Focal Elear and Utopia

I'll have to call before I drive up there then. Maybe some other shops in the area have them.

BTW if you guys have found any good non-shill impressions from known sources on Head-Fi or otherwise please link them in this thread. Marv and I don't have the brain armor to parse through Head-Fi threads but there's probably some non-'tards who still post there.

First post updated.

 

So how easily do these things break? Are they built as poorly as the previous generation of Focal headphones which cracked all the time and you could smash the drivers by setting them down the wrong way on a table?

 

I thought chowmein83 impressions are good. Some do not agree, but maybe because he was honest with it!

http://www.head-fi.org/t/811270/foc...with-impressions-head-fi-tv/450#post_12662362

 

I like chowmein83 attitude and honesty. Just don't agree with the Ether having good bass or being punchy so his reference kinda threw me for a loop.

That is very hard to call so early.

They seem to be built very well but like they will show signs of usage very quickly ie I think the Dharma would hide the beating it has taken a lot better. Pretty heavy though.

 

Better than HD800S (and presumably HD800) but not as good as the ching-chong wadda wadda ding dong and Sound of Plastic (tm)......something's fishy here.

 

I've read different impressions of Ether's bass. Don't know if it depends on amp or ears or both!

 

Gotta love the honesty:

"...Elear is quite good, and didn't prove too fatiguing for me even though I have a weak neck."

 

The Ethers on the loaner tour both had great bass. Later production run?

 

Dan Clark maintains that the ether bass fills in with burn in. He says it has to do with the knurling on the driver. that may have something to do with differing impressions of the ether.

 

He forgot to sprinkle some fairydust on some of the units before shipping them out.

 

Focal Elear Measurements

Please keep these here until I do an Update on IF. Thanks.

 

I was going to actually link to that since I am chowmein83 on Head-Fi, but I guess I got beaten to the punch. Oh well.

Again, those are only my opinions. I do think that overall, the HE1000 sounds more realistic than the HD800 or HD800S, but like I also said in my other comments on HF this may be due more to FR rather than in technical ability. As for the SR-009, honestly you need the right setup for it to not sound "plastic" - but if you do have it, the SR-009 seriously sounds amazing.

 

Don't take it personally, I think I get where you're coming from.

I've heard the SR009 on a few different setups, including the holy grail circlejerk-approved BHSE. Still sounds like plastic. Ask Marv and other ex-SR009 owners.

 

Gotcha. And if you're talking about that setup, then I understand your view. (Have heard that before too.) However, I did briefly listen to the SR-009 on a custom Frank Cooter amp, and that really changed my opinion of what was possible with the SR-009.

 

Ah yes, I've heard the Cooter stat amp at the last (or before that?) CanJam. We agree that it definitely takes the SR009 in a different direction

BTW, would you mind making an additional post and copy/pasting your impressions so I can link it in the first post?

 

Is that what the Dr. Hands curve looks like?