[Allanmarcus]

Way overpriced, agreed. Unimpressive, disagree.

Unimpressive for $6k, that is.

 

[guerph]

That was me. I was confused about your statement and asked for clarification. Maybe take the defensiveness down a notch, I wasn't trying to start any sort of argument or mad about anything, just confused by your statement.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Hey dude! Nice to meet you on familiar turf. My few interactions on reddit always end up going in unexpected, sometimes confrontational directions. I just assumed that's where it was headed, so I ignored your last post. Does my explanation make more sense?

 

[Whitigir]

Way overpriced, agreed. Unimpressive, disagree.

Wasn’t this thing originally $8000 ?

 

[dontfeedphils]

Unimpressive for $6k, that is.

Oh for sure lol.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Out of curiosity- how close do people think the Utopias get to electrostatic speed?

I ask this because I was thinking if Beryillium could be perfected enough (in the future) to close the gap completely in this one area.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Hey dude! Nice to meet you on familiar turf. My few interactions on reddit always end up going in unexpected, sometimes confrontational directions. I just assumed that's where it was headed, so I ignored your last post. Does my explanation make more sense?

No worries, that sub is a love/hate relationship for sure. It's either budget-king objectivists yelling about measurements and snake oil or the extreme opposite, so I can understand wanting to avoid arguments on that board. I frequently let myself get drawn into them even though I really hate it.

I can see where you're coming from a bit better now. Sometimes it's hard for me to understand other people's motivations and/or reasons, so I like to try and get clarification before I get into any sort of serious discussion or debate (respectful debate, or course).

 

[Whitigir]

Out of curiosity- how close do people think the Utopias get to electrostatic speed?

I ask this because I was thinking if Beryillium could be perfected enough (in the future) to close the gap completely in this one area.

Very close, and Beryllium is no joke

 

[dontfeedphils]

Hey dude! Nice to meet you on familiar turf. My few interactions on reddit always end up going in unexpected, sometimes confrontational directions. I just assumed that's where it was headed, so I ignored your last post. Does my explanation make more sense?

Oh, and I'm a fan of the AFC as well lol. If I had a use case for a pair of closed back cans I'd be picking a set up tomorrow.

 

[llamaluv]

while I believe my Utopias are the better headphone, the AFC have fewer "strings" attached, which allow me to enjoy them just a little bit more than the Utopias

I appreciate this point of view. When you like how a pair of headphones sound, there's an extra satisfaction gained when you know they are just a good deal, price-wise (although for me personally, I'm not digging the AFC anymore, but that's a separate conversation and beside the point).

On a related note, the Ether C Flows are the headphones I'm listening to and liking the most right now -- even though they're closed-back and even though I like the Utopias for being more resolving, faster, having better dynamics, etc. Preferences and mood and all that, blah blah...

 

[judomaniak57]

Out of curiosity- how close do people think the Utopias get to electrostatic speed?

I ask this because I was thinking if Beryillium could be perfected enough (in the future) to close the gap completely in this one area.

very close. heard the stax 009 and utopias with the same source. preffered the utopias for more bass but other then that very close in speed and resolution. maybe with a cable upgrade the utopias may surpass the stax in the speed department

 

[Whitigir]

very close. heard the stax 009 and utopias with the same source. preffered the utopias for more bass but other then that very close in speed and resolution. maybe with a cable upgrade the utopias may surpass the stax in the speed department

Nothing dynamic can surpass Stax in speed, unless it is other ES or the next flagship...or so we all wishes lol

 

[Axel]

Does anyone know if the Leben CS300XS headphones output is sufficient to drive the Utopias?

 

[Allanmarcus]

Does anyone know if the Leben CS300XS headphones output is sufficient to drive the Utopias?

I would assume so. The output on my iPhone is sufficient.

Maybe you need to define "sufficient"

 

[Justin_Time]

I think we reached the "crazy" state with portable audio a while ago. I mean a $3500 DAP? It's here and people are buying it.

I wonder though about the bold section above. While generally true, from what I understand, many in China are reverse price sensitive; meaning they will only buy when the price is high. Might also be true to an extent in Japan. I wonder if more Utopias are sold in China priced at $4k rather than $3k.

Also, price is not always an indicator of good. Simply take the Susvara as an example. A thoroughly unimpressive $6k set of headphones.

How right you are.

I was not being thorough. In addition to the careless race toward perfection—price is no object—we have from the manufacturer side we have hype and greed and from the compnsimer vanity or elitist attitude or what ever you want to call the need to have only the best or most expensive of everything—and you,re right, they are not necessarily the same.

I can clearly hear the improvement between the HD800 and HD800S and I can accept the price increase. Likewise the HE-6 (?) and HE1000V2. The Utopia is clearly better than the Clear. But you are correct, The price difference between the Susvara and HE1000 is a lot harder to stomach given the apparently small sound improvement—I had only a fleeting moment of listening comparison in a rather noisy environment.

My initial point was to blame the price escalation on going far beyond the point of diminishing return. But you are probably right.. elistism or vanity or whatever you call it may have a lot more to do with that pricing, though I can assure you that the Chinese do not have a monopoly on that. I have plenty of friends who must have the best of everything, if only in cost and not in quality.

My advice for them was two-fold: there will always be something better/ more expensive that will come along so the moment on top of the hill will always be fleeting. But something better does not make what you have now sound worse.

This is exactly it, and I hear the same. 009 strikes a perfect balancing across the whole spectrum.
......
Until I made the T2, it was a game changer. It is like a surge of cleaner and more powerful of unlimited energy is pushing the 009 together with the tubes characteristic that enhanced the tonal body of the 009. Perfect fidelity! Perfectly balanced, perfectly neutral, perfect speed, very transparent and resolving.

Now, don’t be mistaken it, Utopia has all of the above characteristics. It is only that 009 and T2 does better. This was the reason why I said before, Utopia can hold it ground well enough beside the 009 even with KG amps....the only exceptions is That magical T2 of which has elevated the 009 to another level.... You can call it for being personal and subjective opinions because it just is

I wished I had the T2 to try on my 007–I could never pull the trigger on the 009–and see how much improvement I could make.

The Utopia needs a little faster decay, I.e. a little more control from the amp. That should open up the soundstage and improve the details A counter example is how poorly the Utopia sounds with a low-impedance OTL like the Apex Teton. Even my Woo WA5 does not work optimally with the Utopia at any impedance setting, though the combination perform better than the OTL/Utopia.

I think the Utopia needs a SS amp with a firm grip but without the hard edges.

 

[Axel]

I would assume so. The output on my iPhone is sufficient.

Maybe you need to define "sufficient"

You’re right. What I meant is can it drive the Utopias properly, extracting its dynamic ability without distorting at high output levels.

Thanks!