Charming how "kerfuffled" the Elears have Tyll. I've reviewed them and the Utopia for The Verge and share his giddy enthusiasm. These are special headphones.
Unfortunately, they use a different connector on the Utopia though. Not sure why. But yeah, any aftermarket cable for the Sony Z7 will work with the Elear. I'm going to run my Elear balanced.
That's not 100 percent accurate. I was told on HEAD-FI.org that the aftermarket KImber kable for the MDR-Z7 wouldn't work on them. I guess once someone tries and verifies we will know the truth.
I've had my Elear for a week now and its easily the best headphone I've owned. I thought my Nighthawk was the bees knees but after listening to these the NH sound to dark now when it never did before. Best $1000 headphone there is imo because the HD800 is to analytical for my taste.
Was just previously watching a more detailed review of build, materials used and design aesthetics on Elear along with ultra high end Utopia, have to say Wow! They are super impressive. Think they are one of the most beautifully built/looking headphones that I have laid my eyes upon. Having a listened to your high praise with the audio makes me want to audition them as soon as they come out.
When Tyll states the Elear is a bit on the warm, laid-back side of the spectrum coupled with their punchiness and dynamism as opposed to his comments that the Utopia is a bit bright and he found himself wanting a tad more bottom end, the process of diminishing returns springs forth from this audiophile's brain and whereby I'm usually not satisfied with anything but a company's TOTL can, I'm certainly not going to trade up from my HE1000 V2 to the Susvara and I'm definitely leaning towards saving myself 3 grand and buying the Elear. I know that both Tyll and Todd the Vinyl Junkie can't think of enough superlatives regarding the Utopia but when you live in the 60's to mid-70's as I do, both musically as well as mentally, Rock oughtta sound pretty damn good on a pair of these babies. The only other necessary option, besides excellent amplification of course, would be copious inhalations of medicinal herb.
The 13-second moment at 6:52 where the quality of these headphones permanently registers in Tyll's brain. And then again at 7:55, where he just starts swooning and goes off-script. Congrats to Focal on leading with quality instead of hype or "brand identity". I hope they are rewarded for their efforts and do well with the Elear and their other models.
You should mention what equipment you're using to review these, and maybe which music you used. The full InnerFidelity review may say, but it needs to be here.
I've been getting a bit bored of my HD700's for a while now. The comfort being the only thing that's making me stick with them. I think I've just been finally persuaded to upgrade.
Damn it, same here. Gotta sell some cans off. I listened to the Utopia at a meet the other week and man it was on point with the bass, mids and treble. The Elear was there too but didn't get a chance to listen to them because everyone was wanting to listen to those since they're the more affordable one. HD700's are ok once you get used to the sound. But it's the dang pad design that's causing it to have that hollow resonance sound instead of a more natural sound.
I disagree. I own both and the HD 700 are much lighter and therefore much more comfortable. But these do best the HD 700 in overall sound. Where the HD 700 can get a bit trebly and hot in the treble with certain music, this one is an amazing all rounder. Trance, rap, rock, vocals, orchestra, classical no matter what you throw at it, it's superb. The HD 700 is definitely far more comfortable and I do miss the light weight as I wear them 2-3 hours at a time and thus I can notice the difference. But I prefer the Elear for sound for everything.
Just have the new Rega Planar 3 and an Audio GD NFB-1AMP, looking for headphones at the 1k price range...I guess this Focal have my name on it :) PS: Keep doing this great job, you're the best reviewer, and the only one who I trust, we have almost equal tastes for sound.
I was hesitant when i first heard of these 2 new headphones from Focal (especially the $4000 one)-- downright dismissive.. but if u say so, Tyll.. il try em. One question: How do they hold up against the HD800S?
The bass is very tight and it can play the low frequency bass at the same time. That is the impressive. The soundstage is very nice, and it is like to stand in front of an very high end speakers! I like my Audioquest Nighthawk and HD 700, but Elear is ALL you need. Super good comfort, perfect bass for all, big soundstage. Low, mid and high sounds like a good "team" :p I use Audio-GD 27 2015 DAC/AMP :)
thanks ... i will check it on my lokal retailer. So much positive feedback about this headset. I was thinking about Grado GS2000 and HD800s ... but it seems that the Elear will win the race.
They are gorgeous, they look like an amazing $2000+ set imo. And it sounds like the performance is right up there too! Is there any newer model that's better than these now? On a side note, I saw someone selling the Utopia packaging box for $298 on Amazon, I'm not sure why anyone would want the box but I guess they do. 🤣
More seriously now, even 2 years later you are still right, the Focal Elear remains imho one of the best looking can out there. To address your question the answer is (for the time being) no, Focal has not come out with a successor to the Elear yet. Just to make it clear the Clear (no pun intended) may be closely related to the Elear but not enough to be considered a direct descendant, it's more like a distant cousin. I think Focal wanted to leave no doubts regarding the relation between the two by giving the Clear a different color and packing a $500 bundle of cables and a carrying case to justify such a price difference. Since the Clear Focal has released three models, all closed-backs: the Elegia, so far the only audiophile-class native Focal (native as opposed to a Drop model) to be launched at less than $1,000. Then came the $3,000+ Stellia, one of if not the best closed-back phone ever made, and finally the Radiance, in essence a Bentley-themed glorified Elegia. As mentione above Focal collaborated with Drop to make the Elex, a sort of discount cross between the Elear and the Clear which comes with good sound but the build and finish is not Focal-class and there are durability issues with them, from what I hear. It is possible that the Elear could remain the sole member of its lineage so to speak.
Tyll, thank you for your reviews! Lots of people start to mention Kennerton Vali as a main Elears competitor. Main Vali advantage is 50mm driver unit to Elear 40mm. And as a result with same clarity and punchiness Vali performs deeper and more controled mid/sub bass with slightly more quantity. Ofc in terms of design Elear looks like next gen tech and Vali looks like oldschool torture device but designed to last forever :). What is your opinion about Vali-Elear comparison? Maybe Kennerton Odin is a good competitor of Utopia and Mr. Speakers Ether Flow?
Tyll, even if I could afford the Elear with the current USD-AUD exchange rate, I'm not sure that I really need a headphone that threatens to blow an eye out :D Seriously, you've put a lot of the usual upgraditis on hold with this review. I had a run-in with one of the more argumentative types on HF a few years back when I said that I felt that several of the established audio companies would have the talent in-house to build seriously capable headphones/headamps - he maintained that they just couldn't put the necessary R&D into a project when they wouldn't make much money from the end result. I have no idea what Focal's margin is on a thousand dollar unit (headphone/speaker/whatever), but I assume they plan to sell a lot of these. Thanks for the review.
I have the B&W P7 wired (saw your review) but I'm looking to upgrade while staying close to the same sound signature. Do u think the Elear would be a good choice?
German Senns, Beyers and Ultrasones...Austrian AKGs, American Grado and Shures, Japanese Audio Technicas, Chinese Hifi-Mans...Oh shit here come the French! Unseating the pushing aside the hall of fame. Crazy stuff. I would sure hope the Focal Elear and Utopia will push down the price of some of these other great headphones. A guy can dream.
Tyll, can you please elaborate more on the meaning of "dynamic"? I think it would be nice if the charts also include the level of sound leakage for the cans at maybe 90db. Thank you very much for you insights.
Hey Tyll, thanks for doing this review. I was wondering if the aftermarket cables for the MDR-Z7 would work with the Elear? I have the Kimber/Sony, and it would be wonderful if it could be dual purposed... Also, how well does this headphone scale? And I know its over generalization, but would you favor a solid state or a tube amplifier? I know, I know, life is more complicate then option A or B, but you know, you get what I'm wondering...
Hi Tyll. Love your headphone reviews, think I will buy the Focal Elear, thanks for the info/reviews. Do you still recommend the Focal Elear headphones in the $1000.00 price range or is there one you like better? I like 50s' & 60s' classic rock and some easy listening music and really all types of music except classical, also I like a lot of bass as long as it is clean sounding. What would you recommend? Also, I purchased the Oppo 205 4K Blu-ray player recently, it has a very good dedicated headphone amp built into the player, it also has two XLR (3 pin) "outs" on the back of the unit. If I were to cut off the 1/4" pin on the Elear headphones and terminate the wire ends with XLR connectors (like you said) would it be OK to plug the headphones directly into the back of the Oppo or do I need a separate audio device between the player and the headphones? Do you have a DIY video that shows how to terminate the headphone wires with XLR connectors? Could I hire you to do it for me? Thanks for the info/reviews, keep up the good work, Mike ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IX5NnGuiELU.html
mj d you can't plug into the xlr outs on your player, they are just for passing the signal to an amp, or in the case of wanting to use headphones, a headphone amp. You will damage your headphones if you try it. As far as the elears still being a good choice, I don't think you would be disappointed, great bass extension and impact. Haven't heard another headphone that has as much punch and as much detail at the same time as the elear.
We all want to know.. HD800 or these? In your description it sounds like these have a more dynamic and fun sound as the 800s are known to have that "Typical flat ultrawide soundstage" most audiophiles go for, is owning both worth it? Like, do they offer different things?
***** Sorry, but in my country none of the stores here will have any of these in a million years, the only way for me to listen to them is to actually order them online, and if I don't lke them then too bad because the mail system here is shit and I can't send them back, so the most that I can do is try to find someone hose opinion I trust to make my choice.
I'm looking for a $1000 headphones right now, and I was thinking heavily about getting the Oppo PM1. For the last 2 years or so, I've been using a heavy equalized Sennheiser HD 700. I simply can't listen to it if I don't flatten the frequency response line. Anyway, it's just not the right one for me. I'll end up selling it to help paying for the new cans. Any advice between this Focal headphones or the PM1? I like a warm or neutral sound headphones, with a nice bass (provided by those planar magnetic cans), but comfort is something EXTREMELLY important to me. Audezes are potato heavy in my opinion, although I regret to this day having chosen the HD700 instead of an LCD-2 years ago. Nothing with too much treble either. It hurts my ears.
@Rafiq Suhd I owned both parallel and the X2 had to leave. It is ongoung a great headphone but the Elear sound in all disciplines better for my taste. Much more dynamic and a faster punch as with the X2. The Elear sound great. I als like it more than the Utopia. They are a little to emphasized in the upper mids and lower highs. The Elear sound in the Utopia housing. That would be great. ;)
Man I heard this argument a thousand times . Lets see he-5 he-5le he-6 he-400 lcd-2 lcd-3 all the greatest ever until it's not. meanwhile losing hundreds if not thousands in the process. being yummy one day and then yucky the next. do you know what the hall of fame is in any other category? lets say NFL, Joe Montana get voted in one day and then kick out the next just because Steve young is now in? so that means Joe is out right ? You pushed the LCD-2 and 3 hard, wall of fame status and now their out? the same with HD800 etc. now these focal elear's are on the ever rotating wall ( for how long?) . At least remove the old videos saying so but instead they are the first that open up when you search LCD-2 or LCD-3 or HE-500 HE-6 or HD800 . I know the hobby/ technology sat around for a long while before someone started to pay attention to it and then boom everybody and their cousin joey started making them, every week there's a new high dollar champ that make the wall. Make the wall mean something and pick them over a period of time . NFL doesn't pick a hall of famer for best the best player that week that month or that year. How does it work does a manufacture give you a set of headphones and a briefcase full of money and depending on the size of briefcase is how long it lasts on the wall? because that makes more sense . when I saw the LCD-4 review I finally saw honesty at the end are focal's going to be another LCD-3?
It is not a "waste" if you like what you buy. I mean he is a headphone reviewer- what does that entail other than buying and reviewing headphones. I do not get your criticism.
As far as sound the lcd 2 is heftier and had a more liquid like sound. The Elear is on the drier side, but sounds lighter and slightly faster. When it comes to comfort the Elear is superior to the lcd 2. It's far lighter and has very spacious ear ups
baaah Ultasone is the worst ,should be at 300$ price range , I'll take focal Elear over hd 800, beyer t1, fostex th900, he 1000 and lcd 4, I'm not joking
Hello Tom: Excellent and very informative reviews. These Elear or Sennheiser HD800S, as stand alone headphones without any amps and such, while on the move outdoors, travel, is one still able to appreciate their sound quality? Thank you.
