Massdrop x Focal Elex Headphones Discussions | Drop

Massdrop x Focal Elex Headphones

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TerenzzZ

Mar 16, 2018

I’m deciding between Focal Elex and Beyerdynamic T1 v2. Both are at the same price range any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!

Mar 16, 2018

TerenzzZI just returned the T1.2 I bought. I didn't like the 8 khz peak. It made the treble sound splashy and harsh to me. I dunno, maybe it just needed a break in? I had an early pair of the first version and I really liked those until they broke which was why I thought I'd try the second versions since they went on sale.

bgav66

Mar 17, 2018

AftermanHow did they break?

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Mar 17, 2018

bgav66The voice coil wires came lose from the solder points on the board. I guess one could try to re-solder them back on but I hear soldering voice coil is trickier?

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bgav66

Mar 17, 2018

AftermanDamn, that sucks. You'd think their flagship would be a bit better than that.

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TerenzzZ

Mar 17, 2018

AftermanI read these as super hd 650. I already own hd 650. Casual music listener. My set up has X3 Gen 2 with iDSD Black label. Is Elex going to be a worth while investment?

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Mar 17, 2018

TerenzzZI have the 650 too and I think these are going to be more dynamic sounding with more sub bass and a little wider soundstage compared to the 650. That's why I joined anyways. It's up to the individual if they think it's worth it or better. I actually use my HD580 more than my 650.

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jaydunndiddit

3262

Mar 18, 2018

TerenzzZWhere did you read that? From the initial previews I've read, they've been stated to be a "super" 600. So if anything, they'll be a nice compliment to the 6XX/650.

bgav66

Mar 18, 2018

jaydunndidditWas gonna say that, I've heard these are supposed to resemble the hd600 a lot.

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Mar 18, 2018

jaydunndidditI got to go audition the Focal Elear, Clear, and Utopia today :) for about a 1/2 hour each. I ended up using cd quality tracks from my iPhone 7 through an iFi 3.0 usb into a chord mojo. I own the HD 650. My impressions: and interpolations - I was wanting to check out the "resolution" and basic character of the Elear as that driver is the basis of the Elex, and the Freq response of the Clear as the Elex mimics this, and to try and decide which if any floats my boat :) The Elear is smoother and clearer to me than the HD 650 with more delineation in the treble region, and less wooly in the bass to mid bass. The only place it gave me pause was with Dianne Reeves Lulla by of Birdland where the Orchestra kicks in and things did get congested there. Now, it might be somewhat due to the higher output impedance of the mojo? not sure on that. The Clear had the more balanced response top to bottom, a bit more agile and airier, but less solid images - especially vocal density in the midrange compared to the more fleshy denser images of the Elear to my ears. My impression is this could be a good marriage of Clear Response, clarity, and more substantial images of the Elear. The Utopia however made me want to save up for that. But my gut feeling is it should be priced more like 2500-2700... I don't know that there is ton more detail in the Focal Elear vs. Senns, but it is presented more clearly - confidently less wooly, grainy, so that is satisfying. The Utopia, just engaged me, made me really interested in what was next even in my most listened to reference tracks. Here the images are more 3D than the Elear with even a bit more density, and more real in general. This floats my boat for sure. I think someone else wrote that the Elear is a less resolving Utopia. I think the Elex is a good deal and offers a good dose of refinement over the HD650. The 650 does damp it's images well - say on high piano notes just a bit woolier for sure with the mojo.

Currawong

318

Review Team on Head-Fi

Mar 19, 2018

scottooThe output impedance of the Mojo is <1 Ohm. In my experience congestion occurs in low impedance headphones when the output current of the amp is insufficient. Lately I've only found this with smart-phone powered amps that have very low power output. That shouldn't be a case with the Mojo. I need to get out the Elex again so if that track you mentioned is on TIDAL I'll have a listen. 👍

Mar 19, 2018

CurrawongHey, thanks for the clarification on this :) I misread the mojo specs at one point, good to know! I was surprised at how clean and clear all the Focals I mentioned sounded with the mojo, and especially how very good the Utopia's sounded - so richly formed images. The HD650 not as much, maybe due to the higher impedance? At home with the Valhalla 2, and the Metrum Octave, the 650's really shine. I may have to beg to bring the Focal's home for a demo ;) I think with the mac with Amarra 4, and the mojo the 650's fair better as well. The Clears and Utopia didn't congest on this track. But at least with the mojo, the Clear's vocal density fell off and back in the stage a bit (same track I believe). It's early in the track where the Orchestra kicks in the first time :) And of my test tracks this was the only "fault" I found with this pairing.

RRRS

Mar 19, 2018

scottooAs an owner of both the Elear and the 6XX, I'd agree with your assessment of the two. And I'd add the Elear's nature is more reach out and grab you, commands your attention. The 6XX is more...comfortable, easier, relaxing...I like them both very much, but listen to the 6XXs daily at work. But the 'wooliness' of the bass is very noticable.
Use Micca's Origen2 mostly, but have a Mojo to pull out when I listen carefully. At home, I listen to the Elear's through the HP out of my Mac 6900 int amp. Most of my daily listening is done on files I've recorded from my LP collection via TASCAM DA3000 recorder at 24/192 resolutions (rock, jazz, folk).
Auditioned the Utopia and the Clear, but conditions weren't such that I could have a good comparison. The Utopia stood out even so, but the Clear wasn't clearly better in general listening to the Elear. If the Utopia was $2K...I'd give it serious consideration. So sticking with the Elear for now. Also audioned the flagship Sony and the Ether Flow C with the Elears. Went home with the Focal. Much more engaging to my ears, and much cheaper.

Mar 19, 2018

jaydunndidditYeah, I thought I heard people say a super HD600 instead. But then in Jude's video he says a super HD650.

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Currawong

318

Review Team on Head-Fi

Mar 20, 2018

scottooI had a quick listen to that Dianne Reeves track and I couldn't make out particular difference with the Mojo and the vs. the Utopia. I don't find it to be such a great recording to begin with though. I also tried Friday Night in San Francisco (since any blurring of detail will be obvious with such fast guitar work and it's a very good recording) and didn't notice much of a difference out of the Mojo.
I notice more of a difference if I use the Hugo 2, where the Utopias has a clearly greater ability to resolve detail from high-quality recordings. IMO I think the Elex are going to be the better match with the Mojo and the Massdrop-branded DAC/amps.

Mar 20, 2018

CurrawongHmmm, all good, thanks. My recording was AIFF from my own cd of The Best of Dianne Reeves. I was using the mojo with the iFi 3.0 usb filter. ( the iFi drops the noise floor, and on my big system seemed to condense the images some or with less 'noise' there is clear open space around images vs more of a fabric of sound - I tried with and with out the iFi with the Elear, and preferred the delineated images more.) I haven't used tidal, so can't comment on their output. This is one of my test tracks, and it's a pretty good recording for me, especially played back on my home system. Some times of course there are better versions of the same track on different cd's as well. The Orchestra which backs her comes in with a barrage of horns set back a ways and across the width of the stage. It's a pretty good test for coherence, sound-staging, dynamics, and how well a system handles this portion for me :) The Elear didn't resolve well the barrage - it got garbled up ( the foreground images were stable) - this could have sounded like a poor recording... , the Clear and the Utopia both played it well. The Utopia surprised me with the mojo giving me some real richness. Dianne's voice , the double bass, piano and drums all are set more as an intimate combo with her, these are fine with each Elear, Clear, Utopia headphones. It just was the entrance of the orchestra - which I've found interesting to test with :) This track appeared first on her Album "The Calling" and won a grammy for best jazz album of the year, that may be a better version perhaps.

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WESXF

Mar 21, 2018

TerenzzZSee my comment above -- I LOVE the Beyer 1.2, the sound is magnificent and the headphone is super comfortable. I was not happy at all with the Elear. Just one man's opinion -- they are well loved.

Secushel

Mar 21, 2018

TerenzzZIt‘s good to buy either of them. If it’s possible I recommend to buy both and it’s not a waste lol. And if you want to buy only one of them, I think you should consider first if elex is too heavy for you. I think it’s not that horrible but some people can’t stand it. Then you should consider what music you use the headphone to listen to. Since elex and t1 are not the same kind of creature you can easily find a preference I think. I am just a guy who chooses the first option and besides these two I also owned elear.

Mar 22, 2018

WESXFelear aren't the elex though.

WESXF

Mar 24, 2018

alvargTotally agree! I can't comment on them, and they may have improved the sound/comfort in a way that would totally fix the things I didn't like.
I should also say that while I've listened to both of these through a dragonfly red dac/amp, I have only had the benefit of a new Darkvoice when listening to the Beyers. It's possible I was doing the Elears a disservice.

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TerenzzZ

Mar 24, 2018

WESXFThank you guys :)
Went ahead and ordered both Elex and T1ii

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Mar 25, 2018

TerenzzZdarkvoice being a tube amp wouldn't help the elears really, but the problem with the elears is that they are bass heavy and have a dip in the upper mids which will give them a slightly more veiled character while the beyers would be quiet bright in comparison which you probably preferred, i feel the elex won't be quite as bright as the beyers but i feel it will have better dynamics.

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Mar 29, 2018

scottooJust an update on the Clear experience, I tried another pair at a different shop, and I think now there was something amiss the first time around. Today, the Clear images were fully fleshed out, bold, dynamic, yet still with great tonal balance. I had also gotten to sample the HD800s, and these were airier, yet had more body and balance than what I expected from reading reviews. More separation of imaging relative to the Clear - debatable on which wins on detail retrieval, the clear seemed a bit more aggressive upfront, and fleshed out full bodied images more closely packed in. Now I get what the hubbub has been about with these. :)

LordBorg

331

Apr 4, 2018

alvargSorry, but I disagree. One of my favorite headphone pairings is DarkVoice + Elears. (FYI: I also own the Focal Clear, LCD-2C, MrSpeakers AFO/AFC, E-Mu Teak, HD 6XX, etc.) and several amps, including Liquid Carbon, CTH, etc.

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Apr 4, 2018

LordBorgAh my mistake, any insight on how the elears compare to the clears?

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LordBorg

331

Apr 4, 2018

alvargThe Clears don't pair up well with tubes. But I love their smooth and detailed sound. They're "clearly" superior to the Elears... but I find myself reaching for the Elears often because of their punch and mellowed sound with DarkVoice.

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Apr 4, 2018

LordBorgWhere do you see the elex sitting

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LordBorg

331

Apr 5, 2018

alvargI haven't received my pair yet, but I'm guessing (based on people who listened to it and the FR graphs) that it will sit somewhere in the middle between the Clear and the Elear. I guess we'll know in about a month! :)

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Apr 5, 2018

LordBorgYeah come on may!!! I want these now xD

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