[BassicScience]

I actually like listening to music on the Utopias more than speakers.

You might need better speakers.

 

[JinTam]

You might need better speakers.

I can get a lot of TOTL headphones for the price of those speakers.

 

[jlbrach]

i think TOTL HP's are the biggest bargain i the audio world

 

[up late]

All,
No HP really sounds like speakers than actual speakers and subs.
I can feel rumbling with chairs I sat on, coffee table, dining table.

no kidding?

 

[up late]

You can feel rumbling with those tiny subs? I am building 2x 18" subs to "feel" the movies and music.

wow! i'm so impressed by "2x 18" subs" in a headphone forum.

 

[SteveM324]

It's more there than with the lcdx. The x is meatier in the lower registers so covers it up more. The utopia is just more resolving so it could be the just showing up the tubey nature of the amp?

Yes, enjoying the tube rolling. Have nos mullards (legendary mullard sound), jan 5814a ( a bit brittle sounding), phillips ecc82 (it's ok but there's much better about). The ones i enjoy most are Brimar cv491 nos 1969 date - Managed to get four of them. So Sweet sounding, don't have the fullness of the mullards but as the ha2-se is so easy to listen too (beautiful clean highs with no sibilance), I just prefer them a little more.
Took the advice from the Headfonia review of the the amp, and got myself 4x El95's. There a bit better than the supplied stock tubes.

I spent more time with the Utopia and Nirvana last night and I didn't hear any lower midrange hump. I found that the lowest impedance setting on the Nirvana, 32ohms, provides the tightest bass. The next higher setting on the Nirvana, 80 ohms, provides a little more bass bloom and the sound is a bit warmer. It depends on the recording which impedance setting I like best, but most of the time I use the Nirvana's 32 ohm output impedance setting. I really like the Utopia and Nirvana combination.

 

[broadey]

I spent more time with the Utopia and Nirvana last night and I didn't hear any lower midrange hump. I found that the lowest impedance setting on the Nirvana, 32ohms, provides the tightest bass. The next higher setting on the Nirvana, 80 ohms, provides a little more bass bloom and the sound is a bit warmer. It depends on the recording which impedance setting I like best, but most of the time I use the Nirvana's 32 ohm output impedance setting. I really like the Utopia and Nirvana combination.

Think you've hit the nail on the head! Didn't change the ohm output from the 150 ohm setting that I have it on for the lcdx.....doh!...
That's more than likely the cause of what I was hearing, a bit to much added bass bloom on the utopia.

 

[iFi audio]

I've been using the Utopia directly connected a Pass Labs X150.8 speaker amp over the last several listening hours. It was going to be just a quick test in passing not meant to be taken too seriously, but has since turned into more than that. Now I feel compelled to post some impressions about it just because I'm enjoying it so much.

My main point of reference is the Utopia connected directly to the DAVE-plus-Mscaler -- which until yesterday was the combination I've liked more than any amp (and DAC) pairing I've used with the Utopia in the past. Music listening so far has been mostly acoustic. Cable is a Lavricables Master Silver, which had 0 hours on it when I started.

Some pluses (big ones!):

- Crazy fast and articulate. Piano now has an appropriate sense of attack and even aggression when it should (One example: Vijay Iyer - Historicity). The speed combined with the X150.8's tonally density works really well. So, "electrostat-like", but with extra solidity.

- This is really part of the same point above, but... Gobs of microdetail, air and reverb, clarity and nuance. To my ears, more of all these things compared to Dave's headphone-out. Is also brighter than the MDave-direct, which I find to sound too dark with Utopia by about 2dB. YMMV ofc.

- Expanded soundstage that easily puts it on par with some other high-end open-backs. So much the opposite of the Utopia sounding "congested" or "closed-in". Makes the Utopia sound nth-row instead of first-row or on-stage. This may be the most notable difference among those listed here.

- Better moments of depth than I've ever heard with the Utopia (though this was while listening at 2 in the morning, so that probably also had something to do with it). The X150.8 has really nice depth and point-point imaging, and it carries over to the Utopia as I would expect it to. Example: Espoo Big Band - Finale.

- Very convincing, realistic acoustic instrument timbre to my ears. I feel like this must be the result of everything coming together correctly -- tonality, transient character, clarity, resolution, depth, etc. It equals the most lifelike presentation I've ever heard from my system (which has mostly been organized around the Susvara and SR1a for the last period). At least tied with the Susvara + AHB2. Also worth noting is that I do not find the X150.8 to have amazing "realism" with either the RAAL or the Susvara, but I do with the Utopia.

- Exhibits an incredible amount of control and nuance in the bass. Makes the bass from the Utopia direct out of the Dave sound bloated in comparison -- fighting words, I know. Same goes for the bass of the Susvara driven by the same amp, which when heard directly after the Utopia sounds loose and inarticulate. Favorite example so far -- Sonar - Vortex: Bass guitar notes start in the middle of the sound stage, rattling the cranium, and then emanate outward into blackness on the X/Z plane. Really lovely effect, intended or otherwise.

- Relatedly, is surprisingly un-fatiguing. I've found the Utopia bass to be overly punchy to the point of abusive on a number of amps, which led to too much fatigue and ultimately to giving up on the first pair I had.

- Almost no background noise to speak of with this amp. But if you have a ground loop, you will definitely hear it.

- Edit: Lastly, I forgot to mention, and as you'd expect with this much ridiculous extra power on tap, dynamic swings are huge. At my normal listening volume, I've caught myself bracing myself in anticipation of big swells in the music. Which is pretty awesome, if you think about it, and exactly as it ought to be.

Some potential minuses:

- Bigger soundstage means less forward-sounding (As always, pluses can also be minuses based on preference).

- It's so resolving that it has an almost "raw" sound, maybe? Still trying to decide if I think this is really the case or if it's originating from my own expectation bias...

- Treble could be a shade overdone to some, and stuff like cymbals can be just a tad over-emphasized. I like it, though. May have something to do with this silver Lavricables cable, which is still brand new (ditto for the point above as well).

- Tight bass may also mean less of it. Reach for that low-shelf filter if need be.

- Lastly and most obviously, this is a crazily mismatched pairing in terms of power. So, yes, much caution is warranted when main-lining the headphones into a power amp so as to avoid making an operational mistake that could lead in a very bad day.

Next up on my roadmap is the Benchmark AHB2, which I've been kind-of planning on replacing the X150.8 with, primarily for use with the SR1a and Susvara. This could prove to be slightly "safer" than this amp when used with the Utopia, as it has an a-typically low user-selectable gain setting of just 9dB.

Very nicely written, kudos!

 

[DaYooper]

Just throwing my stuff out there. I bought my Utopia from a fellow member about 3 months ago. They are warranty replacements. When I first got them I understood them to have about 20 hours use so I burned them in for another 100 hours or so. I was using them with the Sennheiser H/P amp as well as driving them with a couple of my daps through a balanced cable. I have to say I was somewhat underwhelmed by them. I actually preferred the HD800 sound. But then the Gsx-mini showed up. Now I actually enjoy them quit a lot. They just seem to have come alive for me. And whichever dap I use to feed them works just great. But I will say I prefer the DX208TI-EX best. Glad I didn't jump the gun and sell them.

 

[up late]

what's the output impedance of the sennheiser head-amp?

 

[DaYooper]

It's the HDVA600 and the spec sheet lists the impedance of the XLR4 output terminal at min 16 ohms

 

[up late]

not an ideal impedance match for the utopia

 

[montanari]

Why?
It s not so high

 

[dontfeedphils]

Why?
It s not so high

It's high enough to potentially bloat the low end.

 

[montanari]

Yah.. Maybe where the impedance raise to 300ohm..but 16 is not so high..