Once again, that fabulous performance of Nessun Dorma is cued up; where the Elear was entertaining, the Utopia is jaw-dropping. Possibly not. There’s a significant sonic wall effect so you can expect an intimate presentation. Not much needs to be said that hasn’t, they’re well-built and stylish. Pretty nuts. or Best Offer. The Focal Elears are a top contender for best headphones in their price class, while the Focal Utopias are one of the very best headphones on the planet. Like some bass, vocals and highs dont like bass overpowering my music. The advantages of AKG K702 over Elex are: 1) better, wider and more accurate sound stage, 2) reverse U shaped sound signature, 3) lighter weight, 4) less clamping force, and most importantly 5) more comfortable for long gaming sessions. The presentation is neutral, erring on the side of being warm and smooth, something of a Focal trademark. There can be little doubt that the Focal Utopia is amongst the very best headphones that money can buy. Every time I put them on, they get stuck there for days. I used to think in my naivete that the sheer awsomeness of this or that mega-headphone would trump my sonic tastes into loving them, but I don’t think I believe that anymore. To my ears the Elex has too much glare, exaggerated dynamics, and not enough air. Good to be here. For that much, I could get 4 $169 HE4XX’s and still have $23 left over! The Focal Stellia shares the same dome material and shape (1.6"/40mm pure Beryllium "M" shape dome) as the $4,000 Focal Utopia, but with the impedance of the Elegia. Non the less, the Focal Utopia displays it in the best possible light. I've been looking at both of these headphones frequency response and … This may be the best <$500 combo on the market. The brass in the orchestra is bright and open and never  “honks” or unpleasantly harsh. At $2999, this closed-back, ultra-premium headphone has already gotten the astonished run-around from plebeian publications like Forbes and the Verge – where apparently one need only own an iPhone to review a headphone. Focal’s range of audiophile headphones is amongst our favourite Hi-Fi headphones, here at Audio Affair. Focal Elex vs Audeze LCD-1 [sound demo] - Duration: 18:34. oluv's gadgets 19,735 views. Honestly. Focal Stellia - Pad Rolling Results. Elear representing a high-end headphone at an attainable price, Utopia representing the very best that Focal’s engineers can deliver. My preferred sonic signature would be more to the relaxing, smooth, and warm side of neutral without being too “sleep-encouraging” My default setup is the HE4XX’s without grills with ZMF Ori pads, coming out of the Vali 2 with a EH6922 tube. oh well). For the last couple months I’ve demoed the Elear with Clear pads, so basically an Elex. While the Clear is an excellent product, it doesn’t compete against the Utopia’s amazing sound and build quality. Old-school HE-560 is available for $299 on Amazon, so I guess that makes this a $400 combo. Just for fun I used the Elex off the Cayin HA-1A MK2 tube amp, which has higher output impedance, and this is what I ended up getting. They retail at $999 but can be found for about $799 now. Clearly the appearance is different but there are even physical build differences that really set these two headphones apart. Really fun out it changes depending on OI. Utopia are THE reference high-fidelity headphones manufactured in France by Focal. This has the effect of making the mids more even. Love my Clears, so what i was thinking is… I would get the Elex to replace the clears. Tubes and noisy amps exaggerate their already strong dynamics. The transducer design is derived directly from the best big Focal room speakers, some of which can run well into the six figures. Focal Stellia Closed-Back Over-Ear Headphones - Cognac. To me, the Utopia sounds more natural. It’s great to hear from you and I hope you keep posting now that you’ve got your first one out of the way. If the build and finish of the Focal Elear were superb the Focal Utopia are positively fetishistic in their rampant use of high-end materials and quality of finish. In short, this is a fantastic headphone that’s like 99% of the Clear (I hate reducing it to a number like that but in this case it may be appropriate) - potentially better in some areas of its FR. They retain my favorite thing about Utopia, which is its dynamics. I’ll post those plots when I get a chance. The engineers at Focal have done an excellent job at tuning the Clear for both lows and highs. Sennheiser HD800 vs Focal Elex Comparison - Duration: 21:02. chuckolatte 903 views. We felt it long overdue a review and comparison between their popular and justifiably lauded Elear and Utopia headphones. A quick review and my impressions of the Focal Elex. Jul 8, 2020 #1. The bass is impactful and tactile, but it’s not overpowering. So, I seem to be more sensitive than you in the top 1/3rd of the frequency range. Focal Clear vs Utopia. $20.00 shipping. Utopia sits at the top of Focal’s new line and will carry an MSRP of $4,000. Unfortunately for huge bassheads it will distort if you EQ bass past 90-95db (which you shouldn’t do anyways smh). These are easily my favorite set of headphones under $1k, but beware, my first set came with a dead left driver because of which I refunded the unit and bought another used. $3,100.00 Used. It’s all there. Anthem MCA Second Generation AV Power Amplifiers, Anthem MRX: New Models with Updated Performance and Features, Dali Opticon Mk2 series takes the Opticon range to the next level, Cyrus XR Series of premium HiFi components arrive. The Focals helped me realize that I listen more to wind down and relax. I’ve not heard the HE4XX’s but I do know they get a lot of love. Guess he had in mind the $99 for the balanced DAC needed to make the Loxjie P20 shine (Behringer SRC2496 being the most unexpensive). When compared to the HE1000, the Utopia sounds a bit brighter, though it is not a very big difference. The vast majority of Focal’s range is produced on-site in their hometown of St Etienne in France. First of all, the build is great. The warm, larger than life character of the Focal Elear amplified the emotion of Pavarotti’s voice whilst the strings were beautifully smooth and silky. The vali was used testing the Focals. Before I got the Clear I often avoided the Elex in favor of the HD-600. Focal Clear vs Focal Utopia. Personally I like a different sound to the laid back headphone, having said that I do like my HD650. Here's to trying to steer this conversation back to the Elex!!! The Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal. Forum Donor. It seems like we have very similar taste, your Elegia EQ profile is fantastic. How does the Elex stack up to the clears in your own O? I keep hearing that the Clears are a definite upgrade since they scale better. Both have good audio reproduction, but the open design of the Elear will give you a more speaker-like experience. Focal Utopia Open Back Over-Ear Headphones - Black. Good midbass impact, solid sub-bass, dry forward mids, inoffensive well-extended treble. 18:34. Lyr 3 and Bifrost 2 should push their capabilities hard. My Elex had too much glare or intensity until I switched to a balanced setup (and then I went balanced-bonkers). Coming this week!! Considering that the Elears are typically $1000 and this bundle comes with two sets of pads and a hardshell carrying case, is that a better alternative? I find the HD650s a good deal too veiled and warm. Layering and separation was significantly better than I expected, given this is an area where its close sibling, Clear, struggles, sounding rather congested and closed in. Thread starter ShiZo; Start date Jul 8, 2020; ShiZo Senior Member. Playing, once again, Propaganda’s Dream Within a Dream, we’ve reached a level of transparency which begins to highlight deficiencies in the early digital recording itself. Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Dec 15, 2017. The two Focal headphones look and feel similar; the difference in the sound is credited to the Utopia’s pure beryllium driver. Next will come the Elex, sounds like a logical path (HD6xx -> HE-560 -> Elex) with optimal cost/performance steps…. Focal Elear and Utopia headphones book-end the two extremes of the Focal Hi-Fi headphone range. $620.00. I’m listening to the HE-560 on the P20 as I write this – it’s really, really pleasant! It was time to load up some tunes and pump up the volume! 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