[Tiddlesworth]

That's the thing about this hobby, we're chasing those last few percent (or 10ths or 100ths of a percent) and the current market is making you pay 3-4x more for those small gains. We're all just weighing what those small performance gains are worth to us. For me for a long time I refused to spend more than $1,000 on headphones, I have other more expensive hobbies that take over beyond that price point. Unfortunately that limit has somehow slipped to almost $2,000, not sure when I let that happen...... but if I have no regrets, than no harm no foul?!

Yeah but at some point you're not even upgrading, you're just choosing factors of a headphone you might like, like Utopia has nothing on the sound stage and airiness of the K812.

 

[Quadfather]

I collected the loan Utopias and the Atlas Zeno 1m Balanced cable today (but using standard Focal cable with Hugo 2). I had listened to the Utopias with the Questyle QP2R at the Show in September but first time with the Hugo 2. Early impressions? I think the Utopias could do with a whole lot more running in tbh, they will certainly get that with me, ha ha. Are they better enough than the K812's to justify the considerable additional cost? Time will tell, that's what a loan scheme is all about. They are beautifully made & very comfortable for sure. If the Utopias do some things better than the K812's but the K812's do other things better than the Utopias, I'm not sure that justifies a £3,500 purchase. I bought my K812's new in July 2015 for £900............................

And I bought Rush 'Permanent Waves' and 'Moving Pictures' yesterday, my CD budget is defo spent, no more suggestions please, I've still got some more Christmas presents to buy (for other people!).

Have most in 96/24. Great tunes.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I collected the loan Utopias and the Atlas Zeno 1m Balanced cable today (but using standard Focal cable with Hugo 2). I had listened to the Utopias with the Questyle QP2R at the Show in September but first time with the Hugo 2. Early impressions? I think the Utopias could do with a whole lot more running in tbh, they will certainly get that with me, ha ha. Are they better enough than the K812's to justify the considerable additional cost? Time will tell, that's what a loan scheme is all about. They are beautifully made & very comfortable for sure. If the Utopias do some things better than the K812's but the K812's do other things better than the Utopias, I'm not sure that justifies a £3,500 purchase. I bought my K812's new in July 2015 for £900............................

And I bought Rush 'Permanent Waves' and 'Moving Pictures' yesterday, my CD budget is defo spent, no more suggestions please, I've still got some more Christmas presents to buy (for other people!).

No problem...I won't mention Fly by Night at all.

 

[Quadfather]

No problem...I won't mention Fly by Night at all.

Hey, what about 2112?!

 

[MacedonianHero]

Hey, what about 2112?!

And Farewell to Kings?

 

[Quadfather]

And Farewell to Kings?

Some Yes also fills out the prog rock area nicely. Fragile

 

[ChisChas]

Yeah but at some point you're not even upgrading, you're just choosing factors of a headphone you might like, like Utopia has nothing on the sound stage and airiness of the K812.

Indeed, and I'm not interested in upgrading one element of the sound if I lose out on another. Fact 1: I paid £900 for my new K812's in July 2015 Fact 2: The Utopias cost £3,500 less a bit of dealer discount. My Questyle QP2R and Hugo 2 have really upped the performance of my K812's so the Utopias will have a fight on their hands. Currently spending the next 7 days 24/7 running in the loan Utopias, they don't have anything like enough hours on them imho. I'll start my auditioning after then. And the K812's have also larger earcups so seal very nicely against my head.

 

[ChisChas]

Have most in 96/24. Great tunes.

Any more suggestions and you'll both be sleeping with the fishes! And I am such a dope sometimes (my wi-fi says all the time) but I keep on forgetting to check what's available on H D Tracks or Quobuz so bought the CD's albeit cheaply. I could hear that the 'Remaster' version of Permanent Waves was treble toppy and bass light on Spotify Free before I bought it so if I get to really like it, I'll upgrade to 24/96 as the 'Remaster' version isn't great. Moving Pictures was a standard version so should sound ok but I'll upgrade that as well if necessary. And I did listen to some of the other Rush albums like 2112 and Farewell To Kings very briefly but the two I bought were my initial favourites as they sounded more proggy.

 

[ChisChas]

Some Yes also fills out the prog rock area nicely. Fragile

And if you and your new girlfriend continue to try and drive me into poverty, 'Fragile' is how your head will feel! I'm sure I have this Yes album as an LP sealed up in one of the boxes of LP's in my attic storage area.

And I forgive you (a little) as you are a Pendragon fan, I see. I have 7 Pendragon CD's and a DVD of their concert in Poland (the same theatre that Arena used for their DVD btw) and 6 Arena CD's plus their DVD. Seen both in London during the last few years, a minor op on my foot prevented me from going to the Pendragon gig in November this year. Just love Nick Barrett's guitar playing, he does need some singing lessons however..........

 

[Quadfather]

And if you and your new girlfriend continue to try and drive me into poverty, 'Fragile' is how your head will feel! I'm sure I have this Yes album as an LP sealed up in one of the boxes of LP's in my attic storage area.

And I forgive you (a little) as you are a Pendragon fan, I see. I have 7 Pendragon CD's and a DVD of their concert in Poland (the same theatre that Arena used for their DVD btw) and 6 Arena CD's plus their DVD. Seen both in London during the last few years, a minor op on my foot prevented me from going to the Pendragon gig in November this year. Just love Nick Barrett's guitar playing, he does need some singing lessons however..........

LOL. My head is already fragile. Massive stroke in 2015...almost back now...moods still screwed up. The Pendragon I am talking about is a delightful, middle-school, fantasy fiction series by D.J. MacHale. It's a ten book series. I have it in audio. This audio hobby is expensive! I will check out your Pendragon.

 

[ChisChas]

LOL. My head is already fragile. Massive stroke in 2015...almost back now...moods still screwed up. The Pendragon I am talking about is a delightful, middle-school, fantasy fiction series by D.J. MacHale. It's a ten book series. I have it in audio. This audio hobby is expensive! I will check out your Pendragon.

Bloody hilarious! My Pendragon is a prog rock band, I love em, I prefer the first six albums personally.

Glad to learn you are on the mind, hope the progress continues.

 

[Quadfather]

Bloody hilarious! My Pendragon is a prog rock band, I love em, I prefer the first six albums personally.

Glad to learn you are on the mind, hope the progress continues.

I plan to check them out when I get home. My Pendragon is one of my all-time favorite series of books. It is so imaginative.

 

[ChisChas]

Have most in 96/24. Great tunes.

Some advice please re Rush and hi-res downloads, Quobuz have lots of Rush:

Permanent Waves 24/192 @ £8.49 24/96 @ £14.99 (is there a reason as to why the 24/192 is cheaper?

Moving Pictures 24/96 @ £14.99

Why is the 24/192 cheaper? Is this generally the case?

 

[Quadfather]

Some advice please re Rush and hi-res downloads, Quobuz have lots of Rush:

Permanent Waves 24/192 @ £8.49 24/96 @ £14.99 (is there a reason as to why the 24/192 is cheaper?

Moving Pictures 24/96 @ £14.99

Why is the 24/192 cheaper? Is this generally the case?

I prefer 96/24. Less space required, and sounds better to my ears then the higher-res stuff.

 

[Tiddlesworth]

Some advice please re Rush and hi-res downloads, Quobuz have lots of Rush:

Permanent Waves 24/192 @ £8.49 24/96 @ £14.99 (is there a reason as to why the 24/192 is cheaper?

Moving Pictures 24/96 @ £14.99

Why is the 24/192 cheaper? Is this generally the case?

Just buy the cheapest, I mean if it's the same master it wouldn't make any difference, if space is a problem for you you can always downsample it.