Focal Elegia Circumaural Closed-Back Audiophile Headphones

Budderbear

Nov 22, 2022 11:08 AM

215 Comments

Joined Nov 2013

BudderbearNov 22, 2022 11:08 AM

215 Comments

Quote from TheoreticalMooseHome

:

Who else here bc they missed the HD600'ds ?

I caught the HD600's by coincidence. I saw the HD560S were on sale so I figured I would see if any other Senn's where also on sale. First thing that popped up was the HD600 for $99.98. Before I could post the deal here they were back up to $299, then unavailable shortly there after.

fritzo

Nov 22, 2022 2:18 PM

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Joined Aug 2011

fritzoNov 22, 2022 2:18 PM

4.4K Comments

I'm a bit of an headphone guy (I have severe hearing loss so I like headphones with large cans so I can listen to music without hearing aids). Focal Elegia is a very high-end brand and the construction on these headphones is fantastic. Rich people use these products for their home theaters and whole-house audio.

That being said, in this price range You might want to consider the Bowers & Wilkins PX7. Very similar build quality, but they have a larger soundstage and the sound quality is absolutely fantastic. The ANC is also really good (not as good as the SONY XM series, but we're talking like 5% worse).

The Focals have a weird contour in the design, so they don't fit all heads very well. Just throwing in my .02.

2

darren_fsl

Nov 22, 2022 5:08 PM

212 Comments

Joined Nov 2015

darren_fslNov 22, 2022 5:08 PM

212 Comments

Quote from goodness97

:

This headphones should be recalled by the manufacturer. This is a serious problem that can cause hearing problems.

What's that?

1

vid1900

Pro

Nov 22, 2022 5:57 PM

3.5K Comments

Joined Sep 2016

vid1900

Pro

Nov 22, 2022 5:57 PM

3.5K Comments

Quote from goodness97

:

This headphones should be recalled by the manufacturer.

They should be recalled because the headbands break when taking them on or off. Not covered under warranty. No replacement parts available.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/ forum/index.php?threads/focal-elegia-review-closed-back-headphone.27977/

(remove space for link to full review and measurements)

1

d3a1z

Nov 22, 2022 6:33 PM

713 Comments

Joined Nov 2006

d3a1zNov 22, 2022 6:33 PM

713 Comments

I don't see how this gets FP every time. This "deal" has been about the same price for at least a year. This is the normal price of the headphones with some marketing price attached.

1

kickerofelves

Nov 22, 2022 8:05 PM

16 Comments

Joined Aug 2010

kickerofelvesNov 22, 2022 8:05 PM

16 Comments

Quote from d3a1z

:

I don't see how this gets FP every time. This "deal" has been about the same price for at least a year. This is the normal price of the headphones with some marketing price attached.

I don't think that's true, it's generally not Focal's style to do that except for old/b-stock, etc models. Elegia came out in 2018 as their first attempt at a closed-back iirc & sold for $899 until the reworked similarly priced closed-back Celeste came out in 2020 & Focal was stuck with a bunch of these. At least that's the story I've read.

1

potenzaSD

Nov 22, 2022 8:40 PM

434 Comments

Joined Aug 2011

potenzaSDNov 22, 2022 8:40 PM

434 Comments

Quote from d3a1z

:

I don't see how this gets FP every time. This "deal" has been about the same price for at least a year. This is the normal price of the headphones with some marketing price attached.

i don't think it has been under $300 many times...

d3a1z

Nov 22, 2022 9:24 PM

713 Comments

Joined Nov 2006

d3a1zNov 22, 2022 9:24 PM

713 Comments

Quote from kickerofelves

:

I don't think that's true, it's generally not Focal's style to do that except for old/b-stock, etc models. Elegia came out in 2018 as their first attempt at a closed-back iirc & sold for $899 until the reworked similarly priced closed-back Celeste came out in 2020 & Focal was stuck with a bunch of these. At least that's the story I've read.

I get it, but these have been around for years. Did they overproduce them by 500k units or something? Either way, they are definitely not a $900 headphone on sale. They are ~$300 headphone with a flimsy headband. A 1992 BMW that used to cost $100k is not still a $100k car these days.

CalmWeather143

Nov 22, 2022 10:22 PM

39 Comments

Joined Jul 2018

CalmWeather143Nov 22, 2022 10:22 PM

39 Comments

Quote from sabrosolopez

:

Yes. It's not the volume that causes ringing. It's the amount of air these push into the ear canal coupled with the tight Seal around your ears. it's a shame cuz they sound great otherwise

That doesn't sound right, because the air getting pushed into the ear canal by the drivers is actually sound. A larger volume of air would be a higher sound pressure level. I can't imagine what pressure the drivers would generate that isn't sound.
That said, certain pressure points can induce or reduce tinitis, so perhaps it's something to do with the fit around the ears.

Sciapodas

Nov 22, 2022 11:02 PM

24 Comments

Joined Jul 2019

SciapodasNov 22, 2022 11:02 PM

24 Comments

Quote from zubikov

:

Focal Bathys is where it's at. These Elegia are great, but the Bathys are the audiophile grade cans.

The Bathys are cool, but they're ultimately more of a consumer-grade higher-end Bluetooth headphone. They add more plastic, make the build lighter, and they're just more consumer-oriented. The actual traditional "audiophile" alternative to the Bathys is Focal Radiance, not the Elegia; the Elegia is just the entry point now to that Focal house sound, really.

kickerofelves

Nov 22, 2022 11:50 PM

16 Comments

Joined Aug 2010

kickerofelvesNov 22, 2022 11:50 PM

16 Comments

Quote from d3a1z

:

I get it, but these have been around for years. Did they overproduce them by 500k units or something? Either way, they are definitely not a $900 headphone on sale. They are ~$300 headphone with a flimsy headband. A 1992 BMW that used to cost $100k is not still a $100k car these days.

That would not be how I would describe these Focals. Oh well.

1

User18383921

Nov 23, 2022 4:30 PM

2.7K Comments

Joined Dec 2019

User18383921Nov 23, 2022 4:30 PM

2.7K Comments

Quote from zubikov

:

Focal Bathys is where it's at. These Elegia are great, but the Bathys are the audiophile grade cans.

Those aren't exactly selling like hot cakes right now.

User18383921

Nov 23, 2022 4:36 PM

2.7K Comments

Joined Dec 2019

User18383921Nov 23, 2022 4:36 PM

2.7K Comments

Quote from TekkenLord

:

Care to describe how it happened?

No such ringing on the one I tried.

With oratory1990's eq, these can't be beat at $299

A word of caution on downloading eq settings from AutoEQ.

Some of the oratory1990 tunings are way different from the ones from his official reddit.

I would double check with his official reddit

zubikov

Nov 23, 2022 6:29 PM

165 Comments

Joined Jun 2011

zubikovNov 23, 2022 6:29 PM

165 Comments

Quote from RunningOnEmpty

:

Those aren't exactly selling like hot cakes right now.

$799 here in the US is very steep when reviews all over youtube are mostly equating Bathys to Airpods Max (both are fantastic). Maybe Focal should bring the Bathys closer to Airpod Max's $549 retail.

killerrabbit1961

Nov 23, 2022 7:49 PM

1.8K Comments

Joined Apr 2017

killerrabbit1961Nov 23, 2022 7:49 PM

1.8K Comments

Quote from d3a1z

:

I get it, but these have been around for years. Did they overproduce them by 500k units or something? Either way, they are definitely not a $900 headphone on sale. They are ~$300 headphone with a flimsy headband. A 1992 BMW that used to cost $100k is not still a $100k car these days.

According to your analogy, that 1992 BMW was not worth anywhere near $100k even when it was new.

Focal Elegia Circumaural Closed-Back Audiophile Headphones

$299

$890

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