Sound Analysis.

Sound Summary – I tested the Focal Elex with my UAD Apollo Twin + Drop THX AAA 789 Linear Amp desktop setup as well as HiBy R6 2020 and iBasso DX160 using the the stock balanced cable, Ego Audio Beer (8 core OCC Litz) and Ear Audio’s Ultra Premium Litz (4 core UP-OCC Litz Type 2) cables.

Let me tell you right off the bat that Elex has excellent neutral tonal balance, one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of hearing under $1000 along with its older sibling Focal Clear (now discontinued), which is now being offered by sellers for under $1000 till the leftover stock lasts. Elex has a very nice, punchy, warm-neutral reference style signature that is also highly musical and enjoyable. It has good bass extension and presence, very neutral and accurate sounding midrange with excellent instrument tonality, and very well balanced treble presentation – which is neither bright nor too warm. It really is a super-HD650, a good substantial refinement and upgrade over the legendary HD650 sound signature with better technicalities, soundstage, bass extension, resolution, layering and overall balance while being a tiny bit easier with the upper-midrange gain. Elex also sounds very similar to its older, more expensive sibling – the Focal Clear, so similar that even Focal Clear’s heavily discounted pricing of $990 still doesn’t disrupt Elex’s extremely good value for money proposition. More on this in the comparisons section. Also, I like the Elex paired with the Ego Audio Beer and Ear Audio Ultra-Premium cable more than the stock cable as it sounds cleaner and more resolving with them. More on this in the Cable Pairings section.

Bass – Since Elex is tuned as neutral-reference, bass tonality and timbre are spot on. Bass in general is fast, tight, has good slam as well as extension. It surely has good rumble with Dark Knight OST’s ‘Why so Serious’ but has even better rumble and slam when listening to Linkin Park’s ‘Sorry for now’, while authentically reproducing bass quantity the way it is mixed in the songs. It has very good separation, clarity and note definition. Even in the most layered songs, you can clearly focus on what notes and lines the bass player is playing. 

Mids – Midrange is wonderfully presented. Lower-midrange is very linear and clean while the upper-midrange has good forward presentation, in line with reference style tuning but with ear gain a bit lower than Sennheiser HD6XX/650. Elex’s graphs on Drop show a 2dB bump around 1.5kHz (which Focal Clear and Elear have too) but it doesn’t really jump out in songs and is hardly ever noticeable. Instruments have good strong definition with very good tonality and timbre. A tiny bit more ear gain (~2dBs) in the 4-5kHz would’ve been perfect but Elex’s ear gain is very comfortable for longer sessions, especially when listening to music at slightly louder levels. Midrange overall has very good resolution and instruments have very good separation and clarity throughout the spectrum. Be it drums, guitars or vocals, they sound exactly how I expect them to in the song because of Elex’s well done reference tonality. 

Treble – Treble is very well balanced and natural sounding with no harshness or artificial sizzle/sparkle. Whether I’m listening to Elex at normal volume levels or slightly louder for some good enthusiastic fun, the treble response is always in control, natural and hardly ever comes off as offensive. It has good upper-treble extension as well as very good clarity, resolution and detail retrieval. It does all this without energetic boosting of treble that some manufacturers like to do to increase the perception of details than rely and improve on driver capability for the same technical performance.

Soundstage and Imaging – Frankly, I think Elex’s soundstage is very good considering its asking price, especially when paired with a good 3rd party cable that enables an even cleaner and wider soundstage than the stock cable. It is a substantial significant step up from HD6XX/HD650’s soundstage. Sure it’s not TOTL levels of soundstage, but it’s on par with Focal Clear’s in my opinion, if not slightly wider, which is excellent considering Clear was priced at $1500 before being discontinued. Imaging again is very well done for the price, nothing to complain about at all in my opinion.

Drivability – Elex has an impedance rating of 80Ω and sensitivity of 104dB/mW. I can drive it to a decent level with my Oneplus 7 Pro phone, even more easily with my MacBook Pro but it really benefits from power and sounds much better paired with a good DAP or desktop setup. 

Focal Elex plugged into my desktop setup feat. Drop x THX AAA 789 Linear Amp.

My desktop setup is more pro-audio-ish since I use the DROP x THX AAA 789 Linear Amp with my Universal Audio Apollo Twin Interface for my music production work. The DROP 789 Amp has a 4-pin balanced XLR output as well as 1/4″ and 3.5mm SE outputs. Focal comes stock with 4-pin XLR and 1/4″ cables, so you can use Elex with both balanced and SE outputs using the stock cables, without any adapters. I mostly prefer the balanced output with headphones, so my impressions are with Focal Elex plugged into the 4-pin XLR output using the stock cable as well as Ego Audio Beer and Ear Audio Ultra-Premium Litz cables using a 4.4mm female to 4-pin XLR adapter.

Sound impressions – DROP 789 is a linear amp and is known for its clean neutral amplification which doesn’t add much or any colour from its side. 789 has 3 Gain stages but Gain stage I is easily able to drive the Elex to good loud levels. I had my knob set at around 1 clock with Gain Stage 1 for most songs. Sound wise, Elex sounds a bit more dynamic and open plugged into the Apollo+789 combo in comparison to HiBy R6 2020 and iBasso DX160’s balanced outputs. The desktop combo also has slightly better separation between instruments and layers. Vocals sound a bit more dynamic and I perceive more space between vocals in the centre and panned instruments in the desktop combo. I perceive slightly more resolution in upper-treble too. I think Drop’s 789 is a fantastic linear amp which pairs well with almost all the headphones I own because of its linear, neutral amplification. It has crazy loads of power on tap and is extremely easy to work with when I’m working on my music projects without ever having to jump through hoops for anything. I really dig Elex’s paring with Apollo+789 and prefer using this combo whenever I can. 

Cable Pairings.

Ego Audio Beer (8 Core 27.5 AWG OCC Litz | $215 | Ego Audio Facebook).

This cable was a 3.5mm 2-pin cable which I had Ear Audio mod with 3.5mm headphone connectors and a 4.4mm jack to use with Focal Elex. Since Ego Audio cables are mostly 8 core and slightly on the thicker side, they make for excellent headphone cables. Beer is priced at $215 and you need to place orders via their Facebook page. If you’re interested in knowing more about the brand and its offerings, I did a Brand Spotlight review with 5 of their cables last year. Check it out!

This one measures around 100mΩ (average) being an 8 core cable, which is excellent! Sound wise, it is an excellent pairing with Focal Elex as it enables Elex to sound its cleanest, clearest and has the widest soundstage out of all pairings I tested Elex with. Ego Audio cables are very clean sounding cables in general but Beer keeps the natural character of the headphone intact while cleaning up the slight warmth it has with the stock cable and increasing the perception of clarity, detail retrieval and resolution, even more than the Ear Audio cable tested below. I also perceive better top end extension as well as quicker and more precise transients, especially bass transients. Bass has good low end extension but sounds quicker and has sharper, more precise attack than the stock and Ear Audio cable.

Ear Audio 4 core Ultra-Premium cable (UP-OCC Type 2 Litz | $188 | Facebook | Instagram).

This cable’s resistance measures around 240mΩ (average) which is fairly good for a 4 core cable. It has a nice premium stainless steel jack and Y-split with Ear Audio branding, nice attractive black cloth sleeve and good wire braiding. The chrome plated headphone connectors aren’t as premium looking as the stainless steel y-split and jack. Besides that, the cable has excellent build quality and the freedom to talk to the owner and discuss options to make the cable exactly how you want it is a big plus.

Sound wise, it’s a good pairing option if you want Elex to have strong bass slam and rumble with a slightly warmer tonality but still have more clarity, a cleaner soundstage as well as better detail retrieval and resolution than the stock cable. Elex sounds slightly warmer and has a slightly more intimate soundstage presentation with this cable compared to Ego Audio’s Beer 8 core cable. Bass transients are slightly rounder and softer compared to Ego Audio Beer’s quick, sharp and precise transients. Overall, this cable enables a slightly fuller and richer presentation without compromising much on overall detail retrieval, clarity or resolution.

Comparisons.

Note – All headphones in here are neutral-reference style open-back dynamic driver headphones.

Sennheiser HD650/HD6XX (reviewed here)- Well, Drop calls Elex a super-HD650 and I completely agree with the statement. Elex in my opinion is the perfect upgrade to the HD650/HD6XX. It does everything HD650 can and is famous for but does it much better and with more poise and refinement. It has better extension at both ends, better sub-bass reach, rumble and slam, a MUCH better – more engulfing soundstage, better imaging, is a bit easier in the upper-midrange where the HD650 can come off as shouty to some and has better overall technical performance – be it clarity, detail retrieval or resolution. I know $700 isn’t really cheap, especially when Drop themselves sell the HD6XX at $220 (which is excellent value), Elex definitely is well worth the upgrade proposition over the HD6XX.

Focal Clear – Build quality wise, they share the same pads, headband and cables (Clear comes with an extra 3.5mm termination cable too) but have different paint schemes. Internally, Focal Clear too has an M-shaped Aluminium-Magnesium driver but Clear has a solid copper voice coil whereas Elex has a copper coated aluminium voice coil. Both have the same sensitivity rating of 104dB/mW but Clear has an impedance of 55Ω as opposed to Elex’s 80Ω, which makes Clear easier to drive. Sound wise, Clear and Elex are very similar sounding headphones, so much that Clear’s original pricing of $1500 seems like a stretch to me now with Elex’s $700 pricing. Clear does have slightly better bass extension down low and a tiny bit more slam whereas Elex’s bass sounds tighter with quicker transients but is no slouch when it comes to slam in isolation. Clear has very slightly warmer sounding lower-midrange in comparison. I personally like Elex’s upper-midrange presentation a bit more as it has slightly more forward presentation in the region but the difference is rather subtle and YMMV. Both have similar lower-treble presentation but Elex has a bit more upper-treble presence. Soundstage wise, I perceive Elex’s soundstage being ever so slightly wider owing to its slightly leaner character when compared to Clear. Detail retrieval and resolution are ‘almost’ on par, with Clear having a slight upper hand. Overall, Clear is slightly fuller sounding with slightly better sub-bass extension whereas Elex is slightly leaner sounding in comparison (which I quite like) but the differences are more subtle than one expects knowing the price difference. Regardless, I think Elex slam dunks value proposition and refinement for its price.

Ollo Audio S4X (reviewed here)- I’ve covered Ollo S4X and its build quality in detail in its review, so I’m going to get straight to sound in this comparison. S4X with its 32Ω impedance is slightly easier to drive. Even though both are tuned as neutral-reference headphones with similar tuning philosophy, the first thing that hits you when A/Bing between them is that S4X is a much more forward sounding headphone and is particularly more prominent in the 4kHz region. Elex has better tonality & timbre, and comes off more natural sounding right from the first listen. Elex has better sub-bass reach, extension and separation. Both have similar lower-midrange tuning but Elex is much cleaner sounding and has better layering and separation in the region. S4X is more forward sounding of the two in upper-midrange and can come off shouty to some especially at louder volume levels. Elex has better upper-midrange tuning, better tonality as well as better clarity and separation in the region as a result. Elex is the more open sounding headphone and its treble response sounds more natural to my ears. It has better upper-treble extension and presence too. Elex also has a bigger soundstage, better detail retrieval and resolution. S4X is no slouch and is a very good neutral-reference headphone for its price but Elex comes off at top in this comparison as it is the more capable headphone with better tonal balance as well as technical performance.

Conclusion.

I’ve had the pleasure of trying quite a few Focal products (especially monitors and speakers) and have always known of Focal’s engineering and manufacturing prowess, even before I got into the field of pro-audio professionally as an engineer, so I won’t shy away from admitting that I had high expectations from Elex going into this review. Also, this is the third Drop product I’ve tested and reviewed, and their unique ability of collaborating with prominent brands to develop and offer great VFM products based on community feedback and research is equally impressive. Frankly, even with all the high expectations, Elex did not disappoint one bit! What’s amazing is that Elex not only shares some parts with its highly popular older sibling – the Focal Clear, they are also very similar sounding headphones, where Elex competes shoulder to shoulder in most areas and even manages to come out on top in some as per my preferences. Sure, there are some things Clear certainly does better but Elex is no slouch and even with Clear’s discounted pricing of $990 (because of its discontinuation), Elex still has the better value proposition at $700 if you’re on an extremely tight budget. Then comes the talk of Elex being the perfect natural substantial upgrade over the legendary Sennheiser HD650, which I completely agree with and highly recommend. Well, if you’re looking for a headphone around the $700 mark, I’d highly recommend trying the Focal Elex. It’s not just a great neutral-reference headphone but also a highly musical and enjoyable one. 

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Gear used for testing and review.

• DAPs – Hiby R6 2020 | iBasso DX160
• Desktop – Universal Audio Apollo Twin -> Drop THX AAA 789 Amp
• Laptop – Apple Macbook Pro 15″
• Phone – OnePlus 7 Pro

Reference Songs list.

• Foo Fighters – The Pretender, Best of you, Everlong & Sonic Highway album
• Coldplay – Paradise, Up in flames & Everglow + Everyday Life Album
• Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings & Ellipsis albums
• Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud, Bloodstream & Galway Girl
• Dave Matthews Band – Come Tomorrow album
• Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia album
• Chainsmokers – Somebody, Sickboy, This Feeling & Closer
• John Mayer – Slow dancing in a burning room, Stop this Train, Say & A Face to Call Home
• Gavin James – Always & Hearts on fire
• Switchfoot – Meant to live & Dare you to move
• Porcupine Tree – Sound of Muzak, Blackest Eyes & .3
• Our Lady Peace – Do You Like It & Innocent
• Linkin Park – Papercut, Somewhere I belong & Talking to myself
• Maroon 5 – She will be loved, Payphone & Lost stars
• Lifehouse – All in all & Come back down
• Breaking Benjamin – Diary of Jane
• Karnivool – Simple boy & Goliath
• Dead Letter Circus – Real you
• I Am Giant – Purple heart, City limits & Transmission
• Muse – Panic station
• James Bay – Hold back the river