[Pastwa]

I’m amazed a company who sells $4k headphones can’t update their own websites.

https://www.focal.com/en/conditions-warranty

I think that Focal could easily fix the problem by adding a link on their website leading to the first page of this thread.

 

[ScubaDrunk]

Good morning everyone.

I have just purchased a set of Utopia's and all I can say is WOW. Coming over from the Clear MG Pro's, I didn't think it would be such a difference but how wrong I was.

Now onto the AMP question. I stream hires music from Tidal. Not really a vinyl or DSD type of person. I listen to Rock, EDM, 70's, 80's type music.

Currently running a Topping D90SE into a Topping A90 and very happy with this setup. My question is based on the type of music and these gorgeous headphones, is there a better suited AMP that would compliment everything?

What about Tube Amps? What about Pre-Amps?

All of this is pretty new to me but like most things in this damn hobby, I can't stop chasing that dragon
Thanks in advance and stay safe out there kids

 

[ClicketEKlack]

Good morning everyone.

I have just purchased a set of Utopia's and all I can say is WOW. Coming over from the Clear MG Pro's, I didn't think it would be such a difference but how wrong I was.

Now onto the AMP question. I stream hires music from Tidal. Not really a vinyl or DSD type of person. I listen to Rock, EDM, 70's, 80's type music.

Currently running a Topping D90SE into a Topping A90 and very happy with this setup. My question is based on the type of music and these gorgeous headphones, is there a better suited AMP that would compliment everything?

What about Tube Amps? What about Pre-Amps?

All of this is pretty new to me but like most things in this damn hobby, I can't stop chasing that dragon
Thanks in advance and stay safe out there kids

I found myself in pretty much the same situation, Utopias out of a D90/A90 stack, premium headphone cables, wondering if there were MORE. I auditioned a bunch of high-end endgame gear: Pathos inPol, Feliks Euforia, Chord DAVE, NAIM Uniti HE — all streamed from an Aurender DAC/streamer. The biggest caveat is that I didn’t have my stack with me, and was not able to do blind A/B testing. The takeaways are thus: as much as people find the numbers-driven gang over at ASR annoying, they’re not wrong. There is a huge tendency toward confirmation bias when listening to high-end gear and what most people are enjoying about summit-fi equipment is probably subtle coloration of the sound. Personally I found the Euforia too soft and the DAVE too sterile. The Pathos was the best of the bunch, with a round, fullness to the sound. The NAIM maybe a hair behind, but its one-box convenience making it the one I would buy. Then I returned home and played my Topping stack — and this is the key part — at the excessive volume they played in the store, which I don’t approach at home. Lo and behold, the Topping stack sounded just as good as I remember the TOTL equipment sounding. Perhaps not exactly as much of the roundness of the InPol sound — perhaps tube coloration — but terrific in its own way. You will hear from lots of people on here who have spent gobs of money chasing the dragon telling you that they have unlocked the holy portal to audio Nirvana, and all I can tell you is: be careful. Move slowly. Enjoy the music. Your setup may be as good as it gets. Perhaps you can add a tube amp for a totally different sound, but I wouldn’t go selling your gear in a hurry.

 

[TDinCali]

I think the Euforia was an excellent amp for the Utopias. Probably the best I heard.

 

[Saturday]

unlocked the holy portal to audio Nirvana,

imo, the portal to Nirvana is through the transducers. Spend your gobs of money on those. I haven't regretted that approach at all.
as a mental health professional, I can't help but wonder if this phenomenon is actually an effect of procrastination.

To be quite honest, I've had thoughts go through my head of, "well I could upgrade to the Utopias but what if I just spend less money and try to improve the Clears by getting a Chord" or something. You could say the same about buying a premium cable. While 400.00$ is a wild price for a cable, it's not wild compared to the raw amount of money for 4400USD Utopias. I think when we rationalize like this, we become victims of our own psychology. After all, this doesn't seem that different to me than someone needing to reorganize their entire kitchen and opting to just clean a toilet or hang a picture frame instead.

 

[ScubaDrunk]

I found myself in pretty much the same situation, Utopias out of a D90/A90 stack, premium headphone cables, wondering if there were MORE. I auditioned a bunch of high-end endgame gear: Pathos inPol, Feliks Euforia, Chord DAVE, NAIM Uniti HE — all streamed from an Aurender DAC/streamer. The biggest caveat is that I didn’t have my stack with me, and was not able to do blind A/B testing. The takeaways are thus: as much as people find the numbers-driven gang over at ASR annoying, they’re not wrong. There is a huge tendency toward confirmation bias when listening to high-end gear and what most people are enjoying about summit-fi equipment is probably subtle coloration of the sound. Personally I found the Euforia too soft and the DAVE too sterile. The Pathos was the best of the bunch, with a round, fullness to the sound. The NAIM maybe a hair behind, but its one-box convenience making it the one I would buy. Then I returned home and played my Topping stack — and this is the key part — at the excessive volume they played in the store, which I don’t approach at home. Lo and behold, the Topping stack sounded just as good as I remember the TOTL equipment sounding. Perhaps not exactly as much of the roundness of the InPol sound — perhaps tube coloration — but terrific in its own way. You will hear from lots of people on here who have spent gobs of money chasing the dragon telling you that they have unlocked the holy portal to audio Nirvana, and all I can tell you is: be careful. Move slowly. Enjoy the music. Your setup may be as good as it gets. Perhaps you can add a tube amp for a totally different sound, but I wouldn’t go selling your gear in a hurry.

Thank you for your input and advice. I agree with everything you have said and will take your advice.

 

[TDinCali]

I found myself in pretty much the same situation, Utopias out of a D90/A90 stack, premium headphone cables, wondering if there were MORE. I auditioned a bunch of high-end endgame gear: Pathos inPol, Feliks Euforia, Chord DAVE, NAIM Uniti HE — all streamed from an Aurender DAC/streamer. The biggest caveat is that I didn’t have my stack with me, and was not able to do blind A/B testing. The takeaways are thus: as much as people find the numbers-driven gang over at ASR annoying, they’re not wrong. There is a huge tendency toward confirmation bias when listening to high-end gear and what most people are enjoying about summit-fi equipment is probably subtle coloration of the sound. Personally I found the Euforia too soft and the DAVE too sterile. The Pathos was the best of the bunch, with a round, fullness to the sound. The NAIM maybe a hair behind, but its one-box convenience making it the one I would buy. Then I returned home and played my Topping stack — and this is the key part — at the excessive volume they played in the store, which I don’t approach at home. Lo and behold, the Topping stack sounded just as good as I remember the TOTL equipment sounding. Perhaps not exactly as much of the roundness of the InPol sound — perhaps tube coloration — but terrific in its own way. You will hear from lots of people on here who have spent gobs of money chasing the dragon telling you that they have unlocked the holy portal to audio Nirvana, and all I can tell you is: be careful. Move slowly. Enjoy the music. Your setup may be as good as it gets. Perhaps you can add a tube amp for a totally different sound, but I wouldn’t go selling your gear in a hurry.

My buddy who is into specs owns the Topping stack and claimed that his setup was as good as it gets. When he brought his amp and dac over to my house and we did a pretty long listening session, in his own words said “well, I eat my words, that’s a lot different, s**t, I need to start saving”. We both laughed about it. You don’t know until you know and for me listening to both side by side is the only way for me to distinguish all the differences.

 

[Failed Engineer]

One of the many great qualities of the Utopia is its sensitivity makes it easy to reach 90% of it's potential out of good, inexpensive gear. There's a lot of money you can spend to wring out that last 10%, but at the end of the day it's still only 10%. If you are happy with your Utopia system just keep it and enjoy the tunes!

 

[ClicketEKlack]

My buddy who is into specs owns the Topping stack and claimed that his setup was as good as it gets. When he brought his amp and dac over to my house and we did a pretty long listening session, in his own words said “well, I eat my words, that’s a lot different, s**t, I need to start saving”. We both laughed about it. You don’t know until you know and for me listening to both side by side is the only way for me to distinguish all the differences.

The key word there is “different,” and I’m sure there is a noticeable difference in sound between your setup and his. And if it sounds more pleasing, then you can certainly say it’s “better.” And yes, side-by-side listening is informative to the degree that it’s still sighted and open to bias. But I’m sure there are also people, who if they heard the differences between your gear and a Topping stack - totally blind - might prefer the Topping. It’s whatever floats your audio boat. Since the dragon can’t ever be caught, for most folks out there value starts to edge its way into the conversation. I’m simply advocating for a slow methodical process rather than a swan dive into the summit fi abyss.

 

[TDinCali]

No argument from me on the slow approach. I went through 5 or 6 different setups of amps and dacs and sources. If I had not and went straight to what I have today I’d probably not appreciate it as much. I’d definitely save some money but that’s a separate topic.

 

[iamoneagain]

Top of the line is not always the most enjoyable. I quickly made my way up the Chord ladder with the Dave and mscaler and almost bought the $1000+ Wave bcn cables to go with it. I’m finding my current setup of the Naim HE is actually more enjoyable on most music with my Focal Utopia’s. The other great thing is I don’t have to worry about getting tempted with upgrades since it’s an all in one streamer/dac/amp. I guess one could upgrade the power cord but sounds great with stock. And I’m running it wirelessly so no worries about any cabling or switches there. But if the hobby is more about tweaking the sound, than an all in one isn’t the right choice.

 

[srkbear]

The key word there is “different,” and I’m sure there is a noticeable difference in sound between your setup and his. And if it sounds more pleasing, then you can certainly say it’s “better.” And yes, side-by-side listening is informative to the degree that it’s still sighted and open to bias. But I’m sure there are also people, who if they heard the differences between your gear and a Topping stack - totally blind - might prefer the Topping. It’s whatever floats your audio boat. Since the dragon can’t ever be caught, for most folks out there value starts to edge its way into the conversation. I’m simply advocating for a slow methodical process rather than a swan dive into the summit fi abyss.

I may be off your topic but I thought my Topping D90se, especially based on its measurements on ASR, was the bee’s knees of Queen Bees, especially when coupled with my iFi Pro iCAN Signature amp and my Utopias. I was convinced there could be no finer sound on the planet.

Then I came across the Gustard x26 Pro before my return window on the Topping had run out, and boy did that teach me a thing or two about measurements! Audio is a subjective endeavor, but there seems to be a competition among Chinese DAC manufacturers to top the SINAD rating instead of achieving musicality, warmth and tonality. Gustard appears to be the outlier among the Toppings and Loxjies and SMSLs. Just admiring the jaw-dropping architecture and attention to quality the x26 pro has under the hood is a transcendental experience—and you can hear every note in those dual mono ES9038pros, those double toroidal power supplies, the dedicated CPU in lieu of an XMOS to process inputs, the total lack of op-amps.

It’s the closest thing to an R2R DAC I’ve ever heard in a delta sigma setup and its goosebump factor over the Topping is miles upon miles ahead. I just hope that prospective buyers don’t keep succumbing to FOMO over this SINAD war and audition options with their ears rather than with their calipers…

 

[u2u2]

Top of the line is not always the most enjoyable. I quickly made my way up the Chord ladder with the Dave and mscaler and almost bought the $1000+ Wave bcn cables to go with it. I’m finding my current setup of the Naim HE is actually more enjoyable on most music with my Focal Utopia’s. The other great thing is I don’t have to worry about getting tempted with upgrades since it’s an all in one streamer/dac/amp. I guess one could upgrade the power cord but sounds great with stock. And I’m running it wirelessly so no worries about any cabling or switches there. But if the hobby is more about tweaking the sound, than an all in one isn’t the right choice.

Biggest feature of that Naim HE of yours may well be the pre amp function... It excels in that mode and whenever I use my HE for a longer listening session pre amp mode it is. Brings out the best in my tube amps and allows a little tube rolling... 30/70 split between a WA6/WA22 and Stellia/Utopia. Your all in one actually is an excellent choice if you are into tweaking the sound! Just a different perspective.

 

[iamoneagain]

Biggest feature of that Naim HE of yours may well be the pre amp function... It excels in that mode and whenever I use my HE for a longer listening session pre amp mode it is. Brings out the best in my tube amps and allows a little tube rolling... 30/70 split between a WA6/WA22 and Stellia/Utopia. Your all in one actually is an excellent choice if you are into tweaking the sound! Just a different perspective.

Yeah I guess I didn’t think about the preamp. I personally don’t feel the Utopia’s are lacking anything straight out of the HE but it’s good to know can hook up a separate headphone amp and change/improve the sound. Would also be good choice for hard to drive headphones.

 

[ScubaDrunk]

They sing