[tekkster]

I'm hoping to get an extended demo with this setup before the end of the year. I'm torn between hoping it's as transformational as some claim and hoping I can't tell a difference so I can spend that money on something else lol.

100% my thinking and conflicting hopes.

 

[LCMusicLover]

So what I’m getting from this thread is that you have an agenda and/or aren’t bothering to read the responses.

It’s pretty simple - either buy a Utopia from an authorized dealer or move on.

+1 ... the entire subject of warranty terms has been discussed, examined and argued from every angle.

However, the occurrence of a driver failure in a near-new, newly purchased set is alarming. Of course we know nothing of their history. They could have been an early production set which fell through the cracks. It’s frustrating not to know what serial number range(s) were supposedly affected by the production defect.

 

[arnaud]

I would not be surprised if there was both early production issue and also fundamental weakness with the design (don't want to ram the driver to the limit of the surround range) hence drivers dying out even these days.

The other way to see it: there wouldn't be such extended ( 5 years ) warranty policy but strong restriction to 1st owners if the driver was built like a tank.

That does not make the Utopia a bad headphone but I would never ever buy used. Mind you, I would not pay 3kUSD for a new pair either, probably that is the reason why I don't own one today despite liking its sound .

arnaud

 

[up late]

So what I’m getting from this thread is that you have an agenda and/or aren’t bothering to read the responses.

It’s pretty simple - either buy a Utopia from an authorized dealer or move on.

i suspect that he has an agenda and is ignoring the responses. there are folks who come to threads with critical questions about gear that they are genuinely considering purchasing and then there are thread crappers...

 

[bfreedma]

I would not be surprised if there was both early production issue and also fundamental weakness with the design (don't want to ram the driver to the limit of the surround range) hence drivers dying out even these days.

The other way to see it: there wouldn't be such extended ( 5 years ) warranty policy but strong restriction to 1st owners if the driver was built like a tank.

That does not make the Utopia a bad headphone but I would never ever buy used. Mind you, I would not pay 3kUSD for a new pair either, probably that is the reason why I don't own one today despite liking its sound .

arnaud

The 5 year nontransferable warranty has been the standard for Focal when purchased through authorized dealers long before they got into the headphone market. The same conditions applied to the Focal speakers I purchased almost 20 years ago, so it has no correlation to the build of the Utopia driver.

I do agree that buying Focal products used isn’t a good idea unless the price is low enough to mitigate the risk of not having factory repair as an option.

 

[LCMusicLover]

On a happier note, I’ve had lots more head time with my Utopia w/Elex pads.

First impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/focal-utopia-general-discussion.811273/page-593#post-14523021

I can now state unequivocally that I love them. I’m one of those ‘Utopia sound so great...if only they weren’t quite so sharp’ people. These pads make that just a memory. They don’t bring any of the defects I heard from the Dekoni Elite (quoted in the above). Soundstage? Detail? Bass quality? All fairly indistinguishable from stock pads.

What I like is the slight tilt away from what I call sharp, others have called bright, and probably most others would call neutral. I don’t hear random instruments getting pushed forward. I’m listening to my Opus#2 using my Lavricable silver and loving the sound of a setup which I couldn’t listen to with the stock pads. The sound is quite musical, which hasn’t been one of my top adjectives to describe Utopia. The nudge they give the bass is a welcome bonus, especially because it is subtle and focused on the lower end.

The only negative is comfort, and it’s just relative to stock. The Elex pads are fine, but the material feels rough compared to the stock pads, which I now realize are very nice.

Anyway, if you think ‘...what do they mean bright, Utopia aren’t bright’, then ignore this post.

But if you ever wish Utopia was just a touch warmer, and had just a little more bass, then I urge you to try the Elex pads.

A final caution — I’m talking subtle differences. I really liked Utopia w/ stock pads. The ‘sharpness’ thing was a small niggle, but it bugged me. I mean when you consider what I paid for them, I ought to love them. And I did...almost. But there was this thing. And now, with these pads, that ‘thing’ is gone. Now I do love them, and we can live happily ever after.

 

[teowws]

is there any instruction on how to remove the utopia earpad? I understand the serial no. is under the right ear cushion but i am abit scare to break something as i can't seems to get it off without using more force then i dare.

Edit : Ok manage to pull it off safely phew....

 

[tomatoshoe]

I currently have the Conductor V2 / BiFrost Multibit (Connected to Wyrd) as my source.

Where do I begin… I received the Utopia three days ago and have been burning them in with pink noise and listening to them during the entire process.

Wow. These are the best headphones I have ever listened to. I haven’t listened to other headphones in this price range, e.g. Stax so take this as you may.

At the moment, I only have two high end headphones other than the Utopia: The Clear, and the TH-900… So here goes…

Compared to the Clear, the Utopia undoubtedly win. The Utopia are more dynamic, faster paced, and the mids are ever more-so present. If you switch between the two back and forth, the Clear sound like they have a layer of information missing. Now, is it worth $2500 (MSRP) more than the Clear’s…? That will have to be a “no” from me. $1000? Maybe at best. The whole diminishing returns in headphones is true. My thoughts are this: if you have the extra money to spend, buy the Utopia, if you don’t: you’ll certainly be pleased with the Clear. Frankly, it’s only when I listen to them back-to-back, I can then pinpoint the differences. Would I be happy with only the Clear’s? Yes, definitely. But since I have the extra cash to spend on myself, I will be keeping the Utopia. They’re both great headphones and the Clear are just amazing at $1500, and superb at the sale price of $1100.

Compared to the TH-900, the TH-900 treble is artificially bright. My TH-900 even use the TH610 pads to reduce the treble as well. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the TH-900 for their bass slam because at my heart, I am a bass freak, but the Utopia’s bass is not too shabby either. The TH-900 are obviously colored and less accurate, but I knew that when I purchased them three years ago. They are both really different headphones.

So, are the Utopia in a different league to the Clear, and the TH-900? I certainly think so. The differences between leagues aren’t as drastic as you may think, but I still consider them a different league.

 

[336881]

I would not be surprised if there was both early production issue and also fundamental weakness with the design (don't want to ram the driver to the limit of the surround range) hence drivers dying out even these days.

The other way to see it: there wouldn't be such extended ( 5 years ) warranty policy but strong restriction to 1st owners if the driver was built like a tank.

That does not make the Utopia a bad headphone but I would never ever buy used. Mind you, I would not pay 3kUSD for a new pair either, probably that is the reason why I don't own one today despite liking its sound .

arnaud

Well even the mighty Stax have had this issue. Especially the Omega's. I have also read some horror stories of people dealing with Yama's to get their Omega put right.

The way I see it consumer's expectation's got watered down massively with beat's. A $500 headphone for $3k seems like a bargain compared to $14 headphone for $300. So who cares if the driver fails and you have to send it back. Your still getting a much better deal despite the hassle.

Another way to look at it is that the Original Omega, R10, and Original Orpheus all had driver failure issues. I think maybe once you reach a certain point driver wise you are asking for trouble and thus failures.

 

[nigel801]

I am based in Europe and want to know if I buy focal utopia used than is the warranty transferable? I am getting a used focal utopia Eur 2k Is it worth taking chance if wa is not transferable?

 

[supervisor]

ugh

 

[dontfeedphils]

ugh

lol +1

 

[dontfeedphils]

I am based in Europe and want to know if I buy focal utopia used than is the warranty transferable? I am getting a used focal utopia Eur 2k Is it worth taking chance if wa is not transferable?

1) NO
2) That's your decision to make.

 

[nigel801]

I am based in Europe and want to know if I buy focal utopia used than is the warranty transferable? I am getting a used focal utopia Eur 2k Is it worth taking chance if wa is not transferable?

I guess my question is not very disgusting

 

[TSAVJason]

1) NO
2) That's your decision to make.

Ugh!!!!