[wje]

My pair of Elex arrived yesterday in Virginia. I ordered them on Tuesday and paid the extra $5.00 for 2-4 day shipping. I think it's about $15.00 extra for the 2-day shipping. I've used them a little, but they've been playing for about 18 hours now. Also, today, the Dekoni sheepskin fenestrated pads arrived. My 55 y.o. ears don't detect a major change in sound and the leather pads should be much more durable. I found a place to order them on-line (a California audio store) where the price was quite good - $69.00 and free shipping. They shipped out of NJ - go figure. Also, I haven't used the stock Elex cables yet, just the two custom cables that I made earlier. I also have the Elear and will be doing some back and forth testing, but have the Elears up for sale locally in my area.

 

[mixman]

Ha, I should have paid that extra $5 too and maybe I would have mine by now. They took the whole PA trip too just to get here by Monday. Crazy!

 

[mixman]

OK, I received my Elex. While I like the tonal balance despite the fact they are a touch bright, I do not think the clarity is there. It does not have the same level of detail as my LCD X, which is more laid back. I thought both would have an equal level of detail, just a different way of presenting it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

It's funny because Metal571 came to the same conclusion that the Elex doesn't have the same level of detail. We are wondering if there is a bad batch of these floating around? I am wondering if I should get a pair of Clears to see how close these are to the Elex? I am kind of curious now!

 

[wje]

OK, I received my Elex. While I like the tonal balance despite the fact they are a touch bright, I do not think the clarity is there. It does not have the same level of detail as my LCD X, which is more laid back. I thought both would have an equal level of detail, just a different way of presenting it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

It's funny because Metal571 came to the same conclusion that the Elex doesn't have the same level of detail. We are wondering if there is a bad batch of these floating around? I am wondering if I should get a pair of Clears to see how close these are to the Elex? I am kind of curious now!

Interesting. Have you allowed for some "burn-in" time on the headphones? Which amp / dac are you using? I received my Elex a week ago and also had a pair of Focal Elear. To my ears, they were tonally quite alike with some subtle changes based upon the type of pad I was using.

 

[mixman]

Interesting. Have you allowed for some "burn-in" time on the headphones? Which amp / dac are you using? I received my Elex a week ago and also had a pair of Focal Elear. To my ears, they were tonally quite alike with some subtle changes based upon the type of pad I was using.

Yep did the burn in thing, which is why I waited this long to mention it. I am using the RME ADI-2 and the Topping DX7. It's weird, i love the balance, the Elex has nice, slightly elevated mid bass, extended treble, small sound stage (I knew that) but lacks the clarity of my LCD X. Now it is supposed to sound very much like the Clear, which is supposed to be not far from a Utopia, how come this doesn't have more clarity and detail?

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Yep did the burn in thing, which is why I waited this long to mention it. I am using the RME ADI-2 and the Topping DX7. It's weird, i love the balance, the Elex has nice, slightly elevated mid bass, extended treble, small sound stage (I knew that) but lacks the clarity of my LCD X. Now it is supposed to sound very much like the Clear, which is supposed to be not far from a Utopia, how come this doesn't have more clarity and detail?

Clear differences from Elex are really minimal, if one didn't have both side to side you would think its same headphone.

 

[DrpsDrpr]

OK, I received my Elex. While I like the tonal balance despite the fact they are a touch bright, I do not think the clarity is there. It does not have the same level of detail as my LCD X, which is more laid back. I thought both would have an equal level of detail, just a different way of presenting it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

It's funny because Metal571 came to the same conclusion that the Elex doesn't have the same level of detail. We are wondering if there is a bad batch of these floating around? I am wondering if I should get a pair of Clears to see how close these are to the Elex? I am kind of curious now!

I wouldn’t necessarily hold the Elex up to the same standard as the LCD-X, but the Elex didn’t meet the same level of detail as my DT1990, either. I think that’s just how the Elex sounds.

 

[mixman]

Interesting. Have you allowed for some "burn-in" time on the headphones? Which amp / dac are you using? I received my Elex a week ago and also had a pair of Focal Elear. To my ears, they were tonally quite alike with some subtle changes based upon the type of pad I was using.

I wouldn’t necessarily hold the Elex up to the same standard as the LCD-X, but the Elex didn’t meet the same level of detail as my DT1990, either. I think that’s just how the Elex sounds.

Well Metal571 actually went as far as to say his sample doesn't even have the same level of clarity as an HD650, which surprised him more since these HP's come so highly recommended. He speculated that his current sample might be bad, but the owner which sent them in said that he had three Elex and they all sounded the same. Hmmm, interesting, Not even the level of detail as the 1990? Wow! The reason this is important is for my studio stuff. I just wanted another HP to give me the accuracy of the X, but in a brighter way, without having to resort to HD800's to do it.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Well Metal571 actually went as far as to say his sample doesn't even have the same level of clarity as an HD650, which surprised him more since these HP's come so highly recommended. He speculated that his current sample might be bad, but the owner which sent them in said that he had three Elex and they all sounded the same. Hmmm, interesting, Not even the level of detail as the 1990? Wow! The reason this is important is for my studio stuff. I just wanted another HP to give me the accuracy of the X, but in a brighter way, without having to resort to HD800's to do it.

Just like the HD650, it scales with the gear. Maybe its his gear not up to task because it certainly doesn't lack detail with my gumby/gilmore lite MK2. I can actually hear the actual room ambience the mic is recording and feel/hear the different layers of the music.
I also had the Elex and LCD-X next to each other to compare and couldn't say one was more detailed than other and when pushing the volume the LCD-X would start to crumble and get bright/smeared while the focal just kett going without problem.
Disclosure: have one for sale.

 

[DrpsDrpr]

Well Metal571 actually went as far as to say his sample doesn't even have the same level of clarity as an HD650, which surprised him more since these HP's come so highly recommended. He speculated that his current sample might be bad, but the owner which sent them in said that he had three Elex and they all sounded the same. Hmmm, interesting, Not even the level of detail as the 1990? Wow! The reason this is important is for my studio stuff. I just wanted another HP to give me the accuracy of the X, but in a brighter way, without having to resort to HD800's to do it.

I never had the opportunity to A/B my old HD600 with the Elex, but my gut would say they were in the same ballpark clarity and detail-wise, but I couldn’t qualitatively say one was better than the other.

The Elex did scale well on balanced, higher-end chains, but the detail still fell short of the DT1990.

 

[mixman]

Just like the HD650, it scales with the gear. Maybe its his gear not up to task because it certainly doesn't lack detail with my gumby/gilmore lite MK2. I can actually hear the actual room ambience the mic is recording and feel/hear the different layers of the music.
I also had the Elex and LCD-X next to each other to compare and couldn't say one was more detailed than other and when pushing the volume the LCD-X would start to crumble and get bright/smeared while the focal just kett going without problem.
Disclosure: have one for sale.

The thing is it's not just him, I am hearing the same thing. I don't have a an HD650 around to compare. I have an LCD X and a Sundara. The Sundara is not in the same league except for sound stage, but as far a detail, no. Now I believe Metal has a THX 789 amp, not sure what the DAC is. But irregardless I hear the same thing. I have tried both HP's on both my amp DAC's and the level of detail remains the same for each set of HP's. Certain snares and cymbals don't sound quite as accurate on the Elex as on the X's.

I never had the opportunity to A/B my old HD600 with the Elex, but my gut would say they were in the same ballpark clarity and detail-wise, but I couldn’t qualitatively say one was better than the other.

The Elex did scale well on balanced, higher-end chains, but the detail still fell short of the DT1990.

Thanks for that. i guess my expectations for the level of detail may be too high, although I remember many people say that these compared really well to the Clear and even Utopia in all aspects. Remember those are $1,500 and $4,000 HP's respectively. They both should beat the level of detail of the LCD X which aren't even Audeze's TOTL HP's.

It's funny. I think Josh Velour agrees with you on the DT1990's having better detail than the Elex. Maybe I should have taken a cue from that?

 

[gLer]

OK, I received my Elex. While I like the tonal balance despite the fact they are a touch bright, I do not think the clarity is there. It does not have the same level of detail as my LCD X, which is more laid back. I thought both would have an equal level of detail, just a different way of presenting it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

It's funny because Metal571 came to the same conclusion that the Elex doesn't have the same level of detail. We are wondering if there is a bad batch of these floating around? I am wondering if I should get a pair of Clears to see how close these are to the Elex? I am kind of curious now!

Must say I’m quite surprised by your impressions. If there’s one thing my Elex has in spades, it’s detail. Then again my ‘Elex’ is really an Elear with Elex pads, which is essentially an Elex, but there has been some speculation floating around that the Elex uses slightly downgraded drivers from the Elear. Who knows? In any case, the one headphone I reach for when I want clarity and detail is the Elex. I have a ZMF Auteur as well, and while that’s a step up from the Elex, I’d rate their resolution/clarity about equal. Also I’m listening with an R2R dac, which traditionally has a more ‘relaxed’ sound than something like your RME, and I’m definitely not craving any more detail. Could be that you just prefer a different sound signature.

 

[mixman]

Must say I’m quite surprised by your impressions. If there’s one thing my Elex has in spades, it’s detail. Then again my ‘Elex’ is really an Elear with Elex pads, which is essentially an Elex, but there has been some speculation floating around that the Elex uses slightly downgraded drivers from the Elear. Who knows? In any case, the one headphone I reach for when I want clarity and detail is the Elex. I have a ZMF Auteur as well, and while that’s a step up from the Elex, I’d rate their resolution/clarity about equal. Also I’m listening with an R2R dac, which traditionally has a more ‘relaxed’ sound than something like your RME, and I’m definitely not craving any more detail. Could be that you just prefer a different sound signature.

Maybe a better word would be accuracy. It's like if I told you a story with a lot of details, but many of those details were not quite true to life. The Elex has a lot of detail but a lot of it doesn't sound as accurate as I was expecting. I think it is quite possible these are not being built to spec anymore, because these HP's are surely killing the sales of the Clear and Elear. I guess this is the reason I am almost curios to try a pair of Clear while I still have the Elex. Either that or just sell them and get some HD800's..........Ugggh!!!

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Maybe a better word would be accuracy. It's like if I told you a story with a lot of details, but many of those details were not quite true to life. The Elex has a lot of detail but a lot of it doesn't sound as accurate as I was expecting. I think it is quite possible these are not being built to spec anymore, because these HP's are surely killing the sales of the Clear and Elear. I guess this is the reason I am almost curios to try a pair of Clear while I still have the Elex. Either that or just sell them and get some HD800's..........Ugggh!!!

Good way of starting rumors with 0 evidence.

 

[DrpsDrpr]

It's funny. I think Josh Velour agrees with you on the DT1990's having better detail than the Elex. Maybe I should have taken a cue from that?

I posted about it more in the DT1990 thread when someone was asking for comparisons, and I found his video to align very closely with my own impressions of the two.

Must say I’m quite surprised by your impressions. If there’s one thing my Elex has in spades, it’s detail. Then again my ‘Elex’ is really an Elear with Elex pads, which is essentially an Elex, but there has been some speculation floating around that the Elex uses slightly downgraded drivers from the Elear. Who knows? In any case, the one headphone I reach for when I want clarity and detail is the Elex. I have a ZMF Auteur as well, and while that’s a step up from the Elex, I’d rate their resolution/clarity about equal. Also I’m listening with an R2R dac, which traditionally has a more ‘relaxed’ sound than something like your RME, and I’m definitely not craving any more detail. Could be that you just prefer a different sound signature.

Can’t speak to the whole “Elex is an Elear with different pads” rumor, but I have the Auteur as well and having had the chance to directly compare the two before I shipped my Elex off, I’d say it pretty resoundingly beat the detail and clarity of the Elex. If the Elex has been on par with the Auteur, I’d likely have kept them instead of buying the Auteur, because the Elex is an otherwise fairly cohesive and impressive headphone to my ears, barring the soundstage. In hindsight, I’m really glad it worked out the way it did, because I love pretty much everything about the Auteur, especially now that I’ve rounded out my chain.