[Cloud6]

Love my Elex cans as well, and I hope they continue to give you great enjoyment,

If I can offer some unsolicited advice regarding the clipping. Don’t go looking for it. Enjoy your music. If you never hit the clipping, effectively it is not there.

If you start looking for the clipping you may fall into the obsessive compulsive behavior of a few others I have observed on this thread. Like teens before a big date, they live in constant fear that they are developing a zit. They look, and look harder. They change the lights, they change the angle that they look from. Every blemish drives them nuts... And this thread fills with more panic over this one issue than any serious discussion about the actual merits versus other cans, best amp and music genre pairings, etc...

If your pair has a problem hopefully you hear it in the course of listening and return them or find someone for whom it will not be a problem and sell to them. But if you never hear the clipping - even if there are theoretical conditions under which they might display this - then count yourself fortunate. These are nice you should be able to enjoy forever.

Before the haters start to hate... this is not to diminish the value of your concerns. You spent lots of money. I have too. We all deserve to be happy with our purchase. But I am observing disturbing group behavior where the piling on effect is just getting overdone. My generation would have said “take a chill pill”... that, and let’s discuss more than just the clipping. If you have complaints focus more of the energy on Focal and Massdrop. If you think that you are doing others a service by warning them with your posts, well, Mission Accomplished. Let’s have some more varied discussion. Sorry my $0.02.

Well said! And yeah I don’t plan to. I’m satisfied

For reference though, I have currently only used the balance cable for the Elex plugged into the cth - the reason being is so I can plug 2 headphones in at once haha

 

[jsmiller58]

Well said! And yeah I don’t plan to. I’m satisfied

For reference though, I have currently only used the balance cable for the Elex plugged into the cth - the reason being is so I can plug 2 headphones in at once haha

You know, I have the CTH and I need to spend more time with the Elex paired with that... I spend most of my time either on my O2, or portably on my xDSD. The O2 / Elex pairing sounds great (bright, but not as bright as my DT 1990 Pro). The xDSD and a Elex combo sounds even brighter, with what I can only describe as a “cheese greater” effect in the treble... maybe the pairing with the CTH will be closer to the O2, but unfortunately still leaves me looking for a better mobile DAC/Amp to pair with my Elex...

 

[alvarg]

You know, I have the CTH and I need to spend more time with the Elex paired with that... I spend most of my time either on my O2, or portably on my xDSD. The O2 / Elex pairing sounds great (bright, but not as bright as my DT 1990 Pro). The xDSD and a Elex combo sounds even brighter, with what I can only describe as a “cheese greater” effect in the treble... maybe the pairing with the CTH will be closer to the O2, but unfortunately still leaves me looking for a better mobile DAC/Amp to pair with my Elex...

In my opinion cth didn't pair as well as the O2, the CTH has a v shaped signature, so it tends to give overall more bass and treble, although mostly air and only a slight increase in the bass, which work good for the hd650 as they are a little rolled off at the top end, the extra treble goes nicely there making them sound a little less veiled.

on the elex on the other hand when i first listened i was a quite disappointed, they sounded decent but that much treble information was ruining certain tracks, the O2 massively improved my opinion of the elex if the cth was the only amp i could run the elex through i would of probably sent them back, to me that matching was that bad.

so, elex and O2 balanced sounding, good soundstage and imaging with great extension on both the bass and treble, (although the treble isn't quite as smooth as the hd650) its kind of hard to have more treble and also maintain smoothness so i accept the trade off.

elex and CTH, Tinny, not quite metallic but yeah voices were a bit thin, bass fullness increased a small amount but it lost some dynamics, (perhaps the tubes doing) the song go bang by pnau has this tsk tsk tsk sound it was pretty grating through the CTH, the O2 pulls it back just enough to make the song enjoyable again.

Now i just need to get a decent balanced amp and give them a go balanced cause i don't think the O2 is the perfect fit for these either.

something strange i've detected as well, my CTH seems to be faulty, i just tested it again and well the left channel experiences this chh noise when moving the volume knob, that and when i first played a song it sounded quite dark compared to the O2 and previous testing, then i stopped playing music for about 5 minutes and played the exact same song again and it sounded way brighter, im wondering if this is normal (as in tube heats up) or if its a fault.

 

[jabob513]

I'm running an NFB28 with mine and have absolutely no complaints!

 

[alvarg]

I'm running an NFB28 with mine and have absolutely no complaints!

im curious about that amp as well, do you have to build it yourself or does it require any country power adapter to work outside america?

 

[SilverEars]

Personally I think it's the best performing in the price bracket. It doesn't sound like Clear, it's closest to Utopia. I would characterize as Utopia Jr. I already have the Utopia so I have no point in keeping these. If I didn't have the Utopia I'd be happy with these.

Focal drivers are fast and dynamic. Pretty damn good for dynamic drivers. A bit too dynamic for me at times, like a snapping effect. Also, they tend to have a sort of an ambient effect in sound, like a sphere spacial environment with that reverb type effect if the recording has it, but it really expresses it. Interesting I find certain aspects similar to Sundara, but of course different with more of an umbrella at 6k type sound, whereas Sundara is more leveled in the area.

Now I understand when project86 pointed out that Elex is brighter than Clear. I don't recall Clear being as bright, therefore, these are more like the Utopia. Possibly Elear with new pads.

It's more neutral tuning than warm. Don't expect that low mids rich warmth, it's more 5-6k treble articulate than anything. It's tonality is definately more accurate than HD660S. I also think these are better in resolvability than the Sundara(which is $200 cheaper) with Sundara not sounding as bright in the 6k.

Utopia has slightly more punch, bass articulation and quantity, although these are quite dynamic and punch like the Utopia. I think the Clear's bass extends more, Clear less dynamic or as punchy.

Oh by the way, no clipping heard so far.

I would order the brightness in this sequence. Utopia > Elex > Clear

Also, perhaps 6k sounds brighter than the HD600. I think HD600 has the 7k peak compared to the siblings. Which I'm less tolerant to.

So I think the treble articulation is quite good, drivers are fast, and rock genre works well due to speed and it's ability to separate. Vocals sound good. Much better performance to price ratio than Clear. I would jump on this if another drop comes up(if you don't have the Utopia)! I would be quite happy with these if I had them and didn't have the Utopia. So, that's the only reason I'd let go of these in the market, not distinguishing enough from the Utopia unlike Clear.

I may actually do an indeph comparison with Clear before I let them go(PM me if interested).

 

[gardibolt]

Love my Elex cans as well, and I hope they continue to give you great enjoyment.

If I can offer some unsolicited advice regarding the clipping. Don’t go looking for it. Enjoy your music. If you never hit the clipping, effectively it is not there.

If you start looking for the clipping you may fall into the obsessive compulsive behavior of a few others I have observed on this thread. Like teens before a big date, they live in constant fear that they are developing a zit. They look, and look harder. They change the lights, they change the angle that they look from. Every blemish drives them nuts... And this thread fills with more panic over this one issue than any serious discussion about the actual merits versus other cans, best amp and music genre pairings, etc...

If your pair has a problem hopefully you hear it in the course of listening and return them or find someone for whom it will not be a problem and sell to them. But if you never hear the clipping - even if there are theoretical conditions under which they might display this - then count yourself fortunate. These are nice you should be able to enjoy them forever.

Before the haters start to hate... this is not to diminish the value of your concerns. You spent lots of money. I have too. We all deserve to be happy with our purchase. But I am observing disturbing group behavior where the piling on effect is just getting overdone. My generation would have said “take a chill pill”... that, and let’s discuss more than just the clipping. If you have complaints focus more of the energy on Focal and Massdrop. If you think that you are doing others a service by warning them with your posts, well, Mission Accomplished. Let’s have some more varied discussion. Sorry my $0.02.

Well said. I have the Elears, and back in the Elear thread there were a bunch of people obsessively playing Max Richter War Anthem over and over to get their headphones to clip and convince themselves they were faulty. That made no sense to me. I've had mine for over nine months, I use them a lot and they've never clipped once. I grant that if your music you ordinarily play clips, there's not a good match there and you'd be happier with something else. But how often is anyone really going to play The Dark Knight soundtrack or War Anthem if they're not actively trying to induce clipping?

 

[SilverEars]

I should have stated best for the type of non-warm signature in the price bracket, but I find my TH-X00 Ebony is very good for performance per pricing, but with a warmer and different type bass signature of a cupped wooden headphone.

I'd be so curious how a wooden cupped headphoned made by Focal would turn out. Speed of their drivers and wooden cups would be interesting.

I'm liking Massdrop consultations.

 

[jabob513]

im curious about that amp as well, do you have to build it yourself or does it require any country power adapter to work outside america?

I purchased mine used so I didn't have to deal with anything, but you order it through Paypal on the Audio-GD website and they (eventually) ship it to you. It seems quite sketchy and I've heard that the wait can be pretty long for some people, but the products and their reputation speak for themselves! No assembly or anything required.

 

[phthora]

im curious about that amp as well, do you have to build it yourself or does it require any country power adapter to work outside america?

I have the NFB 28.38 and it's awesome! I got mine within 14 days of first contact, IIRC. I don't have the Elex (still just lurking on the thread until I buy one), but I have heard the Elear with it and the pairing was excellent. So good, in fact, that I resolved to buy an Elex.

Don't be daunted by the ordering process. There is some helpful info on the NFB 28 threads and I would be happy to answer any questions you have too.

 

[Raphael DeLaGhetto]

something strange i've detected as well, my CTH seems to be faulty, i just tested it again and well the left channel experiences this chh noise when moving the volume knob, that and when i first played a song it sounded quite dark compared to the O2 and previous testing, then i stopped playing music for about 5 minutes and played the exact same song again and it sounded way brighter, im wondering if this is normal (as in tube heats up) or if its a fault.

Mine doesn't do that. See if the tube is seated properly (pins even all around).

 

[alvarg]

Mine doesn't do that. See if the tube is seated properly (pins even all around).

Yes n yes, already contacted massdrop about it.

 

[Anaz]

im curious about that amp as well, do you have to build it yourself or does it require any country power adapter to work outside america?

Auio-gd website. You have to let them know the voltage (220/240V or 100/120V) when ordering - which is done by sending Audio-gd an email stating the item you want and your address, they'll then email you a quote, after which you send Audi-gd the money via PayPal. They shipped my R2R 11 using DHL and it took about a week to arrive.

 

[alvarg]

Auio-gd website. You have to let them know the voltage (220/240V or 100/120V) when ordering - which is done by sending Audio-gd an email stating the item you want and your address, they'll then email you a quote, after which you send Audi-gd the money via PayPal. They shipped my R2R 11 using DHL and it took about a week to arrive.

how much was it, and how does it compare to other amps you've had, if you have the O2 that would be perfect as that's what im currently using.

 

[gLer]

So good, in fact, that I resolved to buy an Elex.

Why not just get the Elear? Then again, if you do get an Elex and buy Elear pads you can have both headphones in one