[PeteSTRADAMUS]

i doubt that i got even half way there before my left driver gave out

Damn, I think my "letter F" fell off before I got to 300 on my first pair, the 2nd pair worked flawlessly until I sold them bye, bye Utopia, I'll alway's love youuuuu. Whitney Houston lol

 

[up late]

are you infatuated with the empyrean now? i recommend that you give it an audition. it has little in common with the utopia.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

are you infatuated with the empyrean now? i recommend that you give it an audition. it has little in common with the utopia.

Honestly, I don't know what I want anymore. Happiness is short-lived with me. I like my headphones like I like my women, here one day and gone the next lol

 

[SalR406]

The main thing to consider is rather or not the amps gain can be adjusted low enough for sensitive headphones like the Utopia.

I've been thinking about this point, too. I'm a Utopia owner looking for a new headamp, leaning toward solid-state pieces like the Bryston BHA-1 or HeadAmp GS-X Mk2. On the boards I've read different perspectives from "too hot" to "no problem". I'll be at CanJam in New York next weekend, so I hope to listen to some options for myself.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I've been thinking about this point, too. I'm a Utopia owner looking for a new headamp, leaning toward solid-state pieces like the Bryston BHA-1 or HeadAmp GS-X Mk2. On the boards I've read different perspectives from "too hot" to "no problem". I'll be at CanJam in New York next weekend, so I hope to listen to some options for myself.

JMHO, my ears, your ears, etc, but...

My BHA-1 gets no head time with my Utopia since I got my Liquid Platinum. I hear the 'too much upper mid/treble energy' version of Utopia, and LP (along with Lazuli Ref cable) totally made that go away for me. Bryston didn't help (vs Violectric V280 and MassDrop LCX).

 

[tmarshl]

I would encourage you to find a chance to test high-end DAC side by side, preferably with the same amp, headphones and power treatment. At the $10k mark any quality differences are subtle at best, but DAC's aren't just pure converters - there is circuitry to deliver the output, and different designs play a major role in influencing the signature of the entire system. Try a really high end pure R2R (Denafrips for example) and a really high end Delta-Sigma design (Nagra Classic) and they are very different - although both have their merits.

+1

I was able to try out the dCS Bartok side by side with my Chord Dave, PS Audio Directstream DAC with Bridge II and Pass HPA 1, and Exasound PlayPoint and e32 DAC. For me, it is the only way to decide between them.

 

[point1]

I just came back from The Source AV with a brand new bundle of Focal Utopia and the Questyle DAP. First I have to comment on my experience with the dealer. I gotta tell you, living in Southern California, you come across the full spectrum of dealers and many of them are less than helpful. If you think about the local population and just how dense the area is, I think it is probably safe to say that it is not uncommon for dealers to just treat a person such as myself as just another customer. The service that I received from Source AV was just fantastic. First, they were super patient with me. I visited the place 3 times and tried out the following headphones, Sony ZR1s, Mr. Speakers Ether 2, Ether Flow C 1.1, ZMF Verite, Focal Clears and finally the Utopia.

They provided the source which was a Sony walkman and I tried the following AMP, Sony TA-ZH1ES, Moon audio, and Woo WA5LE. I must say I tried the Headamp GSX MK2 briefly. It came down to me really liking the ZR1 and the Utopias. I tried to really hard to like the Ether 2 but meh. I'm not sure if the combo that I tried wasn't right but it didn't really click with me. I really really liked the ZR1 and I ended up buying it used here (from another head-fier). I compared the Utopias to the Verite and while I thought the Verite sounded fantastic, the level of clarity and resolution that the Utopias brought to the table were really next level. The differences weren't subtle. The Clears were probably about 80 percent to the Utopias and if I didn't get a chance to listen to the Utopias, I would probably be gushing about the Clears.

This is how I would stack the phones according to how I liked them:

1a. Utopias
1b. ZR1
2. Ether Flow C 1.1
3. Verite
4. Clears

I thought the ZR1 and the TA-ZH1ES were a match made in heaven. Plugging the Utopias to the TA-ZH1ES took it to next level IMHO. The clarity, resolution was just fantastic. I tried the Utopias to the more expensive Moon Audio and Woo WA5LE and it was no contest.

I plan on buying the TA-ZH1ES to pair with the ZR1 and since I already own the Schiit Yggdrasil I'm likely going to purchase the Mjolnir or if I can find the Headamp at a good price in the classifieds, I might step up to the GSX.

At any rate thanks to @TSAVJason for allowing me to spend quite a bit of time in his shop to listen and make up my mind. I'm thoroughly pleased with my experience and what I purchased.

 

[point1]

Now that I am a newly minted Utopia owner, I wanted to ask for recommendations regarding cables. The stock cable is fairly short. I'm looking for balanced cable recommendations (one that doesn't cost half the price of the Utopia itself)

Thank you in advance!

 

[AmusedToD]

@point1 thanks for your comparisons. I too have dealt with the good people from The Source AV (even though I live in Europe) and I have nothing but praise for their service. Special thanks to Jason and Alan.

Anyways, you said you tried the Utopia with the Sony TA-ZH1ES, which you liked, and then you said you also tried it with Moon and Woo WA5LE and it was “no contest”. You mean those were better than the Sony or vice versa? Didn’t quite get that part. Could you elaborate a bit?

 

[mwr2700]

Now that I am a newly minted Utopia owner, I wanted to ask for recommendations regarding cables. The stock cable is fairly short. I'm looking for balanced cable recommendations (one that doesn't cost half the price of the Utopia itself)

Thank you in advance!

You're the first person I've heard describe a 4 meter long headphone cable as "fairly short".

 

[point1]

@point1 thanks for your comparisons. I too have dealt with the good people from The Source AV (even though I live in Europe) and I have nothing but praise for their service. Special thanks to Jason and Alan.

Anyways, you said you tried the Utopia with the Sony TA-ZH1ES, which you liked, and then you said you also tried it with Moon and Woo WA5LE and it was “no contest”. You mean those were better than the Sony or vice versa? Didn’t quite get that part. Could you elaborate a bit?

I'm sorry I was not clear. I can't explain it, the TA-ZH1ES is so so good. ZR1 was awesome with it but the Utopias was like wow. I was really surprised because I didn't expect that from Sony. I think for my ears, the Utopia can be a little bright and the TA-ZH1ES to me is a bit warmer as a sound signature so it tames the Utopia but I the clarity and the resolution is there. I actually want to do an A/B comparison with the Sony amp and whatever AMP I pair my Schiit Yggdrasil with. I was blown away at how much I really liked that combination. So much so that I went and purchased the Utopia new and bought the ZR1 used. I'm now hunting for the TA-ZH1ES on the used market. If I don't find one in the next month or so, I might have to give in and buy new.

In the meantime, I'm typing this post while listening to the Utopia on a Lyr2/Bifrost multibit stack. Sounds really good and If I have to live with this stack, I will be happy. However, I want to chase what I heard while I was at Source AV and recreate it. Mind you, this was over 3 separate visits and each time, I was astounded by the combination.

 

[point1]

You're the first person I've heard describe a 4 meter long headphone cable as "fairly short".

heh.. I have an AKG702 65th anniversary headphones and the stock cable length is perfect!!!

 

[mwr2700]

heh.. I have an AKG702 65th anniversary headphones and the stock cable length is perfect!!!

Ah, when you said you were a newly minted Utopia owner I thought you were referring to them.

 

[Ojisan]

You're the first person I've heard describe a 4 meter long headphone cable as "fairly short".

I think @point1 got the cable like the one mentioned below which was news to me. It's not the thick heavy 4m cable that many of us have.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-utopia-general-discussion.811273/page-648#post-14756234

Perhaps replacing the $1k cable allows them to make a deeper discount ... I must treat my cable with respect

 

[JM1979]

Now that I am a newly minted Utopia owner, I wanted to ask for recommendations regarding cables. The stock cable is fairly short. I'm looking for balanced cable recommendations (one that doesn't cost half the price of the Utopia itself)

Thank you in advance!

Take this for what it’s worth as I don’t own a Utopia, but I really like the Moon Audio dragon series cables. I think they recommend the Black Dragon (silver plated copper) for the Utopia. Their owner is very familiar with the Utopia and I’m sure he could help you select the right pairing if you decide to go that route.