Hello Everyone! I need some help as I am looking to get a new set of open back headphones. I currently have the Fostex Purplehearts that I absolutely LOVE (that bass slam). What I am looking for (or hoping) in the open backs is detailed sound, good bass thump (Probably hard to find something like the Purplehearts), and sound stage. I have been searching and I’ve come up with either DT1990’s or Focal Elear’s. I know for the DT1990’s the bass slam isn’t going to be there at least from what I’ve read. For the Elear’s its said to have some good/decent slam, but how is the details compared to the DT1990’s?. Which one should I go for or are there other headphones in this price bracket that I should look at? My budget is currently $500 ish but I could stretch just a little bit more. If you have any questions or more info please let me know.
I would not suggest the elears, and would suggest the elex instead, but I personally think both wouldn’t suit your tastes anyway because they actually distort with lots of bass (but for most music I think it’s fine). The elex is a big step up from the elear and the elear isn’t worth considering imo
I think the dt1990 has pretty good bass and would be a nice addition, but you might want a bit of eq if you want the bass to be on the level of the purple heart
I think something like the he5se would be a good pick if you had a pretty good amp imo as well (but they seriously take a lot of power and quality to sound their best)
Thank you M0N! I will definitely check out the Elear. Is the HE5SE pretty detailed with sound stage? I wasn’t looking at HifiMan because I’ve read that they have issues with long term durability is that still the case, or was it just the vocal minority speaking up that I was reading about? For my amp I am currently using the SMSL SP200.
So I think the he5se should be fine qc wise, and if something does happen it should be a simple rma process. I think the 5se has a pretty wide and open soundstage. Also satisfactory bass. I think your amp should be fine too.
Also perhaps check out the edition xx as that’s also pretty good and something to consider in this price range
Also just to clarify I recommend the elex not the elear
Sorry I meant the Elex not the Elears. I will definitely look into the edition xx. Thank you for your help!
You know what. Headphones.com has the Elear with the Utopia pads for $599.
As far as I can tell, the Elear and Elex drivers seem to exactly the same. Based on some of my research, the part numbers, for the housing and drivers are identical. I doubt Massdrop has anything to do with any further driver modifications. Other than cosmetics, the headband cushion material is different and of course the earpads. Though for $599 with meh cable, hardcase and Utopia pads, returns and pretty responsive customer service, it may be worth considering.
Ehhhhh, even then, I think the elex is the better bet. The Utopia pads would help imo, but it really might be better off to get the elex. I think the driver was tuned differently as well
yeah, the Elear sucked.
I wouldn’t be able to prove what other tuning is done to the driver itself.
For a fact, part numbers of the driver and the baffle plate assembly are the same, only visual differences are the serial numbers. There is no difference to the interior of the cups of either of the two either.
How much of a difference is going from a teh suck Elear (with Utopia pads) to an orgasmic jubilation of a headphone the Elex? When they share almost everything.
This is coming from an Elex owner.
So stock its a very big jump up imo. The elear was kinda flawed. Trying the elex pads on the elear made them better, but still not as good as the elex imo. I have not tried the utopia pads on the elear unfortunately.
Wow i find this hard to believe. Same driver? The Utopia’s are 4000$ headphones. its hard to beleive its the same driver with just different tuning. if so Focal are really pulling a fast one on us.
Elear and Elex same driver. Utopia pads can be ordered with the Elear.
Yes, they don’t have the utopia or clear driver lol. Yeah, while I think it is somewhat of a good deal, I just think the elex makes more sense as I think it would still sound better than the elear with utopia pads. I can’t say for sure, but having tried elex and clear pads on an elear, I am fairly confident that the utopia pads on the elear would not sound as good as the elex imo
If you can find them used, add Audeze LCD-2C’s or Quad ERA-1’s to your list. Pretty similar sound signatures, but the Quad’s have a noticeable bump to the low end over the Audeze.
Oops! NVM!
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Ok cool thank you I was researching the Quad ERA-1’s last night and even though they are a little outside my price range I will definitely keep my eye out on those as they look to tick my boxes.