[TheMiddleSky]

Focal is really catching up with hifiman when it come to destroying price. Heavily tempted lol.

 

[up late]

hifiman 'destroying' the susvara's price would be welcome

 

[elisiX]

That was my thought exactly

 

[ThatStKildaGuy]

Hey Nutopians


Us Aussies were able to purchase the 2022 Utopia over the last few days from the AD at US$2650, which as you know is a steal.
Of course, I picked up a pair to compliment my HD800s, LCD-3's and ZMF VC's
Without going through the entire thread, could those who know please share their EQ settings for the RME (AKM) for the 2022 Utopia?
Bonus Points if you have an "adieqpr" to insert via the new RME Windows remote app
I can't see an Oratory EQ setting

Cheers and Beers

 

[Tanalasta]

You can use “search this thread” at the top of the page … but I actually wanted to say the Utopia 2022 doesn’t require EQ. The new tuning compared to the OG pretty much has it where many are happy with it.

 

[ThatStKildaGuy]

Cool, many thanks for the quick reply

 

[elisiX]

You can use “search this thread” at the top of the page … but I actually wanted to say the Utopia 2022 doesn’t require EQ. The new tuning compared to the OG pretty much has it where many are happy with it.

Agree completely. I got to spend about an hour or so with the Nutopia at A2A before bringing one home with the Naim Unity Atom HE.

Having owned the RME in the past and used extensively with the OG Utopia, I would say Nutopia absolutely does not ‘need’ EQ, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be further improved. I always felt with the OG that it needed it to stop any fatigue and boost the low end slightly.

I setup the Naim with my desktop LSX last night (love this as a streamer, preamp and desktop audio controller), but I will get my Nutopia out tonight to really make the most of this amazing device.

Also, the USD conversion from $3499 AUD is $2260 USD give or take. This was a bargain never to be seen again I imagine. Crazy to consider that I paid 3k for my OG Utopia years ago and then sold it for close to that last year. So the Nutopia has basically cost $500 AUD more only.

Easily worth the upgrade IMO but only made possible by the crazy deals we’ve almost always had on TOTL Focal in AU.

 

[ThatStKildaGuy]

oops, thanks for that clarification (well spotted) elisiX, had my numbers mixed up.

 

[elisiX]

oops, thanks for that clarification (well spotted) elisiX, had my numbers mixed up.

Hey, the difference is enough to also grab the Bathys while they’re still available

 

[M700LTR]

Focal is really catching up with hifiman when it come to destroying price.

Hifiman is "destroying" prices because they constantly are refreshing their product lines. This makes previous gen prices come down and more affordable. This is obviously within their business model. Focal prices are taking a beating because one retailer decided to flood the market at cut-throat prices, not because Focal wanted to. As a consumer, I'm happy either way (lower prices).

But if you're a retailer or headphones.com, I'm pretty sure Focal is done. A2A has killed the MSRP market for Focals - they're looking to offload 100 Utopias (in addition to what was already sold).

 

[up late]

then i look forward to hifiman 'refreshing' the susvara

 

[elisiX]

Just spent a few hours reading all 92 pages while listening to the Nutopia’s on the Naim (the 30 pages of whining about price being the low point). In the least amount of words I can use, this is what I hoped the OG Utopia sounded like during my ownership.

I tried Black Dragon cables, warmer amps, tubes, and all manner of things to make the OG more pleasant to listen to for more than 30 minutes at a time. It really feels like the differences are greater than a 2db shift, but without an OG on hand to compare direct, admittedly I'm going off memory.

This Nutopia isn’t nearly broken in yet and I knocked out 3-4hrs straight without a sore neck, headache or concern at all. I’m sure I’ll want something to compliment the Utopia (suggestions welcome), but for now this has pulled me back into the hobby.

I explored a whole range of genres and it performs brilliantly across a much wider range than the OG I feel. That makes it possible to be an ‘own only one’ which I would never have said about the OG.

As for how it performs on the Naim, I can only say that it’s really well suited. Some cable rolling might net better results, and perhaps my now sold TT2 might also be a better fit, but for my use case which is likely to be 1-2hrs late in the evening, the Naim is just so convenient - it was as much of a bargain as the Nutopia was as well at $3160 AUD / 2k USD.

 

[elisiX]

oh and I want to add that I love that it’s not a fingerprint magnet.

Still, OG looked better overall.

 

[Nomax]

Focal / Naim are in the process of switching distributor in AU.

This will not be the only change/switching
(Yes times are changing)

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[Blueoris]

I got a pair of nutopias recently, to complement my HD800S.

On first listen, I admired their technicalities, and their lows and mids, but didn't love their tonality at the top end of the frequency, compared with the HD800S. Yes, HD800S are sometimes described as thin, analytical, bright etc, but in my setup their tonality is perfect... and I am sensitive to treble.

Then, I remembered my time with the Abyss 1266 Phi CC, driven by a First Watt J2, and how that headphone was very picky with positioning, so I tried different positions and found out that for my head size / ear shape, using the nutopias with the sliders full contracted, the sound reached my ear canal from above and this made the trick. The top end acquired a sweat, airy tonality.

I was using them with the sliders almost half way through, because I though the best wear position was with the middle of the driver aligned with my ear canal. Go figure.

Everyone ears and head are different, so your ideal wear may be different, but keep in mind that this headphone is sensitive to wear position.