I've never seen an audiophile headphones deal this good in the Black Friday sales before

(Image credit: Future)

I had to look twice when I first spotted the Focal Elegia drop to £349 at Sevenoaks some months ago. As the recommendable wired headphones started life more than double that price only a handful of years ago, it was quite frankly one of those deals that seemed like a typo and would disappear quicker than you could say "head-fi".

But the deal has stuck around – apologies if you've seen and skipped it previously – and is actually even better now for Black Friday.

Indeed, these Focal over-ears, which we called "ideal for home and on-the-go listening" when we awarded them four stars at their original price, are now just £329 at Sevenoaks thanks to an extra £30 discount. This is apparently one of the retailer's most popular Black Friday headphone deals, and I can see why.

While wireless pairs tend to get the best discounts come Black Friday, I've seen several wired models on the end of decent deals over the years, and this one trumps all those in memory. If you're looking for new headphones for your office, hi-fi system or overseas travels and can afford to spend a little over £300, this isn't an offer miss.

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These wired Focals may be some years old now – we reviewed them in 2019 – but it isn't like wired headphones go 'out of date' like many electronics these days. For this price, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who is looking for spacious, detailed and controlled headphones whose talents belie this kind of price tag. There were (and still are) more insightful performers at their original price, hence their four(not five)-star rating, but at this knockdown price they are hard to beat.

I remember listening to our review team's test sample of the Elegia headphones when they entered our test rooms and thinking that they sounded very 'Focal' – clean, detailed and spacious. Mature, to pick just one adjective. The French brand has produced several impressive wired headphones over the past decade, and the Elegia is one of them.

They weren't quite as detailed as the class leader at this lofty price level at the time, the second-gen Beyerdynamic T1, and they could have been a little rhythmically tighter. But these shortcomings are much easier to accept at this discounted price. For £329, these are sophisticated performers indeed – clean and spacious, with plenty of attack and scale and a pleasing depth to bass notes.

The Focals are closed-back designs, too, so won't leak sound as open-backs do, and are comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time, despite their substantial-looking build. They are, in line with other Focal pairs, gorgeously made. In fact, we agreed as a team that, due to their pricey feel and build quality, we wouldn’t have been surprised to see a price tag twice the size attached to them. Needless to say, you won't find more luxurious lookers anywhere near today's deal price elsewhere.

You very rarely get headphones that fall to less than half price in their lifetime – especially ones of such quality. So if you want closed-back headphones and these Focals suit your budget and sonic preference, I'd recommend you jump on this Focal Elegia Black Friday deal.

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Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.

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