I’ve been looking into the issue of changes to the pads over time, further to posts by @reallyoldcob and @ValentineLuke, among others.
As someone with short arms and deep pockets, as the expression goes, I was looking into pad options other than the stock ones, and have been reading up about the Elex pads. Interestingly, Drop had a tough time selling replacement pads to its customers, as one of its representatives stated last summer:
Our internal testing has confirmed that the latest batch of pads varies in weight from the “stock” pads by as much as 15%. Although we have reported these concerns to Focal, they have not offered us a substantive resolution at this time, and we’re continuing to try to work with them on a solution.
I wonder if issues of consistency have affected the pads for the Clear. If so, then the $200 price becomes even more unpalatable.
At least Clear owners have had opportunities to buy replacement pads; I feel sorry for those who purchased an Elex and hoped to enjoy it for many years; it doesn’t seem as though replacement pads are readily available.