[thecrow]

I love and share the joy the utopia gives to this reviewer (ie the jangle and detail) and totally agree with what (this that) the utopia can deliver

 

[up late]

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.

i've never found the utopia "bright or harsh" (or thin and bass-lite) either, but again, other folks have. disparate subjective impressions are not unique to the utopia - they're common to every headphone thread that i've followed here and at other fora.

 

[BPED]

Another issue that comes up from time to time from users is that they sound “metallic”.. whatever that means.. not for me. What I did observe is that they allow me to push up the volume quite a lot, they still sound smooth and not aggressive on the ear so it is easy to exaggerate. In this case fatigue creeps in after a while.. it that is easily solved keeping an eye on volume

 

[up late]

i can't relate to that description of the utopia either. i've only experienced a metallic sound quality with the beyerdynamic t1 and not surprisingly, there are many t1 owners who can't relate to my experience.

 

[Failed Engineer]

I spent last Thursday and Friday and this morning working from my home office. It's given me extended listening time with the Utopia and one of the best qualities of the headphone is just how damn good it is at very low volumes. There's always a pull to listen louder with these because they scale volume-wise with no strain, but if you resist touching the volume control of the amp it's a rewarding listen. The razor sharp imaging and the intimate soundstage makes it a beguiling listen.

I haven't owned a headphone that's nearly as good or reach basically all it's heights at super low volumes.

 

[Mh996]

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, and welcome. I’m a fellow Euforia owner, though I own the Clear and not Utopia. Is your Euforia also new? The changes you described (widened stage and improved tonality) pretty much describe my experience with Euforia as it was breaking in up to 100hrs. You should also check out the Euforia thread- lots of useful advice on tube rolling over there.

 

[LCMusicLover]

...I wonder if there are any better cans for rock/indie/post-punk/newwave/alternative music...

Well, that's quite a range of genres. For indie & alt (-rock, -folk, -country) I might prefer my RAD-0 or Auteur. For 'classic' rock, Auteur. For stuff with lots of acoustic, I sometimes really like my HEKv2 -- definitely a 'thinner' sound, can sound 'delicate'. Utopia is fuller, but Auteur and RAD-0 are even more so. And Empyrean (sold) was 'lush'.

I can imagine Utopia might sound great w/ some post-punk/newwave material (although that's a pretty broad category). But honestly, I probably prefer Auteur (or sometimes RAD-0) for some significant sub-set of that category. For example, some tracks from Dead Can Dance 'Anastasis' don't have as powerful impact on Utopia vs those 2 (e.g., 'Children of the Sun').

...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 ...

No doubt. HEKv2 (and from all I read, HEKse as well) are more open/airy/thin. Utopia are fuller...kinda middle-of-the-road on that aspect.

...Utopias... They are the warmest, most organic, visceral cans I have ever tried...

Warmest ?!? Your ears my ears I guess.To my ears, Empyrean, LCD-2, LCD-3, Audioquest NightOwl all sound significantly warmer. Auteur & RAD-0 are 'somewhat warmer'. Although my Auteur is Blackwood -- other, softer woods might come out a bit warmer still.

 

[gurus]

After a few days of listening I have settled on the Sylvania 12BH7A tube for best in overall rich sound and the RCA BPs for a variation of that where the vocals are a bit more sweeter.

Overall, I find that the vocals are a bit distant than my desktop speakers- active Meridians- and obviously the soundstage and slam (and the timing) is a lot better on the speakers. But I can live with that because of the extra low level detail that the Utopia provides. But I do not know if I can live with the distortion sound engineers put in their mixes. Utopia being so close to the ears definitely makes that a concern because the distortion is amplified and you can hear it clearly on the Utopia's as they are very open and resolving. That stands in the way of enjoyable listening on a lot of tracks. Of course the fault does not lie with the Utopia.

 

[foefoe]

@Mh996: Oh no, I'm the second owner of my Euforia. Thanks, I'm already familiar with that thread and the tube rolling

@LCMusicLover: I haven't tried Rad-0, Auter or LCD cans. In the past I owned AKG812,HD800, grado1000i and Beyer's T12G. As regards He1000SE I've just finished listening to "Rubber Soul" on them and was transfixed by the sound. I guess these cans are superb with folk-rock-country genres. But when I put "Off the Wall" on I was disappointed, the slam of a snare drum and the thickness of bass were much more tangible on Focals, I was so much more engaged in the music right away. Also, not that sure if I anything more organic/visceral than Utopias would be good for me. Focals might be a perfect balance between detail retrieval and that overall...lushness

 

[Scrum92]

The ear cup plastic is a fingerprint magnet. Does anybody have any tips for avoiding covering it, or is it just a case of living with it?

 

[up late]

wear cotton gloves?

 

[dontfeedphils]

Fingerprints don't impact SQ, so I just ignore it and enjoy the music.

 

[up late]

can't say that i've noticed them on mine but i tend to avoid eating fried chicken while i'm handling the utopia

 

[catscratch]

You can probably use a lens cloth to wipe it down and avoid scratching it. Or you can do what I do and not worry about it.

 

[gurus]

With other issues like with the headband and earpads I had my better half knit to take care of the headband issue.

It definitely provides the much needed warmth to Utopia!