Massdrop x Focal Elex Review and Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Dec 15, 2017.

  1. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

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    The elex will not eat into clear sales. It is about price segmentation. There are people ideologically opposed to spending over 1k on headphones, you read about it every time something is released at 1200, etc. (Klipsch anyone?). Focal gets the game and is releasing this to capture sales in the sub 1k bracket who haven't committed to items like on sale elear. Smart move.

    Also, my jaw dropped when I saw @Marvey v1 coupled csd. I have been on the fence about lcd-2c, aeon flow open, etc for something to tinker with. Glad I was waiting, this looks supreme, especially for simple level modification. Note: I prefer lower level listening so the excursion issues in bass don't give me too much worry.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2017
  2. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    I'm definitely in for one as I've been looking to add a can....just something to think about is.....is there going to be a 6-7 month wait like zdt jr. or will it be quick because its being manufactured by focal itself. Gotta check when the drop goes live. As much as I like andromedas....I'm starting to get the @Hands BA timbre allergy. This might fit the bill for the price.
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    If I was shopping for headphones in the $500-$1000 bracket, this would be my top pick.

    Why didn't Schiit just release the Magni 3 in the first place and not bother with the Magni 1, Magni 2 and Magni 2U? Product evolution is fine. Plus the Elear has its place at $1000 whereas the Clear is more expensive.

    I don't think everything needs its own thread. There's been several times where I've seen things go off topic and then just run out of inertia and goes back on topic. I have been in other forums where they take themselves way too seriously and moderate everything to death by moving or removing anything off topic. It winds up being a very humorless place and no fun. At SBAF, i came for the audio and stayed for the jokes.

    That being said, i should start a cookbook thread.
     
  4. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    I was just joking. Serious is not a word that has been used to describe me. :p. A cookbook thread sounds like a great idea. Help people from wasting money on some of those lousy books out there. At Changstar I came for the measurements and stayed for the shoutbox jokes.

    This is definitely an interesting headphone.
     
  5. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    Paul prudomme has some excellent Cajun cookbooks. Highly recommended
     
  6. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    Agreed Ray. ‘’Fiery Foods That I Love” is one I like a lot. Hot, but delicious with layers of flavor. Man, this thread is making me hungry.
     
  7. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Just adding my two cents. Mainly speculation based on measurements, impressions and my own Utopia and Elear impressions from a long time ago. In other words, exactly the content this thread doesn't need, but we're at three pages when it could've been just three posts, so it doesn't matter anyway.

    Also I'm actually kind of interested in the Elex myself because this seems like the first phone to actually go between the HD600 and the modded HD800. It's like the Utopia super light, after the Clear which is the overpriced Utopia light.

    The CSDs look better than they really are because the Elex has so much less energy between 3 and 7kHz on the foam coupler compared to the Utopia. Also what looks like a massive bump from 4-5kHz on the Utopia CSD makes the ringing at 4kHz look pretty bad on the coupler, but I thought this area was quite flat, at least on MuseWanderer's Utopia. So in reality the Utopia might have faster decay at that frequency than the Elex. Still, the Clear and Elear didn't have the bump in the impedance plots at 4kHz that the Utopia has, so maybe it does have less ringing at that frequency, while still being less tonally smooth in that region overall. In that regard I trust the dummy head measurements we have from Tyll and Jude the most, although Jude's measurements of the same phone are all over the place. I think he has posted 3 curves of the Utopia by now which all looked totally different, while Tyll always manages to get repeatable measurements that look the same. The dummy head measurements are much smoother in the 3-5kHz region on the Utopia than the Clear.
    On a more realistic rig the Utopia would most likely have the better FR and CSD measurements.

    What I find interesting is that with matched levels between 500Hz and 1kHz the Utopia actually has less energy throughout most of the 2-7kHz upper midrange region on the V2 coupler, but on the V1 coupler the Elex has less. Considering that the Elex and Clear virtually had an identical FR on Jude's rig that makes me think that something about the V2 coupler just isn't right. The V1 coupler much more closely correlates with Tyll's measurements here, which I still find the most accurate in terms of FR.

    I have a much more extreme example that I will probably post in a few days, but in that case it's two completely different headphones and one measurement on my head and the other on a flat plate coupler. In that example headphone A has about 4db more upper midrange between 1 and 3kHz on my coupler, while headphone B has about 2.5db more energy in the same area on my head. A difference of 6.5db between the two measurement methods. Subjectively headphone B had more energy in this region btw.


    I also still highly highly doubt the Elex hits Xmax at just 93db at 30Hz. That seems utterly ridiculous to me and there are three options which could explain that.
    1. Marv's measurements are not actually level matched to 90db. This seems very likely to me because the distortion measurements often look like Tyll's 100db plots or even worse, so the real level is probably around 100db or a bit higher. Yes, the type of coupler used can change distortion figures a bit, but not by that much in my experience, at least not the coupler Marv uses
    2. This unit is defective or some sort of dirt is stuck in the magnet gap. Unlikely.
    3. The driver is supposedly designed with a lot of Xmax in mind to get low extension. Yes, you need a lot of excursion with a 40mm driver for subbass, but even headphones that supposedly aren't designed with a lot of Xmax in mind don't have an issue with that.
    I still have my doubts if 105db or so in the sub-bass region is enough for a headphone to hit Xmax, but you never know. The HD800 doesn't have a problem with 105db. I actually just tested it and hit the xmax on mine at around 118db at 30Hz. On the HD600 it started to make weird noises after about 114db, so I stopped there. For science? lol Both still work fine
    That's on the V1 coupler, so maybe it can get a little louder on the head, which tends to measure with less distortion in the bass. Also I used the Vali for these tests and I had to crank it all the way up, so maybe it does go a little louder. I don't wanna try though.

    My listening levels rarely exceed 90dbA, but even then you can get bass content at over 100db, sometimes more than 105db. With Dire Straits - Ride Across The River at a 85dbA listening level (less than 95dbA peak), you get bass information down to 30Hz at over 100db and that's far from a bassy track. I haven't run into issues with the HD600 and HD800, so if the Elex couldn't handle that it would be pretty disappointing.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2017
  8. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    From my experience with the Elear, I don't think the xmax issue is exaggerated. I remember listening to Any God of Yours by Archy Marshall at slightly higher than normal volume shortly after getting my Elear and being greeted by molar rattling bass distortion that made me think my Vali 2 was about to explode when the bass kicked in (try at your own risk). I learned to be very careful with volume on the Elear after that, since the upper mid dip tempted me into turning the volume up without consideration. Since it seems like that dip has been remedied, might not be as much of an issue with the Elex. Don't think it's anything to be super concerned about unless you're trying to go deaf.

    I've got an Auteur incoming and very mixed feelings about my Elear experiences, but I've still got a good gut feeling about the Elex. If it strikes a good balance between the excessive body of the Elear and too little with the Utopia (based on my short audition), might be worth the money to try.

    It's a real shame I didn't sell my Elear already though... these Focal price fluctuations are getting silly.
     
  9. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Well, after doing some reading it looks like a few people mentioned it. That's a bummer. I wonder what the actual level is though, but around 105db now seems quite likely.

    Also after doing some more reading this is just an Elear with the new Clear pads, different cables and a new headband padding, along with a much better color scheme, right? At first I thought the baffle filter was different because @Tyll Hertsens' measurements of the Elear with Utopia pads looked so bad, but then I realized that those were most likely done with the same pads that made the Utopia measure so warm. Jude's measurements of the Elear with Utopia pads also looked fine.

    Just look at it:
    defective Utopia: https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FocalUtopia.pdf
    Elear with pads from the defective Utopia: https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FocalElearwithUtopiaPads.pdf
    Looks to me like the defective Utopia just had the wrong pads.

    Kind of makes me wonder how the Elex would compare to the Elear with HM5 pads or whatever the best affordable pads are.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2017
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Keep in mind the Elear has less bass roll off than an HD6*** yet at the same time, has a much smaller effective baffle. I'm glad that Focal could get the Elear / Elex to extend in the bass like this, but like with OB speakers, there Is a trade off for smaller baffles: more excursion at lower frequencies.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I was at the Source AV yesterday, and yes, the Elex is like an Elear with Clear pads. Note that the fuzzy fuzz Elear pads are of cheaper quality than the Clear pads though. The Clear pads exude higher luxury. They have perforations, seem to have thicker and higher quality material around the foam, and smell better.

    BTW, the Clear to me has the nicest tonal response among the Elear, Elex, Utopia. The Clear has more bass than Elex and less than Elear with Utopia's top end. Utopia is still best in terms of resolution, clarity, and transient response - but leaner in bass than Clear.
     
  12. ductrung3993

    ductrung3993 Facebook Friend

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    How would you compare the Elex vs HP3 and Auteur, @Marvey?
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Elex is like having sex with an athletic girl.
    HP3 is a girl with curves and a tatoo.
    Auteur is a more mature lady who knows how to take care of you, that is how to f**k.
     
  14. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    I take it that none of them is spouse material.
     
  15. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    HD650 isn't the prettiest but she's your best friend and will love you forever. :D
     
  16. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Or buy and sell when you fall in and out of infatuation with them.
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If you understand that all relationships are inherently dysfunctional, than any of them can work. Just have to be realistic and honest.

    That too.
     
  18. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    Brilliant. Based on this everyone out there should know which one sounds in what way. :bow:
     
  19. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    I'm not that bored. Or ugly.

    @insidious meme and @Marvey

    Divorce isn't my thing. I'm not rich enough. And there are gradations in the dysfunction. I can take some shouting at, as most married men, I can also take the lack of love sometimes, but that moment when everything clicks is what makes you realize it can work.
     
  20. HAL9000

    HAL9000 Almost "Made"

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    Smart boy! My first and last marriage cost me $1M for ONE YEAR of romantic fantasy. That was 20 years ago. High-end audio, all things considered, is more gratifying... and has a much lower risk profile :)
     

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