[thatonenoob]

On a fresh note, having tried the Utopia a couple of times now I would say that it is overtaking the 009 on the endgame list.  A great pairing with the CMA800i (but then again, so are a lot of things).

 

[Toolman]

The CMA600i should be available soon...will be interesting to see how they paired up

 

[servantsaber]

Just sold my HD800S that I loved so much.
Now that I have Utopia, listening to HD800S feels like a waste of time.

 

[Svatopluk]

Just sold my HD800S that I loved so much.
Now that I have Utopia, listening to HD800S feels like a waste of time.

In regards to the you're previous Ragnarok and HD800S pairing. If you don't mind my asking, which gain setting were you using?

 

[servantsaber]

In regards to the you're previous Ragnarok and HD800S pairing. If you don't mind my asking, which gain setting were you using?

I used the medium gain

 

[Shure or bust]

Low gain is more than sufficient and has better sound

 

[Svatopluk]

I used the medium gain

Thanks.

The reason i asked about the Ragnarok gain setting was because in my experience, the HD800S only comes to life while being paired with a good high impedance amp like the HDVA600. I'm sure the Ragnarok should do the trick as well.

I'm just trying to wrap my head around something sounding that much better. I can't wait for an opportunity to audition the Utopia.

 

[Mr G]

I recently heard the Utopia (driven by Chord TT) and I was impressed by the sound. I currently own both the LCD 2 rev1 and HD800S. I've also previously auditioned the LCD 4 and HE 1000. When compared with the HD800S, the Utopia's treble seems more natural and clear. I can't really tell if the Midrange and the Bass are better than HD800S. Sound-stage wise, the Utopia sounds more in-the-head (especially the depth), when compared to HD800S. However, in the presence of treble rich sounds (e.g. metal instruments), the sound stage seems to improve. Overall, it is one of the best headphones that I've heard.   

 

[pervysage]

Almost 4AM and still sitting here listening away. That sound of the Utopia just never gets old 

 

[x RELIC x]

Almost 4AM and still sitting here listening away. That sound of the Utopia just never gets old 

We're both on the West Coast up waaay too late listening to Utopia, lol!

 

[servantsaber]

Almost 4AM and still sitting here listening away. That sound of the Utopia just never gets old 

I feel you. I couldn't stop listening to Utopia even though I had to go to sleep

 

[TonyNewman]

Anyone had significant headfi time with both the Focal Utopia and Ether Flow and can share some thoughts? Kinda curious if the Utopia offers much beyond the Ether Flow.

 

[x RELIC x]

Anyone had significant headfi time with both the Focal Utopia and Ether Flow and can share some thoughts? Kinda curious if the Utopia offers much beyond the Ether Flow.

Yup. I own both. The Utopia is definitely worthy of it's price premium over the Flow (open) IMO. I have had the Flow for a few weeks, and about a month with the Utopia, and to me it's no contest. The Flow, while sounding very clean and very musical, just doesn't have the same real life presentation as the Utopia to me. Listening to the Flow, after listening to the Utopia, the Flow sounds laid back and more 'one note', more restrained in direct comparison. The instruments and the vocals are much more fleshed out on the Utopia. There is more layering and better delineation of the music, more hidden depth in the frequencies, more liveliness in both the lower and upper registers. The mid range, to me, is without fault on the Utopia. The Utopia does this without relying on an unbalanced frequency response (brightness), or exaggerated soundstage. The music just comes at you with graceful ease if it's in the recording, or immediacy and incredible punch if it's in the recording. Dynamism.

Compared to most other headphones I've heard the ETHER Flow is a step up in smooth clean detail and clean frequency response and balance with very little grain, if not a little on the warm side with a slight bass bump. The price/performance ratio is high on the Flow. The Utopia is just simply better, by some margin. As I wrote in my review/impressions the Utopia doesn't sound like any headphone I've heard (uhg, don't make me say 'speaker like!'), the Flow just sounds like a great headphone. The Utopia is a more difficult pill to swallow for the price, but to me it's worth it. I'm keeping the Flow for those times I just want to kick back and listen to background music with a smooth balanced sound. Let the music Flow! It's still an awesome headphone. The Utopia is for when I really want to enjoy the music and get completely lost in the experience with zero distraction. I actually find it hard to work with the Utopia on my head as I often just freeze to listen to what I'm hearing. Mostly I've compared them (volume matched as best I can) directly from the Chord DAVE which is extremely clean and transparent to the source with gobs of depth, imaging, and detail on hand.

Another, more simple look at the two is this... The Flow is very clean and smooth and the Utopia is extremely clean dynamic. Regarding frequency response both are very balanced with the Flow sounding slightly warm.

I will note that with the Flow you must run it in for some time. With most headphones I don't hear much change at all from burn-in, including the Utopia. With MrSpeakers V-planar drivers in the Flow the burn-in is very real. Out of the box the Flow sounded muffled and overly restrained to me. They've opened up quite nicely now. I'll be posting my impressions of the Flow in the appropriate thread, but I need a little more time to nail everything down. Plus I just received different foam to put under the ear pads so I want to try that first in case my first batch had the wrong foam (which is highly unlikely).

To sum up, if you only have the money for the Flow then I think it's an incredible headphone to purchase. If you have the money for the Utopia then it's not even a question of which one to get. All of this of course is my experience, on my gear, with my preferences, and simply my opinion. YMMV.

 

[TonyNewman]

^ Fantastic. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you

 
I have sent my Ether C away to get upgraded to the Ether Flow (open). Maybe a Utopia next year, but for that sort of outlay I would be thinking about going "nuts out" and getting a KGSSHV Carbon and a Ether E-Stat.

 

[TheAttorney]

. The Utopia does this without relying on an unbalanced frequency response (brightness),...

 
I enjoyed your main review of the Utopia. Have you tried swapping in the Elear pads yet?
That some have reported increases the Utopia bass level (for those that think the Utopia could do with a touch more bass).