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Focal Elear and Utopia

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by SingSing, Jun 14, 2016.

Page 16 of 78
  1. mtoc

    mtoc SBAF's Resident Shit-Stirrer

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    The conclusion of the plasticky highs is: the highs of HD800 is not plasticky but still bright as heaven?
     
    mtoc, Jul 8, 2016
    #301
  2. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    Not as plasticky as the melamine milk formula you've been raised on.
     
    HitmanFluffy, Jul 10, 2016
    #302
  3. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    [​IMG]
     
    OJneg, Jul 10, 2016
    #303
  4. Tyll Hertsens

    Tyll Hertsens Grandpappy of the hobby - Special Friend

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    Tyll Hertsens, Jul 28, 2016
    #304
  5. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Would love to hear Bob Katz's impressions on the Elear. Given his tastes in audio, it seems like he'd rate the Elear quite highly.
     
    TMRaven, Jul 28, 2016
    #305
  6. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Alright that's it. My next amp will include a 80R OPT Sec and I'm ordering these.
     
    bazelio, Jul 28, 2016
    #306
  7. potkettleblack

    potkettleblack Acquaintance

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    So which one is this aimed at?????
     
    potkettleblack, Jul 28, 2016
    #307
  8. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Pretty sure he'd say something like : yeah those are good, but wait until I EQ them !
     
    frenchbat, Jul 28, 2016
    #308
  9. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Nothing wrong with a little EQ!


    Tyll, from a strictly measurements standpoint, the Focal Elear and the Oppo PM-1 are very similar. When I tried out the PM-1 a while back, I didn't like it at all. The sound didn't very very articulate, and it sounded distant as a whole (not distant as in huge soundstage, but distant as in lack of microdynamics).

    Do you still have a PM-1 on hand to compare with the Elear?
     
    TMRaven, Jul 28, 2016
    #309
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    PM-1 has significantly more distortion from 300-600Hz, an area where most good headphones don't have much distortion, and where most people aren't use to hearing much distortion. I believe most of us back in the CS days described the PM-1 as sounding like poo or goo.
     
    purr1n, Jul 28, 2016
    #310
  11. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    gbeast, Jul 28, 2016
    #311
  12. defiant00

    defiant00 New

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    I wonder if that's why I didn't like the PM-1. Was part of the tour at Head-Fi and after listening to them for a day started letting coworkers try them out since I didn't want to listen to them any more.
     
    defiant00, Jul 28, 2016
    #312
  13. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    I wonder of the three,
    Elear, Ether, and LCD-X where the Elear sits in overall transparency.

    Based on reading the review it seems:

    Elear>Ether>LCD-X

    Not sure though.
     
    gbeast, Jul 28, 2016
    #313
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Ether might be a bit faster in the treble, but seriously, it's not close when it comes to bass clarity or reproduction of low level information. (Note that I am making a distinction between low level information and speed / transient response - and intentionally not using the word "detail"). The Ether is something you get if you have a modest source and/or amp, and don't plan on upgrading anytime soon. Ether's transient response and openness don't require resolving gear, and likewise, Ether will not respond much with better gear. In a huge sense, the Ether is the replacement for the PM-1. You just want a good sounding headphone with superb ergonomics that handily plays well with whatever random gear you have without the need to buy audiophile DACs and headamps.

    I noted the Elear scaled significantly (in speed, resolution, clarity) when paired with better upstream gear. The LCD-X is more resolving than Ether, but it's unknown if any individual unit will have good timbre / non spikey mid-treble / good bass articulation. There's been some variance with the three or four pairs I've heard, although I have not heard an LCD-X recently. The LCD-X is also extremely uncomfortable.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2016
    purr1n, Jul 28, 2016
    #314
  15. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    This review has be pretty excited to hear the Elears. Tyll noted that people want to compare it to the HD600 as the is a long heralded standard, and the Elear will be as well opened my eyes. I also noticed tat Tyll didnt have a lot of room to be funny in this review - all business. Its going to be good.
     
    JoshMorr, Jul 28, 2016
    #315
  16. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    You'd have to define what you mean by transparency. If we're talking lack of compression and plankton-killing playnar fairies, it's:

    Elear >>>> LCDX >= Ether
     
    OJneg, Jul 28, 2016
    #316
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I also wonder if the Elear has been slightly tweaked to sound less bassy from the pre-production / preview / experimental pair I heard at The Source AV. That would actually be a welcome thing.
     
    purr1n, Jul 28, 2016
    #317
  18. TMoney

    TMoney Shits on SBAF over at Head-Case to be cool

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    I gotta say, I thought Ether Flow and the open Ether from the loaner tour were better than you guys are giving it credit for. I'll be looking forward to Tyll's review of the Flow in the coming weeks.

    At the very least is nice to finally have some excitement back in the 1-2k range.
     
    TMoney, Jul 28, 2016
    #318
  19. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I think you are getting too hung up on some of the typical measurement characteristics that Tyll's rig displays on a lot of headphones, not to mention the differences can be several dBs in various spots when you take into account the scale he uses. I've heard headphones on his rig that measure with similar curves, even more closely matching than the PM-1 and Elear, and they subjectively sounded very different.

    Not to mention, thick planar driver vs. dynamic driver. Measurements aren't going to capture those differences (things like staging, slam, low-level information, etc.).
     
    Hands, Jul 28, 2016
    #319
  20. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I think we have good reason to be skeptical about any Ether Flow technology that Dan is coming out with. While Dan's revisions have certainly made differences (side-grades, marginal upgrades mostly) I have no reason to believe the Flow thing will make me ejaculate in awe of its glorious 3D modeled CAD software optimized nirvana. In fact I'd be willing to bet that those same plankton-killing gremlins are still hiding out in the Flow's waveguide thingy-mabob.

    That being said, most of us have not heard the Flow and I am open to the possibility that Flow is so compelling that it will make me sell my HD800, move to Canada and take up furry fan-fic writing.
     
    OJneg, Jul 28, 2016
    #320
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