[x7007]

joining the conversion about DACs. there are who pay extreme for a lot. but I had my most fun with the HD800S and gsx1000 for gaming movies and music I could feel the sound and my I didn't just hear the sound I felt it, I don't know if anyone has that but even with par gear you can have it. i don't know if the AMP did anything to the sound because it supposed to be natural, but do amps have Hz range also? I am not looking to put a lot for sound which I already know you don't. i just want what I want to have from the sound and that's the feeling you get from it. like utopia feeling, it's not a brand name.
I hope some people even with the highest gear had that feeling so we could talk about that. the next upgrade I'll be getting is the RAAL like you say if it's beyond hd800s than it would be the perfect fit for me with the highest useable range of Hz. but again with the beyerdynamic 900 600ohms I couldn't feel the feelings I had with the HD800S it is something special when it works perfect.
for whoever say the Hz are just numbers and you can't hear them you are right, you suppose to feel them in your body. the problem is how do we know if the headphones is 112Khz and the DAC doesn't say which number? with the Sennheiser Gsx1000 it did say 0-55000 or 45000 I don't remember but that's where I could feel the sound and that's the reason. now I am using mojo2 and I have yet felt the sound like I did with hd800s.

 

[LeeJB1970]

I’ve used my Utopia 22 with two chi-fi setups (SMSL SU9/SH9 FiiO R7) and now the Chord TT2/Mscaler/Lavricable Grand. World of difference in what I’m hearing.

 

[Tanalasta]

Utopia sounds really good out of a Mojo2, but a whole more sophisticated and impressive from things that are also more sophisticated. It’s like having a dCS Bartok and using only HD600. It will sounds really good, but nowhere near as good as even an HD800. Balance.

Utopia sounds amazing out of the dCS Bartok if you like the Bartok sound. It is a very capable headphone and well established that it scales with the upstream source.

The Mojo2 isn't "bad" by any means. But I'll concur that the Utopia can be made to sound better.

When I auditioned Utopia 2022 for the first time ; it was connected to an SP3000 using the Cardas Clear Beyond cable .....

Random thought. Listening to the LCD-5 with Norne Vykari v2 + Naim Uniti Atom Headphone edition using the Mitch B convolution filter. And it reminds me of a planar version of the Utopia. Point is - Headphones can sound so different by changing things up.

 

[kkrazik2008]

your signature suggests otherwise but be that as it may

That is petty comment, and unrelated to discussion. I have the Mojo and it’s a crap match with the Utopia, as was my previous TT2. The discussion based on the question posed was not about the efficiency of the Utopia, it’s quite efficient. Does its sound and capabilities change once the amp/dac moves from entry level gaming devices or the entry level Chord product?

In my opinion yes it does, you may disagree with my opinion, you may not associate terms and judge me. That is petty and passive-aggressive behavior, if you want to do that, shoot me a pm.

 

[up late]

That is petty comment, and unrelated to discussion. I have the Mojo and it’s a crap match with the Utopia, as was my previous TT2. The discussion based on the question posed was not about the efficiency of the Utopia, it’s quite efficient. Does its sound and capabilities change once the amp/dac moves from entry level gaming devices or the entry level Chord product?

In my opinion yes it does, you may disagree with my opinion, you may not associate terms and judge me. That is petty and passive-aggressive behavior, if you want to do that, shoot me a pm.

well that so called 'petty comment' triggered this exchange of posts so it is related. you denied that you are an audiophile but you appear to be a hi-fi enthusiast (the definition of an audiophile) to me and i am surprised that you are offended by the observation given where we are having this exchange. audiophile is not a term of abuse and suggesting that you are one does not constitute 'passive-aggressive behaviour'.

saying that the chord mojo and tt2 is a 'crap match' with the utopia is your opinion, which is fine but there are folks who have enjoyed both pairings, which is also fine. this hobby is an inherently subjective pursuit after all. i believe that @x7007 is using the mojo 2 and the sennheiser gx1000 with the utopia. the reason i referred to the utopia's efficiency is because it should not be a demanding headphone for those products to drive on paper at least. and while the utopia might 'scale' with more expensive ancillary gear, that doesn't preclude it from sounding good and even impressive with an 'entry level chord product'.

 

[Roasty]

Oratory1990 tweaked his eq for the Utopia 2022. I just tried it and I think it's very nice, and I like it more than his previous one. sounds clean and balanced.

 

[adrianm]

Honestly, just stay with the Sennheiser GSX1000 and budget for a proper source in the future. Spending more money on the Mojo 2 is fruitless and whatever technical advantages it provides will be lost on you. And I say this as a Mojo and Mojo 2 owner.

As a GSX 1000 owner, I disagree. It's a gaming soundcard that is the best I've heard for 3d audio, but unusable for music imo. Even when I had a Fiio E10k and subsequently Mojo, they were always miles ahead. The GSX applies the same "gaming" eq even in stereo mode, there's just no overriding it.

 

[adrianm]

if the RAAL sounds like the hd800s but better then yeah I will try them, they are not that expensive and if I am going to have my fun hearing then yes.
question is what the hell am I going to do with the focal utopia 2022.

I would be interested in trading my Ca-1a for a Utopia 2022, but i see you are just now building a source chain and contrary to what others think, it does make a huge difference, especially with the Raals. They are very transparent to source gear and very hard to drive. Which is the reason I'm considering letting go of them in the first place, so I'm not sure i would be doing you any favors.

 

[x7007]

At the moment I've found that the Mojo 2 is not a good combo to Focal 2022, it just sound really bad, no life. I switched the HT OMEGA eCLARO Sound card and ho boy the sound finally has feelings, it sounds like my HD800S but with the focal 2022 special recipe

Question is, I don't want to buy a cable now, I like how everything sound, I don't want to mess with 800$ cable just to say I have it. Can I use some 3.5 extension cable to make the original cable longer? because I really need extra 1m-2m.

Can it hurt the sound if it's not longer than X meters? can it change the sound 100%?

 

[chesebert]

No point buying cable (except if ergonomically the stock doesn’t work for you) before significantly leveling up your rig. Once you got your TOTL rig just get a pure silver cable (name brand or self built will work). But if you are happy with how they sound and you can relax listening to them then you should consider the audio journey over.

 

[x7007]

No point buying cable (except if ergonomically the stock doesn’t work for you) before significantly leveling up your rig. Once you got your TOTL rig just get a pure silver cable (name brand or self built will work). But if you are happy with how they sound and you can relax listening to them then you should consider the audio journey over.

Thank you for reply, I still didn't understand if I can use the extension, or I'll have the sound changing.

something similar to this
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006123536344.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.3.2a1f17c8CdGl7c&algo_pvid=7f6c68f2-a6ec-4341-a8bb-c75270477df0&algo_exp_id=7f6c68f2-a6ec-4341-a8bb-c75270477df0-1&pdp_npi=4@dis!USD!2.26!1.13!!!2.26!1.13!@2101c5c217066621706622465e9a66!12000035859066238!sea!IL!169932449!&curPageLogUid=pUyrBCkXREpN&utparam-url=scene:search|query_from:

Is there something specific or almost everyone is the same?

 

[chesebert]

Pure silver is a double edged sword. On a good rig it’s great (warm, large soundstage, holographic, extension both ways etc), on a less good rig it could expose all the shortcomings of your rig.

 

[tony2]

This debate will go on for millennia. But, to me the reality is that no one is using the equipment being recorded on. NO ONE. That is the only way to preserve anything the artist/mixer/producer heard.

Go watch any recording artist and look at the gear they're using from headphones to mixing and sound boards. They're using Sony V6's and Beyers.. etc. Then you want to "pair" your headphones tuned with gear that nobody you are listening to used during the process and then somehow something is preserved? Ok.

Totally agreed,
our gear is reproducing what has been recorded with other equipments.
hi-fi , at its best, should be able to reproduce these in a full transparent way without adding coloration….But definitely how it sounded, the one who was in the recording studio can only say

 

[x7007]

I like how AKM sounds and circus logic . i don't like ess at all. that's what I discovered . i guess creative had AKM on their sound cards long time ago and some times on their newest. Asus only use ess

 

[chesebert]

I like how AKM sounds and circus logic . i don't like ess at all. that's what I discovered . i guess creative had AKM on their sound cards long time ago and some times on their newest. Asus only use ess

Can’t judge a dac by its chip or tech. You can use chip as intended by the manufacturer’s evaluation board or recommended implementation or you can roll your own upsampling/conversion, own clock, own reconstruction filter, use one or up to 16 or more chips in parallel and of course your own output stage, noise filtering/control and power design are all important.