[LCMusicLover]

I like to use my 240SS right next to me when I’m lying in bed, so a one meter is plenty long enough.

OK, that's a little TMI

Are you happy with the build quality on the Lavris? I’m a stickler for attention to detail on my audio gear.

It's fine, nothing to complain about. Personally, I don't get the whole 'beautiful cable' thing. To me, they're functional, not objets d'art. In fact, I'm kinda like the guy who said:

What do I care what they look like? I can't see them when they're on my head, and I usually have my eyes closed when I'm listening anyway.

 

[LCMusicLover]

The Liquid Glass and Crimson pair extremely well with the Utopia. Some of the best amps I've heard, bar none.

Makes me look forward to the upcoming Liquid Platinum even more. I wonder how great it will be.

 

[LCMusicLover]

this offer put the utopia within reach for me. i doubt that i'd own it otherwise. hopefully it will make it more affordable for others who desire it too.

Yep, I ran into an 'Open Box' sale or I'd never have gotten here either.

 

[Mrstump5]

I'm getting in the utopia to audition this week. My amp is the audio gd nfb 28.38. Wil this pair well together to give me a good idea if I like the utopia

 

[LCMusicLover]

I'm getting in the utopia to audition this week. My amp is the audio gd nfb 28.38. Wil this pair well together to give me a good idea if I like the utopia

Certainly enough power, and very neutral, correct?

Only thing is the DAC -- I slightly prefer my Pontus R-to-R DAC over my 9038-based Sonica DAC with Utopia as the Sonica/Utopia pairing can seem a bit too detailed/analytic, reducing the musicality. But it's really a minor difference.

 

[rgs9200m]

Moon Silver Dragon is a very nice cable with a long history and fine reputation, and Drew is a great guy to work with. I've owned several of the Silver Dragons over the years.

 

[Jozurr]

Makes me look forward to the upcoming Liquid Platinum even more. I wonder how great it will be.

Its probably going to be a decent amp for the price, but doubt it would be as good as the Crimson. We already know that it has a switching supply compared to an LPS like thr Crimson. An LPS is known to have positive differences with amps like the MCTH. You could add an external LPS but then issues of matching, quality etc all come into play. Then the amp seems to be built into a smaller chassis where heat dissipation might not be ideal and then of course to bring it down to the cost it is at, who knows what cheaper parts have been switched in. All in all yes theres some benefit for a manufacturer in good quantities to bring the cost down, compared to a boutique run by Cavalli, but Id doubt thats all there is to it.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Its probably going to be a decent amp for the price, but doubt it would be as good as the Crimson. We already know that it has a switching supply compared to an LPS like thr Crimson. An LPS is known to have positive differences with amps like the MCTH. You could add an external LPS but then issues of matching, quality etc all come into play. Then the amp seems to be built into a smaller chassis where heat dissipation might not be ideal and then of course to bring it down to the cost it is at, who knows what cheaper parts have been switched in. All in all yes theres some benefit for a manufacturer in good quantities to bring the cost down, compared to a boutique run by Cavalli, but Id doubt thats all there is to it.

There's been some investigation into available LPSs for the LP -- turns out its input requirements are unique (36V). I've found a Chinese company which would do one for $120 -- hard to say about quality though. Stock tubes will probably suck, but they're not particularly expensive (vs say 300B stuff).

I'm hoping it will be 'pretty good' and that it will be a good intro into Tube Sound. Of course that might send me down another rabbit hole

 

[Jozurr]

There's been some investigation into available LPSs for the LP -- turns out its input requirements are unique (36V). I've found a Chinese company which would do one for $120 -- hard to say about quality though. Stock tubes will probably suck, but they're not particularly expensive (vs say 300B stuff).

I'm hoping it will be 'pretty good' and that it will be a good intro into Tube Sound. Of course that might send me down another rabbit hole

Yes with LPS, just that it being an LPS doesn't necessarily make it better than a switching supply - but a good LPS should sound better. In the case of the chinese one, who knows if it's any better, if not worse. Yes as I mentioned, it might be a good amp for the price, but with phones like the Utopia, even smaller differences are very apparent, and top of the line amps definitely make the utopias shine, similar to how the Utopias show the qualities of an amp. I digress. Just wanted to point out how good the Cavalli tube amps sound with the Utopias

 

[muski]

It sounds strange, but there is a special synergy between a Headroom amp and the Utopia. It sounds really excellent, with strong,controlled bass and tons of detail and silky vocals and mids, and even some fine layering in staging.
I have a Headroom Max with it and I just love the sound. (It also is doing a very nice job with my LCD4.)
Try to seek one out.
Here's one for $800 I just found by googling; I would snap it up ($800 is like spare change jangling around in your pocket in this crazy hobby):
https://www.amazon.com/HeadRoom-Desktop-Balanced-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B013Z8P6CU

(It's not a Max, but it's in the same close family; designed by Tyll.)
Original review of the Max by the late Wes Phillips (who had a great ear for things):
https://www.stereophile.com/headphones/261/index.html

Thanks for this post. I’ll have to pull my Max Balanced amp out of storage and try it with my Utopias. For about five years my desktop system was a Slimdevices Transporter feeding a Headroom Max Balanced amp. Loved it, though I felt that neither HD650 nor the AKG-701 did it justice. Maybe I should pull out the Transporter while I'm at it

I had forgotten what a wonderful writer Wes Phillips was. Just amazing.

 

[rgs9200m]

Yep, I pulled my Max out of the closet and was surprised. I actually preferred it to the GSX2 I owned and sold. I found the Max more refined. The Max has some sort of coloration I really liked I guess. It was sweet but also has a great clear deep bass, which is a difficult combination to achieve.

Yep, I loved Wes Phillips' articles about headphones, the Aerial 10t, Wilson Watt Puppy 5 (which he ended up not recommending as too difficult to get right), and the original B+W Nautilus 801.

I remember, even after Headroom introduced the Balanced versions of their amps, Wes seemed to say he really loved the original single-ended Max amp.

 

[thecrow]

How crucial is the amp in doing the utopia justice?

I have a Cayin iha6 which is a good honest ss amp. 7w info 32 ohms. So wondering if it is worth considering the outlay without upgrading the amp?

 

[up late]

i think that the utopia sounds great from an iphone, so i doubt that your amp's power rating would hold it back

 

[mulveling]

i think that the utopia sounds great from an iphone, so i doubt that your amp's power rating would hold it back

Yeah the Utopia can do so well from some simple amps that would otherwise severely hold back other high-end headphones. There is more to be had from them though high-end amplification, but maybe not THAT much. Source is likely much more important here.

Yep, I pulled my Max out of the closet and was surprised. I actually preferred it to the GSX2 I owned and sold. I found the Max more refined. The Max has some sort of coloration I really liked I guess. It was sweet but also has a great clear deep bass, which is a difficult combination to achieve.

Yep, I loved Wed Phillips' articles about headphones, the Aerial 10t, Wilson Watt Puppy 5 (which he ended up not recommending as too difficult to get right), and the original B+W Nautilus 801.

I remember, even after Headroom introduced the Balanced versions of their amps, Wes seemed to say he really loved the original single-ended Max amp.

There are 3 versions of Single Ended Max before the Balanced Home/Max days (2006-2008). 1997 modules, 2001, and 2004. The 1997 amp is particularly mediocre/poor. The 2001/2004 (I forget now which of these I heard) is much much better, but also a very different tonality - and once you start messing with the crossfeed/filter switches the FR balance changes a LOT. From the other HR amps I heard of this era, even on flat settings it seems like the tone and FR jumped around quite a bit per model & version. The Balanced amps sound more neutral, accurate, and consistent to me. But then the Utopia is a really odd one, and doesn't need crazy power drive, so I can see it matching with a particular HR Max version.

 

[kingkikapu]

Agreed on utopia amplification. If you had to choose between a lower end headphone with better amp or utopia with lower end amp I would probably go the latter 10/10.