Focal Elear and Utopia

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by SingSing, Jun 14, 2016.

  1. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Can you post a picture of the Utopia without pads?
     
  2. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    Utopia cup.jpeg
     
  3. Clear Water

    Clear Water Friend

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    I had difficulty with the amount of force it required to stretch the pads over the earcups. You basically just have to tell yourself that you're not going to harm the pads as you stretch them into place. I slipped the pads on from the top first (right under the headband) then along the sides about 1/2 way; then with the fingers of one hand you tightly hold the "slipped" portions in place while you pull like hell to get the remaining half to stretch over the remaining part of the earcup. It takes a few tries, but it definitely fits.
     
  4. pippenainteasy

    pippenainteasy Acquaintance

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    What do you think of the mod? Interesting aint it? The sound got a bit darker and the soundstage widens quite a bit IMO.
     
  5. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    this is precisely what Id want from the utopia. cant wait to try the pads myself. should be here this week

    Ive been experimenting with interconnects recently and been quite impressed by the different flavour that can be had with each.
    I have now: Cardas quadlink, Cardas neutral reference, Audioquest Water, Kimber Hero.
    my favorite match with the utopia are the AQ water so far!
     
  6. Cradon

    Cradon Acquaintance

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    I'm all for widening the soundstage and a bit more bass but I don't want a reduction in the highs and bass punch. Am I correct in my understanding that the latter two are affects of this mod?
     
  7. Johan

    Johan New

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    Yeah so i finally hear the elear today (no utopiy sadly)

    Wtf....? Is all i have to say, definitely not a fan. Tiny ass sound stage, annoying treble and the timbre is just fucked

    Ps. Am a hd650/hd800S fan boy
     
  8. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    After seeing the Elear being referred to as "The Uber HDxxx", I can't help but feel like it would be better described as "What the HD700 could have been".

    But yes, I did have to play around with stuff to stop getting string instruments sounding like they were made out of concrete. Love mine now though.

    Pad swapping and tube helps bring the Elear much more into good territory, but it's definitely not the same 'kind' of headphone as the HD6xx or the HD800/S, nor do I think it tries to be; that seems to be more the Utopia's position.

    Whats your chain, and what tracks are you using to test the Elear?

    Edit: also helps that the modding community is slowly starting to get into doing more stuff with the Elears. Not sure how long it took for stuff like the SBAF or Super Dupont mods for the Hd800s to become mainstream. But given the iterative improvements made to those over time compared to stock, and how now people basically consider comparisons to the stock HD800 as being 'unfair', I'm confident that I won't need to retire my Elears for a long time.
     
  9. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Not disagreeing but, I'm getting the impression that the Elear is quite gear dependent. So what you listened with I bet would make a difference. What was the gear used?

    Also the HD650 isn't a staging beast either, so I get why some say "super HD650". I don't, but I still get it...
     
  10. Johan

    Johan New

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    It was off of a mytek brooklyn, tried directly off of my LGV20 as well (which I find suprisingly good)


    The thing that bothered we was the timbre, it just seemed incorrect. I listened for like a good 30 minutes too. The sound improved as my ears adapted, but I was just overall unimpressed.

    side note, gorgeous build quality, puts sennheiser to shame, but a bit too heavy imo
     
  11. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    Mytek prolly isn't doing the timbre any favours, but the Elear mid suckout is most likely doing the brunt of fuckery.

    For the money I'd get a SDR modded 2nd hand HD800. Not as pretty, but does many things the Elear can't. For 500 used the Elear becomes a nice option. Just swap out the garden hose cable.
     
  12. Johan

    Johan New

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    Just re-read my post and I kind of made it seem like the elears are junk. To reiterate you can do a lot worse, A LOT WORSE, but just for their price I don't see them worth it at all compared to hd6xx/hd800S. I think you might be right, the sucked out mids kinda fucked up the timbre.

    Build quality is fantastic as i said though.

    Ps, yeah the garden hose cable is awful
     
  13. DaveB

    DaveB Acquaintance

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    Well that explains a lot. 800 rips my eardrums apart, 650 is falling asleep
     
  14. Gemini

    Gemini Facebook Friend

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    [​IMG]

    Focal Elear 2 / HD800 0, LCD2.2F 0


    The Elear is seriously disrupting my headphone collection. HD800 has been sold (for the second time). The LCD2.2F has also been sold.

    I gotta say the Elear is almost a game changer, with the caveat being the upper mid suckout that is most apparent with female vocals. It was weird when I first got them. I was constantly moving the volume dial up and down. I'd hear some female vocals and think, hmmm somethings lacking and push up the volume, then the bass and treble would kick in and I'd lower the volume, and so forth and so on.

    Not a deal breaker for me. I've gotten used to it and the Jotunheim's forward/bright sound is nicely synergistic with the Elear.
    The HD800 (stock), while the imaging and soundstage were fantastic, I couldn't overlook that treble spiking into my cranium. I pledge here and now, I will not buy another HD800.

    The LCD2.2F sounds decidedly mid-fi in comparison to the Elear. The Elear's bass is dry in a good way: tight and textured, whereas the LCD's bass is wet in a bad way: blurry and smeared. Soundstage and imaging are clearly better in the Elear. In fact, there's nothing the LCD does better.

    The Elear IMO is on the fringe of greatness. Maybe that title will go to the Elear MKII, but as is this fast dynamic phone driven by a fast dynamic amp sounds sublime. I haven't been this pleased with a can since I first heard the Stax 007mki.

    Mac AIFF->USB->Singxer SU-1->Bifrost Multibit->Jotunheim
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If you guys are running computer audio, just do EQ. No reason not to. Elear becomes pretty fantastic when EQ'd.
     
  16. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Totes, that and/or a pad swap for like 20 bones go a long f'ing way.
     
  17. Johan

    Johan New

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    EQ?? :confused::confused::confused:

    Jk, we 2017 now boys, eq shouldn't be a bad word
     
  18. Gemini

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    I've started playing around with the EQ on Fidelia. It does seem to help.
     
  19. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    I find that EQ changes the frequency response. As a result, music doesn't sound the same.

    :)
     
  20. DaveB

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    I agree. EQ'ing gear is to correct mistakes. They should try not to make mistakes that need to be corrected.
     

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