Focal Elegia Circumaural Closed-Back High-Fidelity Audiophile Headphones Expired

Can someone comment on how they compare with Sennheiser 660S? I have the Senn's and so far, I love them. Trying to decide if these focals are worth the money when I already have the 660S?

Getting a dedicated DAC / AMP isn't just about the power output. I recommend you go and look up AudioScienceReviews, who clearly show the difference between products using data.

You can drive these on integrated audio but they won't sound as good. I have a $300 X570 Taichi and the integrated audio makes these headphones sound muddier and reduces the soundstage compared to my JDS Labs Element II.

Not sure who hurt you but you need to chill. I'm just trying to help people with my 5-6 years of audio research. Unfortunately it's not misinformation, it's simply how audio tech works. It would be similar to buying a 4k TV and then playing DVDs on it, realizing you need a 4k player and 4k discs to truly get the most out of the tv. If you just buy these headphones and plug them into your phone, you're likely missing out on the capabilities of the headphones. I wasn't calling out Spotify specifically but as an example of a popular streaming service that someone may subscribe to and unwittingly not be getting the highest quality music.

So would these be good for gaming? I'm thinking about replacing my headset with some headphones and a microphone. I've heard that would give me audio and mic improvements.

There's something about "HiFi" that always seems to inspire a healthy debate that somehow turns into bickering. Here's why I think that is: as crazy as it sounds, every opinion here is correct.

I'm not an audiophile, and will never pretend to be (don't know the science or care for it), but I grew up around someone who is a pretty serious nutcase of an Audiophile (my Dad). Here's what he has owned in some shape or fashion over the years (Bowers Wilkins 802 Diamond "R2D2", Thiel CS 3.6, Wilson Audio Watt Puppy, Wilson Audio Alexia, Wilson Audio Alexandria, and Avante Garde Trio). You can Google the specs and the prices yourselves. Some of these are six figure speakers. My point is I grew up listening to these speakers not in a showroom, not for an hour, but I guess I'm intimately familiar with them. I know what a DCS Debussy $10K DAC sounds like, etc.

If you keep the signal chain consistent, I might be able to discern which was which, maybe. If you change something, anything in the chain, all bets are off. Being 100% honest here.

I say all that only to make a point: Audio is extremely subjective. What sounds good to one person is not the same to the other, and price has very little meaning when sound is in the erm... "Ear of the Be-hearer".

The user who said that you didn't need a DAC/Amp to drive low impedance headphones is correct. But the guy/gal who said a DAC and Amp makes them sound better, is also correct. So is the person who said they can tell the difference between 320 encoded versus FLAC and the person who can't. It all depends on what you are looking for in your music, what you want to hear (a jazz singer's voice which is in the midrange is gonna be very different from dance music which will be bass heavy).

It sounds trite, but if you're just starting out in this hobby, the classic advice "go into the store and listen", is the honest truth. The owner of one of the higest end audio stores in Chicago once showed me a big room of what he called "OPM: Other People's Mistakes". That's because someone bought something because they "read somewhere" it sounded good, or a friend told them, or an Audio Forum, etc and had to sell it or return it.

Listen with your ears instead.

I'm not a crazy nut like my Dad, but I own some nice sounding gear, like a Thiel CS 3.6 and a Bryston 4B. The very best sounding set up that I personally love and use everyday is a pair of Grado SR-325s and a Little Dot 1+ with upgraded Tubes. But that's MY preference. I like things to sound like live music. And I am a music lover, not an audiophile. But I want things to sound good to my ears.

Back to the topic at hand: I demoed the Elegias a while back. They do sound a lot like the Clear, BUT there's something very significant that was missing I couldn't quite put my finger on. I didn't like them as much as the Clears. But I still prefer my Grados.

It's all about personal preferences, you see.

There's something about "HiFi" that always seems to inspire a healthy debate that somehow turns into bickering. Here's why I think that is: as crazy as it sounds, every opinion here is correct.

I'm not an audiophile, and will never pretend to be (don't know the science or care for it), but I grew up around someone who is a pretty serious nutcase of an Audiophile (my Dad). Here's what he has owned in some shape or fashion over the years (Bowers Wilkins 802 Diamond "R2D2", Thiel CS 3.6, Wilson Audio Watt Puppy, Wilson Audio Alexia, Wilson Audio Alexandria, and Avante Garde Trio). You can Google the specs and the prices yourselves. Some of these are six figure speakers. My point is I grew up listening to these speakers not in a showroom, not for an hour, but I guess I'm intimately familiar with them. I know what a DCS Debussy $10K DAC sounds like, etc.

If you keep the signal chain consistent, I might be able to discern which was which, maybe. If you change something, anything in the chain, all bets are off. Being 100% honest here.

I say all that only to make a point: Audio is extremely subjective. What sounds good to one person is not the same to the other, and price has very little meaning when sound is in the erm... "Ear of the Be-hearer".

The user who said that you didn't need a DAC/Amp to drive low impedance headphones is correct. But the guy/gal who said a DAC and Amp makes them sound better, is also correct. So is the person who said they can tell the difference between 320 encoded versus FLAC and the person who can't. It all depends on what you are looking for in your music, what you want to hear (a jazz singer's voice which is in the midrange is gonna be very different from dance music which will be bass heavy).

It sounds trite, but if you're just starting out in this hobby, the classic advice "go into the store and listen", is the honest truth. The owner of one of the higest end audio stores in Chicago once showed me a big room of what he called "OPM: Other People's Mistakes". That's because someone bought something because they "read somewhere" it sounded good, or a friend told them, or an Audio Forum, etc and had to sell it or return it.

Listen with your ears instead.

I'm not a crazy nut like my Dad, but I own some nice sounding gear, like a Thiel CS 3.6 and a Bryston 4B. The very best sounding set up that I personally love and use everyday is a pair of Grado SR-325s and a Little Dot 1+ with upgraded Tubes. But that's MY preference. I like things to sound like live music. And I am a music lover, not an audiophile. But I want things to sound good to my ears.

Back to the topic at hand: I demoed the Elegias a while back. They do sound a lot like the Clear, BUT there's something very significant that was missing I couldn't quite put my finger on. I didn't like them as much as the Clears. But I still prefer my Grados.

It's all about personal preferences, you see.

Some of the best over ears I have ever owned, but the included wire is like a string of spaghetti, you might want to consider replacing it with something better.

...It would be similar to buying a 4k TV and then playing DVDs on it, realizing you need a 4k player and 4k discs to truly get the most out of the tv...

What you said is fundamentally misguided. What really is going on is, regardless if the source is 4k BR or a 640p DVD you want the best possible DISPLAY. A 20 year old DVD of Aliens will look better on an OLED than a 4-series TCL.

And these $300+ cans will display a 128mp3 to your ears better than the $200+ Sennheiser/DROP collabs that get posted; With the same lowly Spotify content.

I mean you can drive a Corvette or a Corolla with the same fuel, but which one is gonna be more fun doing so?

Do they sound too bright? I mostly listen to metal and some electronic music. My other pick is Dan Clark aeon 2

I just got my pair from this deal and the cable is madd of black rubber sleeve unlike the one that everyone hates on YouTube. Looks like there was a revision of sort to the cable