue for me.

--------

Setup:

* Home: SDAC-B > THX AAA 789

* Work: Modi 3 > Magni 3

--------

Sound

Bass:

Probably the most impressive part of the Elex's FR. For a dynamic, the bass extension is rather excellent but not as low as planars can go around this price range. The bass is punchy, just about as punchy as the HE-500. Furthermore, the bass can get a bit wooly at times similar to the LCD-2 rev. 1. Really impressive bass for a dynamic.

Mids:

The mids are definitely forward in the Elex, particularly the upper mids, somewhat similar to what some call the Sennheiser "shout." I don't mind the shout too much on the Elex and the HD6XX except for the mids of the former sound a tad bit thinner than those of the latter.

Treble:

Okay, this is where I take issue with the Elex. Like others have stated before, the treble is a rather uneven with weird peaks and dips here and there, which leads to an odd timbre to my ears. In some songs, some of the treble frequency went almost missing or strangely subdued. Treble suckout anyone?

Timbre:

"Metallic" and "glare" are some terms used to describe the timbre of the Elex, and I have to agree after having them for a week. On many tracks, piano keys just sound so off. On one of my test tracks (see below), there was this weird resonance or prolonged decay with piano keys that lead to their smearing. Very disappointing and unnatural to my ears. There was no audible difference between the Focal cable and the cable that I built.

--------

Soundstage/Imaging:

Soundstage is wider than the HD6XX and I was able to get a pretty good sense of where instruments were placed positionally. Solid.

Dynamics:

I guess this is a calling card of the Elex. The Elex dynamics are nice, but they didn't wow me over the HE-500 or the LCD-2 for example. I can certainly see how someone coming from the more relaxed sound of the HD6XX would be impressed with the more aggressive sounding Elex.

--------

Driver Clipping:

I usually listen around 65-70dB or below (unscientifically measured by my phone while listening to my car stereo), so I am well below the 104dB mark for clipping of Elex's drivers. Putting it in another way, I listen to the Elex (balanced) on the THX AAA 789 at the lowest gain stage with the volume pot at 9 o'clock. I did notice that the track "2049" from Blade Runner 2049 caused the most noticeable excursion of the drivers than any other track I threw at the Elex, but "2049" did not cause any audible clipping at my typical listening levels. I went a tad bit louder on the track, but no clipping resulted. Anyways, I am not going to sacrifice my hearing to seek out the supposedly lower dB clipping when it comes to a track like "2049."

--------

Tracks:

* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2016] Mozart 225: 060 [Orchestral] Symphonies {478 9849, CD}: 08. Symphony No.41 in C Major ("Jupiter"), K.551: IV. Molto allegro

My initial disappointment with the Elex began with this track, performed by the Orchestra of the 18th Century, which can be found on The Mozart 225 Box Set (Disc 60, Track 8). This track is one of my go-to tracks to test a headphone's technical ability. On my home setup, the Elex sounds like it throws a blanket over the section starting at 0:40 such that the sound becomes muffled. None of my other cans that I compared against the Elex had this issue [see top pic]. Very strange.


* Joseph Haydn [2009] Symphonies (Orchestra of the 18th Century) {Decca, CD}: 04. Symphony No.50 in C Major, Hob.I:50: IV. Finale. Presto

After listening to this track from my recabled balanced AKG K501, the Elex comes off muted.

* The Epic of Zektbach: Piano Collection [2010] {GFCA-194, CD}: 02. Fragment

Probably the track most negatively affected by the Elex. Horrible, metallic timbre with piano keys smearing together with the addition of a bit of glare. The smearing sounds like some weird resonance or prolonged decay that I mentioned earlier at a volume range beween 65-70dB. The piano sounds here, and elsewhere, unnatural on the Elex.

* Alpha [2003] Stargazing {DoToCD001, CD}: 05. Elvis

At 2:18, vocals sound disjointed with respect to the music, moreso than the HD6XX.

* Engineers [2005] Engineers {ECHUS 4, CD}: 01. Home

On Elex, vocals were more in the forefront than the HE-500, but the HE-500 presented a fuller, richer sound than the Elex on this track, especially at 1:24.

* Fleeting Joys [2019] Speeding Away to Someday {[Self-Released], WEB}: 02. You Want To

One of my favorite genres is shoegaze and this was one of the shoegaze albums of the year last year, which might be important to a handful of you here, lol. Anyways, the Elex separated the vocals from the mix in a way that dulled (if not ruined) the hazy, dream-like atmosphere associated with this genre.

* Kid Loco [1998] A Grand Love Story {3984 22785 2, CD}: 1-02. Relaxin' with Cherry

Bass goes deep and is just barely less punchy than the HE-500, otherwise impressive bass from a dynamic that doesn't rely on a mid-bass boost to hide a lack of sub-bass extension.

* Whiskeytown [1995] Faithless Street [1998 Reissue] {ORPD-30002, CD}: 02. Drank Like a River

Timbre is off on the Elex due to the metallic sheen throughout this track. Not really euphonic. Guitars not separated all that well.

--------

Conclusion / TLDR:

I love how the Elex looks, shame about its sound.

NB: This pair has already passed through several hands before it got to me with one of the ear pads already starting to crumple, noticed by a few loanees before me. One loanee measured this pair on his MiniDSP EARS rig (caveats of its treble accuracy aside), which revealed a 5.5-6.5k trough that may have coincided with what I heard [reddit link]. Also, track times on the albums may not reflect track times as shown in the Youtube videos.

I just ordered a pair so hopefully I don't hate them like you did. On the upside you're not out any money.

I am pretty jacked actually.

Shane D

 

[sennfan83261]

I just ordered a pair so hopefully I don't hate them like you did. On the upside you're not out any money.

I am pretty jacked actually.

Shane D

There could have been issues with my loaner pair, as that unit passed through quite a few hands before reaching me. Anyways, that unit wasn't my cup of tea. Still, there's plenty of those who enjoy the Elex, and I hope you'll enjoy your pair too! They are quite the looker indeed, absolutely gorgeous looking cans imo. After you got acquainted with them, please post your impressions.

 

[Shane D]

There could have been issues with my loaner pair, as that unit passed through quite a few hands before reaching me. Anyways, that unit wasn't my cup of tea. Still, there's plenty of those who enjoy the Elex, and I hope you'll enjoy your pair too! They are quite the looker indeed, absolutely gorgeous looking cans imo. After you got acquainted with them, please post your impressions.

Will do. I should try and wait though. I almost always LOVE every new product I get. Then a month later, some go to meh, some I hate and some I really love.

Hopefully it's a keeper for me. My landed cost will be close on $1,000.00 in Canada. That is a LOT of money to me.

Shane D

 

[Shane D]

Wow, that was a long read! And the waiting continues. They will probably not get here until next week.

I am currently doing lots of serious listening because I have to cut back on this collection. Next month I will start putting items up for sale to pay for these.

 

[DivineCurrent]

For those who want a lighter more flexible cable than the stock Elex one, I highly recommend Sky Audio Cables on eBay. Really high quality materials especially for the price.

 

[Marlowe]

This morning, my Elex' XLR cable suddenly lost a channel. For the THIRD time in roughly 15 months. (I got the Elex around Thanksgiving 2018.) Although they receive a lot of use (I'm retired and wear headphones much of the day for music, TV/movies, and gaming), the headphones never leave my apartment and I treat them very carefully. For three (THREE!) cables to successively fail after a few months of careful handling is beyond ridiculous and I will never touch another another Focal product. Drop replaced the entire package on both previous occasions, sending out a replacement before requiring me to return the faulty package. This time they quickly offered me a choice between a replacement and a full refund but, due to low supply, they need to receive the faulty package first. They indicate, without supplying specifics, that there may be a less than "ideal" wait time for replacement.

The Elex is my primary headphone for music and action movies, so I will probably go for replacement. (In the meantime, I can "suffer" with a Sennheiser HD700 and HD6XX and a Hifiman 400i, so it is not a big deal.) But in part because I am really, really angry about this (to be clear, the anger is with Focal, I have nothing but good to say about Drop's CS) and really tired about dealing with the cable constantly crapping out, I may take the refund. This would pay almost 90% of the cost of the Audeze LCD-2C I've been thinking about. Or 60% of the ZMF Aeolus I've been dreaming about. (As a retiree on a modest fixed income who does not use credit, a purchase of that size takes a lot of saving.) I'll consider overnight.

 

[Shane D]

This morning, my Elex' XLR cable suddenly lost a channel. For the THIRD time in roughly 15 months. (I got the Elex around Thanksgiving 2018.) Although they receive a lot of use (I'm retired and wear headphones much of the day for music, TV/movies, and gaming), the headphones never leave my apartment and I treat them very carefully. For three (THREE!) cables to successively fail after a few months of careful handling is beyond ridiculous and I will never touch another another Focal product. Drop replaced the entire package on both previous occasions, sending out a replacement before requiring me to return the faulty package. This time they quickly offered me a choice between a replacement and a full refund but, due to low supply, they need to receive the faulty package first. They indicate, without supplying specifics, that there may be a less than "ideal" wait time for replacement.

The Elex is my primary headphone for music and action movies, so I will probably go for replacement. (In the meantime, I can "suffer" with a Sennheiser HD700 and HD6XX and a Hifiman 400i, so it is not a big deal.) But in part because I am really, really angry about this (to be clear, the anger is with Focal, I have nothing but good to say about Drop's CS) and really tired about dealing with the cable constantly crapping out, I may take the refund. This would pay almost 90% of the cost of the Audeze LCD-2C I've been thinking about. Or 60% of the ZMF Aeolus I've been dreaming about. (As a retiree on a modest fixed income who does not use credit, a purchase of that size takes a lot of saving.) I'll consider overnight.

Would you ever consider just buying your own cable or are you just not that impressed with the 'phones?

I understand if you are just pissed on principle, but I was curious.