Focal Elex

Name: Focal Elex
Brand: Focal

The open-back that turned a Sennheiser upgrade path into a decade-long argument — and whose best trick and worst fault share one cause.

The Drop (Massdrop) x Focal Elex — an Elear driver and chassis with the Clear's pads, a revised damping scheme and Clear-derived cables, in all black. Not the Focal Elear, Clear or Clear MG, and not Focal's current Hadenys/Azurys. Discontinued along with Drop's audiophile catalogue; a used-market buy today.

OverreviewHeadphone13 sourcesas of 2026-08-05

In December 2017 Massdrop and Focal announced a headphone that took the French company's $999 Elear — driver, chassis and all — put the $1,499 Clear's perforated microfibre pads on it, changed the internal damping, painted the whole thing matte black and asked $699. The Elex arrived into a market where the standard advice for anyone outgrowing a Sennheiser HD 600 was that nothing really replaced it, and it spent the next five years being offered as the answer.

It is discontinued now, and so is the shop that sold it: Drop's audiophile catalogue has been folded into Corsair's gaming business. What survives is an unusually complete record — four independent measurement rigs, a repair specialist who has been inside a dozen of them, and a long tail of owners who mostly loved it and did not always agree about why.

The overview

An open-back dynamic tuned close to neutral with a lean lower midrange and a lift on top, widely described as an HD 600 with the dynamics turned up. Sources agree almost completely on imaging, resolution and — above all — macrodynamic slam, which several compare to loudspeakers rather than headphones. They split on treble, on how much weight the 450 g chassis costs in a long session, and on how seriously to take a known driver fault: measurements from two independent rigs confirm the driver reaches its mechanical limit in the deep bass and clips audibly, and a repairer reports a repeatable break in the voice-coil wiring. Value verdicts in the sources were written against a new price with a live warranty; it now trades used, without one.

Where they agree

Macrodynamic slam and transient speed are the headphone's defining strength — several reviewers reach for loudspeaker comparisons
Imaging, separation and resolution sit a clear step above the Sennheiser HD 600 it was pitched against
The tuning is close to neutral, leaner than an HD 600 through the lower mids and brighter on top
The Clear-derived perforated microfibre pads are excellent, and are doing a real part of the tuning
It is easy to drive at 80 Ω and 104 dB/mW, and does not need a powerful amplifier
It leaks heavily in both directions — a quiet-room headphone only
The stock cloth-wrapped cables are stiff and hold their shape badly; nearly every source replaced or complained about them

Where they split

Treble reads as crisp and non-fatiguing or as rougher than an HD 600, splitting the sources almost evenly
Bass quantity: lean of a modern target for most, ample rumble for a minority — while the measurements show real extension that the driver cannot play loudly
Comfort: 450 g disappears on the head for most, and is the headphone's main flaw for a substantial minority
Soundstage is wide or closed-in depending entirely on whether the comparison is an HD 600 or an HD 700/800
How much the driver-failure reputation should weigh — ordinary industry attrition, or a specific and repeatable fault

The verdict, mappedEvery aspect on one axis — criticized to praised. Hover a point for its spread; click to jump.

CriticizedNeutralPraised

By aspect — in detail

Dynamics

Strong consensus · 9 src

The least disputed thing about the headphone, and the reason it kept being recommended: transient speed and macrodynamic punch that reviewers reach for speaker analogies to describe.

“the Elex's dynamics, clarity, and transient response is on another level”
purr1n, Super Best Audio Friends

“I thought I was listening to the full range towers in my living room”
antdroid, Head-Fi

“it doesn’t quite reach the same dynamic heights as the Elex”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com (on the HD 600)

Measured

Focal rates the driver's excursion far above a typical dynamic and the response to 5 Hz; purr1n attributes the presentation partly to the near-absent baffle around the driver, which is visible through the open mesh cup.

Imaging

Strong consensus · 7 src

Separation and placement draw uniformly high marks, including from the sources most critical elsewhere.

“Imaging is honestly awesome, much more precise than any mid-fi headphones you will try”
Over-ear mania

“exemplary precision that permits the listener to pick every individual instrument with astonishing accuracy”
Ichos, Head-Fi

Detail

Strong consensus · 9 src

Consistently placed a clear step above its Sennheiser reference point and above most of what sold near it.

“The Elex easily outresolves most sub-1k$ headphones, with excellent transients and dynamics”
Over-ear mania

“The Elex adds a touch more resolution, definition, and clarity to every note and passage.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com

Tonality

Moderate · 9 src

Read as neutral with a lean tilt and a brighter top by nearly everyone; the dissent comes from one owner comparing it to Sennheiser's bright HD 700, and from the bench, where it was judged unremarkable until equalised.

“the Elex is a lean neutral with a bright touch”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com

“The balance is neutralish with a mild touch of brightness.”
Over-ear mania

“the non-equalized response was fine but nothing to get excited about”
amirm, Audio Science Review

“I would say the Elex is veiled and warm in comparison”
TylersEclectic, The HEADPHONE Community (against the HD 700)

Measured

Measured on a GRAS 45CA the Elex's frequency response tracks the Focal Clear and Utopia closely enough that amirm concluded the three share a house target; Headphones.com's GRAS 43AG graph shows it sitting under the Harman curve through the lower midrange.

Treble

Contested · 10 src

Sources split almost evenly. One camp hears a crisp, extended top with no problem peaks; the other hears it as rougher than the HD 600, biting on bright or badly recorded material, with a metallic edge several name independently.

Measured

Every rig that looked finds the driver's 4 kHz and 8 kHz features still present after the Elex's extra damping; Over-ear mania names a 6 kHz peak it likens to the HD 800's, and antdroid's miniDSP EARS traces read the Elex's treble as close to the HiFiMAN HE560's.

⚠ vs. listeners — The graphs do not settle this, because the disagreement is about a reference point rather than a level. purr1n put the mechanism plainly when he wrote that anyone who finds the HD 600 a touch too bright will feel the same about the Elex — so the same measured energy lands as welcome crispness or as roughness depending on what the listener already owns. A recurring third observation cuts across both camps: several sources hear a faintly metallic tinge on poor recordings without calling the headphone harsh.

Where it splits

refined and non-fatiguing — no problem peaks52%

“The Elex’s sense of air doesn’t feel exaggerated in the least nor are there any harsh peaks to be found.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com

rougher than the HD 600 — bites on bright material48%

“the HD600 still has smoother treble. The Elex's treble sounds rougher.”
purr1n, Super Best Audio Friends

Bass

Moderate · 10 src

Quality is praised without exception — fast, textured, planar-like decay and real slam. Quantity is the argument: most sources find it lean of a modern target, a minority hear plenty of rumble, and the measurements show the extension is genuinely there but mechanically capped.

“Good slam, a touch midbassy, solid extension down to 40hz, little roll-off between 20 and 40 hz.”
Over-ear mania

“slightly let down by a somewhat mediocre subbass extension”
GoldenSound

“we don't get that rumbling effect of other more bass heavy headphones”
Ichos, Head-Fi

“Bass is fast, accurate, and thoroughly detailed”
Android Central

Measured

Two independent rigs found the driver reaching its mechanical travel limit in the deep bass. purr1n measured the 20–35 Hz band hard-clipping at 93–94 dB, audible as a click; amirm, sweeping a GRAS 45CA, measured essentially no distortion at 94 dB but heard the drivers crackle at 114 dB.

⚠ vs. listeners — The ~20 dB gap between those two numbers is not a contradiction — purr1n's figure is a narrow low-bass sweep, where cone excursion is greatest, and amirm's is a broadband level. Read together they explain the split: the low-end response really does extend further than an HD 600's, so reviewers listening at ordinary volumes hear genuine depth, while anyone pushing sub-bass hard runs into the limit instead of more bass. It also explains why the same driver posts near-zero distortion figures and a hard ceiling in the same measurement set.

Mids

Moderate · 8 src

Leaner through the lower midrange than the HD 600 and slightly forward on top — that much is agreed. Whether the result reads as accurate or as thin is not.

“The midrange is very balanced, without unnatural lower-mids warmth or dip and shoutiness in the 1-4 khz range”
Over-ear mania

“a gentle ‘U’ shaped dip in the midrange which takes away some feeling of body and fullness to the sound”
GoldenSound

“Upper mid range seems a touch emphasized and sometimes certain notes can sound a little shouty”
Ichos, Head-Fi

Measured

antdroid's miniDSP EARS comparison puts the Elex and the HiFiMAN HE560 close everywhere except 1–3 kHz, where the Elex sits forward of the HE560 rather than recessed — the region that decides whether vocals read present or thin.

Soundstage

Moderate · 7 src

Reads as a clear opening-up next to a Sennheiser HD 600, and as distinctly closed-in next to an HD 700 or HD 800. The verdict tracks the comparison, not the headphone.

“I’d say the Elex’s soundstage is about 20% larger than the HD 600 in all directions (height, width, and depth).”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com

“wider than an HD600, but still very far from the HD800”
Over-ear mania

“I would describe the soundstage as a more intimate, close, and around my head.”
TylersEclectic, The HEADPHONE Community

Comfort

Contested · 9 src

Sources split on whether 450 grams matters. The Clear-derived pads win praise from everyone; the weight is a non-issue for most and the headphone's main flaw for a substantial minority.

Measured

450 g on Focal's own spec sheet, measured at 441 g by Over-ear mania — heavier than most of the open-backs it was cross-shopped against, and well over half a pound.

⚠ vs. listeners — Worth knowing before pad-rolling: Headphones.com's reviewer warns that the perforated microfibre pads are doing much of the tuning, not just the cushioning — "Do not change the pads, or you will get a different headphone." Third-party replacements are widely sold and change the sound as well as the fit.

Where it splits

plush pads, well-distributed — fine for long sessions66%

“Overall comfort was excellent.”
amirm, Audio Science Review

the weight tells, and rivals do better34%

“can be uncomfortable to wear over a lengthy time due to it’s weight”
antdroid, Head-Fi

Build

Contested · 9 src

The metal-and-microfibre construction is called premium by every source. Reliability is the argument: one camp treats the driver-failure reputation as overstated history, the other has the broken units in front of them.

Measured

The repairer locates the fault about a centimetre from where the voice-coil wire meets its solder pad, and infers a cause that ties it to the same driver behaviour the measurements found: the wire's protective coating sticking to the housing "during large driver excursions" and fatiguing the wire on the return.

⚠ vs. listeners — The two camps are describing different faults as well as different odds. Android Central's quality-control complaints are cosmetic — creaking headbands, microfibre wearing off — and it judged them fixed; the repair thread is about drivers that stop working. Both can be true at once. What matters for a used buyer in 2026 is that neither the Drop warranty nor Drop's support exists any more, and a factory repair was already quoted at roughly the cost of another headphone.

Where it splits

the failure rate is ordinary, and the usual fault is minor47%

“My current understanding is that the failure rate of Focal headphones are in-line with the rest of the industry.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com

there is a specific, repeatable break in the voice-coil wiring53%

“of the dozen I’ve repaired so far, every one of them has broken in that same spot”
LuthierJeff, Head-Fi

Isolation

Strong consensus · 3 src

None, by design, and unusually little even for an open-back — the driver sits behind bare mesh and radiates in every direction.

“they will leak like crazy”
antdroid, Head-Fi

“These are very much open back headphones and so noise isolation should not be expected”
GoldenSound

Value

Contested · 9 src

Sources split on whether the driver's known limits qualify the bargain. Most called it a giant-killer at $599–$750 new; the bench reviewer and the repairer both stopped short, and all of them were pricing a headphone that still had a warranty.

Measured

Priced at $699 at launch and $599 during its Drop run; Headphones.com's final listing is $499 against a $749 regular price and is sold out. Used examples currently ask roughly $370–$660.

Where it splits

a genuine bargain for what it does64%

“they’re great for the money, a good all-rounder”
GoldenSound

the driver limit and the repair story qualify it36%

“if the Focal Elex did not have the driver limit with that nasty crackle, it would get the highest remarks from me”
amirm, Audio Science Review

Best for

HD 600/650 owners who want the same tonal family with far more punch, clarity and space
Listeners who prize slam and transient snap over sheer bass quantity
Rock, electronic and orchestral listening at sensible volumes, in a room where leakage does not matter
Buyers comfortable with the used market who can inspect a unit and price in the lack of a warranty

Skip if

You listen loud, or want deep sub-bass at high level — that is exactly where the driver runs out of travel
You find the HD 600 already a touch bright; the sources that dislike the treble almost all say so on those grounds
You need isolation, or listen anywhere near other people
You want a lightweight headphone, or the security of a current warranty and support channel

At a glance

↳Consensus

82 / 100weighted mean across 13 sources — an aggregate, not a single verdict

↳Type

Headphone

↳Sources

13 · 6 classes

↳As of

2026-08-05

Sources13 reviews across 6 classes. Weight reflects expertise × independence; echoes collapsed.

s1Massdrop x Focal Elex Review and Measurementspurr1n, Super Best Audio FriendsMeasurement2017-12-15w0.95
s2MASSDROP X Focal ELEX Review (headphone)amirm, Audio Science ReviewMeasurement2021-04-10w0.95
s3Focal Elex Review: I've Been Looking for this HD600 Upgrade!Fc-Construct, Headphones.comEditorialaffiliate2023-07-25w0.80
s4Focal Elex ReviewGoldenSoundVideoaffiliate2021-10-24w0.80
s5Massdrop x Focal Elex review: One of the best audio bargains for under $1,000Harish Jonnalagadda, Android CentralEditorialaffiliate2022-05-20w0.60
s6The Most Affordable TOTL Headphone on the PlanetIchos, Head-FiCommunityaffiliate2021-05-17w0.60
s7Massdrop x Focal Elex review (with miniDSP EARS measurements)antdroid, Head-FiCommunity2018-10-01w0.75
s8Massdrop Focal Elex ReviewIkSak, Head-FiOwner2018-08-16w0.70
s9Focal ElexOver-ear maniaOwner2019-06-01w0.75
s10Fixing Broken Massdrop x Focal Elex HeadphonesLuthierJeff, Head-FiCritical2022-05-23w0.80
s11Focal Elex - Official ThreadTylersEclectic, The HEADPHONE CommunityCommunity2018-05-31w0.60
s12Focal Elex: The Super HD600Fc-Construct, Head-FiCommunityaffiliate2021-01-10w0.10
s13Focal Elex Headphones — product listing ($499, sold out)Headphones.comOwneraffiliate2026-08-05w0.30

Limitations & method

This is a read of where the reviews landed as of August 2026, and the Elex is no longer made — most of the writing about it dates from 2018 to 2023, when it was new and under warranty.
Because it now sells only secondhand, condition matters more than usual: ask about the drivers, listen for any clicking in deep bass, and check how worn the pads are, since the pads shape the sound as much as the fit.
How the treble sits comes down to what you are used to. Listeners stepping up from a warmer headphone tend to hear it as crisp; those already sensitive to bright tuning tend to hear it as rough — and the measurements support both readings.
The reviewers who loved it and the reviewers who found real faults were, in several cases, looking at different things: one was listening at moderate volume, another was sweeping the driver to its limit on a test rig.
Prices quoted here are what the market was asking at the time of writing; used listings for a discontinued headphone move around a lot.

Consensus-of-sources synthesis · as of 2026-08-05 · not a measurement verdict or ground truth.