[MooMooMoooo]

Are you serious or you are joking

 
Of course I was joking

 

[Uchiya]

Would like to purchase but been reamed in the arse too many times by QC from hifiman, items breaking right past warranty; re-272 (2x) - terrible cables, re-600 (2x) - bad cables, he-500 driver mismatch, he-6 the connector for left side is too small so it doesn't screw in securely, been gradually getting worse. This can't be bad luck. I love their sound but long term durability and reliability isn't questionable, it's crap in my experience. Tired of paying money to beta test this brand's "production" releases.

 

[figaro69]

Yep, their quality control is a nightmare.  I bought the He-6 a long time ago.  The drivers kept dying me.  The last time they quit on me I said, "to hell with these" and I never sent them back for replacement.  But hey, the same has happened to me with the Audezes.  I am kind of tired of all these "start-up" garage headphone companies.  It's better to stick with the Beyerdynamic, Grados, Sennheisers, and AKGs of the world...and maybe focal, since they have been around for many years.

 

[Maxx134]

Yep, their quality control is a nightmare.  I bought the He-6 a long time ago.  The drivers kept dying me.  The last time they quit on me I said, "to hell with these" and I never sent them back for replacement.  But hey, the same has happened to me with the Audezes.  I am kind of tired of all these "start-up" garage headphone companies.  It's better to stick with the Beyerdynamic, Grados, Sennheisers, and AKGs of the world...and maybe focal, since they have been around for many years.

I had every brand you speak and at the end of the day I still choose the HE1000 for the sound.
Bottom line is always the sound.

So I believe the V2 has the biggest potential not only supercede the V1,
But that would automatically place the can at the top of the TOTL heap pile.

So focal can keep its Utopia 40mm dynamic driver for twice the price.

I will stick with the largest planar radiating area to give me the big soundstage, and larger sonic wave to my ear..

 

[Toolman]

Tho I doubt I will be sending any more money HFM's way, I am keeping my HEK exactly for the sound as well. However I did a side by side comparison with Utopia and it just blew my HEK out of the water, not even close...tho I could possibly say the same for majority of the headphones out there. Yes Utopia is that good!

But if I am in the market buying a new TOTL headphone, I would not hesitate to sink another $1,000 for the Utopia. That's a no brainer either for the built quality, comfort, sound and how a brand chooses to conduct it's business.

 

[Toolman]

So focal can keep its Utopia 40mm dynamic driver for twice the price.

I will stick with the largest planar radiating area to give me the big soundstage, and larger sonic wave to my ear..

 
Are you comparing a new model (HEKv2) with another new model (Utopia)? or with an out of production model (HEKv1)?

You do know that v2 retails for $2,999 with a substantially lower manufacturing cost (just see how the v1 plummeted in price once v2 is announced) and the $3,999 Utopia is carbon clad with soft Napa leather as well as being armed with an expensive Beryllium drive

 

[gancanjam]

For my sound signature needs, I preferred HEK better than other excellent HPs like LCD4, HD800 and Abyss so i bought HEK V1  as well. In short the reason being, to me HD800 are brighter and LCDs are darker , Abyss is too bass oriented but have not heard Focal Utopia though.
 
Based on reviews, some have mentioned Utopia slightly lags behind the planar bass/SS of HEK and kind of comparable with Treble/Mids of HEK so i have not seen many of them saying Utopia trumps HEK yet to justify the price increase, again i could be wrong. 
 
@Toolman
 
Leaving aside the build quality  Interesting to know from you how Utopia and  HEK compares on the differentiating factors in SQ which lead you to like Utopia more.

 

[npdang]

4 areas I find HEK to far surpass any dynamic driver:
 
1. lack of driver coloration - soft diaphragms like HD800 tend to sound less vivid and tonally washed out, while stiff diaphragms like Focal tend to have a cool presentation; HEK does not impart noticeable coloration to my ears in that respect.
2. huge upfront images - while tonally the HEK sounds a bit laid back in the upper midrange, it presents images in a massive upfront way that I have yet to hear from any dynamic.  HD800 by contrast sounds very small and distant, and to me generally uninvolving.
3. easy to drive load for OTL/SET amps - planars are generally purely resistive loads with stable current demands vs. reactive load of a dynamic, which plays nicer with tube amps. 
4. liquid/analog sound - more texture and body to the sound which I prefer.  HD800 and Focal sound a bit too "matter of fact" to me.

 

[gancanjam]

Good to know npdang, i am not that technical but do appreciate those aspects... in any case i love my HEK.

Some Utopia user might have an alternate view point, wanted to understand those as well.

 

[yukihasi]

Startup headphone companies are having similar issues, quality control, supply issue, rapid versioning, etc.

That's more in the nature of how their business model works, you get less "mature" products from them compared to big companies (Sony, Pioneer etc.) or companies that been in the market for decades(Beyer, Sennheiser etc.).

IMO It's all a matter of choice, personally I care more about how they sound and how comfortable they are to put on, other things can come latter. Those who care more about the build quality, slower product life cycle would be better off with other choices and there are tons of them. The person who wants them all, well, we have Utopia, and even HE1

 

[maeveth]

I had a chance to listen to the Utopia's at the semi-recent SF meetup.

I found the Utopias to many times be lacking "depth" to the sound. With my HEKs I can often not tell if a sound is coming from the music I'm listening to or from the room I am sitting in. The Utopia for me always felt like I was listening to music whereas the HEK felt like I was in a room of music. Granted thats not to say the HEKs are a stand-in for my towers but its damn close for certain genres. I do find that the HEKs do lack a high degree of impact to the low end for some types of music like EDM or Metal. For this reason I recently picked up the MrSpeakers Ether C Flow as a supplement to my HEKs.

 

[sheldaze]

I had a chance to listen to the Utopia's at the semi-recent SF meetup.

I found the Utopias to many times be lacking "depth" to the sound. With my HEKs I can often not tell if a sound is coming from the music I'm listening to or from the room I am sitting in. The Utopia for me always felt like I was listening to music whereas the HEK felt like I was in a room of music. Granted thats not to say the HEKs are a stand-in for my towers but its damn close for certain genres. I do find that the HEKs do lack a high degree of impact to the low end for some types of music like EDM or Metal. For this reason I recently picked up the MrSpeakers Ether C Flow as a supplement to my HEKs.

Interesting observation, and one of the key reasons I like the HEK.
 
Was it the same setup for the Utopia and HEK? What source and amplifier were used?

 

[maeveth]

  Interesting observation, and one of the key reasons I like the HEK.
 
Was it the same setup for the Utopia and HEK? What source and amplifier were used?

 
At the event I was able to try a Cavalli LAu with both of them.  The Utopia was by no stretch bad but it just wasn't the cat's meow for me.  At the event we were mainly using A&K AK380s as a source for many of the devices.  The AK380 has the same DAC as the new Schiit Jotunheim.  At home I use a Yggy as you can see below but I have not yet and will unlikely take the time to buy/try a set of Utopias out of my own pocket for at home testing.

 

[sheldaze]

   
At the event I was able to try a Cavalli LAu with both of them.  The Utopia was by no stretch bad but it just wasn't the cat's meow for me.  At the event we were mainly using A&K AK380s as a source for many of the devices.  The AK380 has the same DAC as the new Schiit Jotunheim.  At home I use a Yggy as you can see below but I have not yet and will unlikely take the time to buy/try a set of Utopias out of my own pocket for at home testing.

Will definitely focus on what you said when I have chance next to listen to Utopia. I too heard it on Cavalli LAu.
I also heard my HE1K on the LAu, but it was at a meet a long while ago.
 
Great remarks! Thank you!

 

[maeveth]

  Will definitely focus on what you said when I have chance next to listen to Utopia. I too heard it on Cavalli LAu.
I also heard my HE1K on the LAu, but it was at a meet a long while ago.
 
Great remarks! Thank you!

 
No worries - love to be able to share.  I'll be sure to post my impressions of the V2 once my upgrades arrive.