[AmusedToD]

If you went with a Utopia or HD800(s) I would argue that, yes, an amp would matter to get the full benefit of the headphone especially for classical music. I'm not the type of guy to tell you that you have to spend $2,500 on a Cavalli Liquid Crimson, which there were only 30 ever made, to REALLY make the Utopia SING!
But if you did purchase a Utopia, HD800(s) or something comparable there are a large amount of DACs, Amps and DAC/Amp combos that are inexpensive ($200 - $600 range) and would probably make you happy with your music and headphone purchase.

Spot on! Especially having in mind the Utopia is relatively easy to drive compared to most high end headphones on the market, I don’t think an uber expensive amp is necessary there.

 

[davehg]

As Amps are being mentioned again, I will re-ask my earlier question, as I didn’t get a good answer:

Does anyone have the AK70 Mark II plus Clear combination? If so, would an amplifier improve the sound generally? One could argue not, because the AK70 is capable of delivering good power, and the Clear are low impedance, and it sure doesn’t SEEM like it’s starving for power, but one can never really tell until one compares.

So, what do you think? And if yes, which one? (I’m thinking a portable battery- operated one)

Thanks.

I don't have the AK70 but I do have the AK120 Mk1. It sounds pleasant enough with the Clear, but the Clear (as well as any other headphone except an IEM) sounds better with an outboard amp. I know the Clear is efficient but I find more power increases the dynamics of the Clear and deepens and tightens the base response.

Personally I would look at the Chord Mojo for a portable battery amp (and hopefully you can run your AK digital outs into the Mojo digital inputs. I had an older Ray Samuels Emmeline amp but it wasn't as pure sounding as the Mojo.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

As Amps are being mentioned again, I will re-ask my earlier question, as I didn’t get a good answer:

Does anyone have the AK70 Mark II plus Clear combination? If so, would an amplifier improve the sound generally? One could argue not, because the AK70 is capable of delivering good power, and the Clear are low impedance, and it sure doesn’t SEEM like it’s starving for power, but one can never really tell until one compares.

So, what do you think? And if yes, which one? (I’m thinking a portable battery- operated one)

Thanks.

My little experience says you'll benefit a lot from an amplifier that’s on par with Clear quality. When for some reason I'm listening with headphones out of my iPad Pro, I use my AT MX40, I don’t even bother to sweat my Clear pads. On my X7 Mk2 DAP its already a significant upgrade for sure, but on my desktop DAC/AMP its superlative - and that, yes, makes honor to Clear.
My 2 cents

 

[krypticide]

Is your current and future source/amp for these headphones an IPhone or a MacBook?

Currently is MacBook Pro (2015) and iPhone X, yes. I'm still trying to feel out whether an amp would improve the experience, but seeing as a Chord Mojo is $500+ on Amazon, I'm wondering if I really want to spend that much for an amp...

 

[AmusedToD]

Currently is MacBook Pro (2015) and iPhone X, yes. I'm still trying to feel out whether an amp would improve the experience, but seeing as a Chord Mojo is $500+ on Amazon, I'm wondering if I really want to spend that much for an amp...

The Mojo is not just an amp, it’s also a very very good DAC that you can use even in a speaker system. You can also connect it via an aux cable to your car’s audio system and listen to the music explode

A very good device, used to have one two years ago.

As a side note, forget the Utopia if you are going to drive it from a telephone or a computer.

 

[krypticide]

If you went with a Utopia or HD800(s) I would argue that, yes, an amp would matter to get the full benefit of the headphone especially for classical music. I'm not the type of guy to tell you that you have to spend $2,500 on a Cavalli Liquid Crimson, which there were only 30 ever made, to REALLY make the Utopia SING!
But if you did purchase a Utopia, HD800(s) or something comparable there are a large amount of DACs, Amps and DAC/Amp combos that are inexpensive ($200 - $600 range) and would probably make you happy with your music and headphone purchase.

Sorry, my message was poorly worded. I meant two things:

1) Would Utopia improve the classical music listening experience? Seems like the answer is yes. But I don't think I can justify the price difference plus an external amp seems to be an absolute must.
2) Would an amp change the sound signature of Clear such that it would improve the classical listening experience? Seems like the overall signature wouldn't change, but some say the dynamics/soundstage/clarity may be improved?

Still trying to figure out if I need to convince my wife about spending another $500 on the Chord Mojo (vs. MacBook Pro or iPhone X currently).

 

[AmusedToD]

Sorry, my message was poorly worded. I meant two things:

1) Would Utopia improve the classical music listening experience? Seems like the answer is yes. But I don't think I can justify the price difference plus an external amp seems to be an absolute must.
2) Would an amp change the sound signature of Clear such that it would improve the classical listening experience? Seems like the overall signature wouldn't change, but some say the dynamics/soundstage/clarity may be improved?

Still trying to figure out if I need to convince my wife about spending another $500 on the Chord Mojo (vs. MacBook Pro or iPhone X currently).

1. Compared to the Clear, the answer is yes! The Utopia is clearer and more refined sounding than the Clear, has better treble extension and faster/deeper bass. The soundstage is larger and the imaging superior when compared to the Clear. Much better for classical IMHO. The Utopia is more comfortable too, although a bit heavier.
2. I don’t think so. The dynamics/soundstage/clarity would certainly be improved, but the Utopia would be better still when driven from the same source.

There is a bundle offer for a QP2R DAP + Utopia where you basically get the QP2R for free. This is the offer I took and am expecting delivery. The Questyle QP2R will be a significant upgrade from your iPhone/laptop and probably better than a iPhone-Mojo combo, while still retaining a small footprint. It also has a USB DAC functionality, so in theory you can connect your MacBook/iPhone directly to it as a source, and then drive the headphones from it.

Please keep in mind you will need to invest in an aftermarket cable for the Utopia, the stock one is too big and bulky for any portable use.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

If you went with a Utopia or HD800(s) I would argue that, yes, an amp would matter to get the full benefit of the headphone especially for classical music. I'm not the type of guy to tell you that you have to spend $2,500 on a Cavalli Liquid Crimson, which there were only 30 ever made, to REALLY make the Utopia SING!
But if you did purchase a Utopia, HD800(s) or something comparable there are a large amount of DACs, Amps and DAC/Amp combos that are inexpensive ($200 - $600 range) and would probably make you happy with your music and headphone purchase.

Spot on! Especially having in mind the Utopia is relatively easy to drive compared to most high end headphones on the market, I don’t think an uber expensive amp is necessary there.

True, price is not necessarily correlated with better performance with the Utopia. What matters, and a lot, is synergy, otherwise there is a higher risk one may get fatigued quickly in comparison with the Clear, which has arguably a more accessible tonal balance.

 

[Phronesis]

Sorry, my message was poorly worded. I meant two things:

1) Would Utopia improve the classical music listening experience? Seems like the answer is yes. But I don't think I can justify the price difference plus an external amp seems to be an absolute must.
2) Would an amp change the sound signature of Clear such that it would improve the classical listening experience? Seems like the overall signature wouldn't change, but some say the dynamics/soundstage/clarity may be improved?

Still trying to figure out if I need to convince my wife about spending another $500 on the Chord Mojo (vs. MacBook Pro or iPhone X currently).

If possible, I suggest that you compare the Clear and Utopia back to back with some classical tracks that you like. I found the difference between them to be smaller than I expected.

As long as an amp has reasonable power, I don't find that amps change sound signature, dynamics, stage, clarity, etc. I don't know whether the iPhone X has enough power for the Clear, but I'll try to do some comparison between the iPhone X and Mojo in the next few days.

 

[Ken G]

Sorry, my message was poorly worded. I meant two things:

1) Would Utopia improve the classical music listening experience? Seems like the answer is yes. But I don't think I can justify the price difference plus an external amp seems to be an absolute must.
2) Would an amp change the sound signature of Clear such that it would improve the classical listening experience? Seems like the overall signature wouldn't change, but some say the dynamics/soundstage/clarity may be improved?

Still trying to figure out if I need to convince my wife about spending another $500 on the Chord Mojo (vs. MacBook Pro or iPhone X currently).

Based on everything you mentioned (style of music and frequency response) and if price may be a concern ($3-4K for the Utopia + $500 on a amp), I would highly recommend to take gLer's suggestion and try out the Sennheiser HD800 or HD800S. It will get you probably the same amount of realism for Classical music as the Utopia at a much lower price point ($1K for the HD800, $1.5K for the HD800S). You will definitely need an Amp/DAC to power the HD800(S) but you could easily find a good one for less than $500 and you would likely be all in ($2K or less) for about half the regular price of the Utopia.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Based on everything you mentioned (style of music and frequency response) and if price may be a concern ($3-4K for the Utopia + $500 on a amp), I would highly recommend to take gLer's suggestion and try out the Sennheiser HD800 or HD800S. It will get you probably the same amount of realism for Classical music as the Utopia at a much lower price point ($1K for the HD800, $1.5K for the HD800S). You will definitely need an Amp/DAC to power the HD800(S) but you could easily find a good one for less than $500 and you would likely be all in ($2K or less) for about half the regular price of the Utopia.

I would say it's a toss up. Most of the time the HD800 variants need serious setup tuning to get them to sound how you want. The Utopia can be had for anywhere from $2,500-$3,000 brand new and really doesn't require a DAC/Amp to sound great.

I dare say that I would prefer my Utopia out of my Pixel XL more than I have the serious HD800 variant setups I've heard.

 

[Skyyyeman]

If possible, I suggest that you compare the Clear and Utopia back to back with some classical tracks that you like. I found the difference between them to be smaller than I expected.

As long as an amp has reasonable power, I don't find that amps change sound signature, dynamics, stage, clarity, etc. I don't know whether the iPhone X has enough power for the Clear, but I'll try to do some comparison between the iPhone X and Mojo in the next few days.

Regarding an amp I disagree with the above comment. Sound signature, dynamics, stage, clarity are the very things that are improved, often significantly. This is especially apparent when using high resolution equipment such as Utopia.

 

[joseph69]

Sound signature, dynamics, stage, clarity are the very things that are improved, often significantly. This is especially apparent when using high resolution equipment such as Utopia.

Significantly...without a doubt!
The Utopia scales exceptionally well with upstream gear.

 

[Phronesis]

Regarding an amp I disagree with the above comment. Sound signature, dynamics, stage, clarity are the very things that are improved, often significantly. This is especially apparent when using high resolution equipment such as Utopia.

If going from an underpowered amp to adequately powered, I agree. I recognize that some amps, especially tube amps, can also color the sound in a way that some people like the way they work with particular headphones. But if we're talking about adequately powered solid state amps without quirky designs, my impression is that they all sound essentially the same, and only linearly amplify, so there's no 'scaling' effect.

We need to always bear in mind that our perceptions of these things can be highly influenced by expectations; a lot of research demonstrates it, and I've found it in my own personal experience too. Whenever this topic comes up, I refer people to the book "Subliminal" by Leonard Mlodinow as a good general read on this topic.

 

[jean-luc]

I just received a used focal clear.
So nice balanced sounding.
Very immersive and certainly don't lack body with my bakoon.

Excellent headphones, lot of potentiel with highend amplifier.