Massdrop x Focal Elex Headphones Discussions | Drop

Dec 2, 2020

brianjaiYou're missing out. I certainly understand your concern though.

Dec 2, 2020

Fayne

2586

Dec 3, 2020

brianjaiSmart decision. With failure rates high enough to not be statistical white-noise (3-5%+, i.e. 1 out of every 20-25) as well as no expected design or production corrections, the only reason to get these at this point is if you've got money to burn and don't mind having to potentially return multiple pairs during the warranty period. Of course, you're out of luck if the warranty is expired when they fail. Yes, they do sound rather nice. Really. But is it worth risking a $700 paper weight?

Dec 3, 2020

Dec 9, 2020

FayneIt’s probably around 1-3 failure out of every 100 sold. Not bad considering much higher failure rates in other electronics like consoles and smartphones.

Dec 9, 2020

Fayne

2586

Dec 9, 2020

MegazineQuite possible I had my maths wrong. Been known to happen after a few brews. Either way, the number of active parts in a phone or console is wildly larger than in cans. Talking hundreds to thousands of parts to possibly fail versus tens to very low hundreds. Plus, when the vast majority of the failures throughout the product lifespan are in the exact same location in the exact same way and that number is higher than a simple statistical anomaly, you've got a design or materials defect. If it was a single batch failing, I could shrug and consider it a borked production run. This isn't just with one run. People from all drops of this product have had driver coils fail. If this was just a few people who'd abused their cans greatly (either via too much power or amplifier defect/failure), I could also shrug while blaming user or their gear. Sadly, that is not the case with this set of failures, and definitely not with the set of Elex that croaked on me. Mine typically lived on their headphone hanger, getting used maybe once a week at low to moderate volume on gear that hasn't busted a single set of cans or IEMs. When the Elex initially released there was a completely different problem with the drivers clipping at low volumes. I don't see people complaining heavily about this any more, so I'm assuming it was corrected in later batches (or was an artifact of that particular run). Seeing those initial reports is what kept me from buying them after their first run. I really should have taken it as a primer to the fun that was to come instead of something I could wait out. So, yes. Nice sounding and comfortable cans, but with much higher failure rates than I'd expect for a $700 rendition of a $1000 set of cans.

Dec 9, 2020

Dec 9, 2020

FayneThanks for information. I did email Drop to see if they offer extended warranties. I’m waiting on their reply. I did see some reviews on YouTube of users with no issues like this one. https://youtu.be/FGGtgRW9-PA I also came across another reviewer I believe who had two failures. https://youtu.be/vq9uq-PT6FA I hope the issues has been corrected if it’s this widespread. I did join a drop but didn’t receive mine yet.

Dec 9, 2020

redstang

Dec 22, 2020

MegazineHow are you coming up with that 1 to 3% figure? I have been wondering if these reviews have been making it seem worse than it is. 3% for something as basic as wired headphones is still bad, but that's 96 out of 3200 sold so that's still 3100 people able to enjoy them. But is it really 3% or less? It would be nice to hear from people that have had these for more than a year. I think the Elex has been out for about two years now so the first people that bought them are hitting the end of their warranty period. I would really hate for these to die after only a couple years.

Dec 22, 2020

Dec 24, 2020

redstangI could be wrong. I was trying to be more conservative compared to the comment above mine, which stating failure rate around “”3-5%”. So far I’m loving mine and will probably end up selling both my Senns. I’m just worried about the longevity of the Elex going based off comments here.

(Edited)

Dec 24, 2020

redstang

Dec 26, 2020

MegazineWell, I hope it seems worse than it is, but every comment thread I read into there are people complaining that either their cable went bad, or even worse one of the drivers went out. I read a decent amount of comments about headphones I'm interested in and I can't recall any other headphone with as many complaints about quality issues. There are random comments that claim it isn't just the Elex but also their other models have had driver issues as well. I wasn't going to order a pair but when the price dropped on black Friday I couldn't resist, so now I'm just hoping I'm in the majority that will get a good pair.

Dec 26, 2020

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redstang

Jan 17, 2021

MegazineWell, add me to the list of disappointed Elex buyers. I received my headphones two weeks ago (finally) and immediately noticed a slight channel imbalance on right side. Then after listening to several songs I discovered the right driver was defective. Any significant amount of bass would cause the driver to distort - and that's at average listening levels. I emailed support and it took several days but I got an RMA and just returned them for a refund. I'm just not interested in having another set fail on me, even if they are good out of the box next time. Super disappointed though because even with the bad driver, I could hear the potential there, and they were easily the nicest headphones I've ever held in my hands. It has actually made me interested in getting the Clears.

Jan 17, 2021

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Jan 18, 2021

redstangDamn, that's sucks. Got mine in October I think and have been lucky. All good... so far.

Jan 18, 2021

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Jan 18, 2021

MegazineI emailed them asking the same when I purchased mine and they say they only offer the warranty it comes with. No extended available unfortunately.

Jan 18, 2021

Jan 18, 2021

Flip80Yea, they emailed me and told me no extended warranty. So far I’m really loving mine. Planning to sell my 6XX and maybe my 58X. They truly do sound like a Super 6XX. It’s just missing that beautiful vail sound.

Jan 18, 2021

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