Elex and Eclair discussion thread

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Vtory, Apr 27, 2018.

  1. RedLipstick

    RedLipstick Acquaintance

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    I heard the Elear with the clear pads for several hours and to me it sounds just the same as my Elex.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes, but the grey would clash with black / silver and cause a disturbance in the Force. You'd end with a Kylo Ren, the Vader wannabe, instead a Vader headphone.

    Surely being on a limited budget, you'd rather re-double your efforts to ensure your Death Star system was appropriately decored. You don't want the Emperor getting mad.
     
  3. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    When he does, you end up with those wretched* things like the Darth Beyers (...)

    (*to be fair I haven't heard the Darth Beyers, only the Grado Vixens which were... well, let's say that's the only time I've ever heard a Grado so heavily modded and damped that it sounded like a muffled sock)
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I sent in my RS-2 and paid $$$ to get a Darth Vixen. When I got it back, my heart dropped. One of the big reasons SBAF exists today.
     
  5. Whatup69

    Whatup69 New

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    Yup FR on elex vs clear measures very similar but different damping on the elex vs elear (confirmed by MD) will affect transients/treble etc
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Can you post the source and explain how they differ in damping from each other? My Google Fu is not good. I just texted CEETEE, and he mentioned that he wasn't aware of this, but that Will might be. In any event, it's possible Focal did some tweaks to distinguish between Elear and Elex. I will have an Elear sent to me to measure. There are ways to measure transient response.

    It's important to distinguish how different and how much different between the sound of the Elex and Elear with Clear pads. Yes, FR is not everything.
     
  7. Whatup69

    Whatup69 New

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    https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdr...k/1913295?utm_source=linkshare&referer=R2P77C

    - Will's expanded comments regarding the Elex in the massdrop discussions section.

    "Focal was receptive to our proposal and over the next 8 months we worked to achieve these goals. To reduce the bass response and bring up the midrange, we changed the earpads to a similar style as the Clear while tweaking the damping scheme."

    Wasn't expanded in further detail how the damping was tweaked from Elear but I'm sure you may be able to find out more from asking Will directly.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'll measure it. It's not that I don't trust Will. I just like to find out for myself, using equivalent pads on both Elex and Elear.
     
  9. gLer

    gLer New

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    Very much looking forward to this comparison.
     
  10. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

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    This is especially interesting for all those that can't import the Massdrop Elex because of Focal.
    Yes, there are forwarding services but the total price after customs result in a "Elear+Elex pads" price. I'd rather do this
    and have local warranty and service.
     
  11. gLer

    gLer New

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    Exactly the situation I was in. Now can MD please drop more Elex pads - I need a spare pair for when this material disintegrates.
     
  12. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    How bad is the focal treble on these? Worse than the cheaper speakers without beryllium?
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Metallic timbre (slightly different from Be Utopia sound) and there is spike somewhere. Give me a minute to get EARS measurements, which I believe might show this better.

    Don't get me wrong, I love the Elex's transient response, overall capabilities has a headphone, and I do plan on making an Elex Love thread (as a counterpoint the HD650 Love thread), probably with mention of physical mods to tame Elex's more deleterious attributes.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Here we go. I think the SBAF compensated EARS is a lot more spot on in terms of accuracy. Straight vertical line across reflecting perceptual neutral makes it a lot easier.

    Note small spikes at 8-9kHz above the line. These are definitely audible and in the right spot.

    Elex EARS FR.png
     
  15. epicurean

    epicurean New

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    just got a pair of elex
    my early impressions
    (eitr->Gungnir Multibit->ZDS/lyr3)

    I like how dynamic they are

    I immediately felt like they were a step up from the hd650s i've been using a lot lately (unmodded), particularly in terms of bass and imaging
    the driver sounds faster and more detailed to me and the textures of certain sounds seem more real on these
    not as smooth sounding as the hd650, and i'd still give vocals to the sennheiser, but I found myself up til 2am listening to the elex


    I was thinking of trying a modded hd800 or hd800s next, but after hearing the elex i'm super interested in hearing what the utopia sounds like, god it's expensive though
     
  16. luckybaer

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    I understand that it isn't a cheap "mod," per se, but a cable upgrade does a lot to tame the deleterious attributes mentioned - metallic timbre and a treble spike. Moon-Audio's Black Dragon cable is a great fit for the Elex. Not only did it neutralize the metallic timbre (I was searching for words to describe what I heard, and this is perfect - thanks, Marv!) and treble spike. Plus, if you didn't like the unruly nature of the stock, flat cable, the Black Dragon cures that, too. It is a heavier cable, but it is a lot easier to loop and store (like good rope) than the stock flat cable.

    Just my two cents as an Elex owner.
     
  17. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Are you talking about the $385 Black Dragon cable? Cuz dang.
     
  18. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    Like I said, it isn’t a cheap mod, but it took the Elex to another level for me. I have no interest in spending on another set of cans. The Black Dragon Elex and the Silver Dragon HD650 are endgame for me.
     
  19. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    I'm interested in finding an amp that has good synergy with the Elex. I currently own the jot, which is too forward, and the valhalla2, which seems a little dry and soft in the bass. So, I'm wondering if either the Lyr 3 or the MCTH would be sensible in terms of synergy. Would these be a sidegrade to the valhalla2? I think I would like something with at least a little more tube magic than valhalla2. Something to tame the brightness of the Elex. What pairings are people using?
     
  20. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

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    I can only speak for the Lyr 3, which I quite enjoyed with my Elex. A really good value too, especially used.

    I moved to the Lyr 3 from the Jot, and for me it was an upgrade in every way (layering, soundstage, clarity, plankton, smoother treble) except for the bass. I was OK with the tradeoff.

    The Lyr 3 does seem to help with the Elex's brightness, but at the expense of sounding slower. For instance, the crunch from guitars was softer than Jot, so not a great pairing if you listen to a lot of solid state guitar (metal, etc).

    All said, I sometimes miss my Lyr 3/Elex pair. I'd say that my current amp (Liquid Platinum) has worse synergy with the Elex when it comes to brightness, even though it does much better w/ transients and decay. I hear so much more slam and "air" with the LP, but maybe because of such high fixed gain, the Elex sounds brighter than I would like. Ultimately I went with the LP because of its sum synergy with all my headphones.
     

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