The Elear is the outsider of Focal’s lineup. There is without a doubt an upper mid dip on these so they don’t work with all things. I am absolutely in the minority here but the Elear is still a favorite of mine. I found the Elex a bit too metallic in the upper mids and I’m older with diminished upper register hearing. I’ve owned the Clear OG and MG but honestly, I prefer the more somewhat relaxed nature of the Elear up top. I think the Elear was an odd step for Focal and it was IMO anyway, Focal’s way of experimenting with their approach as the Clear came out soon after and was the apparent “sweet spot” for many Focal lovers. The Elear did have some driver issues which carried over to the Elex as well so that didn’t help things. However, if you can find a good set at a good price it’s worth having in the collection. Funny thing is that the Elex is the Elear with essentially Clear pads and a black color way so it’s interesting how much the pads do change the signature quite a bit. Not an all-a rounder really but very fun to have for the right occasion.
I've been using mine for 2 years now with open ear harmon eq and these are truly something special for the price. Worth every penny of the $350 I spent on them and likely to be my only focal as they are normally way out of my price range (within $500). For the money if you want something with truly good dynamics and musicality, I don't think you can do much better for the price.
Great review. In a hifi show I had a chance to compare the Elear, Clear and Utopias. Elear is great with any kind of music and lesser quality recordings. Clear is a nice step up in clarity and would be my recommendation. Utopia is excellent and very revealing and shines with good recordings. Clears are more forgiving. In the end I picked the Beyerdynamic T1.3 which I find more musical, deeper soundstage and more precise imaging. I may enventually get a pair of Clears to complement the T1.3.
Exactly ! I also have an Elear with Elex pads , and i can say they are very good overall . In Equalizer APO , try to apply low shelf filter on one highmid frequency, the voice will get more body . At least is what i did , and works well for me .
It even looks like an Elex. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the exact same headphone. Will you be reviewing the Nighthawk soon? I'm waiting with bated breath for that one.
@MrAyrit from eBay, but I'm so disappointed. They came today but the left driver isn't working. I took them apart, and the coil wire is broken at the connection board.
Can you suggest any warm sounding headphone around or below $100 with great bass quantity and quality with texture, lush midrange and smooth but not bright treble, also the overall note weight should be a bit thick sounding. I have Hidizs S9 Pro Dac/amp and it is a bright, cold, analytical sounding Dac and not enough musical for me so need to pair it with a good warm, thick sounding headphone I don't want micro details all that in the treble region but a full bodied sound with good macro details and warmish, analogue sound. Great bass is a must at least for that price bracket. I already have Cooler Master MH630 but I want something that makes me go "WoW"
My favorites under $100 would be the SHP9600 and Porta Pro--both tilt warm (although neither are super resolving). If you don't mind iems, you could look at the Starfield and it will be technically superior to the other two.
@@MrAyrit Thanks a lot man. I appreciate it. I have many IEMs and was looking for a warm headphone. Never tried Koss Porta Pro. May be I'll give that a try as SHP9600 is too expensive for me and they are priced at more than $200(USD) on our county's Amazon
The Elear is the outsider of Focal’s lineup. There is without a doubt an upper mid dip on these so they don’t work with all things.
I am absolutely in the minority here but the Elear is still a favorite of mine.
I found the Elex a bit too metallic in the upper mids and I’m older with diminished upper register hearing.
I’ve owned the Clear OG and MG but honestly, I prefer the more somewhat relaxed nature of the Elear up top.
I think the Elear was an odd step for Focal and it was IMO anyway, Focal’s way of experimenting with their approach as the Clear came out soon after and was the apparent “sweet spot” for many Focal lovers.
The Elear did have some driver issues which carried over to the Elex as well so that didn’t help things.
However, if you can find a good set at a good price it’s worth having in the collection.
Funny thing is that the Elex is the Elear with essentially Clear pads and a black color way so it’s interesting how much the pads do change the signature quite a bit.
Not an all-a rounder really but very fun to have for the right occasion.
I've been using mine for 2 years now with open ear harmon eq and these are truly something special for the price. Worth every penny of the $350 I spent on them and likely to be my only focal as they are normally way out of my price range (within $500). For the money if you want something with truly good dynamics and musicality, I don't think you can do much better for the price.
Great review. In a hifi show I had a chance to compare the Elear, Clear and Utopias. Elear is great with any kind of music and lesser quality recordings. Clear is a nice step up in clarity and would be my recommendation. Utopia is excellent and very revealing and shines with good recordings. Clears are more forgiving. In the end I picked the Beyerdynamic T1.3 which I find more musical, deeper soundstage and more precise imaging. I may enventually get a pair of Clears to complement the T1.3.
Exactly ! I also have an Elear with Elex pads , and i can say they are very good overall . In Equalizer APO , try to apply low shelf filter on one highmid frequency, the voice will get more body . At least is what i did , and works well for me .
It even looks like an Elex. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the exact same headphone.
Will you be reviewing the Nighthawk soon? I'm waiting with bated breath for that one.
It’s on my list. Just haven’t sat down and done it. Been playing with other things. Rest assured it will be a very positive review.
I'm looking forward to getting my pair. I just found an open box for $150
That’s a screaming deal. From where?
@MrAyrit from eBay, but I'm so disappointed. They came today but the left driver isn't working. I took them apart, and the coil wire is broken at the connection board.
@@eh7378 Bummer, man.
Can you suggest any warm sounding headphone around or below $100 with great bass quantity and quality with texture, lush midrange and smooth but not bright treble, also the overall note weight should be a bit thick sounding. I have Hidizs S9 Pro Dac/amp and it is a bright, cold, analytical sounding Dac and not enough musical for me so need to pair it with a good warm, thick sounding headphone
I don't want micro details all that in the treble region but a full bodied sound with good macro details and warmish, analogue sound. Great bass is a must at least for that price bracket. I already have Cooler Master MH630 but I want something that makes me go "WoW"
My favorites under $100 would be the SHP9600 and Porta Pro--both tilt warm (although neither are super resolving). If you don't mind iems, you could look at the Starfield and it will be technically superior to the other two.
@@MrAyrit Thanks a lot man. I appreciate it. I have many IEMs and was looking for a warm headphone. Never tried Koss Porta Pro. May be I'll give that a try as SHP9600 is too expensive for me and they are priced at more than $200(USD) on our county's Amazon
@@sorcerermax5111 amzn.to/3yupx8N $35 on Amazon right now, but it goes down to $20 on a pretty regular basis if you keep an eye out.
Philips x1 is warm, its warm.