šŸ”· Focal Elegia

Is there a TLDR on pad options? So far Iā€™ve gathered:
:white_check_mark: Dekoni Sheepkin - bass boost, the most isolation
:white_check_mark: Dekoni Stellia Limited - Focal Clear OG-ish sound
:white_check_mark: stock - mid forward, bass depends, reduced treble, least isolation
:question: soundstage/imaging differences between the pads

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I found the stock a little bass-lite, but nice sound.
I then bought the Dekoni Sheepskins. Lot of bass, but the sound was too different, for my taste.
I then picked up a used set of Dekoni Stellia Ltd. Edition pads and I was happy. To me, it was similar to stock, but with a bit more bass presence.

PS: I didnā€™t notice a lot of difference in soundstage or imaging.

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Agree with @ShaneD assessment. Elegia are somewhat narrow (but nor much) in soundstage, and pads donā€™t change that. Imaging is ok, separation is the best ā€œtechnicalityā€ on them IMO. Pads so far changed nothing of these characteristics.

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I have Clear MG and Celestee in my collection and found Elegia at a real bargain price and want to add it to my collection too. Should I buy it or is it a waste of money since I have both Clear Mg and Celestee?

Personally i really like the Elegia but i havent heard the Celestee (the Clear MG is open back so i wouldnt compare the two).
DMS did a comparison between the two:

Personally i think the Elegia solid either way and for its price is a solid choice

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Iā€™ve owned all 3 and while the Elegia at <$400 is a great deal, I donā€™t believe youā€™ll find it does anything better than the Celestee (except maybe a slightly larger soundstage/depth) and certainly not the Clear Mg.

So grab it if you just want the extra pair for a great deal but I donā€™t think youā€™ll be blown away by it since you already have the Celestee and Clear Mg.

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Thank you both @alphamarshan and @Naturallymorbid

Iā€™ve placed my order and hopefully will receive it next week. Iā€™m not expecting too much difference but may keep it as a collection item. Next stop, finding a deal for Radiance. :slight_smile:

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Then you get the offical ā€œFocal Fanboyā€ badge, it come with French toast and some french fries

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Iā€™m getting into audio and just bought my first headphones: Focal Elegia. Did I hear something about a badge and french fries? :smile:

I am connecting the Elegia directly to my PC jack and I feel they are underperforming, so I was thinking of buying a iFi Zen Dac V2.

I read @WaveTheory 's review on iFi Zen Dac v1 and Iā€™m reconsidering.

I donā€™t know how to quote from another thread so Iā€™ll post the link and quote directly from WaveTheory below.

ā€œThe Zen As an Amp
As good as the Zen sounded as a DAC feeding the Asgard and then into the Elegia, plugging the Elegia directly into the Zenā€™s headphone output was not a pleasurable experience. That pairing was harsh, compressed, aggressive, and metallic sounding. (ā€¦) I donā€™t know why the Elegia and the Zen didnā€™t play nice in this way, but itā€™s worth mentioning. Truthfully, this is about all the testing I did with the Zenā€™s amp section. Iā€™m just not personally interested in using it that way.ā€

WaveTheory also mentions that the Elegia + Asgard 3 + Zen Dac sounds great, even playing harsher genres like metal and hard rock.

My question is do I need more power? Elegiaā€™s impedance is 35 ohms so iFi Zen Dac should be enough to power it and get a good performance, right?

Thanks!

Edit: I wanted to spend $200 on a Dac / Amp combo but I live in Europe so some equipment is more expensive here (eg. JDS Labs Atom+ and Schiit).

zen dac should be more than enough power, I can probably break my elegia out of the closet tomorrow and take it for a spin on my zen dac v1/v2.

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Iā€™m new to audio, so I donā€™t know if the issue WaveTheory was mentioning is strictly due to power or something else. Let me know how it feels. Thanks!

No, in this instance it is not about power. The ZenDac as DAC/AMP combo with the Elegia has crappy synergy, I know I had booth and tested it myself at the time. Using the ZenDAC as DAC feeding into another amp did not have the same effect.

You have anything to add @WaveTheory ?

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I think you fairly well nailed it. The only thing I wonder about now is if Zen V2 fixed any of that. I havenā€™t heard it and I also no longer have Elegia around to check.

I did just have a fresh thoughtā€¦do you need a desktop friendly form factor or would you be ok using one of those flask-shaped OTG dac/amps? The iFi Hip-DAC (I had V1 for a bit) pairs quite nicely with Elegia. It rolls off the highs a bit which takes some of that Focal metallic bite out and the bass boost adds in some of the body and fullness the Elegiaā€™s stock tuning sometimes lacks.

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Thanks for your input!

Either flask or desktop is ok. I was thinking desktop because it ā€œseemsā€ better but Iā€™m fine with either one

Do you think its better to buy the flask instead of buying a desktop Dac/Amp and tweaking the EQ? I donā€™t know much about EQ (or audio, for that matter), so I donā€™t know if itā€™s possible to correct the Elegia by tweaking it

For a beginner youā€™ll probably appreciate the simplicity of a bass boost switch. And if you go flask-style youā€™ll be able to plug it into your phone and listen OTG. If youā€™ve never heard serious audiophile gear before youā€™ll probably want to do thatā€¦and tell the world to shut up, lol. Good hunting!

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You have to shill at least 10 time before getting into the Focal fun club :smiley:

No, the Elegia can pretty much run off a potato but there certain amps that work better with it, The IFI dac might not be a good pair but the IFI stack (meaning the DAC + Can) is actually a fine pairing. Though personally ivā€™e come to like it more with ā€œcleanerā€ amps, but you can go for something even simpler like a FIIO BTR5

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Thanks! I found a ifi hip dac v1 used in the store for display and bought it for $110.

Iā€™ll let you know what I think

strange, canā€™t A/B V1 vs V2 atm but V1 vs FIIO K9 pro and then V2 vs K9 pro has me fairly confident in recā€™ing the pairing
I guess I also have the I Power X and a USB Filter so that may change things but the only noticeable differences were the IFIā€™s having a bit more low end energy the FIIO was a bit cleaner and had a bit more sparkle in the highs

How is the hip dac going to roll the highs off when it has a linear frequency response to above 20k.