[iamoneagain]

For those Utopia owners with high-end DAC’s and amps, which do you feel makes more difference in SQ and overall listening enjoyment, the amp or the DAC? For example, would a fancy tube amp and a Topping DAC play better with the Utopias than a Topping amp and, say, a Holo May?

Really depends on what you want out of you listening enjoyment. Do you want the most accurate, like you’re right there in the studio sound? Or do you prefer a more fun sound that gets your foot tapping. I’ve mentioned I climbed the top of Chord mountain with the Dave/mscaler combo using a battery pack. Almost got the Wave cables too. While that was truly amazing, I still had some albums I didn’t enjoy. So sort of became audio snob and started listening to just the better recordings.

I now have the Naim HE and the Focal Arche. Both are fun setups and have great synergy with the Utopia. I don’t miss the Chord setup. I’d say the Focal Arche may leave you wanting in overall resolution but you could always run HQ player thru it and achieve amazing sound. The Naim HE seems to do everything right for me. Both of these setup were built using Focal Utopia and the rest of their lineup during testing.

I guess my point is it’s all about synergy and type of sound you’re looking for. The Utopia’s tend to take on the sound they’re given and don’t add much on top other than their fast, dynamic character.

 

[iamoneagain]

Really depends on what you want out of you listening enjoyment. Do you want the most accurate, like you’re right there in the studio sound? Or do you prefer a more fun sound that gets your foot tapping. I’ve mentioned I climbed the top of Chord mountain with the Dave/mscaler combo using a battery pack. Almost got the Wave cables too. While that was truly amazing, I still had some albums I didn’t enjoy. So sort of became audio snob and started listening to just the better recordings.

I now have the Naim HE and the Focal Arche. Both are fun setups and have great synergy with the Utopia. I don’t miss the Chord setup. I’d say the Focal Arche may leave you wanting in overall resolution but you could always run HQ player thru it and achieve amazing sound. The Naim HE seems to do everything right for me. Both of these setup were built using Focal Utopia and the rest of their lineup during testing.

I guess my point is it’s all about synergy and type of sound you’re looking for. The Utopia’s tend to take on the sound they’re given and don’t add much on top other than their fast, dynamic character.

Oops, I missed the point of your question. Amp or dac? Well for me , I always had combo units and never added separate amp on to them. If going separate, obviously you want a great source so dac is important but if your amp doesn’t have synergy, you lose the benefits. So I’d say start with amp first to get the fullness and punch the Utopia’s deserve. Then you can refine the texture and resolution with a better dac later.

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

So I got a hair cut yesterday which led to a revelation that others may have already stumbled on. The clamp pressure has an impact on soundstage. There was a post on this in the LCD5 thread about harman target testing found headphone position affected subjective listening impressions. I knew of this but I never really noticed a difference until last night. The soundstage was slightly wider, listening to OK Computer - part of my regular rotation, sounded more spacious. That’s when I realized my headphones were fitting a bit loser on my head, normally I have them on the 3 position with a medium amount of clamp pressure to take some pressure off the headband. I adjusted to the 2 position and the soundstage was a bit more narrow. Anyways I don’t know if it’s all in my head because I anticipated a change but it did catch my attention that a loser fit affected the soundstage.

 

[dontfeedphils]

So I got a hair cut yesterday which led to a revelation that others may have already stumbled on. The clamp pressure has an impact on soundstage. There was a post on this in the LCD5 thread about harman target testing found headphone position affected subjective listening impressions. I knew of this but I never really noticed a difference until last night. The soundstage was slightly wider, listening to OK Computer - part of my regular rotation, sounded more spacious. That’s when I realized my headphones were fitting a bit loser on my head, normally I have them on the 3 position with a medium amount of clamp pressure to take some pressure off the headband. I adjusted to the 2 position and the soundstage was a bit more narrow. Anyways I don’t know if it’s all in my head because I anticipated a change but it did catch my attention that a loser fit affected the soundstage.

I always felt there was a pretty large difference in perceived sound when moving the cups forwards or backwards on your ears as well. More so than clamp pressure IME.

 

[iamoneagain]

So I got a hair cut yesterday which led to a revelation that others may have already stumbled on. The clamp pressure has an impact on soundstage. There was a post on this in the LCD5 thread about harman target testing found headphone position affected subjective listening impressions. I knew of this but I never really noticed a difference until last night. The soundstage was slightly wider, listening to OK Computer - part of my regular rotation, sounded more spacious. That’s when I realized my headphones were fitting a bit loser on my head, normally I have them on the 3 position with a medium amount of clamp pressure to take some pressure off the headband. I adjusted to the 2 position and the soundstage was a bit more narrow. Anyways I don’t know if it’s all in my head because I anticipated a change but it did catch my attention that a loser fit affected the soundstage.

Besides clamp force, headphone positioning make a difference too. Utopia’s not as sensitive as other headphones but if you try one of those hearing frequency tests, you’ll see that exact position matters if you want to hear the highest frequencies. I think I top out at 17 kHz. But usually when playing a song, I don’t notice much difference with slight adjustments.

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

That’s pretty interesting, a frequency test is definitely a much easier way to compare changes.

I once saw in the classifieds someone selling a focal clear with a custom 3d printed spacer for the ear pads, wish I knew where to get one.

 

[iamoneagain]

That’s pretty interesting, a frequency test is definitely a much easier way to compare changes.

I once saw in the classifieds someone selling a focal clear with a custom 3d printed spacer for the ear pads, wish I knew where to get one.

Crazy how much pads can change the sound. That’s why I decided to stick with the original, even though could be slight chance replacements end up goopy down the road. I’ll see if new pads sound any different since old ones might of had a little compression.

Changing pads on Grados had such a big difference in sound that it made me question their tuning. How could they swap out to a different type of pad over time without making adjustments to the driver. When they released headphones with the big bagel pads and their house sound was changed, I fell out of favor with where they were headed.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I've been listening to the new Lana Del Rey with my Utopias. Off the first listen the album is pretty good from the song "Dealer" and down

 

[MacedonianHero]

For those Utopia owners with high-end DAC’s and amps, which do you feel makes more difference in SQ and overall listening enjoyment, the amp or the DAC? For example, would a fancy tube amp and a Topping DAC play better with the Utopias than a Topping amp and, say, a Holo May?

Source first IMO in general and especially with the Utopia as they aren't that hard to drive. Personally I'm using the Chord DAVE straight to my Utopia and loving it!

 

[jlbrach]

I second that...DAC first, amp second

 

[chrisnyc75]

You should get a ‘good enough’ neutral amp, then find the DAC you love. After that you can get an amp which adds the right ‘seasoning’.

With a just "good enough" amp, though, it's entirely possible you won't even hear the benefits of a totl DAC. You'll definitely hear the benefit of a totl amp, though, regardless of what DAC you pair with it. Thus, I am in the 'AMP FIRST, then DAC' camp.

 

[jlbrach]

a DAC that cant discern detail will not be helped by an amp...the DAC is the key,to use an obviously extreme example if you attach your phone DAC to a TOTL amp it aint gonna be very impressive...I personally would much rather have a TOTL DAC and a modest amp..obviously I would prefer both of equal quality if possible

 

[meomap]

With a just "good enough" amp, though, it's entirely possible you won't even hear the benefits of a totl DAC. You'll definitely hear the benefit of a totl amp, though, regardless of what DAC you pair with it. Thus, I am in the 'AMP FIRST, then DAC' camp.

Spot on....
1000% agreed...

 

[Ciggavelli]

I’d personally get a TOTL dac before a TOTL amp. When I moved from a JPS Atom to a Hugo 2, my mind was blown. TOTL amps are also amazing, but they need a good source. Like using a Hugo 2 with my WA33 doesn’t make a lot of sense (though I’d imagine it still sounds good).

I’m a big believer of matching all of your components in terms of quality. If you have a mid-fi dac, a mid-fi amp complements it well. If you have a summit-fi dac, a summit-fi amp pairs well.

 

[iamoneagain]

I’d personally get a TOTL dac before a TOTL amp. When I moved from a JPS Atom to a Hugo 2, my mind was blown. TOTL amps are also amazing, but they need a good source. Like using a Hugo 2 with my WA33 doesn’t make a lot of sense (though I’d imagine it still sounds good).

I’m a big believer of matching all of your components in terms of quality. If you have a mid-fi dac, a mid-fi amp complements it well. If you have a summit-fi dac, a summit-fi amp pairs well.

The Hugo 2 is the reason I put amp first over dac. As good as the dac may be in the Hugo 2, but thought the amp has no synergy with the the Utopia’s. The Focal Arche dac probably doesn’t compare, but the amp section has great synergy. Even the Chord Dave it ant a perfect match for the Utopia’s. Try listening with the HF filter off and see if it doesn’t sound a little too analytical. You hear all the amazing layering and detail but there is no meat to the music. It’s missing some weight. So for me, I need the Utopia’s to be full, impactful, and have weight before what I would consider fine tuning the resolution and texture. Obviously both are important but a thin sounding headphone and is a no go for me.