Maybe not deaf, just using different gears. As posted before by many others, Utopia are a so perfect reproduction instrument (versus an interpretation instrument like many other TOTL cans out there) that they will change their sound signature depending on what you use to drive them. This can be seen as good (you can hear exactly what you give them) and bad (jeez, if the gears are not exactly spot on quality can be not topnotch).
Other cans superimpose their own character (to a certain degree of course) and so the performances are more "stable".
Just like many others, I have been lucky enough to hear at the beginning an almost perfectly driven Utopia, and had the patience to "replicate" that sound. After many trials and errors, I have ended up with two main setups for Utopia, slighlty different in presentation but both very enjoyable: Vega-Taurus and Analog-Halgo300B. I do prefer the 300B (EML Mesh) because it's more "romantic" while the Taurus setup is more "hifi", and in general I do like tubes sound sig more than SS, but both are pushing Utopia at the top in all parameters IMHO and at my ears.
I think it's the same situation you can find with 009. If not perfectly driven, many find them just an average can, lacking bass and soundstage (umh... I seem to remember something...
) and they don't understand why so many people think 009 is the best can money can buy