[ufospls2]

  I've seen posts that claim the Focal Utopia exceed the LCD-4.  How do folks who own, or have heard, both comment on that impression?
 
Thank you -
RCB

They are just different, but both are very good headphones. If I had to choose, I would go with the LCD-4, but that is just me. I like the warm bass-y nature of the LCD-4. 

 

[Torq]

  I've seen posts that claim the Focal Utopia exceed the LCD-4.  How do folks who own, or have heard, both comment on that impression?
 
Thank you -
RCB

 
I own Utopia, LCD-4, Abyss and HD800S.
 
I haven't gotten around to writing up a proper shoot-out or review yet, though have been thinking about doing that (with a modified HD800 in the mix as well) with a local Seattle group, but I've been too busy to get to it yet.
 
For now, I would say that the only thing, in my opinion, that the LCD-4 does better than the Utopia is bass ... and then it's more about slam and extension than it is about tone or articulation.
 
At this level, overall, it's more about signature preference than anything else, so while I personally have a solid preference for the Utopia over the LCD-4, I can easily see where others would like the Audeze's better.
 
Put another way, if someone wanted to trade their Utopia for my LCD-4, I wouldn't hesitate - even though that'd give me two pairs of the Focals.

 

[Dillan]

I think a lot of people are buying the LCD-4/ Utopia/ Abyss blind so whichever one is getting the most hype at the time is the biggest seller.  I originally subscribed to this thread when the LCD-4 came out to get some comparisons to the Abyss but there has been almost none.  When the LCD-4 was the new kid on the block everyone just bought it, and now everyone is buying the Utopia without a second thought for the same reason, rather than because they have compared all the big players in the price range.  Don't think I have seen anyone properly compare the 3.  But I suppose even if we do get a few, the review will always be skewed by the reviewer's personal taste...  I guess anyone in the market for one of these 3 is just going to have to close their eyes and pick one and hope for the best, and at the moment, the hype train to Utopia town is leaving every 3 minutes so that's the road people are more than likely gonna take.
IMO

I completely agree. Just like a herd of sheep, consumers here will flock to whatever is flavor of the month (and also what Jude and the advertisements here hype up).

I learned a long time ago I couldn't rely on reading other people's opinions and experiences because often times I completely end up disagreeing. Going to meets and conventions was really eye opening.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

I have a pair of Utopia's, Abyss and the 4's are en route.
 
I agree with all of you: there is a lot of nonsense from people saying things as though it is fact - like these headphones sound better balanced, or the 'amp' in the DAVE isn't good - so it is really hard to take anything you read at face value.  
 
Fortunately, there are a few members who do know what they are talking about, but they are the rarity.

 

[Smazz]

  I've seen posts that claim the Focal Utopia exceed the LCD-4.  How do folks who own, or have heard, both comment on that impression?
 
Thank you -
RCB

 
IMHO, the Utopias hard more resolution and clarity than the LCD-4s, but not by much. The soundstage of the LCD-4 is bigger, and although the soundstage of the Utopias isn't as big, it had a nice accuracy to them, you could tell where everything was coming from, it placed instruments well. This is where it gets tricky, as someone mentioned above, it all depends about the synergy with what you are listening to them with. I have the Burson CV2+, which to me has a brighter sounding DAC, so it has a nice synergy with the LCD-4, which is a bit darker than other headphones and has a slightly recessed treble. The Utopias to me sounded bright in comparison, with some harsh highs. There were songs I enjoyed very much with the Utopias until certain parts I had to pull them off my ears or lower the volume. The same songs at the same volume, I never had to do that with the LCD-4s. Could this simply be bad synergy with the Burson, its very possible, I don't have any other frame of reference. I've read others call the Utopias bright, but not many, so who knows. The bass is very good with the Utopia, but I preferred the bass of the LCD-4. Guitar and Piano sounded incredible with the Utopia, and where as I mentioned above, while the difference is small between them and the 4s, the difference is there. Are they as incredible and gush worthy as everyone is making them out to be, in my opinion, no. Not enough to give me buyers remorse on the 4s, I still prefer the 4s to them. I had both side by side going back and forth, it was as if I was trying to force myself to like the Utopias over the 4s, but I found myself enjoying the sound signature of the 4s more. It's hard for someone to tell you one is better than the other, we all have our own personal tastes. More importantly, the synergy with the source and amps really makes a huge difference on how both sound, so try them out for yourself before investing, with your own equipment, rather than rely on others impressions. 

 

[Loose-Leaf]

I completely agree. Just like a herd of sheep, consumers here will flock to whatever is flavor of the month (and also what Jude and the advertisements here hype up).

I learned a long time ago I couldn't rely on reading other people's opinions and experiences because often times I completely end up disagreeing. Going to meets and conventions was really eye opening.

It's a marketing dream come true for some ,.

 

[Dillan]

IMHO, the Utopias hard more resolution and clarity than the LCD-4s, but not by much. The soundstage of the LCD-4 is bigger, and although the soundstage of the Utopias isn't as big, it had a nice accuracy to them, you could tell where everything was coming from, it placed instruments well. This is where it gets tricky, as someone mentioned above, it all depends about the synergy with what you are listening to them with. I have the Burson CV2+, which to me has a brighter sounding DAC, so it has a nice synergy with the LCD-4, which is a bit darker than other headphones and has a slightly recessed treble. The Utopias to me sounded bright in comparison, with some harsh highs. There were songs I enjoyed very much with the Utopias until certain parts I had to pull them off my ears or lower the volume. The same songs at the same volume, I never had to do that with the LCD-4s. Could this simply be bad synergy with the Burson, its very possible, I don't have any other frame of reference. I've read others call the Utopias bright, but not many, so who knows. The bass is very good with the Utopia, but I preferred the bass of the LCD-4. Guitar and Piano sounded incredible with the Utopia, and where as I mentioned above, while the difference is small between them and the 4s, the difference is there. Are they as incredible and gush worthy as everyone is making them out to be, in my opinion, no. Not enough to give me buyers remorse on the 4s, I still prefer the 4s to them. I had both side by side going back and forth, it was as if I was trying to force myself to like the Utopias over the 4s, but I found myself enjoying the sound signature of the 4s more. It's hard for someone to tell you one is better than the other, we all have our own personal tastes. More importantly, the synergy with the source and amps really makes a huge difference on how both sound, so try them out for yourself before investing, with your own equipment, rather than rely on others impressions. 

I pretty much agree with everything you're saying here. Although a slightly disagree with the significance of synergy of DAC and headphone.

 

[Icenine2]

   
I think a lot of people are buying the LCD-4/ Utopia/ Abyss blind so whichever one is getting the most hype at the time is the biggest seller.  I originally subscribed to this thread when the LCD-4 came out to get some comparisons to the Abyss but there has been almost none.  When the LCD-4 was the new kid on the block everyone just bought it, and now everyone is buying the Utopia without a second thought for the same reason, rather than because they have compared all the big players in the price range.  Don't think I have seen anyone properly compare the 3.  But I suppose even if we do get a few, the review will always be skewed by the reviewer's personal taste...  I guess anyone in the market for one of these 3 is just going to have to close their eyes and pick one and hope for the best, and at the moment, the hype train to Utopia town is leaving every 3 minutes so that's the road people are more than likely gonna take.
IMO

Agreed.

 

[jlbrach]

I will have my Utopia's on Monday to compare to my LCD-4s....looking forward to the comparison

 

[Articnoise]

   
IMHO, the Utopias hard more resolution and clarity than the LCD-4s, but not by much. The soundstage of the LCD-4 is bigger, and although the soundstage of the Utopias isn't as big, it had a nice accuracy to them, you could tell where everything was coming from, it placed instruments well. This is where it gets tricky, as someone mentioned above, it all depends about the synergy with what you are listening to them with. I have the Burson CV2+, which to me has a brighter sounding DAC, so it has a nice synergy with the LCD-4, which is a bit darker than other headphones and has a slightly recessed treble. The Utopias to me sounded bright in comparison, with some harsh highs. There were songs I enjoyed very much with the Utopias until certain parts I had to pull them off my ears or lower the volume. The same songs at the same volume, I never had to do that with the LCD-4s. Could this simply be bad synergy with the Burson, its very possible, I don't have any other frame of reference. I've read others call the Utopias bright, but not many, so who knows. The bass is very good with the Utopia, but I preferred the bass of the LCD-4. Guitar and Piano sounded incredible with the Utopia, and where as I mentioned above, while the difference is small between them and the 4s, the difference is there. Are they as incredible and gush worthy as everyone is making them out to be, in my opinion, no. Not enough to give me buyers remorse on the 4s, I still prefer the 4s to them. I had both side by side going back and forth, it was as if I was trying to force myself to like the Utopias over the 4s, but I found myself enjoying the sound signature of the 4s more. It's hard for someone to tell you one is better than the other, we all have our own personal tastes. More importantly, the synergy with the source and amps really makes a huge difference on how both sound, so try them out for yourself before investing, with your own equipment, rather than rely on others impressions. 

 

Good post!

 

I agree about the importance and synergy of the DAC, amp and headphone. Impressions without declaring the upstream gear will tell my very little.  

 

[Icenine2]

  I will have my Utopia's on Monday to compare to my LCD-4s....looking forward to the comparison

Please let us know what your impression are.

 

[jlbrach]

i will do so,i am starting out as one who loves the LCD-4's so this should indeed be interesting...to me comparing the very top of the lines HD's is like comparing the top of the line Mercedes vs BMW etc.....they are all outstanding and it comes down to personal preference......I think one can objectively say the Utopia or LCD-4 is better than a budget level HD but certainly nobody can say with certainty that any of these top of the line HD's are objectively better than any other......if somebody likes the LCD-4 better than the Utopia or the Stax or Abyss etc nobody can tell them they are wrong.....when I receive my Utopia I will give my opinion as to which I feel is better but will stress it is simply an opinion,nothing more!I find Head-Fi to be a great resource but the one thing that I do find difficult is people who assert what is opinion as fact!There is so much that goes into the assessment of an HD...the associated equipment,whether the DAC or AMP is proper or as good as that of another HD being compared and then of course the ultimate determinant our own ears..... some people's hearing is better than others and will hear things others simply never can....in addition as we age our hearing sadly diminishes like everything else,I know myself that I now in my mid 50's do not hear as I did when I was 25!.....like everything else in life a little modesty is on order all around!!

 

[jtinto]

  I will have my Utopia's on Monday to compare to my LCD-4s....looking forward to the comparison

 

[rgs9200m]

I feel that was an excellent post Jlbrach.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

So it begins....