My passion for listening to music through headphones is fueled by the enhanced sense of intimacy and extra feeling of connectedness I experience in rediscovering recordings I already love. You know the old audiophile cliché: It's like hearing my record collection for the first time.

All-in-all, the Elear is exactly what I would expect to see in a $1000 headphone...it's just shockingly satisfying to actually see it. This is an absolutely gorgeous headphone, extremely well designed and built. If the sound is as good as its build, this thing is a knock-out.

The Focal Utopia and Elear headphones are considered among the best headphones in the world. And right now as the limited-time promotional prices for both headphones are at their lowest ever, audiophiles are asking themselves if they should "bite the bullet" and fork over the big bucks for one of...

A review of the Elear open-back full-size headphones from legendary speaker manufacturer Focal

I lifted the magnetic latch of Focal Elear's cardboard storage box, its soft lining reminiscent of acoustic foam, as though pushing open a heavy mahogany door. Within, I found the open back headphones reclining on a chaise lounge by an open fire, shirt open.