Focal Headphones Owners & Discussion Thread

[mugwampjism 31]

Hi guys!

 

Hey has anyone noticed that the new Elear from Addicted to Audio are numbered?

 

I checked around on some pics online and they don't seem to have always been like that? Anyone know about this?

 

Fwiw, I like it!

I will always be no.152 in Australia!

 

[elisix_ 119]

I've only recently picked up the HD6XX and paired with an iFi HipDAC. So far it's been great. It's quickly dawned on me that these won't be appropriate we return to work in the next month or so.

 

I was in A2A today to pickup an optical cable for my new KEF LSX and I raised the point above, to which they advised the Focal Elegia were an incredible option. HD6XX for home, Elegia for work.

 

I was on my way out the door so I didn't give it too much thought, but after youtubing these tonight I think they will be a great option, especially at this price point, paired with the HipDAC for work.

[zxSwifty 48]

On 26/04/2020 at 7:56 PM, Bengineer said:

ZMF aren't the boring old dynamics

Got the Stellias today after demoing the Utopias aswell, I'm in love. Unfortunately there wasn't a demo pair of the cascades available  

 

edit: was meant to quote you recommending the cascades.

Edited May 9, 2020 by zxSwifty

[gwurb 174]

7 hours ago, elisix_ said:

which they advised the Focal Elegia were an incredible option. HD6XX for home, Elegia for work.

I got closed back so I could listen without everyone else listening to my music  I find that IEMs are just not as comfortable and don't have the same bass kick as over ear cans so cans win it for me.

 

Focals may have a very different sound to HD6XX so you may want to listen to them to see if you like them?

Edited May 9, 2020 by gwurb

[gwurb 174]

4 hours ago, zxSwifty said:

Got the Stellias today after demoing the Utopias aswell, I'm in love.

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/focal-stellia-review
 

You are not alone in thinking they are better than Utopias.

[Bengineer 650]

4 hours ago, zxSwifty said:

Got the Stellias today after demoing the Utopias aswell, I'm in love. Unfortunately there wasn't a demo pair of the cascades available  

 

edit: was meant to quote you recommending the cascades.

Well then. That's a very different price point

 

Cant really get a better closed headphone than the Stellia (or Verite Closed). Nice one!

[zxSwifty 48]

10 hours ago, Bengineer said:

Well then. That's a very different price point

 

Cant really get a better closed headphone than the Stellia (or Verite Closed). Nice one!

Yes it is haha, I'd love to give the cascades a try still. The guy at the store was telling me that I should upgrade to a high end DAP like the m11 pro, m15, sp1000/m/2000 etc. Do you think this is right? I'm running it off a ha2se atm and enjoy it but find it cumbersume.

 

Anyone here use stellias portablely?

[Bengineer 650]

A good DAP will beat the HA2SE. It is a good unit, but aging now.

 

Depends what you do, stream or play local files.

 

Stellias easy to drive.

 

A Sony 507 will give them a warmer tilt.

 

M11 is feature rich and good price.

 

A&K have excellent units, the new SR25 I'd out soon, but A2A is clearing out some older stock for good prices.

 

Stellias deserve a good source for sure 

[zxSwifty 48]

2 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

A good DAP will beat the HA2SE. It is a good unit, but aging now.

 

Depends what you do, stream or play local files.

 

Stellias easy to drive.

 

A Sony 507 will give them a warmer tilt.

 

M11 is feature rich and good price.

 

A&K have excellent units, the new SR25 I'd out soon, but A2A is clearing out some older stock for good prices.

 

Stellias deserve a good source for sure 

I stream from tidal exclusively which rules out any Sony products. I listened to the sr15 and sr25 while I was to demoing the stellias and couldn't really tell a difference in sound. I listened to the m11 pro and m15 briefly and would say it was slightly better than the ha2se.

 

The music I listen to is mastered to be played in a club / festival so I don't think I can hear a difference between dacs and amps passed a certain point. The music is compressed and has very little dynamic range and soundstage. If someone would be willing to listen to some of the tracks I used to demo them and see how they feel, that'd be awesome, though it might be a bit torturous haha. 

[Bengineer 650]

Fiio BTR5 is a nice little guy. Balanced output too. LDAC phone to Fiio.

 

And the infamous Mojo.

 

You answered your own question though bud.

[zxSwifty 48]

2 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Fiio BTR5 is a nice little guy. Balanced output too. LDAC phone to Fiio.

 

And the infamous Mojo.

 

You answered your own question though bud.

I mentioned the btr5 and I could see the guy physically kinda cringe a little haha. He said it's a awesome product but it is just isn't in the league for the stellias. I wanted to try it but forgot to escpecially  after watching Zeos hyped review about it. I do already have a mojo, maybe I'll give it a go for portable use again. 

 

Did I? 😂

[zxSwifty 48]

6 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Fiio BTR5 is a nice little guy. Balanced output too. LDAC phone to Fiio.

 

And the infamous Mojo.

 

You answered your own question though bud.

6 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Fiio BTR5 is a nice little guy. Balanced output too. LDAC phone to Fiio.

 

And the infamous Mojo.

 

You answered your own question though bud.

I mentioned the btr5 and I could see the guy physically kinda cringe a little haha. He said it's a awesome product but it is just isn't in the league for the stellias. I wanted to try it but forgot to escpecially  after watching Zeos hyped review about it. I do already have a mojo, maybe I'll give it a go for portable use again. 

 

I'll have to go in again and just test daps with the stellias. Didn't test them for long because I wasn't really wanting to drop a tonne of money on another device. 

[gwurb 174]

Maybe go to the store with your phone and some music. Connect the DACs or DAPs from lowest and go up. Start with BTR5, it's pretty capable.
 

With what you described as your music you may or may not get too far up the DAC or DAP upgrade chain. And the guy may be right that some DACs or DAPs may limit your headphones. But, your music may limit everything (DAC, DAP and headphones) anyway. Going up you will find when you can't hear an upgrade anymore. Your MoJo may be more than enough as a DAC/Amp? 

Edited May 10, 2020 by gwurb

[Bengineer 650]

29 minutes ago, zxSwifty said:

I mentioned the btr5 and I could see the guy physically kinda cringe a little haha. He said it's a awesome product but it is just isn't in the league for the stellias. I wanted to try it but forgot to escpecially  after watching Zeos hyped review about it. I do already have a mojo, maybe I'll give it a go for portable use again. 

 

I'll have to go in again and just test daps with the stellias. Didn't test them for long because I wasn't really wanting to drop a tonne of money on another device. 

Yep.

 

1. Your music is mostly poorly recorded, mastered, compression etc.

2. Little gains over what your currently use

 

The BTR5 is good for what it is...

 

And any of these $1000 and more DAPs are pretty good, and really splitting hairs on SQ. They definitely sound different to each other, but unlikely much between them in raw SQ.

 

Maybe a smoother sound like the Sony would suit your music and it's inherent lower quality mastering/recording etc?

[zxSwifty 48]

12 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Yep.

 

1. Your music is mostly poorly recorded, mastered, compression etc.

2. Little gains over what your currently use

 

The BTR5 is good for what it is...

 

And any of these $1000 and more DAPs are pretty good, and really splitting hairs on SQ. They definitely sound different to each other, but unlikely much between them in raw SQ.

 

Maybe a smoother sound like the Sony would suit your music and it's inherent lower quality mastering/recording etc?

The sony does seem like a good fit for my music but there players don't do streaming services do they. I think they have one player that does it. 

[Bengineer 650]

The 507 does. The newest one

[Bengineer 650]

Though for purely streaming I'd be more inclined to use phone, connect to a Mojo to xDSD or Micro Black Label. All have a bit of warmth, especially the iFi models.

[zxSwifty 48]

6 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

Though for purely streaming I'd be more inclined to use phone, connect to a Mojo to xDSD or Micro Black Label. All have a bit of warmth, especially the iFi models.

I'll defintely give the mojo a go again for portable use. I disconnected the battery and been using it as a desktop dac and amp at work. It's a awesome little unit. 

Edited May 10, 2020 by zxSwifty

[zxSwifty 48]

9 minutes ago, Bengineer said:

The 507 does. The newest one

I'll have to look it up :))

Edited May 10, 2020 by zxSwifty

[Bengineer 650]

2 minutes ago, zxSwifty said:

I'll defintely give the mojo a go again for portable use. I disconnected the battery and been using it as a desktop dac and amp at work. It's a awesome little unit. 

And pick up a cheap Poly and give it more network ability/streaming 

[zxSwifty 48]

22 hours ago, Bengineer said:

And pick up a cheap Poly and give it more network ability/streaming 

If one pops up for cheap definitely, that would be the way to go.  

[steffanth 185]

@zxSwifty

 

I recently got th Fiio Q5s headphone dac and amp.  i also listen pretty much exclusively to dance music and its not in lossless format.  My headphones are not up to the standard of the focals (sony mx1000 mk2) but im loving the sound with the combo.  a hell of a lot better than my previous setup.  It also has the bluteooth capeabilities of the BTR5.

 

 

[zxSwifty 48]

2 hours ago, steffanth said:

@zxSwifty

 

I recently got th Fiio Q5s headphone dac and amp.  i also listen pretty much exclusively to dance music and its not in lossless format.  My headphones are not up to the standard of the focals (sony mx1000 mk2) but im loving the sound with the combo.  a hell of a lot better than my previous setup.  It also has the bluteooth capeabilities of the BTR5.

 

 

I've got the wh1000xm2 as well and they are a fun headphone though they do sound a bit muddy in comparison. Very enjoyable sound none the less. Great to hear that there is a sound upgrade with the Q5, I've only ever ran them off of my phone. 

[Esoterica 403]

Just unpacked my Elegias tonight and tried them out. As has been mentioned around these parts, the only reason they would’ve been ’b-stock’ is some minor outer box damage. The inner (premium) box is perfect.

 

First impression: The headphones themselves are very well made, as one would expect from the rrp. Good to read that they aren’t at their best sound quality wise until broken in, because I wasn’t blown away as expected, but Bowie’s ‘Last Dance’ Tidal master revealed a lot I hadn’t heard before. Overall I was impressed with the handful of songs (mostly masters) I listened to on Tidal, from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to Still Corners and Lou Reed, and it was only a direct connection to my iPad pro. 
 

I did notice some harsh highs, but with break-in and a dac/amp I expect some great listening ahead. I find the ear cup clamp to be a bit uncomfortable but opening the headband a bit seems to do the trick.

[elisix_ 119]

Some really good points. I've been listening to mine for 2 days now and they're better still with only 15hrs on them, or I am just getting used to them. Bouncing back and forth with my HD6XX, I can say that these are of a higher quality. Sound wise i'd say they're definitely more detailed than the HD6XX, but lack base out of the box. If I run the Elegia off my MBP without a DAC/AMP, this is obvious. That said, pairing with my iFi HipDAC which I will be using to daily drive these from the office, they're bloody amazing. It fills the gap nicely and still maintains a cleaner sound than the HD6XX, if still more closed in (obviously).

 

I tested the Clears today at MiniDisc, using both the iFi HipDAC and Chord Moji and I must admit the Clears were also amazing. They're like a mix of the HD6XX and Elegia - not in terms of quality (they're the top of the pile), but in terms of sound. So they retain that open sound of the HD6XX, but exceed the clarity of the Elegia. I actually found the iFi HipDAC to produce the nicer sound for the Clears over the Mojo - which I was told might be due to the HipDAC being warmer and that perhaps being my preference.

 

I'm 99% sure i'll buy the B-Stock Clears also, but i'm just undecided as that money goes a good way toward HD800S, Arya, LCD-X as well. The value that the Clears offer just can't be beat I think and I don't think there is any particular genre of music that they wouldn't excel at. 

Edited May 21, 2020 by elisix_

[anandpkumar 293]

On 21/05/2020 at 9:15 PM, Esoterica said:

Just unpacked my Elegias tonight and tried them out. As has been mentioned around these parts, the only reason they would’ve been ’b-stock’ is some minor outer box damage. The inner (premium) box is perfect.

 

First impression: The headphones themselves are very well made, as one would expect from the rrp. Good to read that they aren’t at their best sound quality wise until broken in, because I wasn’t blown away as expected, but Bowie’s ‘Last Dance’ Tidal master revealed a lot I hadn’t heard before. Overall I was impressed with the handful of songs (mostly masters) I listened to on Tidal, from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to Still Corners and Lou Reed, and it was only a direct connection to my iPad pro. 
 

I did notice some harsh highs, but with break-in and a dac/amp I expect some great listening ahead. I find the ear cup clamp to be a bit uncomfortable but opening the headband a bit seems to do the trick.

Your first impressions quite mirror mine (though my music is different - more blues, jazz, soul). They do improve quite a bit with break in. Give them around 100 hrs or so - the highs will become smoother, and the bass more tight. I too found the clamping force a bit strong in the beginning, and left it 'stretched' out between a few books for a couple of days - which did the trick of loosening them up.

[Esoterica 403]

On 26/05/2020 at 3:09 PM, anandpkumar said:

Your first impressions quite mirror mine (though my music is different - more blues, jazz, soul). They do improve quite a bit with break in. Give them around 100 hrs or so - the highs will become smoother, and the bass more tight. I too found the clamping force a bit strong in the beginning, and left it 'stretched' out between a few books for a couple of days - which did the trick of loosening them up.

I like blues and jazz too. I’m listening to the Tidal master of Rollin’ and Tumblin’ by Eric Clapton & B.B King now, and it sounds pretty awesome. I got the C5D dac/amp today which seems to improve the sound which you’d expect. 

 

The clamping force doesn’t bother me at all now. I find that and the overall comfort is great when I have the headband positioned forward of the top of head. Fits around my ears more evenly that way.
 

Also, I was talking about ‘Let’s Dance’ by David Bowie. No idea where I got ‘Last’ from. Haha.

[Esoterica 403]

Listening to Papi Chulo by Octavian, Skepta and have full bass set on the amp. I’m not a bass fiend but it’s like having mini subs in each ear lol. Pretty cool.

[elisix_ 119]

57 minutes ago, Esoterica said:

I find that and the overall comfort is great when I have the headband positioned forward of the top of head. Fits around my ears more evenly that way.

lol, I do the same, but I still find the clamping force a little much

Edited May 27, 2020 by elisix_

[anandpkumar 293]

1 hour ago, Esoterica said:

I’m listening to the Tidal master of Rollin’ and Tumblin’ by Eric Clapton & B.B King now, and it sounds pretty awesome.

Great Album, that one. I have it on CD - should check if the Tidal 'master' version is any better

[anandpkumar 293]

24 minutes ago, elisix_ said:

lol, I do the same, but I still find the clamping force a little much

Agreed - I too find the clamping force a bit more than what I would prefer - though has been better after I stretched it out between a few books. I guess I have an 'odd' shaped head since most people seem to find these quite comfortable!

[Esoterica 403]

15 hours ago, elisix_ said:

lol, I do the same, but I still find the clamping force a little much

I wear a medium moto helmet... so not a big head 😉

[BadSneakers83 6]

I'm also an Elegia owner. I picked them up a few months ago for $799 with the Dragonfly Red, that I've since sold on. Honestly, I didn't love them at first. They sounded very mid forward, which I found fatiguing pretty quickly. I listen to a ton of orchestral music and I couldn't escape a kind of muddy claustrophobic feeling during big tutti sections when using them. 

 

But...after 100 plus hours of burn in the were sounding much better. Then, I decided to try and EQ them. I'm using the attached settings I found on Reddit. I just threw them into Roon and honestly, they sound like a new headphone. The mids were no longer forward, there is a ton more air in the sound, and the Elegia's true strength (incredible detail) shines through. You are absolutely dragged along with the musical phrasing, almost by the scruff of the neck!

 

I also have a pair of HiFiMan HE-560s, but in the past couple of weeks I just keep coming back to the Elegia. Naturally their soundstage can't compete with the open backed cans, but the detail and texture present is incredibly immersive. B stock for $499 from A2A is nothing short of highway robbery. Just make sure you give them some time to break in, and use the EQ! I really doubt that you will be disappointed. 

Focal Elegia.pdf

[elisix_ 119]

What’s the best way to apply EQ in MacOS?

 

I’ll give this a try. 

[Esoterica 403]

Not being a head-fi guy $499 seems a good chunk of coin for headphones and I only bought them to get some alone time when I had someone staying with me recently. And I can’t ignore a (perceived) bargain.

 

I think they sound good, sometimes great, but wouldn’t have put 10 hours on them yet. I’d expect great sound for $499, let alone the rrp of $1300 or whatever it is.

 

The Stellia and Utopia, and others in that crazy price tier must be like hearing angels sing lol

Edited June 2, 2020 by Esoterica

[zxSwifty 48]

2 minutes ago, Esoterica said:

Not being a head-fi guy $499 seems a good chunk of coin for headphones and I only bought them to get some alone time when I had someone staying with me recently. And I can’t ignore a (perceived) bargain.

 

I think they sound good, sometimes great, but wouldn’t have put 10 hours on them yet. I’d expect great sound for $499, let alone the rrp of $1300 or whatever it is.

 

The Stellia and Utopia, and others in that crazy price tier must be like hearing angels sing lol

Congrats on Elegias

 

Listening to the Stellias right now, can confirm the angels are indeed singing haha 

[Esoterica 403]

1 hour ago, zxSwifty said:

Congrats on Elegias

 

Listening to the Stellias right now, can confirm the angels are indeed singing haha 

Haha I’m curious how good headphones can be now. Well, not that curious. Maybe if I traveled often or couldn’t play my music through loudspeakers, but I’ve never loved headphones for the simple fact they’re in or over ears. 
 

I’d like to keep my Elegia for the occasional times I’d need them but think they’ll probably be for sale in the near future.

[Sevoman 48]

I had a pair of Focal Clear which I thought were great. But being open, backed, they are slightly antisocial - if I want to listen to music whilst my wife watches TV or even just in the room, it is not so pleasant. And I was not a huge fan of the room noise coming in whilst I was listening. I tried some closed back phones and preferred the "open back" sound. And then I discovered the Stellia. So I sold the Clears to a mate (who is delighted, anyway he lives alone !!), and bought the Stellia and the Arche headphone amp as a bundled deal.  A marriage made in heaven. The experience is truly magical. The old "hearing things I've never heard before" mantra is spot on. I cannot ever imagine being without this combo. The Arche has an analogue connection for my phono preamp/turntable and I can connect digitally from my streamer/DAC and via a USB direct from my laptop. 

A very expensive purchase but, stuck in lockdown here in Qatar, it gets me through my daily groundhog day.

[zxSwifty 48]

4 minutes ago, Sevoman said:

I had a pair of Focal Clear which I thought were great. But being open, backed, they are slightly antisocial - if I want to listen to music whilst my wife watches TV or even just in the room, it is not so pleasant. And I was not a huge fan of the room noise coming in whilst I was listening. I tried some closed back phones and preferred the "open back" sound. And then I discovered the Stellia. So I sold the Clears to a mate (who is delighted, anyway he lives alone !!), and bought the Stellia and the Arche headphone amp as a bundled deal.  A marriage made in heaven. The experience is truly magical. The old "hearing things I've never heard before" mantra is spot on. I cannot ever imagine being without this combo. The Arche has an analogue connection for my phono preamp/turntable and I can connect digitally from my streamer/DAC and via a USB direct from my laptop. 

A very expensive purchase but, stuck in lockdown here in Qatar, it gets me through my daily groundhog 

where did you get the bundle?

[Sevoman 48]

I bought the bundle from the UK - the advantage of living in a country (Qatar) with no proper hifi stores means I can buy from anywhere. I had seen that these bundles (total 25% off) were available in the US, France, Holland, Canada. The US stores were not permitted to sell outside their country. There was no such deal in UK, so I wrote to the same dealer I had bought my Clears from when I was travelling. They asked the national distributor who then asked me for details of the deal (seriously, they had not done their homework) which I forwarded. Within a week, the deal was also advertised in the UK. And being sold to an overseas address, a further 20% off for ex-VAT. Thus a very happy purchase. Australia should be organising the same deal for their customers........