Dadracer
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2012
- Posts
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- 182
Finally I got the opportunity of listening to the Focal Utopias (and Elears briefly) today. I found the bass to be very well extended and organic but with none of the bloat which that can often result in. The mids were as neutral as I have heard on any headphone and the treble was smooth but a little too smooth. The stereo imaging was great for width but not as airy or so great at depth. So overall a very fine headphone indeed although not as earth shattering or reference defining as I was anticipating from the many reviews I had seen.
I compared them to a set of HD800S via the same headphone amp across a number of tracks and across a number of music styles. The HD800S is lighter in the bass, equal in neutrality through the mids but with greater clarity in the treble. The stereo width was very similar but the depth was greater and an overall airier feel to the music.
I didn't have the ability to match the volume on the headphones with absolute accuracy as they are quite different in efficiency so i cannot be certain if there was much difference in dynamics between them.
Overall I was surprised that I did not find an definitive winner as I had preferences for each headphone in different areas. I guess then the HD800S would win on a technicality due to the difference in price.
Anyway this is just my view and clearly there are loads of folks who hear it differently to me.
Oh and the Elears were good but not in the same league as the Utopia or HD800S. They had a rather over warm bass and rolled off top end. The mids were great but the imaging was less good in terms of width and depth. Again this is my impression only.
I compared them to a set of HD800S via the same headphone amp across a number of tracks and across a number of music styles. The HD800S is lighter in the bass, equal in neutrality through the mids but with greater clarity in the treble. The stereo width was very similar but the depth was greater and an overall airier feel to the music.
I didn't have the ability to match the volume on the headphones with absolute accuracy as they are quite different in efficiency so i cannot be certain if there was much difference in dynamics between them.
Overall I was surprised that I did not find an definitive winner as I had preferences for each headphone in different areas. I guess then the HD800S would win on a technicality due to the difference in price.
Anyway this is just my view and clearly there are loads of folks who hear it differently to me.
Oh and the Elears were good but not in the same league as the Utopia or HD800S. They had a rather over warm bass and rolled off top end. The mids were great but the imaging was less good in terms of width and depth. Again this is my impression only.