Having alphabetized and numerically labeled the headphones: [#1=ATH-ADX5000, #2=Focal Utopia, #3=HifiMAN HE-1000SE], I will now randomize the listening order with a permutation: #2, #1, #3. The Utopia go first, the ADX5000 second and the HE-1000SE third.
[Tidal Masters]
Performer: Lee Ritenour
Song: "L.A. By Bike" from the album Rhythm Sessions (Deluxe Edition), 5:44
#2 Focal Utopia
These things are heavy, but worth their weight in precious metal.
The Utopia immediately arrest the listener's attention with their dynamic thrust: explosive, but in the manner of many finely controlled demolitions. The sound field ungulates with the deft and distinctive dynamic of each instrument in the mix: kick drums go deep and rivet my attention with precise impact, cymbals shimmer radiantly, the organ back-up hovers with its sheer quasi-omnipresence, the bass swells and recedes; and the space-time continuum, too, swells and recedes. Ritenour's string plucks are just a touch forward, but judiciously projected, artfully shapen and now decaying. The music is totally and seamlessly integrated: this is the most tonally and dynamically saturated sound stage of any headphones I have heard to date.
In reference to the common complaint that the Utopia have a confined sound stage, that has not been my experience [especially with the dedicated DSHA-3F amplifier]. The Utopia's size and proportion are true to, and vary commensurate with, the recording.
The Utopia are deserving of all the positive press they have gotten.
[Out for a walk.]
#1 ADX5000
These headphones are extremely lightweight and unobtrusive--among the most comfortable I have ever donned, lending to the ease and musicality of the overall listening experience.
Not as dynamically dense, nor as assertive at the outset as the Utopia, the ADX5000 instead coax the ears, through progressive discoveries, into an incredible expanse of music. Detail retrieval and precise anchoring of elements in space are, I think, on par with the Focal, but the atmosphere is one of ease--not force--of detail with the ATH. Tones are very natural-sounding; textures are silken, and deeply as well as widely rendered. There is a depth and richness to detail here that is unique and alluring. The sense of air, of overall 3D space, is greater with the ADX5000, but all the while still managing to sound intimate and emotionally involving at the same time.
Listening to the ADX5000 involves gradually coming to appreciative consciousness in a seemingly endless volume of everything ultimately musical and beautiful. This is one delectable listen, pretty much what I have been looking for in open dynamic headphones for most of my audiophile life.
The ATH are real sleepers, apparently underappreciated in the Head-fi world, a true hidden gem, providing quality performance well [well] above their price point. At one half the MSRP of the Utopia, the ADX5000 are a worthy competitor and a stone cold bargain. [Caveat: Make sure your amp is up to the task, though.]
[I am having a difficult time ending this session . . . having spilled 3 or 4 songs beyond "L.A. By Bike" into the sweet composition aptly named "Rose Petals".]
#3 HE-1000SE
Remarkable presentation of micro detail, hairline-fine levels/boundaries of separation, delicacy and finesse, deep articulated bass--perhaps the deepest and best articulated of the three contenders, are hallmarks of the 1000SE. This is one well-organized sound space. Exceedingly wide and well layered, but not as deep as either the Focal or the ATH. A bit more forward overall, too, but it all seems to work well together with the HfM. Like I said earlier, these are certainly no slouches.
I would also add, too, that to my ears, the HE-1000SE come off as perhaps the most "neutral-sounding" and analytical of the three, but without compromising that essential modicum of musicality. [So I consider "neutrality" a good thing in this context.] The midrange sounds fresh, clear and penetrating.
[Caveat: Be patient, the HE-1000SE have a long break-in period, on the order of 200+ hours, IMHO.]
[That's it for tonight. God willing, tomorrow I do the same thing, but listen in another randomized order and to another genre.]
i've had the opportunity to audition the ath-adx5000 in the past but other headphones have taken precedence over it. i'm mildly curious about it now because of the recent activity in this thread, the above video review and my ownership of other a-t cans. i doubt that i'll be wanting to add it to the collection tho.
