Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
Disclaimer: A special thanks to Drop for sending the Focal Elex out to me for the impressions/review. As always, whether products are sent to me or not, I do my best in being 100% honest with my views and opinions. If I don't like a product, I will refuse to write a review of it, or at the very least mention what I don't like about them, though I like to focus on products that people would like or at the very least are interested in. The only bias I have is to my readers. No one, Drop or otherwise, paid or asked me for anything. They only asked for my honest impressions. That's it.
In terms of the Focal Elex, this was purely a personal request from me to Drop. I had never heard a Focal headphone, and figured if I was ever going to get an opportunity, the Elex would be a great point of entry. Boy, what an entry it is.
- They feel like heaven on the skin
- The inner cup ventilation is fantastic for long term wearing sessions and keeps ears from getting too hot
- While the pads aren't so plush that they compress like clouds, the fact they retain their shape means less surface area contacting the skin
They're simply incredible. I'd argue that something is wrong with you if thinking otherwise. Inconceivable. You can't change my mind. Cables:Weight: At about 450g, the Elex isn't the most lightweight of headphones, and you'll certainly feel it on the hand and when worn. That being said, while it's certainly not a feather, I've never found the weight to be cumbersome on the neck, ears, or head. The headband isn't the best at distributing weight, and may have a little bit of downforce felt from it, but overall, I just can't knock off too many points off due to these minor nitpicks. I feel that the weight is a testament to the high quality of the materials used, more than an issue of it being heavy for no reason. Final Build and Comfort Impressions: There's nothing I can truly find problematic with the Elex's build. It looks and feels premium from head to toe. This is one of the best headphones I've ever seen in both aesthetics and build. As far as comfort goes, you have arguably some of the best ear pads to ever grace a headphone, mixed with a decent, albeit not necessarily great headband. I'd say it averages out to very good in terms of comfort. The Elex is a headpone I can wear absolutely all day without question. With minor periods of adjusting the Elex on top of my head, there's little else to keep it from being incredibly comfortable for extremely long periods of use.
(Note - I have two areas of sound that I use the term "neutral" for. Neutral forwardness or lack off, as in whether sounds are intimate or spaced back. A sort of distance measurement relative to your listening position. Neutral again meaning not too forward, not too spaced back. In terms of sound signature, I mean it as something else, meaning tonality our how sounds...sound, if that makes sense. Not being dark, warm, cold, or bright. The Elex sounds close to what I perceive has neutral in tonality/coloration. A neutral tonality for me means that sounds aren't dark or warm, nor are they bright, cold, or analytical. Neutral means right where it needs to be. Correct. Somewhat lifelike in tone. If anything, the upper range can be just north of neutral and a little brighter than perfectly neutral, but not by much, and only in some ranges. Clarity is absolutely top notch. The Elex isn't boringly analytical or lacking in musicality, but it does exhibit a high degree of clarity, so much as to do well in sub-surface, miniscule detail retrieval. The Elex is among the best I've heard at the minor nitpicking needed for analysis of sound without ruining the enjoyment factor. It's better than great. It won't best the absolute top players like say an HD800, but I'd take the minor concessions made for something I'd want to listen to for all purpose rather than just for one thing here or there. Simple answers? Sound signature is neutral to slightly bright. Clarity is about 8 out 10 ten. Great clarity.
Media: Likely to no one's surprise, I find the Elex to be well suited for any and all forms of media. Its fantastic balance allows the Elex to do well with anything you throw at it. Want to listen to podcasts? The Elex's clarity and neutral forwardness allows voices to be picked up easily. Want to watch movies? While it may not be as bombastic as a bass-forward headphone, it still has a good amount of rumble and impact to make action movies enjoyable. Want to just sit back and listen to music before bedtime at low volumes? The Elex has you covered. Need critical, analytically focused listening? Hey, the Elex is no slouch. Really, it just lends itself to anything you throw at it. Practicality: The Elex has quite a large footprint, isn't collapsible in anyway, and is a bit on the heftier side of headphones. It's also very open, which isn't suited for outside listening. All of this means that the Elex makes for a poor choice of headphone for portable or transportable use. Unless you have a large private office away from the next person, I wouldn't even recommend it for work either. Seriously, keep the Elex at home. Who Is It For? The better question would be, who ISN'T the Elex for? The Elex is so good, I'd recommend it to practically anyone and everyone. It's so good, I doubt many people out there wouldn't love it in some form or another. If anything, I wouldn't recommend it for those wanting a headphone for the reasons I stated in the previous section. It's not portable-friendly, and it leaks a ton. Those would be the only two reasons I can think of stopping anyone from getting the Elex. I do believe the bass is fine for a neutrally toned and balanced headphone, though if you're a basshead, then there's certainly other headphones better suited for you. I feel the bass is more realistic to the sound, not so much thunderous and omnipotent. Basically, as long as you're expecting a headphone that is tonally well balanced, and not super colored one way or another, the Elex is brilliant, period.
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