FocalElegia High-Fidelity Closed-Back Circum-Aural Headphones

i'm a music junkie first. the only reason i'm considered by my friends as an audiophile is because i always want to be closer to my music.i've worked in Consumer Electronics well over 30 years from being a product specialist, manufacturer's rep, custom pro/home audio consultant, and enthusiast.i bought the very first set of Planar Magnetic headphones that hit the market back in the '70's, the very first D/A converter/transport combo (Meridian) and DAT (Sony) that hit the market in the '80's along with the first Dolby surround sound on the market. i was early on adopter of the ipod, etc... so yeah i've seen it all and have owned first rate equipment throughout.portable audio and PC's have been a difficult thing because of the compromises involved, but with the rise of Lithium batteries we now have stable power delivery for long periods of time.the Focal Elegia is surprisingly easy to drive. which doesn't mean it doesn't appreciate better power, it just needs less of it. my phone (LG V60 thin-Q) can easily drive this headphone, but i have an Aune B1s which is "home level" sound quality and amplification that is a revelation when i'm on the go.my standard application is using the Elegia with the Sabaj Da3 (balanced...yes it makes an audible difference) with the iFi OTG USB C to A cable (because the one with the Sabaj is crap) from my Asus ROG Scar II laptop through the New Fantasia 2.5mm TRRS balanced cable. all of which you can get from Amazon if you want to.the most important thing i can say critically to potential buyers is If You Are Looking For A Specific "Type" Of Sound keep looking. If You Want Exactly What's On The Recording Buy This Now.this cannot be overstated, as i've read what some people have said (maybe never even having heard it but reviewed it anyways) about the bass being "light". IT IS NOT LIGHT IN THE BASS BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. what is being heard is the proper PROPORTION of bass in the recording. these headphones go all the way down, far deeper in the bass than any "Beats" headphone that ever existed, but without the boominess and 80Hz EQ bump. what surprises many people that are not used to it (most are not) is Neutrality, which is critical to reproducing any recording faithfully. the simple fact is these headphones can reproduce (accurately) beyond (above and below) the human hearing range when MOST headphones cannot come close to even hitting the human hearing range.i listen to most genres of music, so it's not unusual for me to go from Albeniz to AC/DC or House Music to Country and Blues, or Aretha to David Bowie.so when i want to know if there's Deep Bass my go to is Massive Attack's "Mezzanine", for atmospherics i usually go to Charlie Mingus or Tangerine Dream, for dynamics Tchaikovsky or King Crimson, harmonies CSNY or Porcupine Tree and right to the source for funk (Sly, Parliament, Rufus) or heavy metal (too many examples).Across the board, i've never have been able to afford a closed back set of headphones (a necessity when work goes back to normal) that has been this good or this revealing. and as far as bad recordings (we all have too many of them) they sound as good as they can...and that's an area better addressed by the DAC anyways.construction is excellent the materials are excellent (weight is a major consideration so the plastic use where it's used is Good) this headphone can be worn all day long with zero discomfort or heat behind the ears. my big jug ears are completely surrounded and do not touch the pads. i have zero pressure on my ears very little weight on my head.i've found myself lost in the music as soon as i put these on, and isn't that the point?UPDATE:8/10/20ok theni got around to playing "Old Man" by Neil Young... details; focal headphones through new fantasia balanced cables from the Sabaj Da3 from my Asus laptop.holy ... o.k. i've actually been to redwood studios (aka broken arrow) where this song was recorded and listened to the initial digital master (later became Pono version) from the studio mixing board with the engineer that recorded it. i fiddled with Neil's famous pump organ.i was instantly returned to that exact sound signature. that has never happened to me until now.i'm now looking at my calendar on my phone to book more listening time for myself to see if i can repeat the feat.

This pair of headphones is simply a killer for the price and for that alone they're worth buying. Originally they were $900 headphones, but are now discounted due to being replaced by different (not better) headphones, so you're getting $900 headphones at a fraction of the price.Price aside, these headphones are wonderful in every regard. The comfort is amazing after you either get used to them or break them in a little (I can't quite tell which is the case for me) since they felt a bit too strong with the clamping pressure at first, but just after two weeks I found that I was able to wear them longer than any other pair of headphones that I own (even my Sennheiser HD660s which I believed to be the most comfortable things every once I pad swapped them).The sound quality superb, but that was to be expected at this price point. What it does every well is imaging and overall detail which I have been making use of in gaming as well as getting overly analytical with music at will. The sound staging is also quite wide which is not something that I'm used to so it was much appreciated that it compromised nowhere. Overall frequency response is quite great, though due to them being quite neutral, they might be considered "bass light". They impress me as well considering that they're closed back headphones which have such big and wide presentation that rivals some open backs around their current price pont.One mod that I have done to them is getting an aftermarket cable since the stock one is quite short which is great for mobile use, but at my desk setup was a nightmare to deal with. The stock cable is also quite stiff as well which made it quite unwieldy, though it isn't necessarily a bad cable since it feels quite durable overall. A benefit to the aftermarket cable that I got as well is that it's balanced which wasn't something I was looking to actively improve the headphones with, but they benefitted quite a bit from it since it filled out the bass a bit more which remedied the fact that they were "bass light".Another big plus to these headphones is that they have excellent sound isolation even for closed back headphones so it makes them extra useful for important listening if that's something that you would like to use them for. The slightly spring loaded mechanism is what's responsible for the good isolation couple with quite large pads that will fit your ears since my large ears are accommodated for very well.Build quality is potentially the weakest point of these headphones not that it is necessarily lacking in that department. They have quite a nice leather headband on the top with very soft felt velour from the looks of it which aids in keeping them in place on top of your head with plenty of metal bits where it's important. The only potential complaint would be in the the ear cups themselves that house the drivers being plastic which doesn't boast the most confidence, but it is in the least mission critical area as far as longevity is concerned.The Focal Elegia is a great pair of headphones that makes no compromises at its original price point and even less so now. All the sound qualities that make up a good headphone are there without sacrificing another aspect, even going so far as to rival open backs at any price point lower than $900 in spaciousness while still out performing in every other category.