[jlbrach]

obviously...on recording the project a wide soundstage the utopia will sound larger but not as wide as those HP's that have a larger stage

 

[up late]

^ is it really that obvious given that we can perceive the sound that headphones reproduce differently? anyway as i said, i don't find its presentation small, closed-in or claustrophobic as some folks have described it. that just hasn't been an issue for me with the utopia and i have experience with other headphones so my observation wasn't made in isolation - ymmv.

 

[ChisChas]

If you want something technical for $2k I'd highly recommend Hugo2. Chord stuff really brings out what the Utopia can do IMHO.

I've just upgraded my Hugo 2 after 5 years to a T + A HA200 headphone amp/DAC but I found the Hugo 2 had a leaner Chord 'house sound' which didn't suit the Utopias OG in the bass frequency. Good otherwise. IMHO the Utopias benefit from a warmer pairing than the Hugo 2.

 

[ChisChas]

Not sure why you are not hearing or feeling sub bass with either version of Utopia. Granted, it’s not planar like flat to 20hz.

During the 5 years I listened to my Utopias OG with a Hugo 2 & a Cayin N8, I wasn't hearing sub bass because this is not an area the Utopia OG or 2022 excels in, I've never read a watched a Utopia review which says otherwise. The Utopias are known for having plenty of 'punch' but that's different from the real deep bass I'm now enjoying from my Hifiman R10P's. But there is no such thing as a 'perfect' headphone but a decent level of deep bass is very addictive.

 

[ChisChas]

I can't talk my misses into the idea that I need another pair for tight and well extended bass presentation.

My missus has 'eye rolling' down to an art, my secret is that we've always had completely separate bank accounts (and to her credit she has never asked 'how much!').

 

[ChisChas]

I struggle to think of a headphone that does bass better but without compromising something else.

Well, have a read of the reviews of the Hifiman HE-R10P, you might think it worthwhile to audition a pair. I've recently finished the 150 hours of running in the manual recommends, I have properly extended, controlled, tuneful, agile bass, an excellent mid, vocals are clear & expressive, not recessed or too prominent. With TIDAL top tier streaming I have a good amount of treble without any sibilance. I found the R10P's had insufficient treble/upper treble with my Cayin N8 but the arrival last week of a N8ii with its brighter upper regions pairs very well with the R10P's. Equally the N8 paired very well with my Utopias OG which I wouldn't pair with the N8ii, equipment pairing has always been crucial.

 

[chesebert]

During the 5 years I listened to my Utopias OG with a Hugo 2 & a Cayin N8, I wasn't hearing sub bass because this is not an area the Utopia OG or 2022 excels in, I've never read a watched a Utopia review which says otherwise. The Utopias are known for having plenty of 'punch' but that's different from the real deep bass I'm now enjoying from my Hifiman R10P's. But there is no such thing as a 'perfect' headphone but a decent level of deep bass is very addictive.

I would attribute to your not hearing sub bass to your electronics. OG has weak subbass but okay for most music. 2022 has reasonably good subbass that you can feel physically in your stomach. Try Rossini into either gsx2 or cfa3.

I am not saying Utopia can match planars in sub bass but no planar has the mid or that euphoric sound of Utopia.

I think you would have been happier with HE6 coming from Utopia.

 

[IlyaP]

During the 5 years I listened to my Utopias OG with a Hugo 2 & a Cayin N8, I wasn't hearing sub bass because this is not an area the Utopia OG or 2022 excels in, I've never read a watched a Utopia review which says otherwise.

You've posted about this so many times already in the Utopia owners thread. You'd think they wouldn't know what Utopias have and don't have.
I wonder why you listened to them for so many years, if you were so relieved when they were replaced

 

[bcaulf17]

i've posted about this previously here but i've never found the utopia's 'soundstage' small. it varies depending on the recording ime and that's with the stock cables.

Agreed. It's just very natural. It doesn't go any further or sound any closer than I want it to. It's the imaging that really sells it for me. Everything is placed perfectly along the soundscape and sounds like things go around your head rather than a flat left-right plane. I always felt that people who found the Clear/Utopia soundstage too small or closed in sounding were people that were too familiar with things like the HD800.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Agreed. It's just very natural. It doesn't go any further or sound any closer than I want it to. It's the imaging that really sells it for me. Everything is placed perfectly along the soundscape and sounds like things go around your head rather than a flat left-right plane. I always felt that people who found the Clear/Utopia soundstage too small or closed in sounding were people that were too familiar with things like the HD800.

When when I decide to buy the utopia 2020 I first went to my local hi-fi shop to try the utopia, they only had the 2022 but I also remember years ago. I tried this in Kaiser. HD800s with my portable walkman WM1A. So I asked the owner of the shop if they had this and Heiser had 800s . And this time I brought my Sony DMP.-Z1. After being used to a soundstage. That's spherical arround your head (MDR-Z1R). I first try my objective, the Utopia 2022. despite its simply aggressive signature. (V-shape) the soundstage sounded pretty similar to that of my Sony headphones... then i tried the HD800s and... I first I say what the **** I am listening to? This soundstage sounded flat, boring... 2D, no holography... I email discarded the HD800s i've been excellent for classical music. Instead of that I bought the utopia 2020.

 

[djentbat]

I would attribute to your not hearing sub bass to your electronics. OG has weak subbass but okay for most music. 2022 has reasonably good subbass that you can feel physically in your stomach. Try Rossini into either gsx2 or cfa3.

I am not saying Utopia can match planars in sub bass but no planar has the mid or that euphoric sound of Utopia.

I think you would have been happier with HE6 coming from Utopia.

I do have to say the sub bass on the bathys surprised me, the extension was very good

 

[up late]

Agreed. It's just very natural. It doesn't go any further or sound any closer than I want it to. It's the imaging that really sells it for me. Everything is placed perfectly along the soundscape and sounds like things go around your head rather than a flat left-right plane. I always felt that people who found the Clear/Utopia soundstage too small or closed in sounding were people that were too familiar with things like the HD800.

if there is a significant difference in 'soundstage' size between the final audio d8000 pro and the 'nutopia', then it wasn't apparent to me when i compared them. whenever i've auditioned any abyss diana model and then returned to my og utopia, the sense of stage depth was immediately noticeable, making for a more spacious presentation to my ears.

 

[ChisChas]

ou've posted about this so many times already

Oh dear, have you been counting? Are you the count Police on head-fi? Utopias have their strong & weak points, I enjoyed mine for 6 years before both drivers broke (a well known problem with Utopias OG btw) but we are all surely allowed to move on from one brand of headphone to another without people getting over sensitive

 

[ChisChas]

think you would have been happier with HE6 coming from Utopia.

I'm very happy indeed with my new set-up of Hifiman HE-R10P's, T + A HA200 & Cayin N8ii (using OIDIO Sound Mongrel cable as before). The HE6 has a sensitivity of 83.5dB, why would any sensible (and informed person) buy such a insensitive headphone for DAP use?. The R10P has a sensitivity of 100dB.

 

[EJEC]

<Utopia 2020>

Imaging - "Good." Perfect sound image on the right, left and in front. For the behind, better than stellia but not than MDR-Z1R.
General image was not that 'big' than the other open-back headphones. Slightly exceeds out of the head.
Image of sub-bass is mainly outside of the head, like speakers. It surrounds near jawbones, like heavy fog.
Timbre - "Condiment." Micro dynamics is exceptional and greasy/rich/detailed mid-range makes it more valuable. Despite of the opened design, amount of bass is quite satisfying. It makes me feel like I am in the breezy living room with perfectly placed tall-boy speakers.

Resolution - "Price represents it." Almost top-tier among the open back back headphones, but it is not the best choice if you are finding best-resolution at that price.
Not detailed than Odin of Empire Ears and Camelot of Nostelgia audio. Very close to the U12T of 64Audio.
Sub-bass resolution is quite good. As like in Stellia, I could feel the shape of kick, synth bass and bass guitar. However, as an open back headphone, bass density was slightly disappointing. (Of course, we can't expect closed back headphone's bass concentration on opened structure.) It made me use EQ, but clipping issue was found.

Tonality - "Perfect." Someone may say high range is somewhat peaky, but it becomes natural after a week of use.

Build - "Perfect." 'Always' smells like luxury leather bags, smooth headbands.

Driver Issue - My utopia had no issue in usual listening. However, with 4.5~5db of 45~60Hz bass lift (roon) and volume around 85dB, I could notice that the units are clipping with click sounds (It was not digital clipping. gain setting was conservative). I was afraid of using eq with utopia since then .