[treys1]

Personally I find the open back - closed back discussion a bit strange. You often see people saying 'oh, and I also want a closed/open back'. Like they absolutely need one of each.

To me, closed backs just serve a totally different use case. If you need sound insulation, you need a closed back. In all other cases, it is best to just go open back. You find more models. And, in general, you can get good sounding open-backs (e.g. Sundara) for less money than equally good sounding closed-backs.

Perhaps all this confusion comes from the fact that a lot of entry-level headphones are intended for portable use or not to disturb others (e.g. teens listening to music or gaming indoors). Which implies that most get into this hobby starting from closed-backs.

For me the reason to have both is exactly in what you said. Opens sound better, BUT sometimes you need isolation.

 

[Rackhour]

Personally I find the open back - closed back discussion a bit strange. You often see people saying 'oh, and I also want a closed/open back'. Like they absolutely need one of each.

To me, closed backs just serve a totally different use case. If you need sound insulation, you need a closed back. In all other cases, it is best to just go open back. You find more models. And, in general, you can get good sounding open-backs (e.g. Sundara) for less money than equally good sounding closed-backs.

Perhaps all this confusion comes from the fact that a lot of entry-level headphones are intended for portable use or not to disturb others (e.g. teens listening to music or gaming indoors). Which implies that most get into this hobby starting from closed-backs.

It's also preference. Some people like the sound made by closed backs, regardless of whether there's isolation or not. What sounds good or not gets subjective very fast.

And as for starting with closed backs, I think this depends on when a listener started getting interested. If you started getting into non-mainstream headphones from the 90s, chances are that you might've started with open-back earbuds or Koss lookalikes. But...if you started getting into this after the turn of the century, then your implication holds water. That's around when single-domed IEMs started replacing domed open earbuds at most stores. Right now, if I go to a major brick-and-mortar electronics shop, I may find only Apple AirPods (non pro) as the single open back on sale.

 

[pk4425]

Personally I find the open back - closed back discussion a bit strange. You often see people saying 'oh, and I also want a closed/open back'. Like they absolutely need one of each.

To me, closed backs just serve a totally different use case. If you need sound insulation, you need a closed back. In all other cases, it is best to just go open back. You find more models. And, in general, you can get good sounding open-backs (e.g. Sundara) for less money than equally good sounding closed-backs.

Perhaps all this confusion comes from the fact that a lot of entry-level headphones are intended for portable use or not to disturb others (e.g. teens listening to music or gaming indoors). Which implies that most get into this hobby starting from closed-backs.

Good points.

Another point to consider: Nearly all consumer-oriented headphones (i.e., wireless ANC) are closed-back. Many general consumers moving into the audiophile hobby have no idea open-back headphones exist. If all you've seen at your local Best Buy are closed-back Sonys, Beats, Boses and Audio-Technicas, then that's your knowledge of supposedly audiophile headphones.

 

[Rackhour]

Good points.

Another point to consider: Nearly all consumer-oriented headphones (i.e., wireless ANC) are closed-back. Many general consumers moving into the audiophile hobby have no idea open-back headphones exist. If all you've seen at your local Best Buy are closed-back Sonys, Beats, Boses and Audio-Technicas, then that's your knowledge of supposedly audiophile headphones.

I think a lot of that is because the mainstream idea of headphones is the ability to listen to your audio of choice no matter where you are. That was exactly Sony’s pitch with its first Walkman, as seen here https://www.soundandvision.com/content/flashback-1979-sony-s-iconic-walkman-born.

And if you look at that ad scan, the headphones on those are clearly not fully isolating. Listeners had their personally curated mix tapes and probably didn’t want to listen to whatever was being blared on loudspeakers. So that logically leads to the next question: how can consumers enjoy their music on the go with less external interference?

I was one of those people who had no idea open-backs existed, even though I’m old enough to have memories of using dome-shaped earbuds back in the 90s. I didn’t buy my own open-back over-ears while being fully aware of their existence until Amazon had its Black Friday sale for the HD598SE 10 years ago!

 

[gregcon57]

Good reasons for both! If I'm in a room with others, basically no one wants to hear the bleed from my open back Stax. Funny thing is, when I'm alone, I will likely opt to fire up my Vandy III Sig speakers. I enjoy the open back headphones, but rarely use them. Still, I'm not giving them up. It's a 'different' experience.

 

[Waddiewadkins]

Personally I find the open back - closed back discussion a bit strange. You often see people saying 'oh, and I also want a closed/open back'. Like they absolutely need one of each.

To me, closed backs just serve a totally different use case. If you need sound insulation, you need a closed back. In all other cases, it is best to just go open back. You find more models. And, in general, you can get good sounding open-backs (e.g. Sundara) for less money than equally good sounding closed-backs.

Perhaps all this confusion comes from the fact that a lot of entry-level headphones are intended for portable use or not to disturb others (e.g. teens listening to music or gaming indoors). Which implies that most get into this hobby starting from closed-backs.

Good points.

Another point to consider: Nearly all consumer-oriented headphones (i.e., wireless ANC) are closed-back. Many general consumers moving into the audiophile hobby have no idea open-back headphones exist. If all you've seen at your local Best Buy are closed-back Sonys, Beats, Boses and Audio-Technicas, then that's your knowledge of supposedly

I think a lot of that is because the mainstream idea of headphones is the ability to listen to your audio of choice no matter where you are. That was exactly Sony’s pitch with its first Walkman, as seen here https://www.soundandvision.com/content/flashback-1979-sony-s-iconic-walkman-born.

And if you look at that ad scan, the headphones on those are clearly not fully isolating. Listeners had their personally curated mix tapes and probably didn’t want to listen to whatever was being blared on loudspeakers. So that logically leads to the next question: how can consumers enjoy their music on the go with less external interference?

I was one of those people who had no idea open-backs existed, even though I’m old enough to have memories of using dome-shaped earbuds back in the 90s. I didn’t buy my own open-back over-ears while being fully aware of their existence until Amazon had its Black Friday sale for the HD598SE 10 years ago!

I was a Sony XM3 can man looking to make an instant jump into hyperspace sound quality. Didnt know a thing about closed backs..Almost got Shure 1840s cos they were in front of my face in a musical instrument shop. the reviews on them are so good i almost did but I just couldn't because I knew I would never use them walking around.. I tell you , when you realise this devious Catch 22 of audio quality life it comes as almost as an exquisite cosmic joke! Not to mention the price differentials to make the closed sound half as good. It was fun research , which led me to here, and perforated pads and quedelixEQing.. But it became summer and I went for Sennheiser IE600!.. now winter comes I've returned.

 

[csch92]

they are for like 400 in a norwegian hifi store right now. i am almost pulling the trigger one one

 

[bizkid]

I'm a fresh elegia owner and I'm loving them, even in stock form. I do get great seal and plenty of bass. I do noticed one thing however. They can be slightly sharp or harsh if you go with higher volumes and I don't mean crazy loud but more like 75db-80db and up. What's interesting is that they still behave like this after applying oratorys EQ preset. I could tame all kinds of headphones with crazy treble peaks by doing this, but the elegia doesn't even have them in stock form, at least not to extreme which would create sibilance or an offensive treble region and I was surprised to find out that even with the smooth and slightly warm Harman curve applied the aggressive character of the driver still comes through. After trying that I decided I prefer them without any EQ btw.

 

[peterinvan]

I'm a fresh elegia owner and I'm loving them, even in stock form. I do get great seal and plenty of bass. I do noticed one thing however. They can be slightly sharp or harsh if you go with higher volumes and I don't mean crazy loud but more like 75db-80db and up. What's interesting is that they still behave like this after applying oratorys EQ preset. I could tame all kinds of headphones with crazy treble peaks by doing this, but the elegia doesn't even have them in stock form, at least not to extreme which would create sibilance or an offensive treble region and I was surprised to find out that even with the smooth and slightly warm Harman curve applied the aggressive character of the driver still comes through. After trying that I decided I prefer them without any EQ btw.

I do not perceive any harshness with my setup. I don't use EQ as I stream 96 KHz FLAC directly from Tidal. Van Morrison sample:

https://tidal.com/album/279798686

iPad Pro > CayinRU6 > Meze 4.4mm balanced cable > Elegias with Dekoni Custom (Stellia) pads.

 

[bizkid]

Are those Dekoni Stellia Pads really worth it? I could have gotten the Celestee for the amount i will pay to add those pads. I have read that they mostly affect the bass in a positive way, but what about the lower mids (could have a bit more there) and upper mids (a bit less here would be nice)? The Celestee pads appear to be even better for the Elegia from reading a few comparisons in a german forum, but those are 200€ and are out for that reason (and the color mismatch).
I usually use Tidal in exclusive mode, that's why i don't use EQ besides for testing purposes.

 

[peterinvan]

Are those Dekoni Stellia Pads really worth it? I could have gotten the Celestee for the amount i will pay to add those pads. I have read that they mostly affect the bass in a positive way, but what about the lower mids (could have a bit more there) and upper mids (a bit less here would be nice)? The Celestee pads appear to be even better for the Elegia from reading a few comparisons in a german forum, but those are 200€ and are out for that reason (and the color mismatch).
I usually use Tidal in exclusive mode, that's why i don't use EQ besides for testing purposes.

I have learned that everyone’s ears are different. I paid full price for my Elegias when they first came out. I bought three Dekoni pads and sold the full sheepskins, and fenestrated sheepskin. The ”Custom” Stellia pads suit my ears best.

 

[samandhi]

Just a random fact: after seeing how Focal cans are named, I wondered what “Elegia” meant.

According to Wikipedia, it means “elegy” in Latin, which means:


So, in an alternate universe where sound signatures are defined by the names of headphones, one could say the Elegia sounds lamentable.

Maybe they were just calling them after a moth...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegia_(moth)

Are those Dekoni Stellia Pads really worth it? I could have gotten the Celestee for the amount i will pay to add those pads. I have read that they mostly affect the bass in a positive way, but what about the lower mids (could have a bit more there) and upper mids (a bit less here would be nice)? The Celestee pads appear to be even better for the Elegia from reading a few comparisons in a german forum, but those are 200€ and are out for that reason (and the color mismatch).
I usually use Tidal in exclusive mode, that's why i don't use EQ besides for testing purposes.

To me they are worth it just because they create (almost) an entirely different sound signature from the stock sound. Having said that, the pads not only help the bass by boosting it a bit, but these pads will also seemingly reduce the treble. I don't think it really does kill treble energy, but with boosted bass, you hear the treble less at similar volumes.

These pads will also push the entire mids back a bit (they are a mid-forward set as stock), but maybe you have a bad pair or something like that because the upper mids are almost nonexistent (others in this thread have also commented on this, so not just me ). I am VERY sensitive to upper mids (2K-5K) because they hurt my ears when even a bit boosted, but even I want this area boosted a bit more. Though I suppose this might be the "colorization" that your source (or mine) adds to them????

 

[Rackhour]

Does anyone know what the Elegia stock pads are made of?

 

[samandhi]

Does anyone know what the Elegia stock pads are made of?

I believe they are plush microfiber.

 

[peterinvan]

I believe they are plush microfiber.