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Used Focal Elear - how risky?

3125b

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So I've been looking at buying a used Focal Elear, and I've found a potential candidate. Fairly good price, obviously not used much, local pick up.
It is four years old however and there are the known driver issues. Focal extended their warranty to five years because of that, wich would mean one year left.

So:
Does anyone have insights on how big the failure risk of the drivers actually is?
How expensive would the repair be (not under warranty)?

Thanks.
 

LearningToSmile

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The risk of failure is high enough that Focal had to extend the warranty, but if it lasted 4 years with no issues, it's probably less likely to develop them than a new pair.

How good is the good price? I paid $400 new for my pair of Elears, and ~$100 for shipping and customs(imported from the US to Europe). 500 euro is the cheapest I know they were sold for new in Europe, though that was at a French retailer that offered no international shipping.
 
OP
3125b

3125b

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Thanks for your answer. It's 450€ negotiable (it will end up a little less) wich is not all that good in comparison to the prices reported by you but compared to the usual price of buying them used or new in Germany.
Alright, I'm not gonna buy it, 450€ is too much for what it is. I should really get a Sundara instead :)
 
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3125b

3125b

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It expressly is on some of the headphones. Worryingly so.
 

Cahudson42

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Alright, I'm not gonna buy it, 450€ is too much for what it is. I should really get a Sundara instead :)
Sounds like a good decision!

I love my HE400i, but if the Sundara had been available, I would have gone the extra $$.

Just a note:If you have PEQ availability, great. If not, I'd look into getting it somehow. (No PC? Maybe the $110 Qudelix. It's what I use). Until I added PEQ, I did notice the HE400i 8k shrill peak at times. Now it's gone, plus added a bit of bass w/o distortion.
 
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3125b

3125b

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I have been looking at a used HD 650 in the last couple minutes ... I think have a problem :) (not compared to other members here of course)
Well, as long as I'm not buying any of them, I guess it's all ok.
Buying new is of course better when using the headphone extensively, but buying used is better when collecting (loosing less on resale).
I absolutely do not need any more headphones, but I want to own a few select ones just for the fun of it. I'm just not sure in wich order and condition I should buy them.
 
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3125b

3125b

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Alright, paid 400€ for the Focal. If it breaks I learned my lesson that not only French cars are crap, if it doesn't I can sell it without too much of a loss in the future. Wish me luck ...
 

Jimbob54

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None of this is what I want to read after taking possession of a (very good condition) pair of second hand (ebay) Clear this month. Anybody know how to date them? They are Clear Pro if that narrows it down.
 

LearningToSmile

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Alright, paid 400€ for the Focal. If it breaks I learned my lesson that not only French cars are crap, if it doesn't I can sell it without too much of a loss in the future. Wish me luck ...
I think you'll be good, if it didn't crap out yet it's probably one of the good ones. For what it's worth I love my Elears, I tried to EQ them both to harman and just to remove the 5k dip but ended up going back to stock, for me they sound great out of the box.
 
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3125b

3125b

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The Clear Pro has different drivers, so probably not an issue anyway, I've heard about it only with the 80 Ohm drivers, the Clear Pro might have thicker wires for the coils (?).
for me they sound great out of the box.
I guess I will see (or hear) about that. I like the very open design, and will definately play around with EQ.
I just hope this diesn't come to bite me.
 

Artaois

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I bought some Elears new off eBay for $500 a few months ago and so far no problems. Haven't used them an extreme amount of time or anything but so far so good.
 

Doodski

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This stuff melts oils and grease very well and kills stuff too.
lysol.jpg
 
OP
3125b

3125b

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don't want no Covid cans on yer head. ;)
Would be embarrasing if they outlived me, right?
The used T90 wasn´t able to finish me off, so I’m mildly confident :)
 
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3125b

3125b

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No no:
897eb916542f4010a1eb5f0c552afacd.jpg

But seriously, I don't consider over-ear headphones to be very critical when buying used, just have a look at the seller first :)
 
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