Focal Elear and Utopia Impressions at Source AV

I really appreciate the comparisons to the LCD-X and HD600, my 2 primaries right now. Really looking forward to hearing these!

 

I'm lost. Was it not Tyll that said these were 'meh' a few days ago on this thread or the other Focal thread?

 

Hmm....am I wrong to think that all of the drawbacks Tyll said the Elears have could be improved by using a good tube amp with these? Less than ideal amount of bass, not much depth in soundstage, and zingy 10k treble. Could these be improved with a tube amp?

 

I've spent enough time lurking around here to believe that EVERYTHING could be improved with a tube amp. I've never heard one though , that will change soon enough.

 

Ohhh, just noticed I'm an acquaintance now. Nice , suck on that Rando's lol.

Edited to say that this is a joke and I'm being sarcastic in case anyone else wants to dislike this post. Winking emoji also added at the end to avoid confusion. Can't do much about the fact I was off topic though.

 

And here I was pretty sure I was done for a while (having tried Audeze, shied away from HiFiMan, and settled on HD800S), now these come out. Of course, that doesn't make my current cans sound any worse, but Elear is definitely on my list to hear at some point.

 

slightly off topic:
If you seen Source AV and Mini disc Australia... Do consider visiting Singapore. (9,495 miles away from USA)

Check out Singapore's Stereo Vivocity Store(quite alot of TOTL headphones and DAPs to tryout, including Hugo TT and Ifi stuff):

 

Speaking of which, what amp did Tyll use for the Elears?

 

Tyll, with that beard, you look like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) with his beard. Except you have more hair on top

 

I have absolutely no clue.

 

I think I may just have to give these a try. Something that is a true upgrade from the HD650? Sign me up.

 

Safe assumption that much of the listening was on the Simaudio Moon 430HA. That's his new reference amp for reviewing.

 

Very keen to interview these for a permanent seat in my collection alongside HD800 and LCD2. I for one do not believe that the other two $1000 benchmarks got THAT much worse all of a sudden, despite how strongly Tyll likes the new contender. But I do like to have a choice of cans, and I believe the Elear may complement the other two just fine. Only problem is that South African pricing looks to be prohibitive, so will have to buy next time I travel internationally. Hope to at least have heard them before then ...

 

I thought Tyll's review was really informative but I was confused about one thing. He says he wishes the low end was a little louder (2-3 db below 150 Hz) but I thought that's what he also said about the Ether C. I found the EC to be pretty weak in bass (even after 100 hours of "burn in") so I'm hoping the Elear isn't similar. From everything else I've heard the Elear has better bass, so the 2-3db comment puzzled me a bit.

 

Great review by Tyll. The comparison with other cans is great. I wonder how the Elear compares to that list of cans, in clarity, details, transparency and imaging

 

I think that it's fair to say that Tyll likes a little more bass than the average audiophile. I happen to like "Tyll level" bass myself.

 

Yeah I agree with that and I think I prefer his level of bass as well. Just strange to hear him say he wished the Elear bass could be 2-3db higher because that's what he said about the Ether C. And from everything else I've read, the Elear should be fuller in bass than the EC.

 

The bass description is putting me off a little. My LCD-2 has such wonderfully tight bass and the extension is bottomless. I couldn't give that up for a lesser headphone in that department.

Looking the the Elear measurements, the LCD-2 and all of the LCD series transitions into the mid range better than the Elear. The treble of the Elear seems better balanced from impressions but I don't find my LCD2 that bad in the treble.

 

I wonder, why Tyll compares the Elear with the HD600, and not with the 650..?
Because of more treble, than the 650..?

 

I think his preference is to the 600s. Can't remember where I saw him say this, but pretty sure it was his review of the 650 on innerfidelity.