[Svatopluk]

Some audiophile gear rarely turns up on the used market, even years in.
Lately, I've seen a fair number of Utopias hitting the used market. It's surprising. I'm really hooked on these. Sure, bass is a little less than dominant, and spacing seems a little on the closed in side for an open. The bass is there, just more accommodating of the mids and highs (which I'm hoping the ifi Pro iCan might help with). The bass seems sort of like a 6'4" guy trying to hang in the background to let others in the room have the limelight. Separate from that, though, that "immediacy" I find in the Utopia is something I think is pretty hard to find outside of my decades old Stax, which always struck me as "fast but delicate, or fragile". The Utopias have such "confidence" in their "immediacy". Maybe I'm using words that make no sense, but whatever, they're just impressions. I dunno. Just seems weird to see them popping up on the used market fairly often.

I think unrealistic expectations may be one reason, along with folks needing to free up large amounts of cash.

 

[cskippy]

I also think Utopia, while sounding excellent out of a broad range of gear, is very sensitive to changes in your system. It's the first headphone I've used that had radical frequency response changes due to OI. So it can sound very lean and bright all the way to boomy and uncontrolled. IME, anything over 20 Ohm OI is too much with Utopia.

 

[Ekul61]

People that spend large sums of cash on headphone equipment are always chasing the “ receiver amp floor speaker quality sound”. Unfortunately this level of sound is not achievable with a speaker 1” away from the ear.

 

[baiyy1986]

Gears come and go, only those are patient enough will appreciate the pleasure.

 

[Justin_Time]

The excellence of the Utopia sounds makes me even that more acutely aware of its limitations, which are small, for sure, but definitely there.

In my system, the immediacy of the sound and the tight focus of the center image makes me long for just a little wider, more natural soundstage—the depth is already there, perhaps a bit too much of it, at the expense of the width. There is also a touch of bloom in the mid-bass, a slightly exaggerated decay that robs the sound of that last ounce of Impact. These are small imperfections that are a bit exaggerated here to facilitate their description.

I think I came close to removing these imperfections with just a simple change in my system. I replaced the Electro-Harmonic 6922 tubes in the ModWright Oppo 205 with a pair of Telefunken E88CC tubes. The mid-bass tightened up, the sound stage widened perceptibly showing nice details at the periphery, with no apparent change to the tight focus of the center image—the GS-X Mk2 was the constant head-amp used. The Utopia sounded better than I ever heard it sound.

Sadly, the pair of the Telefunken E88CC set me back $450! Is bthis the price to pay to squeeze the last ounce of goodness out of the Utopia? But then I hooked up my vinyl system (Avid SP/SME V/Lyra Titan) to the GS-X Mk2 and the sound was so glorious I may never go back to my digital system again, well, not until I get tired of cueing up the turntable and cleaning the records...SIGH!

 

[up late]

that's what audiophiles tend to do in their quest for audio perfection isn't it? some will go to more extreme and consequently, expensive lengths to attain it than others, however.

 

[FLTWS]

In my experience headphones will never reproduce sound like in room speakers any more than in room speakers will ever reproduce the sound I hear "live" in the concert hall.
I've heard dozens upon dozens of headphones and speakers (in a variety of treated and untreated listening rooms) over 5 decades and as I approach attending my 200th "live" concert in the next 2 or so years nothing I've ever heard, or expect to hear, will change my stance.

Each of the 3 listening experiences is unique in its own way and offers different pros and cons to the listener.There's nothing wrong with spending one's money to make the most of each.

 

[Ekul61]

In my experience headphones will never reproduce sound like in room speakers any more than in room speakers will ever reproduce the sound I hear "live" in the concert hall.
I've heard dozens upon dozens of headphones and speakers (in a variety of treated and untreated listening rooms) over 5 decades and as I approach attending my 200th "live" concert in the next 2 or so years nothing I've ever heard, or expect to hear, will change my stance.

Each of the 3 listening experiences is unique in its own way and offers different pros and cons to the listener.There's nothing wrong with spending one's money to make the most of each.

True at times the subwoofer amp buzz in the air at live concerts is missed within headphones

 

[Justin_Time]

In my experience headphones will never reproduce sound like in room speakers any more than in room speakers will ever reproduce the sound I hear "live" in the concert hall.
I've heard dozens upon dozens of headphones and speakers (in a variety of treated and untreated listening rooms) over 5 decades and as I approach attending my 200th "live" concert in the next 2 or so years nothing I've ever heard, or expect to hear, will change my stance.

Each of the 3 listening experiences is unique in its own way and offers different pros and cons to the listener.There's nothing wrong with spending one's money to make the most of each.

Excellent viewpoint. I fully agree.

Personally, I still hold the sound of a concert hall with live, non-amplified music as the gold standard, a goal to strive for. But it does not mean that I do not look forward to an evening relaxing in my comfortable chair and listening to my stereo. It ain’t Carnegie Hall, but it is still darn enjoyable.

 

[up late]

i hope the ol' headphone vs loudspeakers debate isn't resurrected yet again. it's derailed more threads than i care to recall. comparing listening to recorded music through headphones to attending a live musical performance is just as misguided imo. as @FLTWS said, they are distinctly different musical experiences.

 

[FLTWS]

Excellent viewpoint. I fully agree.

Personally, I still hold the sound of a concert hall with live, non-amplified music as the gold standard, a goal to strive for. But it does not mean that I do not look forward to an evening relaxing in my comfortable chair and listening to my stereo. It ain’t Carnegie Hall, but it is still darn enjoyable.

At home you can listen to what you want to when you want to. That's a pretty big plus for the home listening experience.

 

[Allanmarcus]

At home you can listen to what you want to when you want to. That's a pretty big plus for the home listening experience.

Not quite true. I cannot listen to live music at home! I can listen to recorded live music, but last time I invited Taylor Swift to play some songs while I cleaned the house, she politely declined.

 

[csglinux]

Not quite true. I cannot listen to live music at home! I can listen to recorded live music, but last time I invited Taylor Swift to play some songs while I cleaned the house, she politely declined.

B1tch!

 

[ubs28]

People that spend large sums of cash on headphone equipment are always chasing the “ receiver amp floor speaker quality sound”. Unfortunately this level of sound is not achievable with a speaker 1” away from the ear.

That is quite a generalisation isn't it? Even my IEM's have better sound quality than the B&W speakers a few friends of mine my have.

I'm so unimpressed by most speakers, that I even started saving up for some serious TOTL speakers (the Focal Utopia's are a possible contender).

 

[XVampireX]

Focal Kanta no.2 are supposedly TOTL as well, and they look amazing too

btw, enjoying my Focal Utopia headphones

P.S: People are deaf, for sure with all that "lacking bass" or "Soundstage"