I’m looking for a point of reference/value appraisal on this one (I added this question onto the Sales thread earlier, but I wanted to give it it’s on post for more visibility, so forgive me):
I upgraded from the 6XX to the Elex earlier this year as a daily driver, and have not regretted it for a second. They’re powered by an OG Jotunheim. I’ve been eyeing the closeout sale on the Clears. Is there a meaningful upgrade to be had by me here? Should I buy the Clears, and just flip the Elexes over given the amazing deal?
I’m leaning towards yes, but I was hoping someone would just let me know if I’m expecting more than I should be from the change. Alternatively, I was considering waiting for some sort of Fostex to come back up on Drop for a change of sound when I’m looking for more Bass.
If you really like the tuning on the Elex, you may want to stick with that since they are different sounding. Also the difference in technical performance isn’t likely to be very noticeable on an og Jot.
You can’t refund the purchase if you buy from headphones.com. But you could always buy and try it, if you don’t mind reselling afterwards.
I would agree in this case, it’s going to be a matter of preference of sound signature, as from a technical perspective the clear only becomes noticeably better than the elex on higher tier source gear. If you only planned to stick with the jot, the elex would be a better value, although if you planned to upgrade source in the future the clear might be a better deal. What dac are you using? Also, what do you want out of the headphones?
Thanks for the reply! I’m using the DAC/AMP combo with the USB based AK4490 I believe. It’s my first & only Amp I bought because it was one of the best budget options for balanced from what I understood at the time. I have no grounds for comparison, but I’ve questioned why I would want to upgrade in the future, like under what circumstances would the Jot not be sufficient?
As to your other question of what do I want, I use them for playing music, which includes a lot of modern rock, jam bands, Jazz, and Funk, EDM and some Pop. I also game on them (single player, not worried about the things FPS players generally are). If that doesn’t help, perhaps you could give me an example of the type of answers you are looking for? My exposure to the audiophile space is extremely limited, and because of the cost of entry, it’s hard for me to do this sort of thing blind.
Overall better technical performance. Something to consider is that the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so even if you do get better and better headphones, they can only showcase what they are given, so upgrading the source gear so they can give more to the headphone is worthwhile with higher end cans. It’s also a case of synergy or quality of pairing too. With the clear, I do think it would be slightly better than the elex on the current chain, but upgrading to a more capable dac and amp (I personally think a good starter chain for the clear would be something like an og schiit bifrost 2 + rupert neve rnhp or little labs monotor, or perhaps a denafrips ares ii + lake people g111) will allow the clear to better showcase what it can do over the elex to where the elex will fall behind in most aspects. The OG Jot is good, but I’d say for a clear you wouldn’t really be getting much of what you pay for with it, whereas it would play well with the elex.
Ah I should have phrased it differently. Between the two cans, the elex is a more “fun” pick, it’s a more emphasized and energetic tuning (I’d call it a bit W shaped actually) and more focused on the macro side of things, whereas the clear is more neutral in general and more no nonsense and not as exaggerated (ignoring better technical ability). The elex is going to be more forgiving of the chain and music, where the clear will not. So that’s something to consider when deciding between the two imo. I don’t really game too often anymore, but single player games should be sweet on both, and music wise I’d say they’d likely both work pretty well with that too.
Interesting to hear your take. I think you said that to me many months or a year ago. I am currently running four amps and love the Elex out of every unit. I am currently trying to sell some gear right now and when I do, I think I will pick up the Clear’s to compare.
Shane I completely agree with what you said about the Elex. I am running them off of an Asgard 3 and Modius right know and I couldn’t be happier…How do they sound on the little dot?
They sound great off the LD MK9. The stock tubes are pretty thick and bassy, which can be a nice change. The V220 is warm and has more of a soft sound with a broader bass. The Rebel is sharp and crisp with good bass.
And the iFi can be whatever you want it to be.
First off thank you for the welcome…I have been a fairly long time lurker and figured it was time to join…I came really close to buying a Rebel amp, but came across a deal on the Asgard 3 I honestly couldn’t pass up…I am thinking about getting a DarkVoice 336se to dip my toes in the entry level tube amp world and then down the rabbit hole with tube rolling…lol
If you’re someone who can detect small differences / nuances in music and it’s valuable to you, you could try it. If the budget allows it, I would just buy the Clear, compare it to the Elex and then decide. If you like to keep the Elex signature you can try putting the Elex pads on the Clear while you have both, brings the bass up a bit. I also found the presentation (imaging) of the Clear “tidier”, more studio-like.
