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Focal Utopia General Discussion
Feb 9, 2019 at 11:01 PM Post #9,856 of 20,644
point1 said:
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.
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So you thought the Sony amp was better with the Utopia than the Moon audio? Or did I just read that wrong.
 
Feb 9, 2019 at 11:27 PM Post #9,858 of 20,644
point1 said:
Sony amp with Utopia sounded awesome. Moon amp/dac didn’t really do the headphones justice
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Wow, I heard from someone that the Moon audio 430had was amazing with the Utopia.
 
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Feb 10, 2019 at 12:44 PM Post #9,861 of 20,644
strojo said:
It is—running the Utopia/430HAD with zero complaints on the sound. The Moon was recommended/purchased from the great folks at TSAV.
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Yep! Jason told me that too.
 
Feb 10, 2019 at 3:05 PM Post #9,865 of 20,644
PIANISTE88 said:
I have the 430HA (not D for obvious reasons). A complete mismatch with the Utopia according to a professional musician.
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Bahaha, then this professional musician can play intruments and is Beethoven which was deaf lol.
 
Feb 10, 2019 at 3:13 PM Post #9,866 of 20,644
PIANISTE88 said:
I have the 430HA (not D for obvious reasons). A complete mismatch with the Utopia according to a professional musician.
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I suppose there are lots of opinions about this but my opinion is based on life long love for audio and my audio engineering experience as a EE and being a bassist for 60 years. I can see one looking for a more emotional sound over the 430 but I can’t agree with a “complete mismatch”. I can agree that you may not prefer this particular pairing.
 
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Feb 10, 2019 at 3:31 PM Post #9,867 of 20,644
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Just purchased the TA-ZH1ES and listened with the Utopia for many hours yesterday and I can't say that I was mistaken with my first impression. When I tried out the Utopia on my buddy's Schiit Ragnarok, the headphones inched towards the brighter side. Not HD800 bright but it was brighter than what I prefer. The TAZ softens the Utopia where it was very enjoyable for me.

With what I paid for the Sony (way below retail), I have enough funds left to explore tube amps. I'm thinking I'm going to look at the Eddie Current Balancing Act or the Aficionado (both for sale in the classifieds here) or Felix Audio Euforia. Any comments on Utopia with tubes? Recommendations maybe?
 
Feb 10, 2019 at 3:42 PM Post #9,869 of 20,644
mahesvara said:
Depending on your funds, the best I've ever heard the Utopia on is my Woo Audio WA33. If you can lurk for and get a pre-owned WA22 (which I once had, and sold to buy WA33), the Utopia will also sound amazing.
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Thank you! I listened to the Utopia on the W5LE I then switched over to the headamp GSX MKII and I think I preferred solid state over the tube. Maybe I didn't give the Woo amp enough time to heat up and to be honest I don't think I gave it enough listening time to really make a decision.

I appreciate the feedback
 
Feb 10, 2019 at 4:03 PM Post #9,870 of 20,644
get yourself a used dave...no need for an external amp with the utopia and sounds wonderful
 
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