May find yourself wanting more isolation on the train but in the office youāll be more than okay. Very little bleed and I donāt think youāll bother anyone in either environment 
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@donjklassen is pretty accurate here. Iāll add that if you wear glasses (like me) they donāt isolate quite as well. My SO was in the room with me a couple nights ago while I was playing Elegias. At about 70dB avg she said she could make out the songs I was playing. However, in an office setting I would be playing them much quieter and it would likely be fine in a cubicle or officemate situation.
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Iāve never heard my Elegia clip. Better than ZMF? Maybe in terms of dynamics and punch. I would wager ZMF has a more natural timbre. I donāt think Iād call Focal or ZMF overall better than the other. They just do things a little differently.
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@donjklassen: Yea their more expensive, and seem to be edged out when it comes to sound quality as a company.
definitely subjective lol
I think they isolate very well. Iām generally in a pretty quiet environment, but Iām find they do the trick when my son is watching TV or when I am vacuuming.
You donāt need to move to vol pot too high to get the Elegiaās loud without getting clipping.
So I have LCD-X , LCD-3F, HP-3, 1266 Phi TCā¦ Iām looking for a midfi (ish) closed back solution with pretty good dynamics, good technically/transparency, something that scales well with a better chain, something that can be used in a professional office (open air environment) or worn on a train.
Is the general feedback that the Elegia per $ is the best option to fit this criteria? Or should I look elsewhere? I generally prefer a warmer sound with a disdain for sibilance/harshness but I donāt mind EQāing.
Wanted to get feedback before pulling the trigger on the adorama deal.
I think in a mobile setting it you pair the Elegia with a Hip-Dac and use the Hipās bass boost it will meet your sound preferences. Itās not going to isolate train noise completely, and certainly not as well as one of the Sony or Bose ANC cans, but nor does it isolate terribly. It will lower the ambient noise floor reasonably well and if your music is energetic enough I imagine most train noise will fade.
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the Elegiaās were a miss for me, kept the AKG 371 for a cheapish close back, harman tuning.
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IME I donāt think it ticks this box to a worthwhile degreeā¦ hip dac to asgard 3 to hpa v200 saw pretty minimal gains IMOā¦ it does see slight improvement though so if you already have the gear and are not looking for monumental increases in performance it could be nice
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Don is right here and I missed commenting on that in my previous response. The Elegiaās performance jump from Hip-Dac to Asgard isnāt huge. The same is true going from Asgard to Liquid Platinum. It does improve, but not to the magnitude of even a DT880. The one exception, IMO, is if you use a bass boost. The Hip-Dac is just slightly underpowered and can get a tad sloppy at times for hard hitting bass with the Elegia + bass boost. Running the Zen dacās bass boost through Asgard had more control. However, thatās a special case for most users and itās only on select bassy material where the Hip-Dac loses that control, and then only slightly.
So itās kinda how you want to look at it. The Elegia is quite detailed and really wrings a lot out of lower tier amps but also doesnāt pull as much out of higher and higher tier amps. Is that a strength or weakness? Yes. 
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Sounds like the true definition of midfi then! Thanks for the input.
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ime itās got very little bleed. I had a friend try them just over a foot in front of me. and i couldnāt hear anything come out of it.
Well the stock cable went out on me after like ~6 months of owning these. A bit sad about it, but at the same time, now I can get a good aftermarket cable that isnāt stiff as all hell. Excited to try some Hart Audio Cables.
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I would get the Meze unbalanced $20 USD or the Meze balanced cables $50 USD for the Elegia. Both are on Amazon with prime shipping.
I just got a pair of Elegias yesterday!
These are my first pair of real, decent headphones. For the pastā¦ decadeā¦ I had some Bose QC15ās as my shitkickers. Iāve always appreciated sound quality and I listen to so much music I decided I wanted to try taking a step into higher end gear. Also I couldnāt stand having a battery in my headphones anymoreā¦
I gotta say Iām very impressed. Maybe thatās because Iād become so accustomed to the muddy bog known as the Bose QC15. What I did like about the Bose was the warmth and powerful bass. Right now Iām listening to the Elegias and wondering if I wish they were warmer. I feel like Iām on the fence with them as regards to that. Thereās no arguing that they are amazing. Iāve never heard music this clearly before. The Elegias are revealing details I didnāt even know existed in songs Iāve loved for years.
I donāt have the vocabulary to talk about this as in depth as Iād like, haha. I definitely agree with a few things others have said. Certain tracks sound absolutely amazing and I wouldnāt change a thing. While listening to these tracks the thought of trading the Elegias doesnāt cross my mind at all. But the next track will sound almost bland and flat. I think the quality of the source material is a huge factor for these particular headphones. That might be a frustrating thing for me to deal with.
These are my first pair of nice headphones and I havenāt had the opportunity to try any other types, sadly. I donāt have anything to compare to the Elegias. Iām left wondering if I might actually like another headphone better or if I should stick with these. I fluctuate between āWow these are the BEST!ā to āMaybe Iād like something else betterā¦ā
But what would be better, to me? Iām wondering if Iād prefer Teaks. Without trying them itās hard to say, how different would they really be? Iāve also read a little about Nighthawks and Nightowls. But I have been told that Nighthawks lack a lot of the detail and clarity. I do mix music as a hobby so I actually do like having this level of clarity. Part of me thinks the Elegias actually are the perfect headphone for me since I bought them to listen and enjoy music but I kind of do want a LITTLE bit of analytical detail.
Right now I have no amplification or anything. Iām just plugging them right into my computer. I am using an EQ. Iām torn between possibly spending a bit more money on a dac/amp for these Elegias or saving that money so I can trade the Elegias for something else. The grabby hands kid in me just wants to try EVERYTHING of course!
Welcome to the forum! I received my Elegia Thursday, and Iām still obsessed with it. These are some really great cans. I will say my experiment with a little bass shelf in EQ made them better, but I think the bass quality make up for the quantity most of the time.
As for getting an amp/DAC, I would say the Elegia seems to benefit a little going from my phone to the JDS Labs Element II, but I think is not really a big deal. If you want to experiment and have a little cash, most people recommend the Ifi Hip-dac for the build-in bass boost. But again, itās not a necessity.
Maybe @WaveTheorycan chime in and give some more recommendations.
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Thanks!
Iām definitely obsessed with mine, too. Just curious about other options! All I know isā¦ I plugged the QC15ās back in after listening to the Elegias for a while andā¦ uh uh. No going back, now! I can see what youāre saying with the bass quality making up for quantity. The Bose are all I have to compare to, and yeah, the bass in the Bose is big but it is also without any detail at all, pretty much. The longer my listening session is with the Elegia, the more my ears adjust and start to really appreciate what they are hearing.
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Hi, @rainbrain. I see Iāve been summoned. Quick hit thoughts before I call it a night and can respond in more detail tomorrowā¦
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if youāre into mixing and mastering you probably donāt want a Teak. Thatās not flat enough to pull that off effectively, IMO. Elegia is better suited to that application.
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What is your budget for a DAC, amp, or DAC/amp? Do you want a separate amp and dac stack or an all in one?
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Are you US based? If not, roughly where are you located? Your country of residence determines a lot of availability, unfortunately.
Alright, start of a new work week tomorrow and I need go knock off for the night. Answer those questions and Iāll catch you tomorrow.
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