[Gadget67]

I’ve been looking for a good headphone stand for my Utopia. I had one of the wooden omega ones but it was too short once I added a Danacable. I bought a cheap $12 stand on Amazon that works but it’s very lightweight and worried they’ll fall over. The Woo Audio one looks perfect with height adjustment and double size to drape the cable over.

The Woo stands are very nice and well worth the price. If you are going to leave a cable attached then the double is a great choice to provide a place to hang the cable as you noted. Highly recommended!

 

[dontfeedphils]

I’ve been looking for a good headphone stand for my Utopia. I had one of the wooden omega ones but it was too short once I added a Danacable. I bought a cheap $12 stand on Amazon that works but it’s very lightweight and worried they’ll fall over. The Woo Audio one looks perfect with height adjustment and double size to drape the cable over.

I have the AudioQuest Perch and I like it well enough. I've had my eye on this one for a while though.

https://m.thomannmusic.com/rooms_audio_line_fs_pro_ii_bk_headphone_stand.htm

 

[quodjo105]

Have had my utopia for about 2 months , bought brand new . This week the left driver died . I’ve contacted my dealer and it’s being sent back to focal .
sucks that driver failure is still going on with utopia even with their latest batches. .

 

[Gadget67]

Now that I’ve listened to them apparently I’m keeping them - lol

The Clear is a seriously nice headphone and is preferred by some over the Utopia. Really, the Clear/Arche deal is fantastic; you get great headphones and a really nice amp/DAC for the price of the Utopia. I like the comfort of the Clear microfiber pads but the pads really absorb moisture in a warm/humid listening environment and will need to be washed or cleaned periodically if they get routine use. Had I not experienced the Utopia I would be very happy with the Clear as my open back choice. The Utopia is better IMHO but not by a wide margin!

 

[ev666il]

Has anybody had a chance to compare the Arche to a Schiit stack?

 

[thecrow]

The Clear is a seriously nice headphone and is preferred by some over the Utopia. Really, the Clear/Arche deal is fantastic; you get great headphones and a really nice amp/DAC for the price of the Utopia. I like the comfort of the Clear microfiber pads but the pads really absorb moisture in a warm/humid listening environment and will need to be washed or cleaned periodically if they get routine use. Had I not experienced the Utopia I would be very happy with the Clear as my open back choice. The Utopia is better IMHO but not by a wide margin!

the clears never grabbed me
i did buy a utopia when i was looking for something that had grunt and power in sound..when the prices came down and my slush fund was at a decent level

 

[Gadget67]

Has anybody had a chance to compare the Arche to a Schiit stack?

There are a number of Schitt stacks so I guess it depends which stack you want to compare. I purchased a Schitt Mjolnir/Gungnir stack in (I think) 2013 and used that until 2019 when I went on a purchasing spree. It’s still a nice combination, but DAC’s have improved considerably since then and the Arche is clearly better than my seven year old stack. The Focal Arche is (I assume) EQ’ed specifically to each of their headphones so it is certainly a good choice for Focal headphone owners. I’ve noticed my Sony MDR-Z1R headphones sound far more neutral with the Arche than with my Sony TA-ZH1ES (an improvement in my opinion). It’s probably best to go to a dealer and listen in person. The Arche does have a few minor issues. There is no remote, the do it all dial control gets tedious to use and it does not retain the last setting but instead defaults to the 20 dB setting. Some have complained it gets hot after a period of use though I’ve not found that to be an issue for me. Hope that helps!

 

[DaYooper]

it gets hot after a period of use though

It does, that's what class "A" amplifiers do so I'm told. And since they say the Arche is dual class "A" amplifier I would expect it to get warm.

 

[ev666il]

There are a number of Schitt stacks so I guess it depends which stack you want to compare.

You are right, of course. A comparison to any Schiit stack, such as yours to an original Gungnir/Mjolnir combo, would have been useful so that’s the reason why I didn’t narrow it down to a specific combination that other Utopia owners may not have had any experience with.

I’m running a Bifrost 2 / Jotunheim combo with which I’m very happy, though I haven’t really had a chance to try the Utopia with it—and I won’t until I’m back from my holiday. I’m curious whether the Arche would be better, though I’d be surprised because the B2/Jot is really good.

 

[Mh996]

Now could someone compare Arche to the TT2, something a little higher in price?

 

[ArtCoreSF]

I have the Stellia and Arche, currently I am using my iMac as the Tidal source. Might you guys have suggestions for a dedicated, MQA capable, source ? The iMac gets hiccups while doing large images in Photoshop and playing Tidal. Thanks

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hugo2go great driving Utopia.

Merle Saunders & Jerry Garcia Keystone ‘Positively Fourth Street’ very emotive & musical. Jerry definitely makes it ‘...cry and sing’.

 

[iDesign]

Have had my utopia for about 2 months , bought brand new . This week the left driver died . I’ve contacted my dealer and it’s being sent back to focal .
sucks that driver failure is still going on with utopia even with their latest batches. .

I appreciate that you posted this. I was re-considering purchasing the Utopia but it seems they still have failures several years after their release.

 

[dontfeedphils]

I appreciate that you posted this. I was re-considering purchasing the Utopia but it seems they still have failures several years after their release.

That's what the 5 year warranty is for.

 

[Recursion]

That's what the 5 year warranty is for.

Until it will fail outside of that warranty and you end up paying for it yourself. Common driver failure on a TOTL headphone that costs €4000,- is simply unacceptable. Given that it happens so commonly indicates that it's likely a design flaw.

In other words, you are buying a product with which the question is not whether it will fail or not, but when it will fail.

Audeze had a similar problem with their LCD-4 headphones, but at least they have managed to fix it. With Utopia it still hasn't been apparently, even years after discovering the issue.

For me that means that I won't buy an Utopia headphone until this has been dealt with. No matter how good it may sound.

5 years of warranty isn't enough for a TOTL product, which you'd expect to last like 20 years. Especially for a product with such unsolved issues.

And this is coming from someone who owns an LCD-4 and had it's drivers fail before.