[joeydgraffix]

Thanks everyone.

I've ran these in balanced mode on my Opus 1s, it sounds slightly better but not much (not powerful enough I'm assuming like before). I've also ran in it low gain since I noticed the high gain on the Opus can bring out the brightness with these headphones along with the high gain on the XDUOO.

I think my setup is something I just need to change and upgrade. It works great with my Phillips x2/27s. Doing an a/b test last night with the headphones I saw no need for the Elex's. They were a bit better in a few things but not worth the price tag at all. Either way I don't think I'll be keeping these. I'll do more research or wait to see what I can find. I'm still looking for a really nice portable setup so maybe I need to wait and see if I can find the Ifi micro black edition for a decent price for a portable amp.

While I'm not a basshead, the music that I do listen too like EDM does demand that bass at a bit louder volumes cause its more exciting type music.

I think I'm going to be listing my setup today for sale, look into something else that fits my needs. I just wish someone had a headphone test out service you can pay a certain amount for to test out all types of headphones and return them to see what you like. Its getting costly to keep on buying/selling/losing money on all this..really sucks.

 

[CoFire]

I have the Focal Clear right now that I'm very happy with. Has anyone heard them side by side with the Elex? Thoughts?

I'll give my take in this inquiry as I listened to the same cans @pthora auditioned.

The Elex has a little more treble energy, clarity throughout the signature and displays nice texture in the bass. The soundstage is not huge but respectable and it draws your attention more due to it's dynamic response. The treble can have a little edge but it's not overdone or sibilant. I thought the HE-500 were more sibilant for instance. Bass response is very clean, textured and not boomy nor does it bleed into the mids. This is not a relaxation can.

The Clear is fuller throughout the upper bass and midrange which I believe slightly compresses the soundstage. Its not quite as present in the treble, nor lacking and overall just has a darker more full sound. Dynamics feel less apparent due to the darker signature and it is more detailed but the Elex isn't lacking details nor is it dwarfed by the Clear's detail retrieval. The overall sound still draws your attention and still maintains a clinical edge compared to other cans like the Auteur, HD6XX, or Atticus. It's warmer but it's still retains is dynamics and Focal energy just thrown at you.

Both these cans are outstanding performers. Listening to both, I wouldn't say outright that one is much better than another, rather they are just different. If I pick 10 songs, I could listen to them with both cans and more than likely split the songs down the middle on preference per can. Sometimes, the Clears fullness gets in the way of the mids and in that case, the Elex presents a nice sense of clarity and texture through the signature. In some cases, you want that fullness to add character to a song. Certain bass instruments have a more appealing fullness on Clears while some guitars have more crunch and energy on the Elex.

These cans though sharing the Focal house sound shouldn't be classified as one being the upgrade of another but just different dynamic presentations. Bang for the buck goes to the Elex just because it's a steal for its performance.

Regarding basshead response, Focal cans are designed with such driver travel to deliver that dynamic signature that if driven too hard, they hit a mechanical stop which I hear sounds like a hard click or clip. I'm assuming if you are doing heavy EQ or listening at loud levels, this will limit your volume. Essentially, Focal designs have excursion limits which limit driver travel before distortion.

A cool design and hopefully something that will help some keep their hearing!

 

[441879]

How’s the soundstage on the Teak? I can’t believe how I can’t pump up the bass at all with these Elex’s. It’s incredibly dissapointing. I have zero idea how anyone would recommend the Elex for EDM or rap music. The only music I’ve enjoyed so far are old rock songs. I thought that these would kill the 2cs in having that hifi sound,and have that nice depth that the 2cs had..but they aren’t even close. I’m trying to find out where someone said these were as close as you can get to the 2c’s bass..that couldn’t be farther than the truth. Bass wise I’d say these sound like 100 dollar headphones.

I wonder if theres something out there like the 2c’s just without the seal and harsh highs.

Huh. I’ve been running mine with the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads (which probably means they sound more like Elears now) and the bass is everything I could ever want. Admittedly I listen at volumes unlikely to damage my hearing, but still. Also, my experience with the LCD2Cs is the treble is a little laid back. If you’re hearing harsh, I suspect your amp is being pushed beyond its performance limits.

 

[joeydgraffix]

Huh. I’ve been running mine with the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads (which probably means they sound more like Elears now) and the bass is everything I could ever want. Admittedly I listen at volumes unlikely to damage my hearing, but still. Also, my experience with the LCD2Cs is the treble is a little laid back. If you’re hearing harsh, I suspect your amp is being pushed beyond its performance limits.

I think it’s just my ears. The 2c’s were incredibly harsh anything after low volume. I’m talking about low-regular listening levels. No matter the source it just sounded way too harsh. Either way the ear pressure killed me so even if these were the best sounding headphones it didn't matter. I even tested the 2c's on my head with zero music and within 10 minutes the pressure just killed me. Taking them off it felt like I had just listened to some bass heavy music on my ears.

On another side note , I tried the Elex's with video games, and I've seen reviews say that these had too much bass for games, but I actually loved the Elex's when it came to games. Even though I think they have low bass, for me they had the perfect amount for gaming. Everything sounded excellent and it was the perfect balance for me with volume, quality, bass and non-fatigue. I've always preferred my x27s for gaming but the Elex beats them for that.

 

[wje]

Thanks everyone.

I just wish someone had a headphone test out service you can pay a certain amount for to test out all types of headphones and return them to see what you like. Its getting costly to keep on buying/selling/losing money on all this..really sucks.

This concept has been utilized (to a limited degree from some vendors - TTVJ for Example): https://www.ttvjaudio.com/category_s/2064.htm

 

[CyberAthlete]

I'll give my take in this inquiry as I listened to the same cans @pthora auditioned.

The Elex has a little more treble energy, clarity throughout the signature and displays nice texture in the bass. The soundstage is not huge but respectable and it draws your attention more due to it's dynamic response. The treble can have a little edge but it's not overdone or sibilant. I thought the HE-500 were more sibilant for instance. Bass response is very clean, textured and not boomy nor does it bleed into the mids. This is not a relaxation can.

The Clear is fuller throughout the upper bass and midrange which I believe slightly compresses the soundstage. Its not quite as present in the treble, nor lacking and overall just has a darker more full sound. Dynamics feel less apparent due to the darker signature and it is more detailed but the Elex isn't lacking details nor is it dwarfed by the Clear's detail retrieval. The overall sound still draws your attention and still maintains a clinical edge compared to other cans like the Auteur, HD6XX, or Atticus. It's warmer but it's still retains is dynamics and Focal energy just thrown at you.

Both these cans are outstanding performers. Listening to both, I wouldn't say outright that one is much better than another, rather they are just different. If I pick 10 songs, I could listen to them with both cans and more than likely split the songs down the middle on preference per can. Sometimes, the Clears fullness gets in the way of the mids and in that case, the Elex presents a nice sense of clarity and texture through the signature. In some cases, you want that fullness to add character to a song. Certain bass instruments have a more appealing fullness on Clears while some guitars have more crunch and energy on the Elex.

These cans though sharing the Focal house sound shouldn't be classified as one being the upgrade of another but just different dynamic presentations. Bang for the buck goes to the Elex just because it's a steal for its performance.

Regarding basshead response, Focal cans are designed with such driver travel to deliver that dynamic signature that if driven too hard, they hit a mechanical stop which I hear sounds like a hard click or clip. I'm assuming if you are doing heavy EQ or listening at loud levels, this will limit your volume. Essentially, Focal designs have excursion limits which limit driver travel before distortion.

A cool design and hopefully something that will help some keep their hearing!

Thanks man! I really appreciate the detailed response. I am very happy with my Clear's and will intend to keep them. Only thing I wish was they didn't clip so soon as some tracks with super deep bass tracks do tend to make the drivers hit their limits. I would've liked if they had a higher threshold. I have used them with Schiit Lyr 3 and Woo Audio WA7 + WA7TP.

 

[ksorota]

Thanks everyone.

I just wish someone had a headphone test out service you can pay a certain amount for to test out all types of headphones and return them to see what you like. Its getting costly to keep on buying/selling/losing money on all this..really sucks.

Check out "The Cable Company's lending library https://www.thecableco.com/the-cable-company-headphone-lending-library . They have a great selection at reasonably prices.

This concept has been utilized (to a limited degree from some vendors - TTVJ for Example): https://www.ttvjaudio.com/category_s/2064.htm

The lending tours by TTVJ and others have been a fantastic way to try out headphones. What makes the tours even more fun is that if you can join multiple tours you always have something to look forward too!

Keith

 

[BoogieWoogie]

I found that the size of our heads makes a big difference in how we may hear the Focals. I have a really small head and the clamp is pretty much almost none, I found the sound too distant, specially with vocals, ending compensating with higher volume but getting fatigued fast.

Found that if I just gently push the drivers against my ears the sound transformers completely, getting the vocals all the rest really upfront and present. Now I ask if there is any way to make it clamp more or some pads mode that can make them smaller so the ear sits next to the driver ?

 

[329161]

Anyone have an opinion on how these compare to HD700s as far as reference capability? For instance, neutrality of freq reaponse, depth of soundstage, and definition/transient response?

I wouldn't describe the hd700 as reference quality, and I don't think any other reviewer has either. There is quite a big spike at 6khz which makes it hard to listen to. Midrange is a bit recessed too. I haven't heard the Elex, but I ordered it based on a number of outstanding reviews from people I trust.

 

[john57]

Sorry to hear that you are not getting enough clamping pressure. There is not alot of metal spring tension on this headphone. Mine fits my oval head just fine and the pads are very comfortable. There might be a way to hold the headband in a certain way to bend the metal but I am not sure if that would be safe thing to do with this headphone.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Sorry to hear that you are not getting enough clamping pressure. There is not alot of metal spring tension on this headphone. Mine fits my oval head just fine and the pads are very comfortable. There might be a way to hold the headband in a certain way to bend the metal but I am not sure if that would be safe thing to do with this headphone.

Well its solved!
I went on explorer mode and decided to try bending the metal band and it works amazingly. It looks like the metal is really stiff and if you try to bend it, it breaks, but that's not true at all. Now the sound is pretty much perfect, I would suggest those who can see a sound improvement pushing the drivers against the ears to try bending the metal bands.

Amazing sounding headphone.

 

[louderup]

I wouldn't describe the hd700 as reference quality, and I don't think any other reviewer has either. There is quite a big spike at 6khz which makes it hard to listen to. Midrange is a bit recessed too. I haven't heard the Elex, but I ordered it based on a number of outstanding reviews from people I trust.

I have mixed feelings about this statement but value your input for being critical. Please let me know how you feel about the Elex as far as those qualities mentioned.

 

[441879]

Don’t know anything about the HD700s, but I don’t really think the Elex is what I would choose as a reference headphone. Maybe the MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed would be a better choice at a similar price.

 

[mixman]

Don’t know anything about the HD700s, but I don’t really think the Elex is what I would choose as a reference headphone. Maybe the MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed would be a better choice at a similar price.

The funny thing is I don't see anyone get really excited about the Aeon Flows, even the owners. Many owners of the Focals do get really excited about their HP's. Not saying that means a lot but that may be one of the things that has held me back from getting some Aeon Flows.

 

[441879]

The funny thing is I don't see anyone get really excited about the Aeon Flows, even the owners. Many owners of the Focals do get really excited about their HP's. Not saying that means a lot but that may be one of the things that has held me back from getting some Aeon Flows.

I really like my Aeons so consider me an excited owner. That said, they’re not for those who want a big soundstage. I wouldn’t say they’re better or worse than the Elex but I think that if you have an Elex, the Closed Aeon would make a better companion. The open version’s biggest strength is it’s warm, inviting sound signature which is somewhat similar to the Elex, though the Elex has more mids emphasis and to my ears a more fatiguing sound. The Elex has a much better sound stage than the Open which makes up for the opens better detailing and smoother sound. The closed Aeon is quite neutral compared to the other two and pulls out a tremendous amount of detail and is never fatiguing. It’s soundstage is better than the Open, though to my ears not as good as the Elex.

I also have to say I prefer the Elex with aftermarket pads to both Aeons most of the time because they solve the fatigue issue I have with the stock pads and I like the warm, energetic sound.