[LCMusicLover]

Which software do you all use to EQ ...?

None.

 

[LCMusicLover]

...
ULZ - Pontus: Least favorite. Best for Jethro Tull ‘Benefit’. Noticeable reduction of highs, high hats lost in guitar
USD - Pontus: Second best. Nearly as airy as USD/Gumby. Less detail.
ULZ - Gumby: Tied for best. Treble reduction less significant but still present. Full sound, feels like pushes more air.
USD - Gumby: Tied for best. Brighter, airier, more detailed. Also less weighty. Only combo to sound even a little ‘sharp’
...

Which leaves me with four new lines of investigation:

- Does my preference of Gumby over Pontus paired w/ Utopia extend to other cans?
- Where will my Sonica fall (it's on the sidelines since I can only have two balanced sources in my system at once)?
- Are there different answers with LP vs DSHA-3F?
- How does the ULZ vs USD comparison fall out with Auteur & HEKv2 (which I have adpaters for)?

Enquiring minds want to know

I must say the Gumby/3F/Utopia pairings sound great (patting myself on the back).

With the Laz Ref cable, the system has no harshness. Gretchen Peters' voice can vary between warm/enfolding and (not piercing, but something like that) emotive and full of pathos. ULZ/Pontus really pushes the warmth, but takes away much of the penetrating quality. USD/Gumby does the opposite, but less so. ULZ/Gumby is just right. Plenty of warmth, but also heart-breakingly present. 'Everything Falls Away' from 'Blackbirds' is a great track to hear this, although not that YouTube version. Here's a link to the track on Spotify

Spoiler: It's Complicated

DAC swaps, Cable swaps, pad swaps, planars, dynamics, SS amp vs tube hybrid, tube swaps

Gumby==>DSHA-3F==>HEKv2 via Lazuli Ref VS Pontus==>LP(Siemens or Brimar)==>HEKv2 via Silver Dragon
Gumby==>DSHA-3F==>Auteur/Auteur pads via LR VS Pontus==>LP(tubes)==>Auteur/Eikon pads via SD

So many moving parts there. We shall see.

 

[Scrum92]

Here's one for you guys: do you ever notice very slight or subtle ticks or clicks when listening that aren't in the music? Occasionally I get this and because I am quite sensitive to these hearing things I more often than not rewind just to double check if it was in there, and I have theorised that it is - if not in the music itself - the result of the headphone physically, such as the pads expanding or air escaping. I also get it with my Clear.

Just me? Am I losing the plot?

 

[LCMusicLover]

Here's one for you guys: do you ever notice very slight or subtle ticks or clicks when listening that aren't in the music? Occasionally I get this and because I am quite sensitive to these hearing things I more often than not rewind just to double check if it was in there, and I have theorised that it is - if not in the music itself - the result of the headphone physically, such as the pads expanding or air escaping. I also get it with my Clear.

Just me? Am I losing the plot?

I hear some noises when laying down if the cans aren't perfectly positioned and they're not just resting without strain. What I hear is different than the headband flex. When I first heard it I was scared that I was hearing the pre-failure 'driver crackling'. But by adjusting Utopia on my head the sound went away. No way to know if this is the same thing you're hearing.

 

[catscratch]

Which software do you all use to EQ, and how can you do that whilst preserving bit-perfect playback via ASIO or WASAPI?

Equalizer APO, though I don't know if it supports asio or wasapi. It's not the best but at least it's free. I think DMG Equilibrium is highly recommended but not cheap, you can try that.

If you hear clicks and pops on multiple headphones, then it's not the headphones. Though if they're there on the original recording but are very faint, many headphones won't reproduce them as audibly, but on something like the Utopia that resolves well, they'll be very apparent. It could also be something else in your system of course - try another source and see if you still hear it.

 

[Scrum92]

I hear some noises when laying down if the cans aren't perfectly positioned and they're not just resting without strain. What I hear is different than the headband flex. When I first heard it I was scared that I was hearing the pre-failure 'driver crackling'. But by adjusting Utopia on my head the sound went away. No way to know if this is the same thing you're hearing.

Nah, if you have the headphones on squish the pad into your head, or move around slightly then let go. As the air escapes the pad when you let go, that noise as the pad decompresses is what I mean. It's not so much a "noise" but hopefully you know what I mean. It is also, I guess, because the leather is more prone to sticking to your skin.

Does that make sense? Gosh, that sounds gross: "sticking to your skin".

This applies to all headphones of course but I think the memory foam the Focal line up uses are perhaps especially prone to it.

As an aside, my Utopia is a lot less creaky than my Clear. Seems like a common theme amongst the Focal line up and I ended up just forgetting about it.

 

[Scrum92]

Equalizer APO, though I don't know if it supports asio or wasapi. It's not the best but at least it's free. I think DMG Equilibrium is highly recommended but not cheap, you can try that.

If you hear clicks and pops on multiple headphones, then it's not the headphones. Though if they're there on the original recording but are very faint, many headphones won't reproduce them as audibly, but on something like the Utopia that resolves well, they'll be very apparent. It could also be something else in your system of course - try another source and see if you still hear it.

I'm not sure I explained that all very well. More often than not, as you say, it is in the recording and the Utopia (the Clear too) elevates their presence and makes them all that bit more apparent. Which I actually like as a reminder of the resolution.

What I am describing is those sorts of noises coming as a result of something physical. For instance, air escaping the pad in the headphone. Or a creak or even something happening in your surroundings.

 

[catscratch]

Are you sure that's not coming from the headband? The headband in Focals is known to creak when you move the earcups around. Nothing to worry about. There are some fixes for it if you read up on it.

 

[foefoe]

My first post here and just want to find out how differ was your impression of FU after 100-150 hours of burn-in? Is it my brain or the headphones? I remember how claustrophobic and oppressive Utopias did sound to me at first, now the sound is much more open and basically no fatiguing at all. Also I wonder if there are any better cans for rock/indie/post-punk/newwave/alternative music. I've just received hifiman 1000se(not new) and after 2 days with them I've got the impression that Focal's sound is so much fuller and it allows me to engage in music to a much greater extent. Perhaps my amp (feliks eufhoria) is to "blame"...

 

[up late]

fwiw, the utopia has never sounded "claustrophobic and oppressive" to me, tho i am aware that it does to some folks. i've said this a number of times now in the thread but since you've asked, i haven't noticed any change in the sound of my utopia with the original or replacement drivers. i've spent time with three utopia's and they all sounded alike to me.

 

[thecrow]

My first post here and just want to find out how differ was your impression of FU after 100-150 hours of burn-in? Is it my brain or the headphones? I remember how claustrophobic and oppressive Utopias did sound to me at first, now the sound is much more open and basically no fatiguing at all. Also I wonder if there are any better cans for rock/indie/post-punk/newwave/alternative music. I've just received hifiman 1000se(not new) and after 2 days with them I've got the impression that Focal's sound is so much fuller and it allows me to engage in music to a much greater extent. Perhaps my amp (feliks eufhoria) is to "blame"...

IMHO There will be times the hekse will be the more preferred choice (eg when you want a break from the utopias and/or you need the hp to be a little more forgiving). I happily have both.

The warmest the hekse sound to me is after coming off a spell with the utopias. But I don’t consider them warm.

I consider the utopias having fantastic detail and instrument placement and the hekse having great detail and placement but the hekse are wider in soundstage and there is some magic in that regard

Imho both are great.
The hekse a bit more of an all rounder due to them being a little forgiving

ymmv

 

[joseph69]

IMHO There will be times the hekse will be the more preferred choice (eg when you want a break from the utopias and/or you need the hp to be a little more forgiving). I happily have both.

The warmest the hekse sound to me is after coming off a spell with the utopias. But I don’t consider them warm.

I consider the utopias having fantastic detail and instrument placement and the hekse having great detail and placement but the hekse are wider in soundstage and there is some magic in that regard

Imho both are great.
The hekse a bit more of an all rounder due to them being a little forgiving

ymmv

Very well said.
I feel very much the same as you, but in my case with the V2.

 

[BPED]

My first post here and just want to find out how differ was your impression of FU after 100-150 hours of burn-in? Is it my brain or the headphones? I remember how claustrophobic and oppressive Utopias did sound to me at first, now the sound is much more open and basically no fatiguing at all. Also I wonder if there are any better cans for rock/indie/post-punk/newwave/alternative music. I've just received hifiman 1000se(not new) and after 2 days with them I've got the impression that Focal's sound is so much fuller and it allows me to engage in music to a much greater extent. Perhaps my amp (feliks eufhoria) is to "blame"...

Hi foefoe, congratulations for your new Utopias! In my experience both brain burn in and gear (drivers and cable) burn in play a role. These headphones are extremely good at placing instruments in a small stage and it takes time to get used to that. I think that once the brain "gets it" you feel instruments well positioned around you (always quite close).
I am also convinced that gear burn in is needed- I had to go through this process on two different sets of Utopias. The second time I knew very well their sonic signature and it took some time to go back to a fuller bass and generally speaking a smoother presentation. Utopias have never been bright or harsh for me, quite the contrary.. enjoy!

 

[foefoe]

Thanks for your replies guys. First I never found Utopias bright or harsh, regardless of the amount of hours on the meter. They are the warmest, most organic, visceral cans I have ever tried. As regards hekse, at the moment that bit of an extra soundstage doesn't offset the lack of texture on snare drums or bass I receive from Utopia (just listened to "London Loves" by Blur off Parklife and to me, no contest, Utopias are a clear winner). They sound to me as if Utopia and hd800 had a baby but not necessarily with the best genes being passed on to the next generation.

 

[foefoe]

Perhaps was a bit harsh on He1000se. Just listened to some Traffic (s/t), The Only Ones (Baby Got a Gun) and The Replacements (All Shook Down) and didn't feel the urge for something better at all. Fantastic sound from these Chinese cans, I guess the more acoustic instruments in the mix the better they may sound, or ... is it my brain getting burned-in?