[Thaddy]

Sorry to hear they arrived DOA, but I am glad to hear Drop addressed the problem quickly. Your comments on quality of construction, weight and comfort match my own.

I have always tended to gravitate towards lighter headphones, and had to sell my LCD-2C's after a few days of ownership because they were so dang uncomfortable. The ear pads were wonderful, but that spring steel metal headband just dug right into the top of my head, and the pleather headband offered zero support. It's a headband design that would work if their headphones were much lighter. Focal's headband is a much better design, in my opinion, especially considering they're on the heavier side. The ear pads also felt very comfortable and had tons of room for your ears. I'm excited to get the replacement pair and I hope the sound is as good as reported.

 

[Marlowe]

Sorry to hear they arrived DOA, but I am glad to hear Drop addressed the problem quickly. Your comments on quality of construction, weight and comfort match my own.

I’ve noticed that Focal cables kind of suck and have one that lost its right channel in less than 10 hours of use.

I have to be pretty wary of Focal's cables also. I had two stock balanced cables lose a channel in 2-3 months of careful use. Though I have to commend Drop's customer service: they responded to my emails very quickly and offered me several options, including return and refund of the headphones. After choosing replacement (although I stated that I only needed, and would prefer, just a replacement of the faulty cable, their policy is to replace the entire package), a new Elex was on the way to me the same day. I didn't even have to ship the old one back until I received the new one (on the second replacement, I just swapped cables and sent the new Elex back). The third cable is still working after roughly six months.

 

[441879]

I have always tended to gravitate towards lighter headphones, and had to sell my LCD-2C's after a few days of ownership because they were so dang uncomfortable. The ear pads were wonderful, but that spring steel metal headband just dug right into the top of my head, and the pleather headband offered zero support. It's a headband design that would work if their headphones were much lighter. Focal's headband is a much better design, in my opinion, especially considering they're on the heavier side. The ear pads also felt very comfortable and had tons of room for your ears. I'm excited to get the replacement pair and I hope the sound is as good as reported.

IMHO the detail and bass speed isn’t quite at the level of my AFC, but the room presence, soundstage and dynamics are significantly better. I did decide I liked them better with Dekoni fenestrated pads but YMMV. The proof is in the listening though and since getting the Elex my AFC has seen very limited use.

I liked the Elex so much I bought the Clear when they went on sale for $1K. I still listen to the Elex regularly though.

 

[DivineCurrent]

I took advantage of the $600 Elex sale last week. I've heard them before, but I didn't realize how incredible they really are. The best quality bass I've heard in any open back headphone, including high end planars. However, there is an issue with my pair, there is some channel imbalance where the right channel is less volume than the left, and is only fixed when I push the right driver until the metal inside is touching my ear. I contacted Drop support and hopefully they will replace my pair. There may have been some damage to the right driver as I also noticed a dent on the edge of the plastic earcup. Even with this issue though, they are amazing and a fantastic compliment to my HD600 and 650.

 

[Thaddy]

At least Drop is being accommodating with these issues, this is clearly Focal QC dropping the ball.

 

[DivineCurrent]

At least Drop is being accommodating with these issues, this is clearly Focal QC dropping the ball.

Apparently it's not just the Elex either. Take a look at this: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/focal/clear/
The Clear also has imbalance issues, at least with this sample. I can understand Focal cutting corners with the Elex, but with the $1,500 Clear?
Focal's innovation with their driver design is excellent, but they have a long way to go to match companies like Sennheiser for QC and consistency. And I know they only started manufacturing these high end audiophile headphones a few years ago compared to Sennheiser who's been doing it for decades, but still.

 

[Thaddy]

Aren't the Elex and Clear, for all intents and purposes, the same headphone with just minor differences?

edit: I just received a shipping notification from Drop that my replacement Elex's are on the way. Considering I sent them back on Friday afternoon, that's a pretty dang good turnaround time. They even shipped before receiving the faulty pair.

 

[trellus]

Aren't the Elex and Clear, for all intents and purposes, the same headphone with just minor differences?

edit: I just received a shipping notification from Drop that my replacement Elex's are on the way. Considering I sent them back on Friday afternoon, that's a pretty dang good turnaround time. They even shipped before receiving the faulty pair.

I thought it was closer to the Elex being a re-tuned Elear by using the Clear pads and some differences in damping.

 

[Thaddy]

I thought it was closer to the Elex being a re-tuned Elear by using the Clear pads and some differences in damping.

Very possible. I'll admit I'm not 100% sure. But it seems to be a systematic problem rather than isolated to a single batch of headphones. Either way, I'm still very much looking forward to receiving my replacement pair. I have a feeling they will pair extremely well with the GS-X and WA22, both fed by a DAC3 B.

 

[441879]

Aren't the Elex and Clear, for all intents and purposes, the same headphone with just minor differences?

edit: I just received a shipping notification from Drop that my replacement Elex's are on the way. Considering I sent them back on Friday afternoon, that's a pretty dang good turnaround time. They even shipped before receiving the faulty pair.

I believe driver as evidenced by the different impedance. Also, I swapped the pads on my Elex and Clear- didn’t work. The Elex pads on the clear doesn’t sound like an Elex and the Clear pads on the Elex doesn’t sound like a Clear.

 

[trellus]

I believe different driver as evidenced by the different impedance. Also, I swapped the pads on my Elex and Clear- didn’t work. The Elex pads on the Clear doesn’t sound like an Elex and the Clear pads on the Elex doesn’t sound like a Clear.

yeah, my understanding is that pad swaps between Elear and Elex are more apt to make each other more like the other (though not exactly); those two are closer cousins than the Clear and Elex, I believe.

 

[441879]

yeah, my understanding is that pad swaps between Elear and Elex are more apt to make each other more like the other (though not exactly); those two are closer cousins than the Clear and Elex, I believe.

I believe you are correct.

 

[sixstringmonk]

I hopped in on the $600 drop and have had them for a few days.

Background: I'm using a Schiit Jotunheim with Multi-bit DAC. My only other good headphones are the HD6XX and the B&O BeoPlay H6 2nd gen. The H6's were my first. Then I got the HD6XX in search of something a little more natural / flat sounding. Ultimately, I loved many aspects of the HD6XX but missed the air frequencies. I then tried the Monolith m1060s and appreciated the overall sound signature but the spike around 5K instantly made me feel queasy. I sent them back after a few weeks of trying to adjust. I then gave up the search. I purchased Sonarworks True-Fi and that made my HDXX enjoyable, but they were still missing the upper air.

I had been eyeing the Elex for a few months and then bit once they hit $600. I'm over the moon with these! I've had that moment of hearing new nuances in my favorite tunes many times in a few days. My only complaint is the clipping issue with extreme bass (Hans Zimmer) but I'm willing to live with that edge case.

 

[DivineCurrent]

Well good news, my replacement Elex arrived and zero issues with channel imbalance. My first pair also had a dent on the right driver, but this replacement is in pristine condition.

I did notice a difference in the headband though. The headband seems to have a genuine leather top, and I remember my first pair having a more faux leather without the leather pattern, almost a velvet-like material. Can anyone comment if there was a revision to the headband material at some point?

 

[441879]

Well good news, my replacement Elex arrived and zero issues with channel imbalance. My first pair also had a dent on the right driver, but this replacement is in pristine condition.

I did notice a difference in the headband though. The headband seems to have a genuine leather top, and I remember my first pair having a more faux leather without the leather pattern, almost a velvet-like material. Can anyone comment if there was a revision to the headband material at some point?

Maybe. My Elex appears to be made of high quality PU leather (no leather smell, very uniform grain, etc). Same for my Clear. The Elex isn’t particularly new, but the Clears are less than 3 months old.