[TSAVJason]

That doesn't sound right. About the only negative I've heard about the Hugo2/Utopia pairing is that it isn't as good as Dave/Utopia.

That said, I'm guessing that you like the T1, and frankly, Utopia is in the same SQ family, so 'only slightly better' isn't really surprising. I get that the Utopia is almost 4X the T1 list price, but over $1000, diminishing returns eats up a huge amount of your cash. However, 'very lack luster' suggests there's some problem. While Utopia might not excel at trepanation the way the T1 does, I can't imagine ever calling its sound 'lack luster'. 'In a tube' might be a way of saying that the Utopia sound stage is much more intimate than the T1 -- very true. Or...

there may be something wrong with your Utopia. You should probably contact your dealer.

Really? You think they sound similar?

 

[up late]

not following...

nvm

 

[LCMusicLover]

...Utopia is in the same SQ family...

Really? You think they sound similar?

No, I'd say there are many significant differences between Utopia and T1g2 (only T1 I've heard). But I would say that both are on the same neutral/analytical/bright side of the street vs (say) various LCDs.

If I were very familiar with T1, and liked its sig, then I might hear Utopia as similar, but less top-end forward. And I would hear Utopia as having more intimate staging.

Personally, I didn't care for T1, only listened to it for a few sessions. I found that it literally hurt my ears after 30 minutes of listening or so, and I sold it fairly quickly.

Out of the box, I found that Utopia had bit of that same feel, a bit sharp on top. But not nearly so severe as the T1 sound -- and if @diadack likes the T1, that reduction might lead to his 'lack luster' assessment.

FWIW, in my current champion chain (see my sig) I would NOT call Utopia bright (or sharp). In fact, I wouldn't call it anything except marvelous.

T1s are long gone, so I can't say what they would sound like in my current system.

 

[diadack]

I got my T1s bundled with the matching A20 amplifier a couple of years ago as my first true “audiophile” set up I guess. It definelty cut off the sharpness of the treble, with the Hugo 2 they do become very bright. There is no doubt that I preferred the sound of the utopia over the T1s but the imaging and staging just seemed off to me compared to what I’ve read in these threads.

 

[sdwong]

Did you get it back? How was/is the service?

Not yet. As I was told to expect at least a 3 month wait. My guess is maybe Feb 2019 period.

I have one question in my mind.

Since I have one driver failure. However, it's logical to replace both drivers since they should be match acoustically. The question is should I be paying for the one driver that fail and the other is Focal duty to replace, or I should be paying for both?

 

[hehaw77]

nvm

I speak english not code

 

[joseph69]

Never mind

 

[hehaw77]

Never mind

no problem forgotten ignored and thrown into a garbage heap

 

[joseph69]

no problem forgotten ignored and thrown into a garbage heap

nvm = never mind.

 

[up late]

I speak english not code

it's just an abbreviation that is used around the interwebs, including this forum

nvm = never mind.

correct!

 

[AmusedToD]

After much thinking, I decided to place an order for the Sony TA-ZH1ES amp/DAC. With the Kimber Axios CU cable that will be arriving to me in January, I believe it will pair with the Utopia nicely.

I just love the design of the Sony, and also the fact they are not using an off the shelf DAC chip but a proprietary FPGA (similar to what Chord does with their DACs). Another thing that brought me closer to my decision is the fact this amp/DAC is a DSD monster as it’s able to upsample everything to DSD512 on the fly. I love DSD and have a fairly large library with tracks in this format, and even use Roon to upsample PCM to DSD. Having in mind Sony invented DSD, I am prone to think their implementation should be excellent, hence my decision.

I wish to thank everybody who gave me their opinions on this matter.

 

[TSAVJason]

nvm = never mind.

Hahaha that was a funny exchange

 

[jmk720]

That doesn't sound right. About the only negative I've heard about the Hugo2/Utopia pairing is that it isn't as good as Dave/Utopia.

That said, I'm guessing that you like the T1, and frankly, Utopia is in the same SQ family, so 'only slightly better' isn't really surprising. I get that the Utopia is almost 4X the T1 list price, but over $1000, diminishing returns eats up a huge amount of your cash. However, 'very lack luster' suggests there's some problem. While Utopia might not excel at trepanation the way the T1 does, I can't imagine ever calling its sound 'lack luster'. 'In a tube' might be a way of saying that the Utopia sound stage is much more intimate than the T1 -- very true. Or...

there may be something wrong with your Utopia. You should probably contact your dealer.

He is not alone, i think that both shares this presentation that have natural mids, precise image and are very fast, the utopia is more punch and engaging...

 

[fhuang]

Not yet. As I was told to expect at least a 3 month wait. My guess is maybe Feb 2019 period.

I have one question in my mind.

Since I have one driver failure. However, it's logical to replace both drivers since they should be match acoustically. The question is should I be paying for the one driver that fail and the other is Focal duty to replace, or I should be paying for both?

Three months, that is not a short time. Anybody have any idea about the driver issue or any maintenance experience with focal?

 

[up late]

one of the nice things about taking a break from headphone listening is returning to it and experiencing what you're privileged to own anew. the utopia has reminded me of its greatness tonight.