[llamaluv]

I just asked Roy at Arctic Cable to make me a set of short adaptors. He uses quality plugs and solder and the build quality is great. It was easy enough to swap them out for quick a/b testing. It felt (and sounded) like I had been doing the headphones an injustice by not using the proper adaptors in the first place.

Oh very cool. Except... (sigh) I am probably going to have to look into this and do a test as well, haha.

 

[Roasty]

Oh very cool. Except... (sigh) I am probably going to have to look into this and do a test as well, haha.

Lol! Sorry man.. Haha

These were the ones he made for me for my palladium cable. Really nice plugs!

 

[thecrow]

I just asked Roy at Arctic Cable to make me a set of short adaptors. He uses quality plugs and solder and the build quality is great. It was easy enough to swap them out for quick a/b testing. It felt (and sounded) like I had been doing the headphones an injustice by not using the proper adaptors in the first place.

I have those (for the signum +) but i also have some norne - they are cheaper and a bit longer (about 6 inches). I prefer the norne - i have silver draug (and some volsund as i have a volsund main cable as well as a silver draug)

there will most likely be a longer waiting period with the norne audio however

 

[iceanddice]

someone had reported earlier in the thread that their utopia's magnets were not red in colour but grey. marine @FocalOfficial posted that they should be red.

yeah, was wondering if there’s an update on it, since I had mine repaired by our authorized distro.

 

[gnomen]

I've just started following this thread since I am contemplating a Focal Utopia purchase. Isn't the manufacturer's own cable considered rather special - and quite expensive - so why would more be needed?

 

[THGM]

I've just started following this thread since I am contemplating a Focal Utopia purchase. Isn't the manufacturer's own cable considered rather special - and quite expensive - so why would more be needed?

You had me going there for a minute, I thought I wasn't logged in to Head-Fi.....

 

[XeNoNF50]

Even telling people I paid $1500 for a headphone amp sounds crazy to them. Only told my wife how much I paid for the Dave and mscaler after I sold it. She thought the Hugo 2 was only worth $500 based off its size.

Yeah real life people don't understand My head-fi family does, though.

 

[Deolum]

What is your experience with utopia and durability? I wan't to pick up one used but i don't want that the drivers fail after a few month and i have to pay the same price for repair costs. I remember in a Hifiman thread someone said the trick is to buy older units used because once the drivers live for 6 month they'll hold forever.

I only bought one headphone new, the Grado GS1000e, and this headphone broke already two times within one year.

In my country there are usually three versions of Utopias to get:

1. unknown age and multiple owners ~ 2000 €

2. around 6-12 month old with bill which means 12-18 month warranty from the store and maybe 3 more years warranty from Focal if they're accomodating ~ 2500 €

3. new Utopia with 5 years warranty from Focal ~ 4000 €.

Which one to get?

 

[Recursion]

What is your experience with utopia and durability? I wan't to pick up one used but i don't want that the drivers fail after a few month and i have to pay the same price for repair costs. I remember in a Hifiman thread someone said the trick is to buy older units used because once the drivers live for 6 month they'll hold forever.

I only bought one headphone new, the Grado GS1000e, and this headphone broke already two times within one year.

In my country there are usually three versions of Utopias to get:

1. unknown age and multiple owners ~ 2000 €

2. around 6-12 month old with bill which means 12-18 month warranty from the store and maybe 3 more years warranty from Focal if they're accomodating ~ 2500 €

3. new Utopia with 5 years warranty from Focal ~ 4000 €.

Which one to get?

I for one would buy a new Utopia, since it will have 5 years of warranty and the newest revision of the drivers, if they have ever been revised.

You are also most likely to get the new accessories pack with them. With the newer cables and case in it.

Getting a 6 - 12 old pair is also viable, if your on a tighter budget. The chance is quite big to get the newer cables with them as well.

The other options you mentioned I wouldn't even consider to be honest. You will never know their real age, nor know how many owners it had, let alone how well they looked after it.

Saying that drivers that are at least 6 months old are unlikely to ever fail is bull. While they have shown to be a decent pair at that point in time, they can still always fail. For example say your amp will die and take the headphones down with it.

The older electronic devices get, the more likely they are to fail obviously. Not the other way around.

 

[dontfeedphils]

What is your experience with utopia and durability? I wan't to pick up one used but i don't want that the drivers fail after a few month and i have to pay the same price for repair costs. I remember in a Hifiman thread someone said the trick is to buy older units used because once the drivers live for 6 month they'll hold forever.

I only bought one headphone new, the Grado GS1000e, and this headphone broke already two times within one year.

In my country there are usually three versions of Utopias to get:

1. unknown age and multiple owners ~ 2000 €

2. around 6-12 month old with bill which means 12-18 month warranty from the store and maybe 3 more years warranty from Focal if they're accomodating ~ 2500 €

3. new Utopia with 5 years warranty from Focal ~ 4000 €.

Which one to get?

Buy whatever one fits your budget and make sure you get the original invoice from an authorized dealer, as that's the only way to get the 5 year (transferable) warranty.

There aren't revisions to the drivers (that anyone knows about) and there's no data to suggest newer versions are significantly more reliable than older ones.

This has been discussed at length, even just recently.

 

[Deolum]

Buy whatever one fits your budget and make sure you get the original invoice from an authorized dealer, as that's the only way to get the 5 year (transferable) warranty.

There aren't revisions to the drivers (that anyone knows about) and there's no data to suggest newer versions are significantly more reliable than older ones.

This has been discussed at length, even just recently.

Oh so it's transferable? I heard like 10 times it's transferable and also 10 times it's not.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Oh so it's transferable? I heard like 10 times it's transferable and also 10 times it's not.

It's 5 years and transferable, assuming the original purchaser bought from an authorized dealer and provides the original invoice to you.

 

[Deolum]

It's 5 years and transferable, assuming the original purchaser bought from an authorized dealer and provides the original invoice to you.

Who told you that or can i read that anywhere?

 

[dontfeedphils]

Who told you that or can i read that anywhere?

It's linked in the first post of this thread.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-utopia-general-discussion.811273/post-14843479

 

[TheMiddleSky]

What happened in the end? Did u get a replacement or still using it as it is?

The Utopia belongs to my friend. He still use it and works perfectly fine too.