Focal Elear with Case plus choice of Utopia or Clear Pads for $599

Well, the Elear w/ Utopia pads is closer to the Elear w/ Elex pads (or, indeed, the Elex themselves) than they are just the raw Elear. But there are still differences between them.

Most notably, the Elear w/ Utopia pads has more mid-range presence and vocals will be more forward than with the Elex pads. The Utopia pads will give a bit more (realistic) bite with brass, transients seem faster and they yield a better sense of air and space than the Elex pads.

You can see the frequency response for the three different pad options on the Elear here:

The Utopia pads are also much better looking, far more comfortable and more nicely finished than the Elex pads, which always seem a bit rougher than even the stock Elear pads.

There’s a whole thread on Focal headphones and pad-rolling here.

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