Focal Elear and Utopia

Are the ear pads on Elear and Utopia, user replaceable. I would love to have Elear with Utopia ear pads. Those look comfy in pics.

 

What are you trying to do, get all SBAFers banned from HF?

 

Some impressions from my time with the Elear loaner. I only had two nights with these due to my work schedule, so these will be brief. I also wasn't very impressed overall with the sound.

My reference is my 650 out of my Bifrost/Valhalla 2. I ran the Elear from my Vali 2 and very briefly with my Lyr 2 which was delivered the day before I sent these off to the next person.

I immediately didn't care for the sound when I first tried them. Very dark, with almost what I would describe as a veil over the upper mids/treble. After a couple hours though I started to adjust and appreciate the clean bass and overall smooth signature. I didn't find any part of the FR fatiguing and easily wore these for several hours spread across the first night I tried them. The upper mid dip was noticeable when playing certain genres, mainly metal and anything with violins, which both covers a large part of my musical preferences. Comfort was really good though as was build quality. Felt like a $1k pair of headphones.

After listening exclusively to the Elear, the last night I swapped back to my 650 to do some direct comparisons. It was at this point I decided the Elear just were not for me. I love my mids and the 650 delivers here where the Elear falters. The 650 just sounded clearer and more resolving than the Elear to me.

In the end these just weren't for me. Not my preferred tonal signature.

 

Damn, how uncanny! Your opinion of the Elear is identical to mine. I was going to write up some thoughts, but your impressions cover virtually everything that I was going to say. Rare that my own viewpoint aligns so closely with someone else's, but there you go.

Suffice to say, I don't think that I'm going to be keeping the Elear. It doesn't offer anything that I can't currently get from the Fostex Purpleheart or the Sennheiser twins. Unquestionably a quality headphone, but there's just no room for it in my stable.

 

There is one thing that I'm rather confused about, however. Many reviews of the Elear have praised it for its dynamic punch. I gotta say, I do not hear that. On the contrary, the Elear almost seems rather politely mid-centric. Often, the balanced HD 650 bites and hits with notably greater snap and heft. And don't even get me started on the TH-X00; the Elear just doesn't even come close.

 

i just gotta ask -- what makes you guys not interested in trying a pad swap to see if the upper mids can't be rescued and the overall darkness lifted a bit? @Hands and fierce_freaks' measurements suggest that they could be totally killer with some pretty basic tweaks.

 

I'm open to this possibility! But the issue isn't so much that the Elear is irredeemably flawed or anything like that. The "problem" is that its (very real) strengths don't seem to recommend it over and above what is currently available, IMO.

Early impressions should always be taken with due skepticism, but it's rare that I change my mind upon further listening. Honestly, the only time I can think of that happening recently was with the Bifrost Multibit.

 

Guys, these two impressions seem to be the opposite of what the early reviews say so I'm a bit confused.

Tyll said these were super dynamic and you don't hear that at all!

Isn't the bass clearly superior to the HD650?

 

Ha, that's understandable! I feel the same way.

Eh, sort of? Overall dynamics are certainly good, but I've yet to detect anything especially revelatory. @Tyll Hertsens is The Man, but my absurdly more amateurish ears aren't picking up what he's talking about, here

Clearly superior bass? No. Just different. When driven well, the 650 has remarkably articulate and impactful lows. But this isn't necessarily apparent in many setups. The Elear probably has a lower entry threshold in this area, though that's a speculative suggestion on my part.

FYI, my 650 is completely stock. Since going balanced with the Jodie, I've lost interest in modding it.

 

Yes clearly superior bass.

 

Heh, that's certainly a possibility. But I should try to clarify what I mean.

As I think many would agree, the 650 gets a bit soft in its sub bass. I think the Elear extends more effectively into this region. It's not my view that the 650 has "better" bass than the Elear. Indeed, far from it. Despite it's elevated mid bass, the Elear is thoroughly clean and resolving in the lower registers. On balance, I can certainly see why someone might prefer its presentation in this regard to the 650.

Essentially, all I'm saying is that the 650's bass is not necessarily inferior to the Elear's, dependent on one's preferences. And I don't find it terribly fuzzy by comparison. In absolute terms, sure. Bear in mind, this is with the Elear's (apparently dubious) stock pads.

I'd add that the Elear's swifter impulse response, marginally airier soundstage, and greater presence in the lower registers stands it in good stead with more electronic music. But for the dubbier techno, I'd take the TH-X00 with Dekoni pads.

Edit: I thought this song was a good fit with the Elear.

 

Well I have to agree with you about the Jot + 650. It's the first amp to make the Sennheisers sound a bit bright even! There is no way you need anything like a coin hole mod with this amp!

 

It is a beast of an amp, I was pretty shocked how it seized control of the HD650. I can't see myself needing another solid state any time soon, unless I suddenly get offered a cheap GS-X MK2 or someone has a 230v Black Widow 2 that they don't want.

While we're here... oi, @Muse Wanderer - did you subject the Elear to the Bruckner test, and if so, what happened?

(I am finding that having a good headphone rig has re-awakened my interest in classic music, it's much more enjoyable when you can hear it properly...)

 

The mid-bass is stronger with the Elear (to my ears), but it still left room for the sub-bass punch you in the chest. That's not saying the HD650's bass can't be driven to very pleasing levels (just like @Huxleigh said with the HD650/Jot combo).

@Tyll Hertsens does really love this headphone to pieces, but I'm thinking more and more he found some super synergy at his bench. I'd be curious what he used to test the Elear with. That might help explain his love. He might have had a bit of "new toy syndrome" too, as he was super early to have a review unit...

 

Well, when I listened to the Elear at Canjam London I used classical samples the Utopia rep had. The strings sound was so skewed and unrealistic that I had to compare it to Andromeda there and then. The difference was night and day.

I was so disappointed that I lost all interest so I only listened to it again for few minutes at Indulgence show as I was ready to take over the Utopia once it was available. So, no Bruckner test but the Andro test was a total fail in my books.

 

Bleh, thanks. I didn't actually bother listening to the Elear at Indulgence, as I mostly wanted to hear the Utopia, and by then, was fed up with the flaky and awkward Naim streamer (which fell over twice while I was using it). It sounds like I still don't have any pressing need to upgrade from my HD650 yet.