Focal Elear vs Focal Spirit Classic

Hey guys (and @Marvey in particular ),

I need your opinion. I've got the HD650, I don't adore it, but I've kept it for its good treble. I also got Focal Spirit Classic, which isn't very bad either. I overall rate it higher than the 650 for tonality and dynamics. However, it's made in China. The drivers are fairly matched in terms of coil induction at 1khz, but going up or down from there each driver lives it's own life. To the point where the two channels are a tad out of phase at certain frequencies. Despite that, I've enjoyed it for some time, but I'd be happy to get something better. If not else, at least a better manufactured headphone. I'd be happy to dump 1K euro for the Elear (since it's manufactured in France), but I'm hoping whoever has experience with both of these two headphones could share some comparative impressions in terms of tonality and treble quality.

Thanks in advance!

 

Hey Besina,

Check out this thread on the Focal Elear here. Lots of impressions, and many specifically adressing the comparison to the HD650. Start at the end and work your way back in time to see most recent impressions. Once you get a handle of the impressions, feel free to ask questions in that thread.

I have found that the HD650 is a very amp dependant headphone, meaning that it works great with alot of amps, and sounds like poop with a few others (O2 & Liquid Carbon for example).

 

Hey Josh, thanks for you input on this. I actually just finished reading this thread I'm not interested in another HD650, I'm looking for a comparison between the Spirit Classic and the Elear. I also used to own HD800, LCD-2F/3F/X, AKGs, Beyer's and tons of other crap. Eventually I sold or gave away everything, except for the HD650. It's not a great headphone, but I like its presentation in the treble region.

I know about the audio chain, that's not the problem in my case.

 

Granted I own the HD 600, but as a LC owner I more or less agree with your description of the HD 6x0/LC pairing.

 

Er, what?

Maybe, I don't know, just buy an Elear and listen to it yourself? Money's clearly not an issue for you. Or maybe do a Google search on both of these headphones and collate the varying impressions? Certainly possible to form a working understanding of their respective strengths and weaknesses that way. And since you already have the Spirit Classic, you'd be ahead of the curve. Few people have Elears, even around here.

As it stands, this reads like just another pointless "scratch my itch" post. No thanks.

 

I believe I asked a very specific question in my first post, and you didn't provide a bit of useful information.

I've come to my senses. I don't want to make any more uneducated or ill-advised purchases. I couldn't find a decent comparison between the Classics and the Elears anywhere, hence I open up this thread. I've made my previous purchases based on people's impressions on head-fi, and had to sell the phones at a substantial loss.

For some reason none of the authorized dealer here have the Elear in stock and they're telling me they're not able to order a unit at the moment. The only option is to buy from French,German or UK shops.

My friend,you haven't got a clue how bad my audio itch is it burns deep inside. I think I can understand why my previous post probably came across as pompous and/or pretentious to you. That wasn't my intention. I am really looking for a particular piece of information.

Btw, the only reason I signed up at SBAF is that I accidentally discovered a bunch of sensible people here whose views in the audio world are somewhat aligned with mine.

Cheers.

 

While your question is specific - it doesn't necessarily make the answer any easier. The Focal Spirit Classic / Pro's are a bit of an odd closed / semi portable can here in America that didn't catch on to well, they were warm sounding, uncomfortable, not a very competitive value. How they compare to Elear remains to be seen, but my guess is that a $1000 open headphone is going to sound very different than a $300 closed in more ways than they are alike.

What Mr. Hux was trying to gently let you know if that the best info we have is comparing general headphone info, such as impressions and measurements. Check out innerfidelities measurements of the Focal Spirit Classics - here and the Focal Elear -(SBAF measurements) (IF here), but with all measurements I would warn you to take them with a grain of salt, measurements only tell part of the story.

Lastly, wasn't trying to imply that your amps weren't good enough for HD650, just that with the right amp its one of the best headphones out there, much better overall than Elear by most accounts here so far.

 

Josh, I appreciate your efforts to help me out. I understand what you're suggesting. I started this thread expecting there would be people here who'd own, or had a chance to compare both headphones, and share their subjective impressions in terms of tonality and treble quality.

 

Fwiw, I found the Spirit Pro to be a little recessed in the upper midrange and lower treble as well, with a small, narrow emphasis maybe around 4k, but nothing big enough to mitigate the broadband depression of 2-6k.

If I were to go off rough memory, I'd say the Elear is a little stronger out to 2k, but shows a little less energy at 3-4k.

Elear's bass extension makes every other dynamic open headphone sound anemic down low, and if I'm remembering correctly, is even a little stronger down low than the closed-back pro.

 

Hey Marvey, thanks for stepping in to share your experiences.

Agreed on all points. FSC, as @sorrodje mentioned above, have less upper mids emphasis. Other than that they are virtually the same to my ears.

I think I'm getting a feel for it. When you say FSP has rough mid-treble, i do agree, but is it really the same situation with the Elear? I'll share my experiences briefly, so that you can better understand what I mean. FSC treble is generally rough around the edges, but it's not annoying, it's not piercing or zingy per se. However, when people talk about "one note bass" I have somewhat similar feeling for the FSC treble - call it a single sample treble. Hd650 on the other hand doesn't have great treble definition either, but the treble is soft without being subdued and its most importantly nuanced. I can't stress this enough, its nuanced. A note here though, I've removed both the foam and the spider in front of the driver and cork covers the entire baffle, so the treble is a tad more forward and clearer than stock. So, is Elear suffering from the same issues as FSP/FSC?

And one last question... I know you have good gear and you've built zillions of speakers, like me, so I'm sure you're more than qualified to answer this. What about overall clarity? You know, I'm not referring to soundstage and upper midrange/treble trickery. Simply put, is the sound of higher definition than FSC and HD650? Do the sounds pop into existence, is there any hint of grain, do you have a sensation for instrument separation... Is the tonal decay better than with the other headphones. Stuff like that. Stuff that's hard to put into words, but I believe you will get me.

Thanks a lot!

 

Good info. Thanks.

 

That description sounds VERY promising for the Focal Elear hitting my preferences . I have the HD650 and I have owned all the FSP Series headphones from Focal and the Classics was my favorite. I found the FSP to be slightly to "glassy" and I preferred the Classic. The Elear seems to be the headphone that combines the strengths of the HD650 and the Focal Spirit Classics . Hopefully the Elear would be a BIG step up in comforts from the Focal Spirit Classics, and by all accounts its seems to be.

 

@Marvey, that was excellent feedback. Thank you for being pin-point specific. It feels, despite its shortcomings, that these headphones will be pleasant for listening all day long in the office. A unit is on its way.

Based on your impressions, this is the only concern I’ve got. Not sure if it’d be possible to rectify this issue. Anyway, despite some hiccups it seems to me this headphone is very good value for the money. I’ll report my impressions when it arrives.

If we ever have a chance to meet face to face, beers are on me! Thanks a lot for the help!

 

No

@Besnia I am looking forward to your and impressions and comparisons with the HD650 and Focal Spirit Classic.

 

@Eugene du Toit "glassy" that's a nice way to put it. That's exactly the word that first popped to my mind when I auditioned the phones in the shop

Unfortunately, you're probably right. Will share impressions as soon as they arrive in about a week.

Update: Turns out I paid for a preorder. First batch will arrive in early October. Darn!

 

Here you go: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ocal-elear-and-utopia.2270/page-35#post-74922