I'm debating on getting these. I currently use the hd6xx with modi 2 + DarkVoice 336SE amp. I'm assuming these probably wouldn't be good with a tube amp? Do you recommend me getting a diff amp or dac/amp combo if I get these headphones?
Do you feel the cable it comes with is short enough for on the go or is a periapt cable recommended? I have a Topping NX4 to take some cans out walking.
after having these for almost a year, I can say the best amp match that I have is the lyr3 with a warmer sounding nos tube (best one I've found is the ken-rad black glass mil-issue so vt-231 from 1944). I think they need some of the tubey goodness, but prolly not full on OTL
Which amp(s) did you use to test these? I didn't get any clipping with 2049. I wonder if it's a result of using an amp with less headroom. A lot of the clipping comments on drop are from people using the JDS Atom for example.
Thanks for the review. So what headphones replace the 6XX in terms of an upgrade? I have the 58X, AKG 7XX, HE4XX and Koss 95X but there is something about the 6XX that makes wanna sell them all except the Koss (crazy detail). You clearly say they are not super 6XX. I also want a good closed one but every time I hear one I want to jump back to my open headphones.
what about metal571? He doesn't really do hype, which I like alongside the hype channels (like Z). Max Settings' style kind of reminds me of metal571. edit: also if you want full audiophile grade opinions check out Currawong. What I mean by that is he uses the kind of language you read on head-fi.
@@FriedEgg101 Yeah, I kinda discovered Currawong just recently and he seems okay guy but I'm not really into that head-fi super subjective thing. I mean, there are many people there who believe objective measurements mean nothing and negative feedback is somehow bad etc. Never in my life did I like something that measured bad like Audio GD products, and opposite is true as well. If something measures well, it sounds good. There may be taste dependent difference in tonal signature or imaging or space, but overall sound is always decent. Also, he's kinda rich guy and so far I have only seen him reviewing very expensive stuff I will never be able to afford (not that I believe it is worth as much anyway). I'm just not kind of his audience I think. As for Z, it's not like I'm about hype or something, no. I actually a bit dislike his personality and his manners. The only reason I included him to my major list is that he helps me to discover stuff I would likely never discover myself otherwise. For instance, I'm Ukrainian but I'm confident I would never discover Verum Audio without Z even though it is Ukrainian product. It simply has no promotion other than Z. After his review some other minor reviewers followed up and made their own reviews. Z has influence in our community and he impacts it in a right way, and for that I'm grateful. As for Metal, yeah, I know DMS' brother, he's a decent guy overall, but a bit... boring. No offense. He is just a bit too calm and emotionally restrained to my liking. However, his reviews are usually good and accurate, he makes a good point and I like that he always leaves his equalizer settings in description. It really helps to improve sound. No complaints to the quality of the review itself, rather than to the way it is done.
Hi Max, Nice review! Everything I’ve read seems to point that these would be a nice upgrade from the HD6XX. I’m trying to consolidate and upgrade my setup. Have you happened to try the Elegia? Do you think they would make a good closed back companion to the Elex? I see them around the $500 - $600 mark often.
The first vid I saw of yours was the verum video, which I thought was a bit unfair towards the end. But despite that I like your descriptions of what you hear. I look forward to more videos :)
Hey bro, great review. I think you are misusing theword clipping. Clipping is when the amp is overdriven and creates distortion. What you describe with the Elex is the driver itself distorting from mechanical over excursion. The the amp can drive the headphone, but the headphone cannot handle playing so loud and it distorts. Just helping you clarify your terminology. Cheers.
I must be lucky for once. I can't get my elex or Elear to clip at all unless I turn the volume well past what I would consider dangerous and unlistenable. Coincidentally my 6xx starts clipping sooner which I wasn't expecting.
Opened the RUclips audio library and enjoyed the video a lot more playing it at a low volume. Think it would be worth using even if you have to copy paste credits in your description. Good review. 👌
Wondered that myself,researched forums, reviews, Facebook groups. The elex seem to be almost the same as the clears, with some agreeing the elex are more dynamic. Value for money goes to the elex. Unless you want the focal travel case and the better cables(that still aren't great) that come with the clears, the elex are the better purchase.
@@humanmale1085 The guy from the headphone show has some comapisons between Elex and Clear, I figured. By the way. The Focal cables are horrible. My Clear cable broke after 3 weeks of usage. Focal replaced it, the new cable is "version 2". But besides that, Clear is a great deal now too. In Europe you can get it for 995€. And Elex has qs issues. (As you can see on Oluf's channel).
@@traindeluxe3789 yeah I've heard about the qc issues on the elex, i feel they may be blown out of proportion. I weighed it up: Drop shows 2.8k sold with an average of 4 and a half stars. There is 370 reviews on drop, the first 30-40 report quality issues, the rest seem to be mostly fine. Like anything on the internet the negative people tend to be most vocal. So, i think out of the 2.8k sold there might have been a bad batch of about a hundred or so. In any case, drop would replace if any issues arise.
@@humanmale1085 Fair enough. You can go that route if you are us based. In eu that does not work. Elex is not sold to the eu market. So it is troublesome to claim the warranty.
I don't speak French in case you couldn't tell.
D'accord
De plus, mon pere est une crayon.
I'm debating on getting these. I currently use the hd6xx with modi 2 + DarkVoice 336SE amp. I'm assuming these probably wouldn't be good with a tube amp? Do you recommend me getting a diff amp or dac/amp combo if I get these headphones?
you need a French pass filter in your amp if you dont understand French.
How ironical. I'm French, living in France, yet do NOT deliver the Elex in my country
They're mostly metal 👌
Do you feel the cable it comes with is short enough for on the go or is a periapt cable recommended? I have a Topping NX4 to take some cans out walking.
Account for Reasons they are 6ft cables. I wouldn’t run with an Elex, pads would be sweat sponges.
Just for light walks. Thank you.
after having these for almost a year, I can say the best amp match that I have is the lyr3 with a warmer sounding nos tube (best one I've found is the ken-rad black glass mil-issue so vt-231 from 1944). I think they need some of the tubey goodness, but prolly not full on OTL
Which amp(s) did you use to test these? I didn't get any clipping with 2049. I wonder if it's a result of using an amp with less headroom. A lot of the clipping comments on drop are from people using the JDS Atom for example.
The Elex is a great headphone.. Warm... detailed, lush, and offering a substantial soundstage.
Funny, to make mine clip, I had to crank the volume up painfully loud, and play some Mr Oizo, which has tons of sub bass.
Good job on describing the sound signatures. Subbed.
Thanks for the review. So what headphones replace the 6XX in terms of an upgrade? I have the 58X, AKG 7XX, HE4XX and Koss 95X but there is something about the 6XX that makes wanna sell them all except the Koss (crazy detail). You clearly say they are not super 6XX. I also want a good closed one but every time I hear one I want to jump back to my open headphones.
Okay, you have convinced me. Sub. Nice addition to Z, Josh and Porta-Fi. Keep up good work man.
what about metal571? He doesn't really do hype, which I like alongside the hype channels (like Z). Max Settings' style kind of reminds me of metal571.
edit: also if you want full audiophile grade opinions check out Currawong. What I mean by that is he uses the kind of language you read on head-fi.
@@FriedEgg101 Yeah, I kinda discovered Currawong just recently and he seems okay guy but I'm not really into that head-fi super subjective thing. I mean, there are many people there who believe objective measurements mean nothing and negative feedback is somehow bad etc. Never in my life did I like something that measured bad like Audio GD products, and opposite is true as well. If something measures well, it sounds good. There may be taste dependent difference in tonal signature or imaging or space, but overall sound is always decent. Also, he's kinda rich guy and so far I have only seen him reviewing very expensive stuff I will never be able to afford (not that I believe it is worth as much anyway). I'm just not kind of his audience I think.
As for Z, it's not like I'm about hype or something, no. I actually a bit dislike his personality and his manners. The only reason I included him to my major list is that he helps me to discover stuff I would likely never discover myself otherwise. For instance, I'm Ukrainian but I'm confident I would never discover Verum Audio without Z even though it is Ukrainian product. It simply has no promotion other than Z. After his review some other minor reviewers followed up and made their own reviews. Z has influence in our community and he impacts it in a right way, and for that I'm grateful.
As for Metal, yeah, I know DMS' brother, he's a decent guy overall, but a bit... boring. No offense. He is just a bit too calm and emotionally restrained to my liking. However, his reviews are usually good and accurate, he makes a good point and I like that he always leaves his equalizer settings in description. It really helps to improve sound. No complaints to the quality of the review itself, rather than to the way it is done.
Hi Max,
Nice review! Everything I’ve read seems to point that these would be a nice upgrade from the HD6XX. I’m trying to consolidate and upgrade my setup. Have you happened to try the Elegia? Do you think they would make a good closed back companion to the Elex? I see them around the $500 - $600 mark often.
The first vid I saw of yours was the verum video, which I thought was a bit unfair towards the end. But despite that I like your descriptions of what you hear. I look forward to more videos :)
Whats a good amp pairing to give it a little more warmth and decay? I don't know if it'd pair well with an Atom, seems like it'd be a bit dry.
Hey bro, great review. I think you are misusing theword clipping. Clipping is when the amp is overdriven and creates distortion.
What you describe with the Elex is the driver itself distorting from mechanical over excursion. The the amp can drive the headphone, but the headphone cannot handle playing so loud and it distorts.
Just helping you clarify your terminology. Cheers.
I must be lucky for once. I can't get my elex or Elear to clip at all unless I turn the volume well past what I would consider dangerous and unlistenable. Coincidentally my 6xx starts clipping sooner which I wasn't expecting.
I am enjoying my Focal Elex headphones without tampering with EQ
Hi mate, another great review thanks. Any chance of a review of the RME dac? Please?
What is the difference between this and the Focal Elear? From my understanding, they use the same driver but have different pads.
How do you compare this to the Ananda in terms of bass quantity? Overall?
Very similar. I didn't think Ananda had very good extension, but that could have just been my issues with the sealing because of that stupid headband.
I have the elear (same driver I believe), can't get them to clip, even on thos 2049 track. Amp dependant?
Opened the RUclips audio library and enjoyed the video a lot more playing it at a low volume. Think it would be worth using even if you have to copy paste credits in your description. Good review. 👌
2 years later have they fallen apart yet?
The song 2049 really clips the Elex pretty hard at normal volume levels
Yep
Bruno Arrais Does it damage the headphones? My Utopia clips on Hans Zimmer songs too.
Great review keep going
Review the verum, seems the best headphones under 1000 dolars or euros
Are these even brighter than the hd 600 ?
Thanks a lot.
Yes
I wonder how the Elex compares to Focal Clear
Wondered that myself,researched forums, reviews, Facebook groups. The elex seem to be almost the same as the clears, with some agreeing the elex are more dynamic. Value for money goes to the elex. Unless you want the focal travel case and the better cables(that still aren't great) that come with the clears, the elex are the better purchase.
@@humanmale1085 The guy from the headphone show has some comapisons between Elex and Clear, I figured. By the way. The Focal cables are horrible. My Clear cable broke after 3 weeks of usage. Focal replaced it, the new cable is "version 2". But besides that, Clear is a great deal now too. In Europe you can get it for 995€. And Elex has qs issues. (As you can see on Oluf's channel).
@@traindeluxe3789 yeah I've heard about the qc issues on the elex, i feel they may be blown out of proportion. I weighed it up: Drop shows 2.8k sold with an average of 4 and a half stars. There is 370 reviews on drop, the first 30-40 report quality issues, the rest seem to be mostly fine. Like anything on the internet the negative people tend to be most vocal. So, i think out of the 2.8k sold there might have been a bad batch of about a hundred or so. In any case, drop would replace if any issues arise.
@@humanmale1085 Fair enough. You can go that route if you are us based. In eu that does not work. Elex is not sold to the eu market. So it is troublesome to claim the warranty.
@@traindeluxe3789 fair point.
Hans zimmer is the king of ruining woofers and clipping speakers lol
this vs aiva what should i get
I would take this. More refined headphone overall.
@@maxsettings7884 how bout blon b20 350$ on drop is it worth it
Disappointing. Whats the point of have planar-like bass extension if it clips when it tries to reach down low??
As long as you keep it to a moderately normal volume you shouldn't have issues is most cases.
I see that you have th-x00 why you didn't review it
I will at some point.
elear's are aweful headphone? i need those mushrooms you're smoking
Wait is it pronounce Focal or Fo-cow ???
Fo-COW EEE-lex
what do you mean by "clipping" at the low end?
The driver literally clips. It makes this awful sound. It's the driver extending past its rated distance. Doing it too much could kill the driver.
Reaches maximum excursion
@@maxsettings7884 Thank you!
@@metal571 Yes that, couldn't remember that word LOL
This vs LCD 2C?
Which one to buy?
With EQ? LCD 2c or 2F
Without? Elex
Made in France, but french people can't buy them. That's just silly.
wow!
👀