Short initial impressions (AlloDigiOne>SPDIF>Geshelli J2>JOT2>BAL>ELEX): Less bass than the 600s, more clarity and sparkle, upper mid emphasis, timbre on voices not as good as the 600s, closer sounding than the Senns. Not sure I am convinced these are a step up from the 600s. I'll give my brain time to figure them out, though.
Yes - stock 600s. My 6XXs have the SBAF Kiss mod applied to them. I now feel that the Elex are really different from both - I spend most of my time with the 600s. I feel like this is live-tweeting my brain figuring them out, but the Elex are starting to sound much better to me. I figured this would be the case, but I am glad I'm adapting.
I think I'm starting to get it - I put on some speedy GoGo Penguin and Bad Plus and it gave me the sweats. The Elex are quicker than I am used to. They're not for the warm and fuzzies.
Far clearer, snappier and more focused for sure. Better/tighter bass too. Less warm overall though and a more metallic timbre, but a tube swap on the Lyr has brought some warmth and eased the metallic timbre enough for me. I’ve been listening exclusively to them since then. I don’t know that I’ll go back to the 650s, although I need to throw them on again at some point to give them a fair shake. Really enjoying them.
Yes! Snappy is the perfect word for the Elex. Crisp, too. I am sure the 6XX/650s will be quite soft in comparison. I do feel the timbre is not as good as the 600s. I can see tubes working well with the Elex. I might try a mellow mogami mic-wire cable with them.
Yep, crisp, good word. I had good results with a different set of interconnects between dac and amp too (something a bit smoother and less incisive than my usual).
Thanks for this. I'm using vanilla Canare 4E6S between the dac and Jot2 right now. I have a pair of tinned mogami and tinned Deulands around. I'll try those out, too.
I really like Elex, its what I use at my desk all day while working. Its not so good as to be distracting like a Utopia would be, but its still awesome and gets me boppin
Reorganizing the house right now which means I get the LIM in my office for a couple of weeks. Roon->Allo->S/PDIF->LIM->JOT 2->Elex = Holy f**k. It thickens things up nicely. The slight dark tilt of the LIM is perfect with the Elex. The 600s are happy wherever I put them, but the Elex+R2R seem made for each other. I do, however, find the treble a touch scratchy on some tracks.
Only in speakers. These are my first headphones with metal drivers. I have been a Sennheiser and OG AKG guy my whole life. It may be that I just need to get used to the Focals.
I jumped the gun on the initial assessment of the Elex. They're really quite different than the 600s. Listening to the 600s right now after a couple days of the Elex. They're certainly rounder around the edges - they're not as crisp or snappy as the Elex. There is more midbass, I think I prefer the 600 mids. I am enjoying the Elex a lot, but won't be putting my 600s away anytime soon.
Utopia isn’t a curse, people here aren’t listening to anything on meh gear. Anything that sounds good with an Elex will sound far better with a Utopia. You don’t have to have a 3F for the utopia to not sound mediocre
Spent a few days with the LIM/JOT2/Elex. The LIM will have go back to the living room in the coming days so I'm now flipping between the Geshelli J2 and the LIM in my suite. The J2 is pretty good. I had been thinking the Elex would require at least a BF2 to get me part way to the LIM. The J2 is a little less "fluid" and doesn't have the heft of the LIM. I'll keep flipping back and forth and see where it leads.
So with the HD600s I strongly preferred the ALLO S/PDIF on the G-J2 and on the Yggdrasil. I found the USB softer and less focused. With the Elex, USB on both is better. It reads as more substantial and spacious with the Elex. (Roon->W10->USB>G-J2 (BAL) | Yggdrasil LIM (SE) -> Jot2 -> BAL -> Elex.) I'm going to try @purr1n's magic USB card now.
Magic USB card installed. My preliminary impression with the card is that USB through the G-J2 and Y-MIL is more clear, spacious and substantial feeling than Mobo USB and the Allo S/PDIF. I'll test more and draw up a post for that thread.
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