What source gear are you using with the Elegia? If you are missing a little bit of that low end weight you could pick up something with an analog bass boost such as the iFi Hip Dac. I had one that I paired with my Elegia for a while and the bass was very satisfying on that combo. (And Iām very picky about my bass.)
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Itās a Soekris Dac 2541, and a Vioelectric V281. They kinda outweigh the Elegia in scale a little, so I can focus on HP upgrades in this future, knowing my source gear will hold up.
The bass isnāt by any means ālackingā, and if anything, is a little tighter without the EQ - but there was a not insubstantial boost in my favorite preset which made them into real thumpers. I want to spend a full week giving the non-EQ sound a try so I can teach myself more about what I really like. I figured I could drop my thoughts on the process here so others might be able to garner some comparative information along the way.
I did that - No EQ what-so-ever since Christmas. Gave me a new-found appreciation for each headphone I have, especially the Elegia. Having said that, the EQ is back, and I am back to having real fun again. The nice thing about this EQ is that you can defeat it if you want to, so I can go back to raw any time I wish.
I love these headphones. Lol compared to all the other headphones I have these are gold. I am also a huge fan of EQ. I find that different songs benefit from different EQs.
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Oh yeah you are set on source gear then. Nevermind what I said. Lol
That stack should drive just about everything. Curious to see where you go with headphones next.
Iāve always gone the route of simplicity and never used EQ. I guess I just like to know exactly what a headphone sounds like on its own when paired with my sources. Iāve never tried to āfixā a headphone with EQ and have instead tried to fine tune my audio chain to achieve what I want. I have a couple flavors of headphones for different moods and I donāt ever try to go for a specific target FR. Iād rather have the variety.
So i just order my Elegias, really excited (my largest single headphone related purchase so far), anything i should know aside from the cable? (I got a hart audio cable so im good)
That makes total sense. I tried some EQ with these headphones mostly as a curiosity thing. - I already had equalizer APO installed, and I have an EQ profile set up for my mic. Heck, why not?
I was surprised by how much I disliked what most of the presets did to Elegiaās sound. Not as surprised as I was by how much I liked what one of them did though.
Now I am taking a break from it so I can re-test whether I still prefer EQ, or if it just sounds āgood differentā without sounding ābetterā.
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For me itās not about being a purist or anything else. I like to have fun with the music. Sometimes I want to hear it honest and untouched; sometimes I want to screw around and have fun. Having an EQ available does that for me. Again, This is not an endorsement or argument in any way. that is simply how I do it.
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Looking for cable and pad recommendations for these headphones.
Possibly a dumb question but do the cables need to be this stiff and can there be an inline mic on the cable?
The cables absolutely do NOT need to be that stiff. Like I said above, Hart cables are a stark upgrade in terms of comfort, soft slinky cable, but there are better. Periapt cables are also pretty popular.
Donāt waste your time, nor the hearing of anyone who hears you with an in line mic. A cheap desk or arm mounted USB condenser mic will sound so much better, and once you get past the learning curve (it isnāt hard) becomes more convenient too.
I would look at Dekoni pads and a modmic would be a good option if a desk mic isnāt for you
Iāve had bad experiences with modmic:
I may be biased, there are plenty of people who like modmics, but for me, never again.
there are other brands that make similar mics with different designs not sure of any that would work as dual 3.5mm though
Is this the cable you bought? If so how does it connect to a laptop? Iām not sure what sort of āstyleā Iām supposed to get.
A little extra info is in order here.
Yes, thatās the cable I got. All of Hartās cables terminate in a mini XLR connection. This is their āmodularā cable system. They also sell what they call āinterconnectsā, which are short patch cables that have the other side of that mini XLR connecter, and then adapt to a standard audio connector (such as a 3,5mm or a quarter inch, or full sized XLR - either 3 or 4 pins).
Typically, at this level, it is generally understood that you will get the most out of a headphone of this quality by using a Dac and Amp that are separate from the stripped down and potentially noisy source included in your computer. In that situation, you would want an interconnect that has the same connector as your amp (or dac/amp if a single unit).
If you want to continue to use your laptop as your only source you would need a Hart modular interconnect that has the headphone connector that matched the port on the laptop (very commonly a 3.5mm port). this should be the correct interconnect.
Alternately you could get a single cable made in their custom shop:
Another option which seems to compete directly with Hart would be:
In that periapt link, just be sure to select the āterminationā as 3.5mm
I have a quidelix 5K coming in, I plan on driving the headphones through that. So I should get an interconnector that pairs with that DAC?
Since the 5K has both 3.5mm unbalanced and 2.5mm balanced outs, you may want both. However, if you want to stick with just 1, youāll get more power delivery out of the balanced 2.5mm. These are pretty easy to drive, so you probably wonāt need the extra power, just something to consider. The downside to getting just the 2.5mm balanced is then you would need an adapter for the more common 3.5mm jacks.
I think Iāll get both, I would want the flexibility. Thanks once again.
I now have stock pads, Dekoni sheepskins and Dekoni Stellia Ltd. Edition pads. I am hoping the last (newest) set will negate the urge to upgrade to the Radiance or Celestee models. 
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I would adore a breakdown of your thoughts on how each impact both sound and comfort.