[Allanmarcus]

I probably have one of the older PMx2's, bought them off of @Venture Guy here about 2 years back.

If I go for Voce, I'm thinking to start off with the Lyr 2 (connected to the iESL through RCAs -or- the jack to XLR adapter), and some time later perhaps upgrade to one of the integrated amp+electrostat combo.

I'm not a lover of artificially bloated bass, I just like real bass/sub-bass.

I thought the Voce with the Blue Hawaii SE was very very good. Great bass, great tonality, and great detail. I'm not sure it was better that the Utopia, but as good. Generally, though, folks don't switch to stats if they like lots of bass.

 

[youurayy]

I thought the Voce with the Blue Hawaii SE was very very good. Great bass, great tonality, and great detail. I'm not sure it was better that the Utopia, but as good. Generally, though, folks don't switch to stats if they like lots of bass.

Well not having to hassle with an energizer seems like a good proposition. I'm also getting past the Tyll's 6kHz spike and the Utopia channel imbalance/build quality/fragility mental blocks -- these all should be gone by now I believe, not a risk, right?

 

[up late]

i don't find the utopia's bass wanting. if i want moar bass, then i can always reach for the th900. as for the 6khz spike, i don't notice it - unlike the hd800. i handle my utopia with care so its alleged fragility is not an issue for me.

 

[JimL11]

I'm trying to decide between Utopia and Voce (+iFi iESL).

Any thoughts?

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the iESL, because 1) I think the use of a battery for the bias supply is an overly expensive solution to a non-existent problem, 2) the bias supply lacks a safety resistor after battery, which has been a feature of the Stax converter boxes since their inception, and 3) I think a step-up signal transformer is not the best technical solution to driving an electrostatic headphone. Both Stax and Koss, the most experienced electrostatic headphone manufacturers, no longer supply a transformer converter for their headphones, and I think that is saying something.

I thought the Voce with the Blue Hawaii SE was very very good. Great bass, great tonality, and great detail. I'm not sure it was better that the Utopia, but as good. Generally, though, folks don't switch to stats if they like lots of bass.

I have listened briefly to the Voce on the BHSE (same one that Allan listened to, I think), and I feel it is comparable to the Stax SR-007 Mk2 with port mod. The Utopia is a bit brighter than the Stax, has a bit more impact, but I thought it was a bit more confused sounding on a classical piece I heard (Elgar's Cello Concerto), although granted I was driving the Utopia with a HeadAmp Gilmore Lite, which is a budget amp. Obviously, the advantage of the Utopia is that it doesn't need a dedicated amp, although if you are into DIY, you could build a nice DIY stat amp for the difference in price between the Utopia and a Stax SR-007.

 

[youurayy]

Placed the *order. Then the shop called me, told me they just got a new shipment from Focal. \o/
*Utopias

 

[jwbrent]

Placed the *order. Then the shop called me, told me they just got a new shipment from Focal. \o/
*Utopias

Congrats!

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

But before watching glaciers melt?

man that might be quicker then you think thanks for making me sad!!!

I thought the Voce with the Blue Hawaii SE was very very good. Great bass, great tonality, and great detail. I'm not sure it was better that the Utopia, but as good. Generally, though, folks don't switch to stats if they like lots of bass.

I heard the Voce on the same system and thought it ROCKED. I listened to "Hatian Divorce" for the first time on that and I was sold lol. I liked that it wasn't bright, but a smooth fast sound instead.

I got the Royal Scam album playing right now again on the Utopia/Watson combo. Still love that song!

 

[youurayy]

Congrats!

Thanks, I happened to order Audio-GD - R2R 11 *and* Audio-GD - NFB 11.38 TCXO on the same day, I yearn for some signature swapping.
*and a silver cable for Utopia

I heard the Voce on the same system and thought it ROCKED. I listened to "Hatian Divorce" for the first time on that and I was sold lol. I liked that it wasn't bright, but a smooth fast sound instead.

I got the Royal Scam album playing right now again on the Utopia/Watson combo. Still love that song!

But how would you position Utopia vs Voce in absolute (subjective) terms?

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Thanks, I happened to order Audio-GD - R2R 11 *and* Audio-GD - NFB 11.38 TCXO on the same day, I yearn for some signature swapping.
*and a silver cable for Utopia



But how would you position Utopia vs Voce in absolute (subjective) terms?

Speed the Voce wins,
Treble- the Utopia is easily sharper
Bass and mids I would have to do an A/B.

I listened to the Voce for about 3-4 songs and that was it. All from recollection and any more thoughts from memory wouldn’t be fair.

 

[LCMusicLover]

ok then, i'll get to that review right after i've finished watching the paint dry

But before watching glaciers melt?

man that might be quicker then you think thanks for making me sad!!!

Sorry, I know just where you're coming from. It's a silly joke from back when my kids were small and playing Little League. When they first started pitching, we used to argue whether watching them play was more like watching paint dry or glaciers melt. We would cheer for every strike, no matter which team was up, just praying that the game would end.

 

[kvn864]

Generally, though, folks don't switch to stats if they like lots of bass.

that was the main reason I sold L700. they are awesome, little light on bass

 

[Swiftfalcon]

Just curious about one thing about Utopia. Is there any dac amp combo that makes them sound intolerable. I mean so far I have tried to plug them into various combos of all my dacs and amps. It sounds stellar out of everything. I didn’t try straight out of phone or computer of course but I suspect even those should sound tolerable.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Just curious about one thing about Utopia. Is there any dac amp combo that makes them sound intolerable. I mean so far I have tried to plug them into various combos of all my dacs and amps. It sounds stellar out of everything. I didn’t try straight out of phone or computer of course but I suspect even those should sound tolerable.

I think they sound like crap out of a Sony UDA-1

 

[youurayy]

Oh my dear god, these are a whole new dimension in and on itself.
And everything is perfect - stage width, bass, imaging = reality.
Worth every single penny!

 

[Progisus]

I think they sound like crap out of a Sony UDA-1

Just curious about one thing about Utopia. Is there any dac amp combo that makes them sound intolerable. I mean so far I have tried to plug them into various combos of all my dacs and amps. It sounds stellar out of everything. I didn’t try straight out of phone or computer of course but I suspect even those should sound tolerable.

For me:

mojo - seem to struggle
hugo 2 - great
hugo tt - stellar
A&K Sp1000 - great

I think they sound best with the TT because of it's power reserve.
I know a lot of people don't believe in break in but I am still finding the sound improving with time from the Utopias and it was great out of the box.