[theorist]

Anyone feels the Utopia benefits from burn in?

It sounds good out of the box, but with a few hundreds of hours of burn-in it improves considerably and especially looses some of its initial irritating higher frequency brightness/brittleness that occurs on the occasional cut.

 

[gordec]

It sounds good out of the box, but with a few hundreds of hours of burn-in it improves considerably and especially looses some of its initial irritating higher frequency brightness/brittleness that occurs on the occasional cut.

Thanks. I may need to burn it in. The last 3 cans I owned were all planars and none needed burn in.

 

[jwbrent]

It sounds good out of the box, but with a few hundreds of hours of burn-in it improves considerably and especially looses some of its initial irritating higher frequency brightness/brittleness that occurs on the occasional cut.

Agreed.

 

[musicman59]

It sounds good out of the box, but with a few hundreds of hours of burn-in it improves considerably and especially looses some of its initial irritating higher frequency brightness/brittleness that occurs on the occasional cut.

+1

 

[jwbrent]

I’m surprised how good the Utopia sounds with the Mojo. No problem with driving them to very high levels, and the slightly warmer nature of the Mojo meshes well.

Still, the Utopia deserve a better DAC/amp to extract its best performance. The Hugo 2 is definitely a candidate, the Dave is out of my price range, though.

The other two amps that intrigue me are the Woo WA8, and interestingly, the ALO CDM. I like the portability of the CDM, and would certainly appreciate any comments from other users about this tube hybrid DAC/amp.

 

[meomap]

I’m surprised how good the Utopia sounds with the Mojo. No problem with driving them to very high levels, and the slightly warmer nature of the Mojo meshes well.

Still, the Utopia deserve a better DAC/amp to extract its best performance. The Hugo 2 is definitely a candidate, the Dave is out of my price range, though.

The other two amps that intrigue me are the Woo WA8, and interestingly, the ALO CDM. I like the portability of the CDM, and would certainly appreciate any comments from other users about this tube hybrid DAC/amp.

I have the Utopia + DHC Comp4 cable with 2.5 mm TRRS + CDM ( GE 9021 tubes, I think: I have other tubes set but save and test for another day ) + DX200 as source + ALO IC
CDM really opens the soundstage
Bass is tighter and fuller.
SQ is more synergy than using DX200 alone.

Once, I compared WA8 vs CDM at SF meet with Utopia in 2016.
WA8 gave a darker SQ; however, bass is stronger and tighter.
No tube rolling for WA8 at this point.

You may want demo both WA8 and CDM.

If you plan to use HG2 as doc then WA8 might not as bad combo, maybe a tad better than HG2 + CDM combo.
I am thinking of getting HG2 as well.
I can use HG2 + ALO SS6 + Utopia as well = Could be the best ever combo, who knows. Sounds tempting.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I’m surprised how good the Utopia sounds with the Mojo. No problem with driving them to very high levels, and the slightly warmer nature of the Mojo meshes well.

Still, the Utopia deserve a better DAC/amp to extract its best performance. The Hugo 2 is definitely a candidate, the Dave is out of my price range, though.

The other two amps that intrigue me are the Woo WA8, and interestingly, the ALO CDM. I like the portability of the CDM, and would certainly appreciate any comments from other users about this tube hybrid DAC/amp.

I didn't like how it sounded out of the WA8. And it seemed like it didn't have enough juice to really push the Utopia.

 

[wldcohso]

I didn't like how it sounded out of the WA8. And it seemed like it didn't have enough juice to really push the Utopia.

Yep, from what I’ve read they sound good on the W8. Focal uses the W8 at most of their trade shows to demonstrate the Utopia.

 

[jwbrent]

I have the Utopia + DHC Comp4 cable with 2.5 mm TRRS + CDM ( GE 9021 tubes, I think: I have other tubes set but save and test for another day ) + DX200 as source + ALO IC
CDM really opens the soundstage
Bass is tighter and fuller.
SQ is more synergy than using DX200 alone.

Once, I compared WA8 vs CDM at SF meet with Utopia in 2016.
WA8 gave a darker SQ; however, bass is stronger and tighter.
No tube rolling for WA8 at this point.

You may want demo both WA8 and CDM.

If you plan to use HG2 as doc then WA8 might not as bad combo, maybe a tad better than HG2 + CDM combo.
I am thinking of getting HG2 as well.
I can use HG2 + ALO SS6 + Utopia as well = Could be the best ever combo, who knows. Sounds tempting.

I like DHC cables, I’ve owned several sets.

I can definitely see a CDM in my future. I’m a fan of beautifully made gear, but especially portable gear. There’s something about a device in a miniaturized version that is beautifully made that gets to the root of my sensibilities. This fandom began with me when Sony created the portable market by introducing the first Walkman.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Yep, from what I’ve read they sound good on the W8. Focal uses the W8 at most of their trade shows to demonstrate the Utopia.

I heard it inside the Wooaudio room at Canjam NYC. I pushed them high in volume and it started to sound weird too me. Not my cup of tea, now the GX2 on the other hand by Headroom. I might of gotten the name wrong, that sounded incredible.

 

[jwbrent]

Yep, from what I’ve read they sound good on the W8. Focal uses the W8 at most of their trade shows to demonstrate the Utopia.

So I’ve read. Jude in his video review of the Utopia hints at some kind of symbiotic pairing with the W8.

 

[jwbrent]

I heard it inside the Wooaudio room at Canjam NYC. I pushed them high in volume and it started to sound weird too me. Not my cup of tea, now the GX2 on the other hand by Headroom. I might of gotten the name wrong, that sounded incredible.

Makes sense, solid state vs tube. There can be significant tonal quality differences between these opposite designs. I guess it just depends on the music. Some albums sound killer with SS designs and others with tubes ...

That’s why you need both!

 

[TSAVJason]

Anyone driving the Utopia with AK380? I'm debating if I should get a 2.5 TRRS cable for it.

I’d suggest to you that using the balanced 2.5 will give you just a touch more headroom. If you’re a loud listener you’ll be hitting the top of the 380’s output.

 

[Asteron70]

I have driven the Utopia with 3 combinations [note I don't listen to DSD]:
1. The AK320 (same as AK380 for PCM) - using balanced 2.5 AND the AK amp
2. The Pavane DAC plugged into the V281 amp
3. The Pavane DAC plugged into the Cypher Labs Prautes amp

Each iteration resulted in a very material change to the quality of my listening experience:
1. From the Ak320+AK amp to Pavane/V281: A HUGE improvement. It's hard for me to pick apart whether the DAC or the AMP sections drove the improvement. I think both, and massively. The DAC is much better at instrument separation, soundstage expansion, deepening the lows. The Amp just adds the indescribable oomph that the AK320's amp can't match. It's exactly what you'd expect going from a portable rig to an expensive desktop rig
2. From the V281 (balanced mode) to the Prautes (unbalanced): A HUGE improvement. I couldn't believe it. With the v281, I was experiencing everything that's so commonly said about the Utopia: ridiculous clarity, speed and overall ACCURACY. The V281 is German engineering perfection (black as the night and Powerful). With the Prautes, I couldn't believe how much the soundstage increased and the lows filled out. Yes, I lost about 0.5% accuracy and blackness (not bad given the Prautes is tube, not ss), but I gained much more in musicality and tonality. And dear lord the sound stage: It literally takes the music from near my head (with the V281) to OUT of my head, and brings it into the same territory of what I experienced when I auditioned the HE1000. Still not as crazy big (and artificial) as the HD800, but more than enough soundstage for anyone's needs for a HP.

The only issue is that the Utopia is just unforgiving. It scales like a mofo and basically increases in brutality as the source/amp components become clearer and stronger. What I'm now left with is a HP that is a perfect window into the music I want to listen to, but at the same time something that demands 100% of my attention as it packs a serious wallop. It's not exactly what you'd have on while you want to just relax or MULTI TASK. It's what you use to engage thoroughly with your favourite music and hear things you've never heard before.

So, I've bitten the bullet and ordered a HE1000v2, as I think I need something that's on the mellow side when I can't afford to focus purely on the music... but still does justice to the upstream components.

Am curious to know whether anyone has driven the Utopia with the DAVE... and experimented with a tube amp to move from total neutrality into something that's a bit more musical? Do you lose much of the DAVE's magic in introducing an external amp?

 

[theorist]

The only issue is that the Utopia is just unforgiving. It scales like a mofo and basically increases in brutality as the source/amp components become clearer and stronger. What I'm now left with is a HP that is a perfect window into the music I want to listen to, but at the same time something that demands 100% of my attention as it packs a serious wallop. It's not exactly what you'd have on while you want to just relax or MULTI TASK. It's what you use to engage thoroughly with your favourite music and hear things you've never heard before.

So, I've bitten the bullet and ordered a HE1000v2, as I think I need something that's on the mellow side when I can't afford to focus purely on the music... but still does justice to the upstream components.

Exactly! Hence I use my Utopia in great pleasure when wishing to critically listen. In contrast, I tend to listen to my LCD-4 when I just want enjoyable background music when I'm reading, or surfing the net, etc!