[luckybaer]

He/She is blaming Focal not Massdrop

Roger. Got it.

 

[SchwarzeWolke]

Why do you suppose Focal set up such stringent conditions? Is this a French thing, and EU thing, or purely something tied to the agreements Focal has with distributors?

Maybe they don't want to set the prices here in Europe under pressure.

 

[Starway]

I have a question regarding openback headphones and Focals designs. Doesnt the logo get in the way of the audio. Is it really true openback?

 

[PopZeus]

I have a question regarding openback headphones and Focals designs. Doesnt the logo get in the way of the audio. Is it really true openback?

It is a true open back. The logo sits directly behind the driver. The rest of the backing is mesh wire. That said, this Focal line trades soundstage for dynamics, and boy does it bring them to the party.

 

[gb21011971]

I would love to hear a comparison with the Clear. I own the Clear and I am not happy with it. The midrange is shouty and not at all liquid. I owned the Elear in the past, and that one had almost no midrange. So wondering how the Elex fits in. I would happily trade in some of the resolution of the Clear for better tonality.

 

[cardeli22]

I would love to hear a comparison with the Clear. I own the Clear and I am not happy with it. The midrange is shouty and not at all liquid. I owned the Elear in the past, and that one had almost no midrange. So wondering how the Elex fits in. I would happily trade in some of the resolution of the Clear for better tonality.

At the beginning of this thread Currawong describes how the Elex sounds compared to the Clear.

 

[strawed]

I would love to hear a comparison with the Clear. I own the Clear and I am not happy with it. The midrange is shouty and not at all liquid. I owned the Elear in the past, and that one had almost no midrange. So wondering how the Elex fits in. I would happily trade in some of the resolution of the Clear for better tonality.

The Massdrop marketing on this seems to indicate that they're trying to achieve the tonality of the Clear with the Elex. See Massdrop Will's post here:

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones/talk/1924791

I'm not a fan of the tricky equivocations he makes there (while not mentioning the meaningful driver differences, such as Clear's voice coil). Otherwise, sounds like the Elex might be a lose-lose for you - you'll probably lose the Clear's resolution and be stuck with its tonality.

 

[gb21011971]

The Massdrop marketing on this seems to indicate that they're trying to achieve the tonality of the Clear with the Elex. See Massdrop Will's post here:

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones/talk/1924791

I'm not a fan of the tricky equivocations he makes there (while not mentioning the meaningful driver differences, such as Clear's voice coil). Otherwise, sounds like the Elex might be a lose-lose for you - you'll probably lose the Clear's resolution and be stuck with its tonality.

You might be right there. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[BLacklWf]

Joined the drop. $699 is obviously a good price for the enhanced Elear. At the original drop, I debated myself but at the end I went with LCD 2C with a balanced cable ($748 in total). Interestingly I paid $748 with sales tax for Elex (which includes balanced cable). So, basically, these two headphones are exactly same price to me, and I'm interested to find out how they will compare in sound. But, I'm already biased. HD 6XX at $199 signfincantly out resolved LCD 2C with my amp V281. Well.. HD 6XX just is a killer when it comes to the value. I'm hoping Elex will be proven to be a worthwhile upgrade to Senn 6XX series.

 

[peoplee]

For the difference among Elex, Elear and Clear pertainng the material & structural design, is there any decisive answer? Rather than "someone claims", "reliable source" I am absolutely confused now, though one thing decent is for sure, the measurement.

 

[shenanbay]

All the reviews I've seen have only compared the elex against other focal products . Can we have some reviews against other headphones in this price range,

 

[cardeli22]

All the reviews I've seen have only compared the elex against other focal products . Can we have some reviews against other headphones in this price range,

Oui, D'accord. LOL Seriously, though I didn't notice that until you mentioned it. I haven't seen comparisons with non Focal products from any of the people who go to review it before the drop. The conspiracy theorist in me is running with ideas. Could also be that since it is close (same in some places) to the Elear in price and similar to the Clear (because of the pads) that might be the reason the reviewers went that way.

 

[disastermouse]

Is there anyone here who can compare Elex to HiFiMan HE-500? I love the speed and clarity of the HE-500, but I'd like more dynamics and a wider sound stage. Would Elex likely be an upgrade or only a side-grade?

 

[shenanbay]

Oui, D'accord. LOL Seriously, though I didn't notice that until you mentioned it. I haven't seen comparisons with non Focal products from any of the people who go to review it before the drop. The conspiracy theorist in me is running with ideas. Could also be that since it is close (same in some places) to the Elear in price and similar to the Clear (because of the pads) that might be the reason the reviewers went that way.

Yeah it's kinda odd lol. I highly doubt anyone with something like a utopia has any interest for an elex.
Lol exactly. I'd like to see comparisons between headphones like the AFO, lCD2c, hifiman sundaras. Stuff that are in the same range.

 

[SCBob]

Yeah it's kinda odd lol. I highly doubt anyone with something like a utopia has any interest for an elex.
Lol exactly. I'd like to see comparisons between headphones like the AFO, lCD2c, hifiman sundaras. Stuff that are in the same range.

I use the Utopia at home and am looking at the Elex for possible use at work. It is a generally quiet environment and leaving the Elex at work to use there is a thought but I wish the price was a bit lower.