i am from head-fi. Great review. But on a technical level, much has been re-engineered to account for the different configuration. There is a good amount of air around stringed instruments so I don’t have to always switch to the HD800 whenever I listen to orchestral/classical music – especially if I’m feeling lazy. It is more detailed, has a much bigger soundstage, better imaging, and offers a much more natural and cohesive sound. The chrome accents are nice and the headphone just feels good in the hand and beautiful when on a stand. Elear looks and feels like a proper 1000$ headphone. Bass quality and speed is on par with planars. Excellent review! This could affect your total cost for HE-500. Every week I debate on whether selling my Audeze LCD 2.2 fazor and getting this. Ultimately, these headphones just look so great as well as possess the advantages listed above. This is something that I noticed in the ZMF Omni as well, but the HD800 is the best headphone I have owned in terms of tackling this tricky area on the frequency chart – leading to such recordings ringing out clearly. This is further proven by the €100,000 gold-and-diamond studded Utopia being created recently for sale. It's sturdy and without microphonics, just over-the-top. But it does a good job in not feeling congested and the mid treble energy really brings nice air and instrument separation. The upper mids are filled in, but not overly emphasized. I don't think it will be unlistenable for anyone, but it could be just a bit fatiguing. The earpads are memory foam and not a struggle to wear or tame. Cymbal crashes are snappy and sizzle. This is not true except for bass performance. I saw a post on the front page of r/headphones today of someone who bought an inexpensive aftermarket cable. I'm going to be looking for an aftermarket cable that terminates in a 4pin XLR for my Liquid Carbon myself. But bass on Elear is more dynamic and hits harder than LCD2C. He really needs to figure out the focus on his camera though. But I have a slightly small head that is just a bit pointy at the top so I get a hotspot on the top of my head during extended listening. Disclaimer: Focal’s PR agency sent us the Focal Elear on loan for this review. lol. Though I do sometimes have to write reviews with limited time particularly if reviewing for a company or a loaner, but that is not ideal. However, you mentioned fatigue, and if fatigue is an issue than there are plenty of other cans out there that aren't as forward in treble. Mids: As I said before, lower mids are a fairly warm and nicely emphasized1. It is this one. My music preferences are broad and I try to incorporate a bit of everything, but currently I listen to mostly indie pop/rock (e.g. This also really makes timbre feel off if you listen to a lot of natural instruments like violins, pianos, acoustic guitar, etc. However, the Elear has a dynamic quality to it that has been absent in all my previous headphones, with the Sennheiser HD800 coming closest. Completely agree with your viewpoint. Transient response4 is excellent and bass never feels overly bloomy5 or bloated. Thanks for sharing as always, and welcome back! Also, if you aren't used to really mid forward headphones like Sennheisers you might not notice it as much. My pair shipped out today, so hyped. The reason for the Elear’s incredibly fast ascent into the audiophile headphone firmament is clear: we think its easily the best value to be found right now in high-end headphones. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been checking out some of Focal’s best and most impressive headphones, including the much-loved Focal Utopia headphones, the closed-back Focal Stellia headphones, and the slightly more affordable Focal Clear headphones.Now, we’re taking a look at a pair of headphones that are even more affordable — the Focal Elegia headphones. It shares a lot of the technology found in the Focal Utopia , which many people consider to be the very best headphone in the world today. Focal cans, while flat(ish) compared to the LCD line, are pretty fun to listen to from my experience. The Elear is an open-back , over-ear headphone. This is because, ultimately, the Elear has a “chunky” sound. It starts to feel muffled and hazy in this area. Read full InnerFidelity review here: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/enter-next-generation-focal-elear-headphone This could possibly partially explain the better imaging/soundstage of that headphone compared to Elex. :). HE-500 is big and clunky, tank-like, and looks more dated these days. And yeah, EQ definitely can help, I just could never get it dialed in exactly the way I personally wanted. What is that headphone stand and why does it have a USB port on the side? Very, very dynamic. And clamp force is on the tighter side, but not at stock HD600/650 levels. Now I just gotta sit back and wait for the "perfect headphone" to release which has been prophesied by the community for decades. The Focal Elegia are above-average critical listening headphones. However, though TH-X00 mids are clean and clear, they are overshadowed by the bass and feel less forward in the mix. I can never just forget the headphone is on my head. Make no mistake, I much prefer a good quality cable to an afterthought-cable with no effort put into it – but I’m fairly sure Focal was thinking primarily of people sitting on their couches whenever they wanted to take a break from a Focal speaker system with something more intimate. HD650’s bass is not well extended and the slower decay makes it feel much more wooly in comparison. However, the way the Elear presents sound makes it so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on an analytical experience either. that's probably how it would come apart. Though I don't agree 100% with everything you've said here, thanks for the really good review, I've been loving the Elear. The Clear pads sounded a tad better to me. Clear pads are much more dense and plush. In between the two, I had some time with both and walked away muttering that it seemed the hype was real – but I needed a quiet environment to be sure. I like the air and positioning of the 800S, but sometimes feel they lack a bit of body. In summary – the Focal Elear is a great-sounding headphone! Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, Acorn Audio UK - ZMF/Acoustune/HEDD Audio, Gumby->Pro iCan->Eikon | HD800 | Zeus-R | Andro | H8.2 | U12, HD800S | MDR: -CD3000/-Z1R/-EX1000/-1000X | SE846 | CA Andromeda, Eikon | Elear | HD800S | LCD2C | ADI-2 | Andros | QP2R | A12t, RME ADI-2 DAC -> Arya | HD800S | ATH-R70X | SHR1840, SRH1540,Topping NX4,GR07,CayinN3,UrbaniteXL,Hd598,PortaBro, Can Jam London 2016: Talking about the Focal Utopia and Elear with Nicolas Debard, Comparison: Focal Elear vs. Sennheiser HD800/Hifiman HE-500/ZMF Omni. Not only is the upper mid problem taken care of but it does it while feeling more clear, smoother, and more refined. Thankfully, Elear uses standard 3.5mm connectors so it is easy and cheap to use aftermarket cables. i am getting Utopia in two weeks, but this review made me decide to also buy the Elear!! This has the effect of making the mids more even. I have very similar music taste to you, and mostly just use my Klipsch Heritage Amp and Tidal as a source (not really hearing much difference in MQA vs Hi Fi). Focal is a French loudspeaker manufacturer that is well attuned to the developing trends in personal audio, and is this summer introducing two blockbuster pairs of headphones: the $999 Elear … But the mids of HD650 are far superior to Elear. One of the unusual design elements of Focal loudspeakers is the frequent use of “inverted dome” tweeters, in which the dome tweeter is concave outwards rather than the more usual convex outwards. And that Elear+Utopia pad deal is really solid and I can see why a lot of people are jumping on that. I made the decision that day to pursue the Elear, as the Utopia was far out of my reach, and to dissect its sound reproduction for myself. The only nit to pick would be the cable, it’s very long and thick. Despite not owning them anymore, I would say it’s similar to the Sennheiser HD600 and Hifiman HE-400i in this regard. (1) Review: Focal Elear Headphones (2) Can Jam London 2016: Talking about the Focal Utopia and Elear with Nicolas Debard|3 - I'll post the text here, but if you want the full experience (photos and other video links), then I invite you to check out my site. Fostex TH-X00/EMU Teak: This is a semi-open headphone not trying to be neutral. Questions like: Do the clears handle volume better? The infamous upper mid “suckout” on Elear is real. I don’t have a preference for any specific sound signature or have any sensitivities to particular frequency ranges. So I have heard Clear a number of times at meets and at stores. The lower midrange of the Elear is quite a delight. It starts to feel muffled and hazy in this area. I'm not sure why you would say something like - "I like Tyll, but these headphones don't belong on his personal wall of fame". I actually preferred the Elear to the Clear, haven't had a chance to check out the Elex. Too often high-end products neglect appearances; if you’re spending this sort of money, we think you should get a product th… Then again, I do like a huge soundstage with a nice holographic sound... Do you know how the cups detach from the headband? After nearly two months, I am ready to publish my findings. Elear is thicker, warmer sounding in bass with a bit more impact. I heard the Elear at CanJam earlier this year. “Made in France” is printed boldly, in French of course, on both sides along with the name “Elear” and “Aluminium-Magnesium.”. See footnotes for a sample of songs I use in my testing playlist. Elear is a low impedance dynamic that can be driven by any amp and doesn't scale much with more capable gear. 96 votes, 32 comments. Are the clears actually less fatiguing? Bass: Bass is probably the standout feature of Elear. I have read tons of comments you have given on so many forums as i have read probably a hundred pages on the elear, elex, and clear. It is just about right to me. Video Review Introduction: God, this hype. The Focal Clear headphones are unmistakably Focal. This is not a laid back headphone, like the Omni, and it takes no prisoners in its sound reproduction. Sennheiser HD650: When Elear first came out it was touted as being a true upgrade to HD650. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, RME/887/ZDT Jr>Auteur/Atticus/HD800(SDR)/Elex/LCD2C/Verum1/HD6XX, Benchmark DAC3 HGC | Audeze LCD-4 | DT-1990, AirPods Max|LCD-500|Ananda|HD800|HD6XX|"Elex"|SR-404. But when going to higher volumes the mid suckout becomes much more apparent and at those levels the bass starts to overwhelm the mids and starts to feel overly warm and bloated. If you have a medium sized head that is perfectly round this shouldn’t be an issue as the padding should evenly distribute the weight across your head. But on a positive note it is what lead me to audeze for my endgame headphones. Seems a pretty unnecessary thing to add to me. It's going to depend on what sound signature you enjoy the most. Inspired by the best technology and acoustic research that went into designing Utopia, our flagship headphones, they offer truly exceptional performance. The snare drum on some headphones with a warmer tone, or slightly dark nature, leads to an unsatisfying “thud” sound on the snare. at least that is how i perceive it. Better yet, I prefer to write reviews after I have moved on to bigger and better things to really be more critical. With Elex pads, Elear evens out in tonal balance which puts it closer to HD650, but it still has much more treble energy for better or worse. Unfortunately I have not been able to A/B them. I agree with there being a difference between Elex and Clear pads. But because of that upper mid suckout some tracks will end up feeling like something is off. But the bass is tight, very impactful, punchy, and can slam2. This also really makes timbre feel off if you listen to a lot of natural instruments like violins, pianos, acoustic guitar, etc. Also, I used be more active here and posted reviews in the past (DT880, DT1990, LCD-2F, Auteur, Cascade), but life got in the way more recently and I'm slowly getting back to writing and sharing here. There is a hole in the 3-6 kHz range that does some weird stuff. The attack on the key hits is immense and startling, and you can feel a piano riff in the chest if it is emphasized in a song’s production enough. Hi guys, I have an Elear by Focal and I want some advises to choose a good amp to power it. It isn’t terrible and I can adjust to it and sort of shift the headphone position around to find a better fit, but it takes a bit fiddling around every once in a while across longer listening sessions. As Axl Rose’s voice croons over the instrumentation, I can’t help but be surprised by how each track is not overshadows by anything else. Noticeably female vocals and a lot of strings feel recessed and overall kind of dead6. Today’s review focuses on the home area, where we will dive into the middle of three models in the series, the Focal Elear. What I mean by this is that the Elear pushes music out to the listener in an almost startlingly, at first, quick manner. It is fast, very fast – and more than likely to surprise you at first until you are used to it. HD800 is far more balanced and clean sounding. You'll also need to drop like 1k on source gear for the hd800 to be at its best. The main problem is that the headband is very rounded without cushioning that is contoured like HD600/650’s sectional headband approach. Yes, this has something to do with the narrower soundstage on the Elear than the HD800 – but that doesn’t excuse just how much more noticeable each instrument is as the album carries on. The Focal Elear open-back dynamic headphone was officially released in late 2016 and remains in high demand and limited availability as they slowly trickle out of Focal’s St Etienne France manufacturing facility.. People really valued Tyll's WoF (I would argue his WoF had a lot of marketing influence at the high end and could make or break companies) and I think most reviewers then and still to this day understand and support his choices for all the headphones he chose, even if a particular headphone wasn't their personal preference. i do not mind spending the extra money, as ive seen them sell for much lower than msrp new, but. Focal Elear with Utopia pads, AKG K371, Sony WF1000xm3, Lypertek Tevi, Schiit Magni Heresy, JDS Labs ODAC, Radsone ES100 Share This Post I actually posted about that experience here a while ago. The treble of the Elear is never sibilant, to my ears, and I am quite grateful for that. Due to this, I can safely say that I can get an enjoyable listen with most genres of music. Noticeably female vocals and a lot of strings feel recessed and overall kind of dead⁶. But I think HE-500 is the better all around headphone compared to Elear. Be it an EDM snare, a rock song, a metal song, a pop song or even a futuristic blip-snare in a genre I have never even heard of – the Elear will make it sound right. Does eq make the elex more or less indistinguishable to the clear? So I know Focal Elear isn't exactly new or exciting these days and this is a "late" review. I think it can work for people that particularly listen at low volume levels or for people that already have a good reference headphone and just want a second headphone for a very dynamic and fun sound for genres that aren’t heavily mid focused. So once people got a hold of Elear everyone was disappointed and confused. Or if you really want to save up and go big, I personally consider ZMF Verite to be the "best" (for me). The latest of these headphones, and among the more expensive, are the Focal Elear … This deserves the "High Quality" tag, no doubt about it! Elear is better if you favor a more open sound. However, I do prefer dynamic headphones over planars, estats, or IEMs (though I own all of those too). Cymbals sound accurate without demanding listener attention by drowning anything else out. I always notice how certain instruments sound best on certain headphones that I’ve reviewed in the past: the HD800 being especially great at strings and orchestral recordings, the Hifiman HE-500 being especially good at vocals and the Omni standing out for how it showcases acoustic guitars. You've gained a follower. I would love to hear your comments after your length of ownership of the elear/elex how the clear compares and why someone would want to have the clears instead in your opinion, or even why they would not. I sold the Utopia pads so I no longer have them. Though some might prefer Elear’s metal premium build compared to HD800’s plastic. However, I noticed that on certain genres and tracks this suckout isn’t necessarily pronounced. The treble extension even gives instruments some air around them. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. Its tonal balance isn’t even enough to be neutral and reference level. Exactly what i want to read from what humans should care about. Focal Elear Conclusion. These things can be remedied with source gear to an extent. Four seats at the venue were constantly occupied, the two at Focal’s booth and the two at Moon Audio’s booth – who also had a Utopia and Elear. Elear treble is similarly forward, but a notch below TH-X00. I'll be writing a review on that one very soon. Like I would be willing to bet that if you blindfolded someone and made them listen to Elex vs Clear at intervals of hours apart, they would fail. I wouldn't say it's garbage. Talking about dedication and a will to help others and to input. Far from it, song dynamics are well presented – you just have to get used to how it’s done. But going off memory I think Clear is way more similar to Elex than it is to stock Elear or Utopia. i don’t mind more impact ofc. Treble is brighter and a bit more hot on TH-X00 and often border on the boundary of sibilance. Since Elear is sold for pretty cheap these days, I highly recommend grabbing Elex pads and with that you have a really competent headphone that can compete with anything in that price range, and even with some TOTL cans. The Elegias certainly look like a premium pair of headphones. The cherry Omni was of a very similar weight, but the nature of the T50RP frame made it awkward to fit on my head comparatively – even with the ZMF pilot pad. Anyways, hope this doesnt come off as as a nitpicky question goblin, i am happy to hear any comments and seek knowledge i can bring into my headphone understanding (combining subjective and objective data over time) more than buyer debate if that makes sense. Is that the 2016 one? The Elear, to put it simply, does not. Focal Elegia ($899usd) vs Focal Elear (now $700-750ish): As stated elsewhere, I rather enjoy pulling the Elear out for a run to clear my thoughts between reviews. I found that, with most headphones, I would find that a certain instrument or vocal in the mix was most pronounced – with the rest of the mix falling behind to give that particular melody space to carry the song overall. This would make for an interesting experience with the HD800 sometimes, where a drum beat’s cymbal pattern would land squarely on the frequency chart of the headphones that emphasized treble – leading it to sound a great deal more pronounced than, I would imagine, even the personnel in the mixing room at the time of recording intended. But this also makes Elear a more fatiguing listen too, both from its bass weight and treble brightness. This goes for Elear+Elex pads too. I think Elear is even more aggressive and fun vs Clear and Elex. i just popped the ear pad off mine. Elear has the advantage of feeling more open sounding, even though the soundstage size is similar between the two headphones. there are two screws under the ear pad that seem to line up with the joints. While some models go for a workmanlike design, you’ll find nothing of the sort here – even at this price. 3 years ago His reviews are pretty good (though I always prefer a written review). Like I said, the Elear is just more uneven in tonal balance, but that doesn't make it a terrible headphone. The HD800 has crisper presentation of orchestral strings for sure. i love the sparkly treble as well. The pictures in this review or either ours or those of Focal which we borrowed. Overall thoughts: I think Elear is almost a great headphone, but it is just a bit wonky. Tyll's review and the beginning of the Elear controversy happened about 3 years ago now, I'm not sure if you were around the headphone community back then. But HE-500 is more controlled, tight, and clean in that region. One of my all-time favorites. The indecision is tearing me apart. The attack is quite sharp with quick decay. 1990s are what made me realize i'm treble sensitive. That being said, the connectors on each side of the headphones are 3.5mm and, thus, so easily swappable - no proprietary connectors here folks. There are changes to the surround and motor system aiming to optimise dynamics and detail reso… A place for discussion, news, reviews and DIY projects related to portable audio, headphones, headphone amplifiers and DACs. Bass is very detailed and snappy in the bass kicks. As primarily a headphones guy, I had never even heard of Focal before this summer. So who is Elear for? While the cherry ZMF Omni produced my favourite (and most realistic) sound of strummed acoustic guitars, it didn’t make single notes pop nearly as much as the Elear does. So now that I have owned Elear for 1.5 years I wanted to share my thoughts. between the two with the Clear being the more firm of the two. I love the way the elear sounds with utopia pads (from everything i read the clear/elex/utopia pad changes are much closer than different) but have been eternally stuck on wondering on how the clear compares. However, I didn't get a chance to compare directly to Elex or to Elear with Elex or Utopia pads. If you truly are happy with your Elear+Utopia pad combo I wouldn't drive yourself crazy wondering about Elex or Clear. Treble: Treble is actually very clean and clear with really great transient response. My favorite living film director probably is Alfonso Cuaron. I think for purely bass focused music TH-X00 does better if you are ok with its treble energy. Its bass response is great and its speed makes for a punchy, dynamic, and aggressive sound, which I find quite addictive. If I had to pick one that is somewhat similar to it, it would be the ZMF Omni. They are the closed-back variant of the similarly designed Focal Elear.These premium headphones are very comfortable for long listening sessions and have a great build quality thanks to a metal frame and a detachable cable. When I had them side-by-side, you can definitely feel a difference in firmness/“compressability”(?) The dip also makes the Elear a little dark in presentation compared to the HE-500 and especially the HD800 – and not quite unlike the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650. Luckily, Focal backs up their image with ample substance. I also want to emphasize that this is all personal preference and I just really gravitate toward mid forward, natural timbre headphones since that is most the music I listen to. This is not to say that the Elear is turning around the mixing and mastering (particularly the chosen volume of different instruments) process and brickwalling each instrument to a point where there is no dynamic range in a song. 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