Focal Clear headphones
Oct 8, 2017 at 1:11 AM Post #212 of 12,500
I'm a bit curious because of what you said. The Elear isn't known for having incisive highs. I owned it for a couple of weeks. I'd go as far as saying it sounds a bit dull being driven from a tube/hybrid amp (Schiit Valhalla 2). Are you sure it isn't your amp that's messing with the headphones? (And I say this because I have heard the wonderful ZMF Eikon sounds intolerably bright from the Massdrop Cavalli hybrid amp. Oh god that amp is bright)

I listened to the Clear at RMAF. The highs of the headphones really aren't that different from the Elear (I think).

Would've been nice to also look a little more different. Maybe a little fancier grill pattern. Perhaps masonic triangle type grille :D
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 1:13 AM Post #213 of 12,500
Probably because I'm just relatively young and still sensitive to trebles. As for the tube amp...I've auditioned the WA7/WA8 with Elear and other cans yet I found the best pairing pair to be HD800, which is my daily driver. The Elear just respond to Wa7 in an odd way in my memory... sounds a bit muffled.
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 1:27 AM Post #214 of 12,500
The Elear just respond to Wa7 in an odd way in my memory... sounds a bit muffled.

Yes! You've found the problem with the Elear. On a more neutral/warm amp, its midrange is VERY muffled. I would say guess then that your Oppo HA-1 or Deckard are on the bright side and they bring out the sibilance in the headphones. I suspect Audeze's products too. The LCD-XC, for example, is sibilant.

You should find a way to audition the Clear on a tube amp (or something neutral, really) before you take the plunge :)
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 1:35 AM Post #215 of 12,500
You should find a way to audition the Clear on a tube amp (or something neutral, really) before you take the plunge :)
If I wanna take a plunge I would let it hit hard: get Utopia instead! :smile_phones:

@mahesvara I just can't live under the fiery Audeze-fear of having driver failure every time I put them on. Plus the 600 gram is gonna crush my neck eventually :floatsmile:
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 2:05 AM Post #216 of 12,500
I'm curious to hear if there is more resolution. My only gripes with the Elear were worked out in the response curve with the Sonarworks plugin. The cables and case are a great addition, but Im curious how much of the extra cost over the Elear is down to the case and cables, and how much actually went to improvements in the headphone. I'd be curious if the Clear pads balance out the Elear frequency curve a bit.

After buying aftermarket balanced cables for the Elear, and getting them in the September trade in discount, I don't feel like there's enough in it for me to 'upgrade', but if I hadn't already got the Elear, I'd probably be ordering them right now...
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 5:13 AM Post #220 of 12,500
Probably because I'm just relatively young and still sensitive to trebles. As for the tube amp...I've auditioned the WA7/WA8 with Elear and other cans yet I found the best pairing pair to be HD800, which is my daily driver. The Elear just respond to Wa7 in an odd way in my memory... sounds a bit muffled.
I find it puzzling that you think the Elear is uneven and shrill, but you're OK with the HD800. I tried them side by side (also own the Elear) and I just found the HD800 painful to listen to. Both driven by a HA-1.
With that said, the HA-1 sounds a bit unrefined in the treble compared to my Chord Hugo, but not near as bright or fatiguing as the HD800.
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 5:48 AM Post #221 of 12,500
I find it puzzling that you think the Elear is uneven and shrill, but you're OK with the HD800. I tried them side by side (also own the Elear) and I just found the HD800 painful to listen to. Both driven by a HA-1.
With that said, the HA-1 sounds a bit unrefined in the treble compared to my Chord Hugo, but not near as bright or fatiguing as the HD800.

I agree with you Makne, I have the same experience, e.g. my HD 800 is too bright for listening to metal, e.g. listening to Summoning (atmospheric black metal) with them gives me a headache.
Also with my gear, the HD 800 have their renowned huge soundstage, but still poor imaging (same with HD 800S which I heard at a show driven with Queststyle QP2R), and for metal really do lack slam, even with my iFi Pro iCAN, etc. (I have the impression it would be the same with HD 800 S, but because I don't own the S, I could only listen to music which is not mine, and not even metal).
Also my HD 800 has less detail than my Elear with my gear, not to speak of comparing them to the Utopia, but it all depends on which gear one uses to listen to them, some gear might not be scale up and be revealing enough.

For me personally (with my own gear) my Utopia and even my Elear widely superseded my HD 800, which are still a collector piece in my collection but to which I don't listen much, but of course some might still like to listen to them a lot (e.g. for classical or folk music, or re. their huge size for people with big ears, etc.)

Re. the Clear, I had post Focal a feedback in the spring that I was interested in newer versions:
- with a headband construction allowing them to fold flat like Oppo's hps, allowing them to be easily transported with so little space, so practical for daily transport
(I use to take the Oppo PM-2 every day to work, now I am doing this with the Elear)
- ideally BT.
I am still waiting for a Focal which can fold flat, so I probably will only buy the carrying case in the short term
(and maybe the Clear earpads).
Though if I didn't own already the Elear, I would buy the Clear.
(I doubt the Clear will come close to the potential of the level of detail and cleanness of my Utopia, because e.g. with my RME ADI 2 Pro my Utopia is far above my Elear).
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 5:49 AM Post #222 of 12,500
Probably because I'm just relatively young and still sensitive to trebles. As for the tube amp...I've auditioned the WA7/WA8 with Elear and other cans yet I found the best pairing pair to be HD800, which is my daily driver. The Elear just respond to Wa7 in an odd way in my memory... sounds a bit muffled.
That is because the Elear already have a MASSIVE dip in the mids/highs (4-7kHz are down by almost 20dB), so if you roll them off further with tubes... Well, do the math :)
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 5:54 AM Post #223 of 12,500
I find it puzzling that you think the Elear is uneven and shrill, but you're OK with the HD800. I tried them side by side (also own the Elear) and I just found the HD800 painful to listen to. Both driven by a HA-1.
With that said, the HA-1 sounds a bit unrefined in the treble compared to my Chord Hugo, but not near as bright or fatiguing as the HD800.
The HD800 has a more even response than the Elear, relatively speaking, so in my experience, with the right kinds of music/properly mastered, and especially if you are using them on the WA7, they can be very reasonable, and not come off as piercing at all.
That being said, with bright tracks on a SS amp, the can take your head off if you are listening very loudly. But your hearing/taste may vary :)
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 6:10 AM Post #224 of 12,500
I agree with you Makne, I have the same experience, e.g. my HD 800 is too bright for listening to metal, e.g. listening to Summoning (atmospheric black metal) with them gives me a headache.
Also with my gear, the HD 800 have their renowned huge soundstage, but still poor imaging (same with HD 800S which I heard at a show driven with Queststyle QP2R), and for metal really do lack slam, even with my iFi Pro iCAN, etc. (I have the impression it would be the same with HD 800 S, but because I don't own the S, I could only listen to music which is not mine, and not even metal).
Also my HD 800 has less detail than my Elear with my gear, not to speak of comparing them to the Utopia, but it all depends on which gear one uses to listen to them, some gear might not be scale up and be revealing enough.

For me personally (with my own gear) my Utopia and even my Elear widely superseded my HD 800, which are still a collector piece in my collection but to which I don't listen much, but of course some might still like to listen to them a lot (e.g. for classical or folk music, or re. their huge size for people with big ears, etc.)

Couldn't disagree more strongly with all of that... Apart from maybe at times a warmer sound can be nice when wanting to blast things that are poorly mastered/recorded on full tilt (as one is inclined to with metal, which pretty much across the board suffers from some of the worst mastering as the loudness war database can attest to).
Both the Elear and the Utopia have quite poorly controlled impulse responses, likely due to the powerful magnetic array overshooting, much like the T1, and in the Elears case, they have a slower initial peak response too... But as a result they do come off as warmer, more full bodied - sort of like what the HD800S is doing.

But I suppose we canjust be happy there are good headphones for everyone's tastes these days :)

Also along the lines on your idea of folding Elears, I do agree Focal should look into make some high end portable/closed cans... I love the Fostex Biocellulose drivers to death, but we could use some new blood in the high end closed dynamic world!
 
Oct 8, 2017 at 9:43 AM Post #225 of 12,500
I'm curious to hear if there is more resolution. My only gripes with the Elear were worked out in the response curve with the Sonarworks plugin. The cables and case are a great addition, but Im curious how much of the extra cost over the Elear is down to the case and cables, and how much actually went to improvements in the headphone. I'd be curious if the Clear pads balance out the Elear frequency curve a bit.

After buying aftermarket balanced cables for the Elear, and getting them in the September trade in discount, I don't feel like there's enough in it for me to 'upgrade', but if I hadn't already got the Elear, I'd probably be ordering them right now...
Did Sonarworks add the Elear to their list..or did you have it custom calibrated?

Bern
 

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