[rthomas]

I bought a brand new, unopened pair of Utopia's from a dealer in Audiogon for $2950 and just registered them for warranty etc. 100% legit.

 
 
I've seen many adds from people claiming to be dealers offering Utopias for around 3K. This is what I dislike about the dealer model. Different prices for everybody. Really makes me appreciate a company like Schiit with their no discount policy. Everybody pays the price unless it's a B-stock unit.
 

  I am not sure if this is BS. I seem to remember that he bought couple of headphones to try out. He had the Sony Z1R that he sold couple of weeks ago. At that time he said that he was going to keep the Utopia. The MSRP for the new Utopia is $3999. So he is selling the used one under that price. 

 
Are you telling me the guy bought and sold a Utopia and then bought and sold another one?
 
And he did the same thing with 2 elears?!!
 
I think it's a dealer or a guy with a special relationship to one.
 
I asked him for proof of purchase and whether he bought them from an authorized dealer and he has gone silent as I expected.

 

[turbo87]

I don't have all the details. I am just going by what I know from couple of weeks ago. Best to stick to an "authorized dealer" for the Focal Utopias. Otherwise the 2 year warranty is useless. 

 

[Imusicman]

There will always be people out to make a quick buck or even worse. If a deal seems to good to be true there's usually a reason why?
 
If you can get a brand new pair with full warrenty at a great price then go for it but anything else I personally would stay well clear. YMMV
 
As they used to say in Hill Street Blues "be careful out there"

 

[TSAVJason]

There is a guy on Ebay selling Utopias and Elears.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Focal-Utopia-Headphones/182489340673?_trksid=p2046732.c100040.m2060&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107095009%26meid%3Dfa240260a7a9451e8fb17243fa3b3e7b%26pid%3D100040%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D262894546084



I asked him if he is a dealer as otherwise why would a private seller have multiple units of the same headphone to sell?
He says he is not a dealer and he just bought a bunch of them. I smell BS.

Is this allowed by Focal? I find it dishonest that the MSRP is set very high and people play all kinds of games and get them for much less while normal customers pay the MSRP like idiots.

It is absolutely not allowed by Focal and now that you posted it, Focal is going after them from an email I just received

 

[jbsu30]

Hello, 
I'm currently looking for an upgrade of my HD598. I mostly play (say 80% games, 20% music) and I use an Objective2+ODAC Combo. I want something good for competitiv FPS (aka wide soundstage), even though I don't play competitivly as much as previously. So "good enough" will do.
As of music, it is mostly electronic (I really enjoy Kavinsky at the moment).
I do not use virtual surround (except on CSGO with HRTF but that's the only one), so only stereo.
 
In short I want an all around headphone that is good for games (so a better 598 ).
I also already posted on the Amiron Home thread because it is also on my "list".
Would the Elear be suitable ? Is the difference in price is worth ?
I think this is important to note that I can test the Elear but not the Amiron home (hard to find in France)
Thanks

 

[Exidrion]

Just get an HD650. Elear is overkill if you only listen to music 20% of the time, and given how well the 650 scales it'll probably suit you well if you eventually listen to music more often.

 

[pervysage]

Get a deal on some used HD800's. By far the top headphone (soundstage king) for gaming.

 

[GryphonGuy]

Hi All,
 
I just wanted to share some initial thoughts on the Utopia and stock cable having just passed 18.5 hours of listening over the past few days.
 
The big difference from the initial hour of listening is that the volume knob has been turned down on my DAVE dac from -18db initially (where acceptable volume and clarity were achieved) to -28db mostly (sometimes -24db sometimes -30db depending on the perceived volume). The soundstage has definitely enlarged, There has been a separation of instruments and last night there was both greater definition in the bass by way of hearing individual notes and overall music. The upper registers of a grand piano track by Benjamin Grosvenor brought tears to my eyes as the level of attack of the high notes was so real and so forthright the resonance of the piano was clearly heard as though I was there at the piano with him.
 
You know how you can hear a snapping/clicking of the fingers over most things in a room? Well during a Cassandra Wilson track there was a music crescendo whilst she was clicking her fingers and those finger clicks/snaps stayed on top of the music and were not lost.
 
I hear guys say that the utopias don't perform until 150 hours. I am at just over 10% of that and I cannot understand how these things can get any better.
 
Anyway I am an enjoy-the-journey kind of guy so I will continue to listen and make notes to see if things get subtly better from this point.
 
I am one happy camper. Sad to see the Senn HD650's put away after 12 years service but life moves on.
 
Cheers
GG 

 

[theorist]

  Hi All,
 
I just wanted to share some initial thoughts on the Utopia and stock cable having just passed 18.5 hours of listening over the past few days.
 
The big difference from the initial hour of listening is that the volume knob has been turned down on my DAVE dac from -18db initially (where acceptable volume and clarity were achieved) to -28db mostly (sometimes -24db sometimes -30db depending on the perceived volume). The soundstage has definitely enlarged, There has been a separation of instruments and last night there was both greater definition in the bass by way of hearing individual notes and overall music. The upper registers of a grand piano track by Benjamin Grosvenor brought tears to my eyes as the level of attack of the high notes was so real and so forthright the resonance of the piano was clearly heard as though I was there at the piano with him.
 
You know how you can hear a snapping/clicking of the fingers over most things in a room? Well during a Cassandra Wilson track there was a music crescendo whilst she was clicking her fingers and those finger clicks/snaps stayed on top of the music and were not lost.
 
I hear guys say that the utopias don't perform until 150 hours. I am at just over 10% of that and I cannot understand how these things can get any better.
 
Anyway I am an enjoy-the-journey kind of guy so I will continue to listen and make notes to see if things get subtly better from this point.
 
I am one happy camper. Sad to see the Senn HD650's put away after 12 years service but life moves on.
 
Cheers
GG 

Glad that you are enjoying your new Utopia HPs.
 
I find that with many things audio, that the burning-in is a bit like the maturing of a fine wine (and this includes the Focal Utopia).
 
A really good red wine often tastes pretty good shortly after first bottling, even if a bit puckering in the mouth, particularly after more than a small glass or so. At first, it is fresh and full of fruit that overpowers the tannins and other micro elements in it that have to bind together over time and form both sediment and also the nuances of taste producing great wine. Then while this binding process occurs the wine closes up for a few years becoming hard and not that satisfying, until it matures and becomes truly great and drinkable.
 
Thankfully for electronics, including the Utopia, this period is just a matter of a couple of weeks of continual burn-in, not decades, until all the electronics components/parts/electronic structures reach their synchronic musical harmonies!

 

[zachawry]

My Utopias are on their way to me. I can't wait. At the same time, someone whose audio opinion I really trust said he thought they were pretty forward and unnatural sounding. 
 
This has me kind of worried (especially because his setup is similar to mine)...Anybody else feel like that? 

 

[eantala]

  My Utopias are on their way to me. I can't wait. At the same time, someone whose audio opinion I really trust said he thought they were pretty forward and unnatural sounding. 
 
This has me kind of worried (especially because his setup is similar to mine)...Anybody else feel like that? 

what kind of setup do you have?
 
for myself I've had the Utopia (and Elear) for a month and I love them!

 

[zachawry]

  what kind of setup do you have?
 
for myself I've had the Utopia (and Elear) for a month and I love them!

I've got a highly-modded MicroZolt 2. 
 
It's probably best not to let other people's opinions color mine before even hearing the Utopia, but then again if I wasn't willing to do that, I wouldn't have ordered them in the first place. 

 

[theorist]

  My Utopias are on their way to me. I can't wait. At the same time, someone whose audio opinion I really trust said he thought they were pretty forward and unnatural sounding. 
 
This has me kind of worried (especially because his setup is similar to mine)...Anybody else feel like that? 

I would suggest that, IMO, they are the opposite of that. They are very musical, toe-tapping and insightful, allowing you to follow each separate strand of the music in a track. I suspect that they do sound their best with good components and interconnects, etc and if there is a weak link in your system, the Utopia will likely bring that weakness to the fore.

 

[Exidrion]

My Utopias are on their way to me. I can't wait. At the same time, someone whose audio opinion I really trust said he thought they were pretty forward and unnatural sounding. 

This has me kind of worried (especially because his setup is similar to mine)...Anybody else feel like that? 

blows my mind that someone might say these are unnatural sounding.

lmao.

 

[Duncan]

blows my mind that someone might say these are unnatural sounding.

lmao.

Why?

Everyone's point of reference is different, regardless of where you come into this hobby from.

There is never any right or wrong answer, only opinion, not to mention differences in upstream equipment making a large difference.

No, I most definitely wouldn't LMAO if someone said they sounded unnatural to them.