Focal - Elex

HD580 (an older model in the HD5xx/6xx line) is what got me into nice headphones and they were my comfy go-tos for a long, long time. I finally retired them when I got the Focal Elex, because they fit the same bill for forget-they're-on-your-head comfort for me, and the sound was a little better across the board. Gotta say, though, now that I have kids in the house, my closed-back studio headphones (Beyer DT 700 Pro X) are what I would most accurately call laid-back listening. "Blocks out the screaming" has become my top audiophile bullet point.

This guy’s got it right. Personally I’d find a pair of used Elex if you want to try Focals; they’re basically a super 6XX with bass. Very little will sound “better” than the Arya at this price point. I prefer the Meze 109 Pro and the HE6se V2 over the Arya, but I wouldn’t say they’re objectively better.

A couple of reasons: 1) I much prefer the older style Focals; they're bigger and to me much more comfortable, plus I like the option of running balanced (one of my favorite amps is balanced only). 2) The Hadenys is more expensive, and I rarely see it pop up used. The Elexes are often available around $250 and the Hadenys is more like $350; I haven't spent enough time with the Hadenys to have A/B'd them, but the Elex is a pretty perfect sound, especially for people who like the 6XX.

I'd recommend the Meze 109 Pro (used, MSRP is $799) or 105 AER (new, $399); both have a really lovely, buttery, warm character and will compare favorably to Sennheisers as well as probably my favorite aesthetic in hifi AND the most comfortable headphones I own. I bought the 109 for myself as a "job stability is awesome" gift right before I got laid off, and they're hands down my favorite headphone of the 100 or so I have right now. I'd recommend the Focal Elex instead but it's been out of production for years and they're a little challenging to source, but they're basically a super-6XX with incredible vocals. Reviews: 109: [https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/meze-109-pro-review/](https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/meze-109-pro-review/) 105: [https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/](https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/)

I’m a fan of the Focal Clear OG after many years. If you look across the scores, you can see it is the first they all gave at least a 6. I think it rightfully belongs in the top 10. Focal Elex above it is a mystery to me, but acknowledges Elex is a strong performer for the price. HD800S isn’t in their top tiers. Overall strange scoring. These are tools suited to varying genres. You’d think they scored these while listening to pop music.

Focal elex 100%, don't have mine anymore but when I did I loved them. Or just go some cheap iems which will do the same for much cheaper.

For closed back I would recommend FT1, very satisfying mid-bass and comfortable pads. I think the step up from HD600 is the Focal Elex. Neutral but dynamic and punchy.

did you just plug headphone recommendations into chatgpt and copy paste it here? that's the only way a bose qc makes sense because it's one of the worst options for dedicated movie watching. i'd recommend something like a fostex thx00 for its bass performance, or a comfortable open back like a sennheiser hd550/focal elex. please stop relying on chatgpt it's not good for things like this and you're doing yourself a disservice by using it.

Im thinking about making a post sharing my audiophile journey that I started 3 years ago, so you might see me make the information below into a post in the future. **Skip to the end for my recommendations** I started off with HD6XX as my first audiophile headphones. I definitely could tell the difference vs my Sony xm4s lol. I kept wondering what else audio had to offer, after the headphone show released their tier list, I went from top to bottom trying to find the highest rated headphone for the least amount of money. I landed on the Focal Elex. From what I read online people called it the next progression from the 6XX. A more refined 6XX with bass. From there I picked up the Maxwell for gaming, and while they did sound good, I felt like the 6XX sounded better. They definitely make a good proposition being wireless, but that's about it. FiiO launched the FT1, and the Maxwell being the only closed back pair I owned, I picked up the FiiO and was blown away. I swear at first glance they rivaled my Elex while being 1/3 of the price. This is the pair I keep for gaming/media consumption. The sub bass is so deep compared to the Elex. If the Elex had the sub bass of a closed back that would be my end game. For my last pair I picked up the edition XS and was blown away by the soundstage and sub bass compared to the Elex. These planars make music sound different emphasizing different frequencies of a song. I am impressed that the edition XS rival my Elex at half the price. My goal is to chase the best sound for the least amount of money, that's been my philosophy since I've started since I don't have a deep wallet lmao. Here's my ranking based on sound/performance: 1. Focal Elex ($450) 2. Hifiman Edition XS ($280) 3. FiiO FT1 ($150) 4. HD6XX ($200) 5. Audeze Maxwell ($330) Now my ranking based on what would I recommend someone starting out: 1. FiiO FT1 (Insane value) 2. Edition XS (Wide soundstage is trippy first time experiencing, but cool) 3. Focal Elex (It feels like you're at the movies with all the slam/punch that happens in action scenes) I run these off the FiiO K11, and a MacBook Pro M1 Pro (audio jack can power the edition XS well). Hope that helps :) EDIT: added their respective prices

Elex has such massive unit variance, that a lot of Elex Units sound exactly like the average Clear OG.

Seems like most of the reviews here are negative, I disagree. Are they as good as my Bowers and Wilkins PX8s, or my Focal Elex, no. Are they as good as my Bose quiet comfort, no but close. So why do I love these headphones? I don't need the wire like the Focal, I get better ANC and noise cancellation than Bose, and unlike the Bowers and Wilkins I can use them with more than one audio source without it always forcing my phone to be the master source. They are outstanding for their use case, I want a set of headphones that will be equally good at ANC with my phone as they are on my computer. Are they the best at any of them? There may be better at ANC while maintaining a clear representation of the sounds around you, but I have found it. I like to have tea in the afternoon. While using the headset upstairs I could clearly hear the music I was listening to, the sounds from my computer (both through the headset), and the whistle from the tea kettle downstairs and two rooms away. None of my other headsets did that. Is the music fidelity as good as Focal (wired and amped) or Bowers and Wilkins, no. But that is not what I wanted, I wanted something that had a good balance across all possible uses. This is exceptional at balancing the different needs while also providing an exceptional pass through of the sounds around you.

They are good, but those are good for the budget type headphones. HD6xx, Sundara, Edition XS/XV, Focal clear, Focal Elex, HD800S, Moondrop Cosmo/Para, DCA, and than there are e-stats Edit: than there’s a bunch of Peerless 50mm driver based headphone, and more luxury headphones like Meze and ZMF