Thank you! That's apparently where mine was all along. :)

Btw where is the serial number stamped on the d9200? I can't seem to find one anywhere on my pair.

Well I'm sold. Where can I find pictures of where to cut the pads to gain entry? Are there variations of this mod I should know about? You mentioned removing part of the existing studding. I seem to remember seeing someone describe buying some new material to insert?

Oh that doesn't sound too difficult. Did you do it for your d9200? Did it really make a big difference?

What exactly are modded sr009 pads? Can anyone point me to a diy on how to mod them and how to attach them to the d9200?

Nah. Using an identical source and DAC: My SR-009's don't sound bright. My HE1000's don't sound bright. And my new Ether Flow's don't sound bright.   My bright impression of the Utopia was most pronounced when A/B'ing with the SR-009's and HE1000's. Had I not had comparison phones, the...

"Low" output impedance is not quite the same as "near zero" output impedance: V181 = 0.2 ohms Benchmark = 0.1 ohms

A quick follow up. I think I might have figured out why the Utopia's sounded bright on my system. Both of the amps I used were near zero-ohm output impedance designs (the HPA2 on the Benchmark and the Violectric V181). Why is this important? Because in looking at the Utopia's impedance curve...

  I'm curious too. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Has anyone compared the new ether flow to the new HE1000 v2 (since the ether flow has apparently bested the v1).

Has anyone compared the Ether Flow to the HE1000 v2?

  Oh, that's great to hear, gnarlsagan, glad I'm not alone. I sure wish the Elear pads had been available for purchase, I would have definitely been willing to try them out to change the overall treble balance.    I've done my fair share of "amp rolling" over the years, and there's no way I...

Thanks I appreciate your willingness to help.   At the end of the day, I decided to return the Utopias to the retailer I purchased them from. I spent hours comparing the Utopia's to my SR-009's on my own equipment on music that I was familiar with. Yes, the treble detail was amazing, and when...

Hi Jason. Well to answer your question, I'm using: Source: PC DAC: Benchmark DAC2 Amps: Violectric V181 or through Benchmark (doesn't matter) HP: Focal Utopia   My other cans: HiiMan HE1000 via Violectric V181 Stax SR-009 via Woo WES   With the same source and DAC, even the SR-009's...

This is really unfortunate. I have a pair of Utopias, but they're terribly bright and the bass is lacking. The Elear pads sound like they would solve both problems. How are other people demo'ing Utopia's with Elear pads? Anyone have any secret hookups?