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Focal Utopia General Discussion
Jan 18, 2021 at 2:03 PM Post #13,801 of 20,536
Having my Utopia on the way i wonder about the amp. Currently i use an Audiovalve Solaris which i consider to sell. I plan to to use the Utopia as the only headphone (or together with Ananda and HD600/650) and if i don't like it i sell all headphone related stuff and just stick with mobile and speakers.

Of course i'll give the Solaris + Utopia combination a shot but the Solaris has so much more power than i ever need and that's not good for energy consumption + it gets quite warm.

So maybe i'll change to a smaller amp.

Is there any amp that pairs well with the Utopia that fullfills the following criteria:


- solid state or changeable to tubes (like ICan) (no pure tube amp)
- preamp function
- remote control
- available in EU
- good measurements

?
 
Jan 18, 2021 at 4:21 PM Post #13,802 of 20,536
Someone heard the Utopia with the SH-9?
 
Jan 19, 2021 at 3:14 PM Post #13,804 of 20,536
Love the Sp200 with the Utopia HP 🥰

PSX_20210119_210408.jpg
 
Jan 19, 2021 at 4:49 PM Post #13,805 of 20,536
iamoneagain said:
So I just did a quick comparison of the stock cable to the Danacable Lazuli Reference cable and the Danacable is not going anywhere. It’s just so engaging with it on. The stock sounds slightly dull in comparison. When I had the stock on it, it made me miss the Dave, thinking that’s what was producing the engaging sound. But once I had it back on, all the magic was back while using the Arche. Strange how much effect a cable can make.

I was testing with Big Star’s #1 Record. Lots of nice electric guitars and harmonies to compare with. It’s not that the stock is bad but makes want to look for some kind of upgrade. But with the cable on, downgrading to the Arche doesn’t have me once looking to hook the Dave back up.
Click to expand...

Just an update. I got my Danacable back last week with the new Furutech 4-pin XLR. Now I can’t compare how it sounds to single ended version but did listen single end original cable vs the balanced Danacable. It’s definitely a big upgrade.

You can hear there’s more power and the mids really come alive. The same track on original has nice flow and warm bass but the rest feels slightly filtered compared to the Danacable. You hear more detail and soundstage opens up. The whole time I was waiting for the cable to return I could tell where the improvements would be. Happy to have it back.
 
Jan 20, 2021 at 8:41 PM Post #13,811 of 20,536
Deolum said:
Having my Utopia on the way i wonder about the amp. Currently i use an Audiovalve Solaris which i consider to sell. I plan to to use the Utopia as the only headphone (or together with Ananda and HD600/650) and if i don't like it i sell all headphone related stuff and just stick with mobile and speakers.

Of course i'll give the Solaris + Utopia combination a shot but the Solaris has so much more power than i ever need and that's not good for energy consumption + it gets quite warm.

So maybe i'll change to a smaller amp.

Is there any amp that pairs well with the Utopia that fullfills the following criteria:


- solid state or changeable to tubes (like ICan) (no pure tube amp)
- preamp function
- remote control
- available in EU
- good measurements

?
Click to expand...
It's a relatively easy headphone to drive. I've listened to it on any number of amps with excellent results. FWIW, when I first auditioned the Utopia at CanJam where I ended up buying it, Focal were demoing it on the top of the line Questyle stack. Most recently, I've run it through a Rogue Audio RH-5 headphone amp, which is a tube/SS hybrid. Quite excellent. It really comes down to personal taste and feature set in terms of figuring out the best amp for you.
 
Jan 20, 2021 at 9:18 PM Post #13,812 of 20,536
meomap said:
Maybe 2022...once Covid19 going away by then?
Early Utopia adopter here since 2016.
Still sounds so dam good.....not looking for alternative yet....
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It's been long enough where I feel like maybe they could've made an improvement. We all love new toys.
 
Jan 20, 2021 at 9:20 PM Post #13,813 of 20,536
moemoney said:
Slow down I just purchase theses a few weeks ago, there new to me.
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Lol, if I had a new C7 Vette and the C8 dropped. I would not mind drooling over the new one. That's life. Something new always comes around making our current love inferior.
 
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Jan 21, 2021 at 6:26 AM Post #13,815 of 20,536
BassicScience said:
It's a relatively easy headphone to drive. I've listened to it on any number of amps with excellent results. FWIW, when I first auditioned the Utopia at CanJam where I ended up buying it, Focal were demoing it on the top of the line Questyle stack. Most recently, I've run it through a Rogue Audio RH-5 headphone amp, which is a tube/SS hybrid. Quite excellent. It really comes down to personal taste and feature set in terms of figuring out the best amp for you.
Click to expand...
I've devided to try the Phonitor X now.

The Audiovalve Solaris is just too powerful. Of course it can drive it but i listen on the lowest gain and the volume knob is on 1/10.
 
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