[up late]

answers to your first question from a few pages back:

No

... as @dontfeedphils posted, the only revisions to the utopia that can be confirmed here are to the packaging and accessories...

with regard to your second question, it depends on who you ask. some utopia owners have had driver failures and others have not.

 

[thecrow]

Are there any differences between the pre-2020 and current production model other than cables and accessories?
And where are we at with realiability with drivers

answers to your first question from a few pages back:




with regard to your second question, it depends on who you ask. some utopia owners have had driver failures and others have not.

And before you ask, warranty is covered in post #1 of this thread

 

[JLoud]

I understand this is an honest question(driver failure), but I don't think I could take another round of driver failure ranting. Of course I just had a Takatsuki rectifier die at just under a year( hopefully covered under warranty) so I get it for those who did have a failure.

 

[thecrow]

It’s almost here.....

 

[Tanalasta]

I understand this is an honest question(driver failure), but I don't think I could take another round of driver failure ranting. Of course I just had a Takatsuki rectifier die at just under a year( hopefully covered under warranty) so I get it for those who did have a failure.

It was an honest question ... I was enquiring whether they had made any meaningful changes to reduce the incidence of the problem.

The toxicity notice in the Utopia package is also eye opening. There's already a thread on that. That said, initial impressions are Utopia are remarkably easy to drive ; scale well and respond to different elements in the DAC/amp stage. Somewhat tighter clamp force - I'd prefer if they removed the fragile Carbon and shaved a few dollars off. Lovely dynamics, detail and separation. A rather intimate, spherical soundstage compared to the HD800S. Doesn't seem underpowered straight out of the Hugo and should be beautiful out of the SP2000 balanced output which has a similar power output.

Pairs surprisingly well to a Hugo 2. The high roll off filter helps tame the treble on certain tracks and ameliorates the fatiguability.

I am currently 15 minutes of 'burn in' - listening to Lang Lang at the movies.

 

[Frankie D]

It was an honest question ... I was enquiring whether they had made any meaningful changes to reduce the incidence of the problem.

The toxicity notice in the Utopia package is also eye opening. There's already a thread on that. That said, initial impressions are Utopia are remarkably easy to drive ; scale well and respond to different elements in the DAC/amp stage. Somewhat tighter clamp force - I'd prefer if they removed the fragile Carbon and shaved a few dollars off. Lovely dynamics, detail and separation. A rather intimate, spherical soundstage compared to the HD800S. Doesn't seem underpowered straight out of the Hugo and should be beautiful out of the SP2000 balanced output which has a similar power output.

Pairs surprisingly well to a Hugo 2. The high roll off filter helps tame the treble on certain tracks and ameliorates the fatiguability.

I am currently 15 minutes of 'burn in' - listening to Lang Lang at the movies.

How do you like it compared to your Empy?

Please let me know your thoughts vs the Traillii as well when you get them. That is one of my 2 favorite IEM’s. Tks.

 

[Tanalasta]

The Trailii's are somewhere between Amsterdam and God knows what customs ... I don't think they're due to arrive till well into next week. I'm hopeful they will be somewhere between the Utopia and Empy's but can be driven out of anything ... i.e. sound magnificent out of my SP2000 without having to buy an amp.

The Empyrean's and Utopia are tonally quite different. The Empy's really need power to open up and show their best. The SP2000/Hugo2 isn't enough ... plug them into the same type of amp you'd drive the LCD-4 out of. They deserve it. They have a silky smooth, musical tonality and timbre to them that is best listened to rather than described. Underpowered, they sound congested and dull with inadequate dynamic drive. They're the headphone I would use if I want to lie on a recliner and just chilax. The separation isn't quite Utopia but apart from Susvara, I'm not sure what is.

The Utopia are my 'plug into anything' option. The other was the HE1kse but nobody had one for me to audition. They've heavy, clam somewhat tight and not as comfortable. But at least they won't fall off if I tilt my head. I'm finding them slightly bright which may/may not improve with burn-in. The detail and separation and very enjoyable. A cooler (but slightly warm) side of neutral as opposed to the Empy's warm neutral. And enough of a bass kick when required, which the HD800S sorely lacks.

These Utopia's are literally 3 hours out of a box. So these are fresh impressions.

The Susvara are undeniably better than Utopia and Empyrean but are a bitch to drive. Like seriously need to spend double the headphone cost on an amp to get the most out of them. The last time I auditioned the Susvara, the chain was ROON -> Mind2 -> Moon 430HAD.

 

[LarsMan]

Oh such a great stand.

The Trailii's are somewhere between Amsterdam and God knows what customs ... I don't think they're due to arrive till well into next week. I'm hopeful they will be somewhere between the Utopia and Empy's but can be driven out of anything ... i.e. sound magnificent out of my SP2000 without having to buy an amp.

The Empyrean's and Utopia are tonally quite different. The Empy's really need power to open up and show their best. The SP2000/Hugo2 isn't enough ... plug them into the same type of amp you'd drive the LCD-4 out of. They deserve it. They have a silky smooth, musical tonality and timbre to them that is best listened to rather than described. Underpowered, they sound congested and dull with inadequate dynamic drive. They're the headphone I would use if I want to lie on a recliner and just chilax. The separation isn't quite Utopia but apart from Susvara, I'm not sure what is.

The Utopia are my 'plug into anything' option. The other was the HE1kse but nobody had one for me to audition. They've heavy, clam somewhat tight and not as comfortable. But at least they won't fall off if I tilt my head. I'm finding them slightly bright which may/may not improve with burn-in. The detail and separation and very enjoyable. A cooler (but slightly warm) side of neutral as opposed to the Empy's warm neutral. And enough of a bass kick when required, which the HD800S sorely lacks.

These Utopia's are literally 3 hours out of a box. So these are fresh impressions.

The Susvara are undeniably better than Utopia and Empyrean but are a bitch to drive. Like seriously need to spend double the headphone cost on an amp to get the most out of them. The last time I auditioned the Susvara, the chain was ROON -> Mind2 -> Moon 430HAD.

That's interesting to hear your thoughts! I have both an Empyrean and a Utopia (and a ZMF Verite Open), and found both Utopia and Empyrean very easy to drive out of anything. Some of the edge will come off of your Utopia after 100 hours or so of burn-in; I've found that any headphone needs at least that long to sound its best. To my tastes, the Empyreans were too 'dark' sounding and a bit muddy no matter what I played them through - Hugo 2, iFi iCAN, Lyr 3, Quicksilver Tube Headphone Amp and didn't sound all that different between any of them. The Utopias, though, for my tastes, were very different depending on the amp. Through the Lyr 3, I was getting ready to return them - harsh, shouty, very little soundstage, etc. Putting them through the Quicksilver amp, though, it was the best of all 6 headphones I own, and will be selling Abyss Diana V2, Hifiman HE-1000 V2, and Empyreans, and keeping Utopia and ZMF (I also had LSA HD-1's, but I already sold them). Utopia and that Quicksilver tube amp sound like they were designed for each other. But maybe I just like the sound of dynamics more than planars? ZMF sounds awesome through that amp, too. I dunno - everybody's got different ears and different brains!!

 

[thecrow]

Are we there yet??

 

[thecrow]

Almost.
Very almost.

 

[thecrow]

Just around the corner now.....

 

[thecrow]

999...

 

[thecrow]

I give up...this is taking too long and I have to get some sleep...

(it’s 2:10 am here)

 

[thecrow]

Happy

when we get there

 

[SalR406]

when we get there

Get where? *wink*