Genuine Elex pads back on sale on massdrop
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with speakers you have to deal with the room accoustics - another beast âŠ
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Yeah, speakers are much more difficult to get right lol
Curious on peopleâs comparisons of soundstage between the Elex and Clear.
Sound-stage is close or the same to me. Though I have not done a lot of A/Bing. The Clears so far Iâd say have a noticeably leaner low end. About just as accentuated, but cleaner sounding. Highs are a bit smoother too. Overall very close. I agree with M0N they give a more neutral impression overall.
Iâve seen some reports say the Clear pads are thicker, that is absolutely not the case from what I have. Aside from color, and a slightly more âplushâ âfuzzyâ material on the Clear Pads, they feel very close. I donât really think there is any difference in the foam inside the pads either.
Iâll give better impressions after having the Clears for a few days. But overall, they are positive. I do like them a lot.
Only problem is, " Estimated ship date is Apr 1, 2020 PT." If you donât mind waiting, Iâd pick them up. Always good to have a back up pair!
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The first batch sold through in under 10 hours, so if might want a pair, itâs probably worth jumping.
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The Focal Clears that came in today. Seller was nice enough to include the knit headband cover (was not part of the listing). I also opted to use the Elex pads and put the Clear pads away in the box so I dont have to be so paranoid about keeping them clean.
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What do you think of the clear pads vs the elex pads sound wise?
If there are differences⊠Its extremely subtle. Maybe a 1-2% brightness increase with the Clear pads⊠If I mix them up, theres not enough discrepencies between left and right to really be sure. Maybe with the right audio or song, something might come through.
Physically they are the same thickness and firmness seems about equal. There is a noticeable material quality difference of the fabric though.
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Overall, I think DEFINITELY they are close enough that people should opt to spend $60 on Elex pads over the $200 Clear pads⊠unless you are super OCD about it. If anything, I believe I prefer how they sound with the Elex pads.
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Something pretty interesting I noticed.
Headphone.com is selling the Elear as a bundle for $599 and gives you the option of including either the Clear or Utopia pads along with the official hard carrying case.
Itâs a good deal and no doubt the Clear or Utopia pads will improve the sound, but on top of that they link to measurements comparing the Elear using the different pads, including a comparison to the Elex.
Source: https://forum.headphones.com/t/focal-elear-with-case-plus-choice-of-utopia-or-clear-pads-for-599/2424/5
One thing Iâve definitely been wondering is if the Elex was nothing more than the Elear with Clear pads, but based on this, that doesnât seem to be the case?
âŠor could the differences in measurements simply be the difference between the Clear and Elex pads themselves on the Elear/Elex?
or just manufacturing variance?
No, the elear is not an elex imo. Even with those pads or elex pads, it is still not as good as an elex. I would just personally stay away from the elear
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I think I mentioned this in some random thread. I did some research on the Elears and Elex. I had a buddy that let me take his apart his Elear. The part number on the physical driver is the exact same on both the Elear and Elex. Also the driver housing that holds the driver in place by 3 screws had the same part number.
Inside the cups and look like no other dampening material or structure or material that looks like it would significantly change sound. So internally, unless those drivers are altered or they used some other component that fit like a different voice coil, I couldnât find a difference.
I didnât do a true sound comparison, it sounded close enough in brief testing.
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Just bought a used pair for $520! I canât wait to hear them!
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Nice, hope you enjoy them 
yeah, i mean, i donât know personally. I just thought it was interesting, the listing selling them with the choice of extra pads, though⊠along with the measurements. =)
The slightly less aggressive rise in the treble 4k-5k region on the Elex in the measurements they posted felt indicative of I was hearing when comparing the Clear and Elex pads on the Clear headphones.
But that could just be whatever⊠not sure. 
Looks like somebody swapped drivers and badges. (Iâm assuming you swapped drivers as well)
Yeah⊠I only had 1 working driver for this spare Elex. Lol They are are the Clear drivers.
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