[tradyblix]

Silver's not bright ? Ummm. But... isnt' that the reason it's used on so called "Warm" headphones... to uh, brighten them up ?

Sometimes I feel like cable enthusiasts have their cake and also eat it.

 

[montanari]

My silver widow doesn't bright them
Insted it improves (a tiny bit) their quality
I don t believe in miracles snake cables! But the toxic silver widow sounds different (for me a bit better) from the stock. That it s also not bad. It s a sommercable so same quality of a Belden or a mogami that are perfectly working cables

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I played around with DSP in Roon to tame the Utopia for some badly mastered music following Crinacle's settings for the Utopia. In my DSP list, I have some other headphone settings saved. It turns out that the HD800S setting is vastly superior for the Focal Utopia than the dedicated preset. The HD800S one tames a tiny bit of the highs, and that's basically it - just perfect. Anybody else made this experience?

 

[iamoneagain]

I played around with DSP in Roon to tame the Utopia for some badly mastered music following Crinacle's settings for the Utopia. In my DSP list, I have some other headphone settings saved. It turns out that the HD800S setting is vastly superior for the Focal Utopia than the dedicated preset. The HD800S one tames a tiny bit of the highs, and that's basically it - just perfect. Anybody else made this experience?

If you do some search you find some finely tuned settings you can make for the Utopia’s. I tried them when you had the Hugo 2 and was trying to help the thinner sound. It helped in the bass but I thought changed the mids and highs too much for my tastes. It took away what I liked in the Uptopia’s. Think there was a more basic bass boost setting someone posted and that helped but in the end, decided that liked it better without EQ.

Since moving on from the Hugo 2, the Chord Dave and the Focal Arche don’t need any adjustments. Have just the right balance. Not sure why the Utopia’s can sound bright and thinner out of some setups.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Silver's not bright ? Ummm. But... isnt' that the reason it's used on so called "Warm" headphones... to uh, brighten them up ?

Sometimes I feel like cable enthusiasts have their cake and also eat it.

...by some. Why would a 17% improvement in conductance cause a different sound? Sorry, this doesn't jive with my experiences whatsoever. Some might confuse the added detail retrieval with "brightness" but careful listening has shown this is not the issue based on my experiences.

 

[weipei]

I am a newbie in Head-fi
I am about to receive my Focal Utopia. I need recommendations for the setup, DAC, Amp, Cable, etc.
I've been using hd 600 sennheiser with a low budget DAC/Amp combo.

here are my interests:
1) almost 100% classical, especially orchestra and opera
2) I love hi quality music very much but I am not highly critical on technical revelations. instead i pay more attention to just enjoy the music. Good pieces, either being heard 100 times or the 1st time, always attract my attention, no matter where they are spelled out from.
3) budget is not a big concern for me, because for some reasons I can't listen to music or watch movies/TV on a home system. So I can pour all the money saved on the home system into this system.
4) my source files are mainly CD quality and some 320k mp3's
5) without COVID, I go to live concerts about 3 times a year.
6) the setup would work with other possible high quality cans considering possible future expansion of my collection.

I would really appreciate the inputs from more advanced/expert head-fi fans in this forum.

wei pei

 

[Roasty]

.. budget is not a big concern..

The sky is the limit!

If centering around the Utopia, and I could do it all again and also try some new stuff too..

Arctic Cables Palladium series
DNA Stellaris
DCS Bartok/Rossini
AudioQuest 3000/5000 or Puritan blocks
some nice power cords and nice interconnects

 

[Audio Addict]

I am a newbie in Head-fi
I am about to receive my Focal Utopia. I need recommendations for the setup, DAC, Amp, Cable, etc.
I've been using hd 600 sennheiser with a low budget DAC/Amp combo.

here are my interests:
1) almost 100% classical, especially orchestra and opera
2) I love hi quality music very much but I am not highly critical on technical revelations. instead i pay more attention to just enjoy the music. Good pieces, either being heard 100 times or the 1st time, always attract my attention, no matter where they are spelled out from.
3) budget is not a big concern for me, because for some reasons I can't listen to music or watch movies/TV on a home system. So I can pour all the money saved on the home system into this system.
4) my source files are mainly CD quality and some 320k mp3's
5) without COVID, I go to live concerts about 3 times a year.
6) the setup would work with other possible high quality cans considering possible future expansion of my collection.

I would really appreciate the inputs from more advanced/expert head-fi fans in this forum.

wei pei

I would suggest trying to find a good dealer when looking to set up a system around the Utopias. I use a DirectStream DAC with a RSA Apache and Roon. For cabling I use WyWires Platinum USB and headphone cables but a Zavfino balanced Fusion between the DAC and amplifier. I also have an Exogal Comet Plus connected with a Fusion.

If you are on the west coast in the LA area, I would suggest contacting Jason at the Source AV.

 

[LarsMan]

I am a newbie in Head-fi
I am about to receive my Focal Utopia. I need recommendations for the setup, DAC, Amp, Cable, etc.
I've been using hd 600 sennheiser with a low budget DAC/Amp combo.

here are my interests:
1) almost 100% classical, especially orchestra and opera
2) I love hi quality music very much but I am not highly critical on technical revelations. instead i pay more attention to just enjoy the music. Good pieces, either being heard 100 times or the 1st time, always attract my attention, no matter where they are spelled out from.
3) budget is not a big concern for me, because for some reasons I can't listen to music or watch movies/TV on a home system. So I can pour all the money saved on the home system into this system.
4) my source files are mainly CD quality and some 320k mp3's
5) without COVID, I go to live concerts about 3 times a year.
6) the setup would work with other possible high quality cans considering possible future expansion of my collection.

I would really appreciate the inputs from more advanced/expert head-fi fans in this forum.

wei pei

I have a set of Utopias and several other phones; when I played Utopia on my Schiit Lyr 3 amp, with a good tube, it sounded good, OK, but I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. A few weeks ago I picked up a new tube amp (see below) to replace the Lyr 3, and it took the Utopia to another dimension. I was getting ready to sell Utopia; not anymore! It sounded better with the new amp than the others did; coincidentally, or not, Utopia is dynamic and the others I have are planar. But for my personal preference, I would definitely go with tube over SS for Utopia...

 

[weipei]

If you are on the west coast in the LA area, I would suggest contacting Jason at the Source AV.

yes, I am in SoCal. is it https://www.thesourceav.com/?

 

[Audio Addict]

yes, I am in SoCal. is it https://www.thesourceav.com/?

Yes

 

[Halimj7]

When I drive my Utopias with the Sony TA-Zh1es the bass really slams and is quite full especially in the mid bass. Does the Audeze LCD-4 really have better bass than the Utopia?

 

[Hoegaardener70]

LCD-4's bass is lush like sitting in a comfy sofa, with highs being dulled down. Utopia's bass hits you with its clarity and sophistication. I know what I prefer, but it would be nice to hang out on the sofa occasionally, I assume.

 

[gnomen]

I just got Lazuli Reference on Monday - still breaking it in - but the thickness doesn't bother me at all, because it's so totally flexible.

Mine is on order, coming in a few weeks I hope, international shipping & customs permitting.
Do let us know how your cable sounds once you have had a chance to break it in. Thanks.

 

[gnomen]

I am about to receive my Focal Utopia. I need recommendations for the setup, DAC, Amp, Cable, etc.

I am using my brand new Focal Utopia with the Chord TT2 DAC and it sounds magnificent. Still waiting for my Lazuli Reference cable. I cannot imagine the combo could sound even better with a better cable, but everyone says that here, so I am up for giving it a try.
Over on the Chord TT2 thread there are many Utopia users who swear by the combo and are confident the TT2 output has plenty of power without the need for an additional headphone amp. That's my experience too. If you have not auditioned Chord DAC technology they use their own programming rather than a third party DAC chip, with some amazing results. It is worth taking the time to check out one of the Chord DAC models before committing elsewhere.
That said, Focal's own Arche DAC/Headphone Amp also seems to be well regarded. I have not heard it myself because I already own the TT2. If I were in your position it would be on my shortlist to try.

Good luck and keep us posted!