Faulty drivers have been the biggest culprit mentioned at headphone forums across the Web and on Reddit.
Bummer you got a dodgy pair. The QC issues have scared me off from buying these, for now. I know people who are happy rarely complain or post online, but there are just too complaints for me to be confident.
Good luck in your journey, man.
Were they new or used? If new, who was the seller? Elexās are Awesome, but of course, not when broken.
Good luck!
eBay. Seller had them listed as, āNew - Opened never used.ā I called bullshit straight away; skin, hair and obvious pad wear. Iām usually quite forgiving with sellers on eBay so I gave 'em a listen ā¦it was at this point my rage kicked in. Iāve had a bad experience with dodgy sellers with a GPU AND a phone last week so the Elex seller got a spicier message than I would have usually afforded him. eBay looks after buyers pretty good though so Iām not worried about getting a refund.
Another scumbag trying to sell his problems on.
I hope you get your hands on a good set at some point. Mine are almost two years old and I still love them.
Part of why I got nervous about getting Elex used, and even new at $549 or whatever theyāve dropped to at times. Iāve heard less reliability issues with Clear, but some of this might come down to use/user issues ā like vehicle reliability sometimes does. I wonder how much of the Elex issues relates to over-EQ on bass frequencies potentially aligned with under-powering issues.
if you scroll up (way up) you see pictures that is most likely the cause.
Itās the coil or itās joint / attachment places.
These are back on sale for $599 (I know theyāve been $549 or even lower but with Drop reacting to inflation prices like with their upping of the 58X and 6XX I doubt weāll see them go cheaper, but you never know). Iāve always wanted a pair but like most people the QC issues continue to scare me off; the reviews on the site make it look like this is still a hit or miss issue with a lot of people too.
Good instincts, honestly they are good but Iām never buying a focal unless I have a brick and mortar store that will help with after purchase support.
Your choice, but you are losing out on a great headphone, at a great price. $599.00 is the lowest you will ever see now as the list price is $749.00. They have sold over 5,000 units. I am sure there have been a few hundred problems, but they are great about returns. Or you could buy some OG Clears at headphones.com. I think open boxes are $790.00 and still have full factory warranty. I just bought open box Radianceās from them.
A āfew hundredā problems out of 5,000 sold is a pretty sh*tty QC rate. If the few hundred is 500, then thatās 10 percent of the sold units with faults, which is unacceptable.
Iāve always wanted to try an Elex. And I know the squeakiest wheels get the grease, which is why you see so many complaints about these cans. Happy people usually are quieter than angry ones.
Still, the QC issues and numerous problems with dead drivers scare me off again and again. Maybe one of these days Iāll have the stones to pull the trigger. Not now, though, as a $600 item is not a disposable purchase for me.
Considering these are a bit of a Frankenstein model between Focal and Drop, problems are not completely unexpected. I wouldnāt be shocked at a 95% success rate.
NO company is 100%. The very best are likely 98-99% perfect, IMO.
There are thousands of Very satisfied Elex owners.
I have returned a few Drop products (which is very easy and painless) and never thought about boycotting those products or their manufacturers.
Whatever works for you. Look at the OG Clears then maybe?
My experience was that I bought the Elex it arrived doa, returned Elex and got a new one, that was pretty painless. New one worked for awhile then died again the same week the warranty was up.
Drop didnāt want to help with warranty and I offered to pay for drivers if they helped me source them. I got the big middle finger. Focal did the exact same thing.
Now I bet focalās own QC is probably much better than dropās but still wonāt buy a set without a reputable shop that has great after purchase support.
Also Iāve owned enough audio gear that I could buy a new car with the money spent on that gear and the Elex is the only dud product Iāve ever had, hifiman never let me down. That in itself leaves a very bad taste in ones mouth.
That is indeed shitty circumstance. Drop only gives you the one year. I went into the purchase with eyes wide open. I thought that if it breaks within a year I will replace. If they break after one year and I was in love with the sound I would buy a Clear, likely used.
It is a bit of a crapshoot, being a type of Frankenstein headphone. Many thousands have had a wonderful experience. A few hundred have not. Sorry to hear about your issues, but mine are two years old and one of my favourite headphones and I have gone through a ton.
I am really thinking about a set of open box OG Clears. I have some gear for sale and when it goes, I might make the jump.
PS: The Radiance headphones are the best closed backs I have ever owned or heard, although I donāt have any experience with high end 'phones.
Iām glad yours are holding up and definitely wouldnāt hesitate on an open box set from headphones.com as they seem to treat people well.
I would say for the money give a ZMF Aeolus as shot. Very nice sounding headphone with a lifetime driver warranty. I Picked up a set after the Elex died and havenāt even been tempted on picking up another focal.
If you like the Radiance, donāt try the Stellia. Youāll look to auction one of your organs to buy a pair after you try them. Absolutely sublime, in my testing. 
I wonāt be going near them. I find them ugly and WAY too expensive. End game is a tricky expression, but I really donāt plan on trying out any more closed backs. And there is nowhere to do it locally, so I am safe. 
ZMF stuff seems nice, but is Stupid expensive.
After 7 years of experimenting I have learned the sound signatures that I Really like are: Focal, Grado, HiFiman along with iBasso SR2ās and CFA Cascades.
For now I want to climb the Focal tree (Clears) and the Grado tree (the new X driver models) and maybe, down the road, try the HE1000SE/V2ās.
I mean itās not much more expensive than the focalās are when you start climbing. If at all, my Aeolus weāre $1200 when I bought them.
I completely understand finding that sound you love and following it. Keep following and let us know your thoughts.
BTW hereās some ZMF porn 
My Elear which is supposed to be similar to the Elex died a couple months ago, one side deadā¦ I wouldnāt do it. I went for an OG Clear instead. The Elex pads on the Clear are way cheaper than the Clear replacement pads and imo a good replacement option, if you decide to go that route.
So after using these as a daily driver for a solid year and a half, I have worn through the pads pretty badly to the point of going back to my Senns just because the Elex pads are so scratchy now. Has there been any strong alternative to the Drop pads thatās come out and Iām just not finding? If not, it looks like the last drop was over a year ago, has there been word of another one coming around?
If not, I may take this opportunity to buy the OG Clears, but from my understanding they are less fun and more analytical, which isnāt what Iām looking for. I like the warmer sound Elex, thatās maybe a little more bass forward, at least compared to my 6XX.
