So my local dealer graciously let me take the Utopias home for a couple of weeks.
Initial impressions-I'm not wowed (yet). Tonally they sound very nice but listening to Fleetwood Mac "Songbird" I heard some sibilance in the vocal and the precise imaging I was expecting is not there at this point.
I'm thinking there could be two things at play here why I'm not wowed (yet), it's possible they don't have enough hours on them (most likely), i forgot to ask him, or the Vega I'm using is not a good match, it can be a tad bright anyway.
I'm also using an Aries and Woo WA5 LE (old version).
I really want to love these, but at this point they don't clearly beat my HD800 with Sonarworks (to my ears).
I have the Utopia for around 3 months already and i must say that the Imaging of Utopia is the best that i have heard from a headphone system ( Previously i owned HD800, Stax SR-009 with KGSSHV 500v and auditioned a lot of Hi-End fullsize headphone). The way Utopia recreate the imaging or i would say the "stage" is very accurate with highest level of pin-point localization. I can actually feel that the instrument is right there exactly at that point. The second thing that is impressive about the Utopia is that it's the most dynamic headphone that i tried and it comes very close to a high-end speaker setup. You can try listen to my reference song:
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo. This song showcases the best qualities of Focal Utopia and will cause lots of problems even with hi-end speaker system.
A lot of people complaint about sibilance with headphones like Utopia and SR-009. I think you guys should take a closer look at the source of your System (AC Power, Digital Components, Cable, etc). This might be the root of the problem. Actually, Hi-End headphones such as Utopia and SR-009 is extremely detailed that's why it will reveal a lot of "error" in your system, may it be the power supply, cable, grounding, etc. Currently in my system, i have to use Nordost Sort Kone under the Macbook power adaptor and place it near the Nordost QX4 or sibilance will occur.
Here is the components that i use to drive Utopia:
- Siltech Duchness Cable for Utopia
- Macbook Pro 2014 with Audirvana Plus
- DAC: Exogal Comet Plus
- Amp: Microzotl 2 with Mullard and Sophia tubes
- Nordost QRT QX4 Power Conditioner
- Nordost Qb8 power distributor
- 3 Nordost Heimdall Power cord, 1 Heimdall RCA, 1 Frey Power Cord, 1 Vahalla 2 USB Cable
- 4 Nordost Qv2
- Nordost Sort Kone TC and AC
- Nordost Qline grounding cable and another DIY grounding cable