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SpeleoFool
675
Mar 13, 2020
Massdrop x Focal Elex were the headphones that triggered my obsession with Focal. They made such an impression that I went straight to the top for Utopia next. Later, after reading glowing reviews of Elegia, I decided to see what Focal could do with closed-back cans. Within hours of placing my order for Elegia I received an email announcement for Stellia. Eager to see if Stellia could capture the best parts of Utopia and Elegia, I added it to the collection; it has become my favorite of the bunch. Stumbling upon a killer deal on Elegia, I bought a second pair and converted my first into a headset with an Antlion Modmic 5. Finally, another great deal on the Focal Clear Professional persuaded me to round out my collection with it. I brought the whole collection into the office for a "family photo," and it turned out so well I thought I'd share it here. Thanks, Drop, for introducing me to my favorite headphones!
BillyZee
0
Mar 18, 2020
SpeleoFoolWhat would you rank them all?
SpeleoFool
675
Apr 10, 2020
BillyZeeApologies--I had a response typed out and lost it to a browser crash, then I've neglected to come back to this. It's extremely difficult (and not super-meaningful) to condense everything down to an explicit ranking. It's much easier to describe why I own each of these and what each one does best compared to the rest of the line. My most-loved pair are the Stellias. Both Stellia and Utopia have unreal detail retrieval thanks to their beryllium drivers. Utopia very slightly edges out Stellia in this regard, but is unbelievably open--put them on and it almost sounds like you're wearing nothing at all. Every sound from your surroundings will intrude on your listening experience. Stellia's closed backs do a great job of blocking out moderate noise, even without music playing, and once the tunes start they're all I hear. Stellia also has a welcome bump to the bass that that give it wonderful impact with music like EDM. Elegia is my favorite Focal from a sheer value proposition. It was my daily driver at the office for a long time. It's amazingly open-sounding, and performance is very close to what the two flagships deliver for a small fraction of the price. Details are a little softer and decay rolls off faster, but you'd be hard-pressed to notice without a direct A-B comparison. These have been my top headphone recommendation for anyone looking to step up beyond Sennheiser 6xx territory and not ready to step into multiple-kilobuck flagship territory. If a closed back is not important, Elex could very easily take Elegia's place for best value recommendation. I wish it came with Focal's very impressive (and expensive) case, but that can be overlooked for the sake of keeping the price down. Still, I really wish Drop would partner with Focal to offer a blacked-out version of that case for people looking to take Elex on the go. In any case, these are stupendously good headphones and could easily be the best option of the bunch for people not needing a closed back model and not ready to invest in one of the flagships (and a pristine playback chain capable of driving them to good effect). If I had simply ranked Elex #4 out of 5 I'd have done them a disservice; it's not that they're poor, but that beryllium is amazing and closed backs are important to me for listening at the office. Of everything, I've spent the least time with the Clears, but they've already made an impression on me as a bit more of a "specialist" headphone. The Clear Pros are marketed as a studio / professional tool moreso than an audiophile headphone, and I can see why. None of the other Focals sound colored (to me) until I compare them to the Clears. The thing that most stood out to me about the Clears' voicing is how utterly non-fatiguing it is. I can listen to any of these headphones all day long--and I do--but the Clears are something I could use all day, every day. The mids are a little recessed compared to the other Focal models, but not in a hollow way--more like just staying out of the way of everything else. For "fun" listening, the Clears might be the last set I'd reach for out of the whole bunch, but for analytical listening or auditioning new amps / DACs they'd probably be among the first. I feel like I should close by saying that I could be happy with any one of these headphones as my only set. None of them have any faults that would wear on me or leave me wanting. All of them play well with all types of music. It's that versatility that's probably most responsible for my adding so many different Focal headphones to my collection.
(Edited)
bobkiksbread
2
May 28, 2020
SpeleoFoolThank you for this write up! Very enlightening 😁
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