[King CATalyst]

I bought the afo and really like it so far. I'd like to get the elex also just to see how good a dynamic headphone would do against a planar magnetic one. Also cause I've wanted to get the elear for the longest time and didn't get it cause some of the issues that were addressed in the elex. Ugh decisions and my poor wallet

This is literally my exact situation Lol. But I've decided I'm definitely buying the elex, I'm gonna have to sell my dt 1990 pro's to do so but I'm pretty confident that the elex will be an upgrade in almost all ways to the 1990s anyways.

 

[Currawong]

It’s very disappointing and unfair that Focal have decided to exclude European audiophiles from this Massdrop offer.

This is not directed at you specifically, but at an attitude many people have that is way to prevalent to be healthy. There's way to much "I can't buy this new shiny thing! It's a travesty!" here. All the time I see something on Massdrop I'd like to buy and see it is US only. Now I could get all worked up about how I cannot buy it, or I can do what I usually do, which is click the close tab and move on.

My kids have this problem -- they'll see something in a catalog and want to buy it and get upset when I say "no". I ask them this: Have you lost anything? Has that thing been taken away from you? If you hadn't seen it and didn't know it existed, you wouldn't have chosen to be upset.

Something worth thinking about.

 

[cardeli22]

This is literally my exact situation Lol. But I've decided I'm definitely buying the elex, I'm gonna have to sell my dt 1990 pro's to do so but I'm pretty confident that the elex will be an upgrade in almost all ways to the 1990s anyways.

LOL I am in the same boat. I just got the 1990 pro as an early Christmas present from the misses. Feels kind of dirty to want these right now too. LOL

 

[dontfeedphils]

I bought the afo and really like it so far. I'd like to get the elex also just to see how good a dynamic headphone would do against a planar magnetic one. Also cause I've wanted to get the elear for the longest time and didn't get it cause some of the issues that were addressed in the elex. Ugh decisions and my poor wallet

You won't be disappointed. I bought the Elear and fell in love with how dynamic and physically engaging it was, but wanted to move on due to the upper-mid dip. I was going to wait for the Clear to come out, but I'm not a patient man so I just went all in with Utopia. If I had heard the offerings from Focal but hadn't purchased any of them yet, the Elex would be an absolute no brainer. Basically 95% of the Clear, for half the price, and (IMO) a way cooler look.

 

[Beagle]

This is not directed at you specifically, but at an attitude many people have that is way to prevalent to be healthy. There's way to much "I can't buy this new shiny thing! It's a travesty!" here. All the time I see something on Massdrop I'd like to buy and see it is US only. Now I could get all worked up about how I cannot buy it, or I can do what I usually do, which is click the close tab and move on.

My kids have this problem -- they'll see something in a catalog and want to buy it and get upset when I say "no". I ask them this: Have you lost anything? Has that thing been taken away from you? If you hadn't seen it and didn't know it existed, you wouldn't have chosen to be upset.

Something worth thinking about.

There is always the option to wait a while, and inevitably they will show up on ebay and other used market places. They always do. Or ask an American friend to buy one for you and you reimburse them.

 

[IamMathew]

This is not directed at you specifically, but at an attitude many people have that is way to prevalent to be healthy. There's way to much "I can't buy this new shiny thing! It's a travesty!" here. All the time I see something on Massdrop I'd like to buy and see it is US only. Now I could get all worked up about how I cannot buy it, or I can do what I usually do, which is click the close tab and move on.

My kids have this problem -- they'll see something in a catalog and want to buy it and get upset when I say "no". I ask them this: Have you lost anything? Has that thing been taken away from you? If you hadn't seen it and didn't know it existed, you wouldn't have chosen to be upset.

Something worth thinking about.

" I ask them this: Have you lost anything? Has that thing been taken away from you? If you hadn't seen it and didn't know it existed, you wouldn't have chosen to be upset."
Hmm, that would be...I guess...more Asian kind of thinking than western one.

 

[ld100]

You want to pay $500 for what is basically a $1500 headphone?

Right.

We'll see on Monday how fast these sell out.

It is not as much as what I want... It is what an average buyer can spend. $200 is a compulsive buy. $500 is a lot for most and people will buy... $800 is a lot of money for most people. These cans probably worth every penny, but the pool of buyers is just not as large... It will sell quickly, but there will be far less buyers comparing to other Massdrop's headphones is $200 range.

 

[donato]

Yeah, nobody wants to buy expensive headphones at half off, right?

If these don't sell like crazy come Monday I'll come out here and say I was wrong, but I think this is going to be a big deal.

Of course plenty of people would prefer to buy something at half off. But is it really even half off? It's an upgraded Elear. Even the Clear "only" retails for $1500. I'm not saying it's not a good deal. I bought my elears last year with with a 20% holiday discount, so I thought that was a good deal at $800 and this is presumably an even better deal.

They may sell like crazy and if they do I also don't mind saying I'm "wrong". It's just speculation on all of our parts so no one cares if we're right or wrong.

 

[rexhu100]

I was pretty excited about it until I hear the price.

 

[XERO1]

I was at The Source AV yesterday and spent a few hours comparing quite a few different headphones, from the HD 660S up to the Utopia.

Of all the headphones I auditioned, the Clear was my 2nd favorite overall (Utopia was my 1st). As good as the TOTL Audeze, HiFiMAN and MrSpeakers planar headphones were, there was just something that sounded very 'right' about the Focal Clear and Utopia's overall SQ, IMHO.

The tuning of the Clear was a surprisingly significant improvement over the Elear, and was pretty close to the Utopia. So if the Elex has the same tuning as the Clear and sounds 80-90% as good, for half the price, I just can't see how you can go wrong the them.

Also, the build quality of the Focal's was on another level, when compared to their similarly priced competition.

 

[Beagle]

The tuning of the Clear was a surprisingly significant improvement over the Elear, and was pretty close to the Utopia. So if the Elex has the same tuning as the Clear and sounds 80-90% as good, for half the price, I just can't see how you can go wrong the them.

If it sounds 90% as good as the Clear, I'll be quite surprised. The initial reviews of the Elear said it was 80% of the Utopia. That didn't last long once the Clear came out. I see this as Focal dumping stale Elear overstock and throwing on new pads to alter the sound. Think HD650 and HD6XX. Or think comnplete manipulation of compulsive headphone shoppers!

 

[abvolt]

Well all the good things I've read about the Elex's I'm going to definitely be trying a pair I really enjoy the Focal sound..

 

[Josh Englert]

I bought the afo and really like it so far. I'd like to get the elex also just to see how good a dynamic headphone would do against a planar magnetic one. Also cause I've wanted to get the elear for the longest time and didn't get it cause some of the issues that were addressed in the elex. Ugh decisions and my poor wallet

If you like dynamic/energetic/engaging headphones then the Elex would be my vote, for sure. The dynamic punch of the Elear, combined with the FR of the Clear, cables that are actually useable/reasonable, plus (IMO) a really gnarly color scheme = a serious headphone.

There are always compromises with design of a great planar vs a great dynamic. Personally I plan on picking the Elex as a complimentary pair to my AFO if there is at least a second drop.

 

[Matro5]

I was at The Source AV yesterday and spent a few hours comparing quite a few different headphones, from the HD 660S up to the Utopia.

Of all the headphones I auditioned, the Clear was my 2nd overall favorite (Utopia was my 1st). As good as the TOTL Audeze, HiFiMAN and MrSpeakers planar headphones were, there was just something that sounded very 'right' about the Focal Clear and Utopia's overall SQ, IMHO.

The tuning of the Clear was a surprisingly significant improvement over the Elear, and was pretty close to the Utopia. So if the Elex has the same tuning as the Clear and sounds 80-90% as good, for half the price, I just can't see how you can go wrong the them.

Also, the build quality of the Focal's was on another level, when compared to their similarly priced competition.

I had a similar experience at the SF meet, where the Utopias were my favorite sound at the show, and the build quality / feel was the icing on the cake. That impression was positive enough to convince me to try the Clears and so far, they have not disappointed. I ordered my Clears through a great dealer who went above and beyond to help with my purchase, so I was glad to support them, but it's not hard to see the value in what Massdrop is bringing to the table.

There are tradeoffs to Massdrop's business model, as a few of noted, but I do think the Elex are gonna be a hit. And I hope those people who take a chance on them are rewarded.

 

[ld100]

I see this as Focal dumping stale Elear overstock and throwing on new pads to alter the sound. Think HD650 and HD6XX. Or think comnplete manipulation of compulsive headphone shoppers!

I think you nailed it. They are moving the Elear out...