Corsair focused on keyboards with their July 17 announcement. In conjunction with selling the Elex here I’m skeptical about Drop’s audio future.
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I couldn’t say either way, just that the Elex is in stock and shipping from us now with @netforce in the live chat to help and our 365-day return policy. We’re stoked to have it on board! I had never actually heard the Elex until a few weeks ago, it’s a nice unit. I think the Clear still slightly edges it out for me but they’re close enough that I could see people happy with one or the other!
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Just bought some! Was looking at some used ones, but at that price, buying new was an easy choice.
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Hey congrats, that is a great price too!
I hope you enjoy them, I don’t know the Elex but I very much like my Clear OG, and the Utopia 2020 is next level. 
I’ll be interested in what you think; what other headphones do these join in you collection, and what are you driving them with? Focal can be picky with source, but are incredibly efficient and easy to drive.
Cheers!
I wondered when I saw this the other day. I’ve seen some Drop items end up on Amazon, but only piecemeal and I wondered how this deal of Headphones.com carrying the Elex came about. Now that I see Corsair buying Drop it makes more sense, though I hate if for non-gamers.
Getting back to the Elex. The attempts at supplying new pads by Drop for the Elex were rough, and my Elex pads are worn out. I hope Headphones.com gets with Focal and a good supplier to get the correct replacement pads for the Elex. In the meantime, what do people suggest for replacement? My assumption is the Focal Clear pads since they have the fenestrated velour feel, but I’d rather know for sure.
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Dekoni – the same pads fit on the Clear or Elear or Elex. I use Dekoni pads on my OG Clear.
https://dekoniaudio.com/?s=focal&post_type=product&type_aws=true&aws_id=1&aws_filter=1
Also see the changes in tone per @Resolve’s work with the Clear:
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@Resolve’s article is very helpful, and I have also used Dekoni pads with good results. I’ve done some pad rolling with 2 of the different Dekonis with my OG Clear (perforated lambskin and velour), and have also tried the ZMF pads for Focal with the Clear (perforated lambskin). So there definitely are alternatives. Or you can use the Focal Clear OEM pads too.
All the aftermarket pads are close to the factory pad sound, but can take the headphone in slightly different directions. I found the ZMF pad yielded more perceived bass, as they are slightly thicker and give the “enclosure” around your ear a bit more distance from the drivers. All the pads I mentioned are comfortable too
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So initial impressions are very good. Very dynamic, great fun sounding headphones. I do get a little hot spot on my head but, only after a couple of hours.
My current headphones are HD6XX with ZMF pads, DT177X GO, Audeze LCD-2C, Hifiman Sundara and Arya Stealth.
These are right up there with the Arya, maybe not as spacious or quite as detailed. But so dynamic and with slight nicer mids. Worked well with my Jotunheim OG and Valhalla 2. Will give them a run with the Jotunheim 2 and the Nitsch Magni Piety later.
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Hey Bevan,
If you want to get rid of the hotspot and make your Focal much more comfortable, check out the ZMF “Crescent Snap”
It ain’t pretty, but it sure is comfy! I’ve got one on both Utopia and Clear. It is a snug fit, but it works
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Thanks, I might just do that.
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I’ve tried them with the Dekoni Elite Velour and they sound really engaging! I sewed back together the original pads, but the Velour sound better!
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That makes sense as the Elex are basically the Elear but with pad change. Elear’s have a heavy bass presence.
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So, an interesting first week. First take is that the stock cable is the one to use, having tried an Amazon one with silver that works well with most other headphones and the Apos Audio one that came with my Arya. It’s unwieldy, but definitely prefer it.
Second thing is that these pair better with Jotunheim OG and Valhalla 2 better than with Jotunheim 2. Maybe it has too much power or just isn’t a great match?
Valhalla 2 on low gain is my favourite pairing so far. Have just added a slight bass shelf on EQ, but that seems to be all it needs.
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Valhalla 2 makes a very nice pairing with Focal, I like it with my Clear and even Utopia as well. Not surprisingly, that amp is also excellent with ZMF dynamic headphones.
Enjoy!
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So tempted by the special burl headphones on ZMF right now. I’m afraid my wife would divorce me if I got one after buying the Elex tho!
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Further thoughts. I think it’s easy to give these too much power. Jotunheim 2 on low gain and single ended is actually very nice, I’ve put the balanced cables back in the box. A slight different take to the Valhalla 2, but liking both.
I’m pretty sure off the Jot 2 you’ll get a slightly different signature off the se and bal with the high and low gain. I wouldn’t worry about the power but more the synergy with the two options.
Agreed.
When I had a Jot 2 I preferred it as a balanced input/output amp overall, and with the Clear OG. If I recall even with low gain the volume got too loud past about 10 o’clock, but it’s been a while. I wish Jot 2 had a bit less output on “low” gain, but YMMV.
But go with what works best for you Bevan! 
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Like an even lower gain?
I agree with @Rhodey , I found that the balanced and SE inputs and outputs sounded different when I had a Jot 2. Not better or worse, just different. Jason Stoddard explained the difference on Headfi, even describing the Jot 2 as sounding tubier in SE mode.
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