[Zachik]

3+ days in, and only 237 sold!
My prediction of no rush needed in the first 10 minutes, and that hundreds of units would remain unsold by drop's close still hold firm.
Just saying...

 

[CoFire]

3+ days in, and only 237 sold!
My prediction of no rush needed in the first 10 minutes, and that hundreds of units would remain unsold by drop's close still hold firm.
Just saying...

The pad, headband, cable and modified tuning weren't enough? Plus, it's a sizeable investment for the community without more impressions. Or there are many of us sitting with fingers twitching over the mouse button because there's more time and no stampede at the gate. Bottomline is that at THIS TIME OF YEAR this is not a great deal, but I'll argue a deal nonetheless plus like selling houses, a much larger market for lower priced real estate.

I'm still on the fence but still not convinced I'll like these much more than a DT1990, Eikon or Atticus, very different price points but top performers with what I think may be an in the ballpark signature. Looks like I have some reading to do.

 

[Beagle]

If Massdrop wants to sell more of these I'd recommend they state the actual changes. I had joined the drop but cancelled as I don't want to risk $800 on what might be a pad change.

But if one does not own an Elear, and thinks they might want the Focal sound but somewhere between the Clear and the Elear, the Elex is probably the one to get. If you went for an Elear and bought the Clear pads separately, it would cost much more than the Elex.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Competition is ridiculously fierce right now. We have LCD2C and Aeon within the same price range, with the Clear and Auter being new offerings tempting one to save for out of that price range. In addition to Christmas expenses, this is a difficult time to ask for one to shell out $800 for a pair of HP they have never heard and that will need to wait for several months. I have faith it will be very good and worth the wait. My point is actually it is pretty amazing that they sold so many in this fierce climate wherein great headphones are coming out left and right.

 

[AnakChan]

Apologies for the iPhone level pix. Bear in mind that I was in a shop listening to open cans off my NW-WM1Z DAP so take my opinions with a large grain of salt.

The Aeon Open was warmer than I had expected it to be. It also sounded somewhat slower. By comparison the Elex had a more open airy sound and the bass was tighter and more impactful. I don't think this is the fault of the Aeon but I think the Aeon needs a more powerful amp than what the NW-WM1Z could deliver. the Elex was more efficient by comparison.

The HD650 (right) was also somewhat more warm with a more rounded off treble than the Aeon, and therefore the Elex with a more extended treble by comparison sounded more airy. Again, I'm wondering if the HD650 needed something more than what my NW-WM1Z could deliver.

The HD600 OTOH had a more impactful bass than the HD650 compared to the Elex. However detail-wise, it was just more easily apparent with the Elex.

The DT1990 Pro was tonally closer towards the Elex and I felt here it was more an apples to apples comparison (but still it's like a Granny Smith to Golden Delicious type comparison). The DT 1990 didn't sound as "clean" as how the Elex. These pair of demo headphones were quite warn too (like the HD600) and the earpads had definitely shown some use.

Again, these are very quick off the bat comparisons in a shop. It's not a proper comparison nor are each headphones driven optimally by matching (synergy) amps. However, if the Elex were hanging off the shelf on the shop, it'd be given the same level of opportunity as the other headphones by the walk-in customer.

 

[DrizztDo]

But if one does not own an Elear, and thinks they might want the Focal sound but somewhere between the Clear and the Elear, the Elex is probably the one to get. If you went for an Elear and bought the Clear pads separately, it would cost much more than the Elex.

You may add the balanced cable for Elex, and the standard cable which seems more convenient than the standard Elear cable.

 

[samshaver]

Thanks AnakChan! That was a great comparison for those who won't have a chance to listen to the Elex before the drop ends (even if it was direct from a DAP)! Some comparisons are better than none! Thanks again for your time! And Happy Holidays!

 

[MadMan007]

I have a question about soundstage for those who have heard this headphone and for this Focal line in general. The specific reviews here don't really go into it. I am not a 'soundstage width' junkie because ime wide soundstage usually means poorer left-right imaging. I passionately dislike '3 blob' soundstage with far left-center-far right imaging which leaves a big gap between the left/right and center. I somewhat prefer an 'in-head' soundstage with left-right 'out of head' extension being built into the recording rather than artificially added by the headphone, because to me that's more speaker-like in a way when sounds that are 'wall of sound'/background sounds are spread across the soundstage properly rather than having no presence in the space between the left/right and center. Sounds like this may be more present in studio-type recordings rather than 'audiophile' classical-type recordings. The varying reviews on other headphones in this line regarding soundstage have me confused, some mention a narrow, in-head soundstage, some mention that it is very wide and even sounds like a 'room DSP' is added.

I would overall call my strong preference in this area 'soundstage evenness' or 'soundstage continuity' where exaggerated width isn't the goal, but rather a continuous and even soundstage is. To me: an example of not overly wide but even soundstage with appropriate, continuous left-right imaging would be a Senn HD600; an example of a more 3-blob, lacking left-center and right-center imaging would be a Fostex TH-X00 in stock form (I have a pair of ebonies and this issue was solved with Dekoni Fenestrated pads.)

So, my question, for those who are sensitive to soundstage evenness...do these headphones exhibit a 'speaker-like' soundstage distribution, with good continuity and evenness (left; left-center; center; right-center; right with smooth transitions), and appropriate spread of 'background' sounds? Or are they more far left-center-far right, with an artificial space between the center and sides? (I'm not suggesting what's objectively good or bad here, just my preference).

 

[ld100]

Hmmm... Sale stalled. I think they will sell few more, but not too many... Everything said regarding great headphone at great price and all the extras is af course valid, but I still think Focal and Massdrop mispriced them. $800 is just hard to swallow for most and then wait for unknown headphone for months...

 

[DrizztDo]

I think it's just that not so many people are ready to put 800$ in a headphone period, whether it's known or not. Regarding the price it seems fair to me considering the rest of the line, pity it's restricted to the US though.

 

[XERO1]

Hmmm... Sale stalled. I think they will sell few more, but not too many... Everything said regarding great headphone at great price and all the extras is af course valid, but I still think Focal and Massdrop mispriced them. $800 is just hard to swallow for most and then wait for unknown headphone for months...

Agreed. Like Liu Junyuan said, there is a lot of competition now in the $500-$1000 range.

I think $699 would have been the sweetspot price point for the Elex.

That being said, I got to compare the Clear (which the Elex is tuned to sound very similar to) to the HD 660S, TH-X00 EB, DT 1990 PRO, AEON Open, AEON Closed and LCD-2, all priced between $500-$1000. Of those, I thought the DT 1990 came the closest to sounding as good as the Clear overall, but the Clear's treble sounded more natural and it could maintain it's low bass response into much higher SPL's than the DT 1990 (or any Beyer) could before audible distortion set in.

But even at $799, I still think the Elex is an excellent headphone for the money.

 

[dontfeedphils]

I think it's just that not so many people are ready to put 800$ in a headphone period, whether it's known or not. Regarding the price it seems fair to me considering the rest of the line, pity it's restricted to the US though.

Agreed. $800 is a good deal for this offer, but how many people in the world have $800 sitting around to spend? Let alone on some headphones. Plus the competition as already mentioned.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Agreed. Like Liu Junyuan said, there is a lot of competition now in the $500-$1000 range.

I think $699 would have been the sweetspot price point for the Elex.

That being said, I got to compare the Clear (which the Elex is tuned to sound very similar to) to the HD 660S, TH-X00 EB, DT 1990 PRO, AEON Open, AEON Closed and LCD-2, all priced between $500-$1000. Of those, I thought the DT 1990 came the closest to sounding as good as the Clear overall, but the Clear's treble sounded more natural and it could maintain it's low bass response into much higher SPL's than the DT 1990 (or any Beyer) could before audible distortion set in.

But even at $799, I still think the Elex is an excellent headphone for the money.

I think that compares very favorably against a $550-600 DT1990 then, but a $400 DT1990 gives me serious pause. Given the differences between Clear and Elex though, I wonder if the improved treble would not be as significant 1990vElex as 1990vClear. Also, out of that list the AEON Open alternative gives me serious pause vs a can that hasn't been adequately demoed and has a 4 month wait.

 

[DrizztDo]

Agreed. Like Liu Junyuan said, there is a lot of competition now in the $500-$1000 range.

I think $699 would have been the sweetspot price point for the Elex.

Then it would be difficult to justify Elear and Clear price wouldn't it ?

 

[franz12]

I think a market already spoke itself. There are dedicated people (around 200 at day 1) who are willing to put 800 until the next May. But that’s it. It failed to extend that boundary unlike fostex, senn, etc...