You have to go pretty high up the planar ladder to find one that is faster or better at imaging than Utopia, and those few TOTL planars that do challenge Utopia for speed & imaging fall short in dynamic "punch" EVERY. TIME.
For me engagement is simply the best with this headphone and if you want a something to listen to music in the background than it may not be an optimal choice. but if you want to focus on music, Utopia is very hard to beat. Big trait for me of this liveliness is that I can listen to music on low volumes and catch all the goodness from tracks, while planars do need volume to sound best
For me engagement is simply the best with this headphone and if you want a something to listen to music in the background than it may not be an optimal choice. but if you want to focus on music, Utopia is very hard to beat. Big trait for me of this liveliness is that I can listen to music on low volumes and catch all the goodness from tracks, while planars do need volume to sound best
I've only heard lcd5 for a few minutes at CanJam, but my brief impression was that it is mid-focused like Utopia, but lacking the dynamic engagement of Utopia. Similarly resolving/detailed. I was personally more impressed by Susvara, TC (Diana or 1266), or Caldera. I didn't really have time to judge its spacial/imaging abilities, but I would not expect them to be materially better than Utopia in any way. (?)
LCD5 struck me as a headphone that does nothing wrong, but also nothing extraordinary. YMMV.
Fwiw, Caldera and Diana TC are on my wishlist/roadmap, but lcd5 is not.
I've only heard lcd5 for a few minutes at CanJam, but my brief impression was that it is mid-focused like Utopia, but lacking the dynamic engagement of Utopia. Similarly resolving/detailed. I was personally more impressed by Susvara, TC (Diana or 1266), or Caldera. I didn't really have time to judge its spacial/imaging abilities, but I would not expect them to be materially better than Utopia in any way. (?)
LCD5 struck me as a headphone that does nothing wrong, but also nothing extraordinary. YMMV.
Fwiw, Caldera and Diana TC are on my wishlist/roadmap, but lcd5 is not.
Interesting, I might go for the Utopia as my true end game then. I like the Susvara, but I prefer something more intimate like the Utopia. Susvara is great, but nothing makes the music more engaging than the Utopia. Although, I heard Utopia's weakness is on the midrange timbre. not too sure.
Midrange and treble are top quality on Utopia, timbre definitely not the best in market, but still plays top tier. If someone really cares about timbre D9200 was the best I've heard, maybe it's the magic of dome tweeter/wooden cups but it was above HD650 with better technical capabilities. I haven't heard ZMF lineup which is highly praised for timbre, but out of good chunk of HP's that passed through my hands in these ears Utopia comfortably sits at 3-4th place easily beating them in other areas.
With Utopia if you want to shift your focus elsewhere then it can become irritating/bright for some, but it's a smooth headphone overall without any peaks which can be spotted in other flagship, Utopia simply needs your attention to reveal it's goodness
I am loving Utopia. Picked mine up used a few months ago. Circa 2019 build I think. I just noticed this crack on the side. I doubt I would have not seen that when I got it. Seems in mint shape otherwise. Not sure how it could have happened. All my stuff is handled with extreme care. Anyone else heard of such a crack on the side?
I am in contact with Focal on repair cost. They have been responsive. Would need to ship to Canada though and that would add to cost and turnaround time.
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