[snk8699]

  Get headphones first always if juggling options in my opinion. They are the component that makes the most impact on your music. After auditioning the headphones with different components, you can gain a better sense of what kinds of differences you will get with changing out dac or amps. Can be pretty headphone dependant what dac/amp you end up wanting.

 
That makes perfect sense to me.  It's all too easy to lose sight of the main objective in this hobby, which is to get the most emotional engagement out of your setup starting with the headphone.  Thanks for the input.

 

[guitardave]

I had both a mojo and Hugo and after many comparisons came to the conclusion the mojo was just a bit more transparent on my HD800's. It was also a bit more "fun" to listen to.
It sounds great now with my Utopia's although I am considering adding an amp to the mix just to see if that adds anything with the utopia's, due to the increased resolution.

 

[snk8699]

 
I have corresponded with a person who has the TT the Hugo and the Mojo. They feel the Hugo, as do I, is better than the Mojo but he also feels the TT isn't enough of a jump to warrant the cost from the Hugo to the TT. I trust what he hears. 

 
I will never get an opportunity to audition the TT for myself, so I rely on this kind of honest feedback.  My wallet thanks you as well!

 

[bidn]

   
I really appreciate the feedback because I know how important it is to have synergy between the headphone, DAC, and amp.  Does anyone feel that upgrading to the Chord Hugo TT is worthwhile from the Hugo or should I just look to buying the Utopia first?  I feel like my money would be best spent on the Utopia as it would be the largest overall upgrade, but definitely want a desktop DAC in the future to complete my system and I want it to sound fantastic with the Utopia.

 
A good general principle is that it is better to invest in things
which do not get too quickly outdated and do not loose too quickly their financial value.
 
In the case of audio it is clear to me that speakers and headphones generaly
do not evolve as quickly as the electronic devices, do not lose value as quickly and are less prone to failure.
 
So I think that it is wiser to invest more in headphones than in the electronic gear.
 
In my case I already have invested quite much in a collection of expensive headphones and in-ears (see my signature, e.g. the Sonorous X and VIII, JH Layla, etc., are expensive),
and will go on with the Utopia,
but much less so in electronics e.g. my Pioneer U-05 DAC-amp is cheap and not TOTL,
then I bought a AK240 a year ago,
and just bought last spring my first headphone amp, the IFi iCAN Pro,
in the end it will be time that I buy a TOTL DAC, I am thinking of the DAVE, but certainly not before I buy the Utopia.
 
Wishing you peace of mind with your decision.

 

[Kukua]

At $1000 price point, the Elear is simply the best headphones ever made, period!!!

 

[meomap]

At $1000 price point, the Elear is simply the best headphones ever made, period!!!

Didn't you get both Elear and Utopia?

 

[Kukua]

Didn't you get both Elear and Utopia?

yes i did

 

[pervysage]

yes i did

 
Which one do you like better and why?
 
Nice to see different opinions.

 

[jamato8]

I will say that the Utopia have a totally different way of presenting the music and this is a positive. The dynamic contrasts within well recording music are laid bare. The layering and interplay of that sound, doesn't bleed and therefore, imaging is better than I have heard before. To me, they add a new dimension to the sound. I will say that the added Whiplash cable I got this morning also helped though this is all early in the burn-in process. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
I will never get an opportunity to audition the TT for myself, so I rely on this kind of honest feedback.  My wallet thanks you as well!

 
Here's another data point, the Hugo is a bit on the thin side of things for me and to be honest with overly accentuated the treble with my HD800S and former TH-900s; while I appreciate what it did and how it revolutionized portable audio, I wasn't too big a fan. The TT and Utopia (listening to them right now) is brilliant and is a considerable upgrade to my Mojo  (which I prefer to the Hugo actually) and the TT is a lot bigger sounding, balanced and can really data mine the last details from the recordings that the Mojo really seems to gloss over at best. Actually the TT --> Utopia is truly endgame territory to my ears. Simply magical...gonna be a long night! Apologies to your wallet. 

 

 

[NWRain]

I bought a Hugo a few months ago while demoing Mr Speaker Ether C.  I took it home to use with my HD800, and found it was bright.  After I while I sold the Hugo because it felt unpleasant with the Sennheisers.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Word on different threads I participate in is... Elear best heaephone currently for under 1k. Is this true?

 

[moedawg140]

Word on different threads I participate in is... Elear best heaephone currently for under 1k. Is this true?

If you think so when you try it out and think it's the best. There is never a definitive "best" with regard to overall world consensus. That would be if every person in the world that heard every setup and setting known in history came to the exact same conclusion at a finite point in time believed that the Elear was the "best" overall headphone "for under 1K". :normal_smile :

For me, the Elear and a few others that I've listened to are darn good for their respective asking prices.

 

[Toolman]

Word on different threads I participate in is... Elear best heaephone currently for under 1k. Is this true?

Let's just say if you only have $1000 to spend on a headphone, Elear should be on the top of your listen to.

However if you have more than $2000 itching in your pocket, then I'll say that you can have a few other options coming into play. 

Ultimately which one you prefer will depend on what type of sound signature that you prefer, and Elear is one darn good phone

 

[Hansotek]

I just want to chime in so others don't get the wrong impression reading the above. The Utopia is not ruthless and analytical like a face tweeter would be. It's just technically VERY revealing, but the overall sound is far from ruthless, with regard to frequency response.

+1. IMO, it gets 99.9999% of the way there and then just pulls back and resolves everything at the last minute before becoming harsh. It is one of the most astounding feats I've ever heard from a headphone. All the detail you can imagine and then just when you think it is about to become harsh... music. Simply incredible.