[Zhanming057]

this talk of a speaker amp for a utopia is absolutely ludicrous....for the most part you should be 12-3 for the most part...if you have to be listening at 7 o clock it is absurd...in addition yes you can overpower a pair of HP's...a good headphone amp will be the far better choice

Since you claim that a good headphone amp is a better choice, I have to question whether any headphone amp is as good as the following speaker amps for the Uto's:

- Leben CS600
- Airtight ATM300
- Nagra Classic INT

Keep in mind that for a given target power band, there is no fundamental difference between a headphone amp and a speaker amp. Amps such as the WA5, Egoista, and EC Studio are speaker amps with an XLR jack on front. And if a speaker amp is a superior implementation of a particular tube (Airtight and 300b), then I don't see why you wouldn't use the speaker amp. As for overpower, an amp that is too aggressive at low output levels is a flawed design. My 100wpc Nagra INT is one of the best solid state amps I've heard with the Uto's, finer control is even better than the Mass Kobo 394 which in itself is a master at driving efficient cans.

i highly doubt focal will service drivers blown out by the use of overpowered speaker amps but good luck all

Any amp that goes above around 2wpc into 100 ohms is capable of blowing out the Uto's. But the Uto's are also efficient which means that the optimal working wattage is fairly far away from the maximum. Something like the K1000 is arguably more susceptible to driver damage because it needs to be performing at the max power threshold, there's less than 1w of clearance between reaching 100-ish db and driver failure. Of course planars have an extra order of magnitude of tolerance, and it's just about impossible to actually damage something like the Abyss Phi unless you're using a truly monstrous amp.

 

[Mystel]

One of the things I enjoy most about the Utopia is it's ability to produce clear full sound at relatively low volume levels. At age 60, I'm trying to preserve what hearing I have left so it's doubtful I will ever feel the need to resort to using a speaker amp. The Ragnarok set on low gain is more than enough for the Utopia.

Volume matched, a DAVE+Utopia vs say a V281+Utopia obviously yields different tonalities
Its not just about getting a headphone to listenable volumes , theres more to it than that.

 

[pataburd]

This user is VERY happy with the ecp DSHA-3F, optimized for the Focals.
: )

 

[dontfeedphils]

this talk of a speaker amp for a utopia is absolutely ludicrous....for the most part you should be 12-3 for the most part...if you have to be listening at 7 o clock it is absurd...in addition yes you can overpower a pair of HP's...a good headphone amp will be the far better choice

Take it easy duder. Is someone using speaker taps to drive their Utopia hurting you physically?

 

[Svatopluk]

Volume matched, a DAVE+Utopia vs say a V281+Utopia obviously yields different tonalities
Its not just about getting a headphone to listenable volumes , theres more to it than that.

True, from my experience the Violectric amps tend to be a little on the warm side which would effect tonality. My comment was actually made in an attempt to shed light on the Utopia's efficiency and how using a powerful speaker amp woujd not be necessary. Although, I'm not saying speaker taps would not work perfectly fine as long as you keep the volume in check.

 

[jwbrent]

I usually use the balanced out of my AK240SS to drive my Utopia, but I’ve really been wanting to use my Qutest DAC on my main system, so I just ordered from HeadAmp a Pico Power which I will connect to the outputs of my Qutest. Hoping for good things here ...

 

[jwbrent]

If anyone needs a stock 3m Utopia cable, I have one I rarely used in the classifieds ... for a low price!

 

[jlbrach]

ragnarok is a beast of an amp...i used to own it and it is one of the more powerful headphone amps out there...it can drive anything

 

[jlbrach]

Volume matched, a DAVE+Utopia vs say a V281+Utopia obviously yields different tonalities
Its not just about getting a headphone to listenable volumes , theres more to it than that.

as one who owns the dave and owned the 281 the utopia out of the dave is FAR better than out of dave and 281, no contest

 

[Mystel]

as one who owns the dave and owned the 281 the utopia out of the dave is FAR better than out of dave and 281, no contest

Yea i owned it too , im just saying that tonalities matter
Oh and i prefer the Utopia out of a EC ZDS , DNA Stratus, Almarros 318B (speaker amp), Ear Yoshino V12 (speaker amp) vs the DAVE direct
I just prefer tubes with the Utopia.
That said, my EC Studio is a pretty terrible pairing with it, id much prefer DAVE in this case
Maybe my incoming Stellaris will be better.

 

[rean1mator]

Yeah and v2 rag will be out soon too. Gonna check it out at canjam next month

ragnarok is a beast of an amp...i used to own it and it is one of the more powerful headphone amps out there...it can drive anything

 

[dallasmarlow]

Yea i owned it too , im just saying that tonalities matter
Oh and i prefer the Utopia out of a EC ZDS , DNA Stratus, Almarros 318B (speaker amp), Ear Yoshino V12 (speaker amp) vs the DAVE direct
I just prefer tubes with the Utopia.
That said, my EC Studio is a pretty terrible pairing with it, id much prefer DAVE in this case
Maybe my incoming Stellaris will be better.

What makes the ec studio a bad pairing with the utopia in your opinion? I ask because I was considering that amp for use with my utopia primarily.

 

[Lucky87]

I've been using my Utopia with the following Dac's, TT, and Amps

Oppo 205 Dual 9038 Pro's > Felix Euforia > Utopia's = Best Sound helps with staging and dept with the Utopia's
Holo Spring 2 KTE DAC > Audio Gd Master 9 > Utopia's = Very Dynamic with no fatiguing at the top end
Oppo 205 > Audio Gd Master 9 > Utopia = Neutral sound but can get a little hot at top end for long listening sessions.
Technics SL1200G / AT ART 9 cart > Manley Chinook > Felix Euforia > Utopia's = Best in Tonality so far with the Utopia's VINYL HEAVEN

Only thing I do not like about the Utopia's is Small ear pads if you have Alfred E Neuman ears the ear pads feel like they do not cover over both ears I am always trying to adjust for fit. OK STOP LOOKING AT MY BIG EARS

 

[meomap]

I've been using my Utopia with the following Dac's, TT, and Amps

Oppo 205 Dual 9038 Pro's > Felix Euforia > Utopia's = Best Sound helps with staging and dept with the Utopia's
Holo Spring 2 KTE DAC > Audio Gd Master 9 > Utopia's = Very Dynamic with no fatiguing at the top end
Oppo 205 > Audio Gd Master 9 > Utopia = Neutral sound but can get a little hot at top end for long listening sessions.
Technics SL1200G / AT ART 9 cart > Manley Chinook > Felix Euforia > Utopia's = Best in Tonality so far with the Utopia's VINYL HEAVEN

Only thing I do not like about the Utopia's is Small ear pads if you have Alfred E Neuman ears the ear pads feel like they do not cover over both ears I am always trying to adjust for fit. OK STOP LOOKING AT MY BIG EARS

Mine is Utopia, DHC Comp4 hp cable, ALO SS6, Denafrips Termi DAC, Jay's Audio CT2 mk2 ( CD transport )
Using i2S as connection between transport and DAC.
For higher res, I use Sony 1Z dap, dock, USB out and into DAC. These are upstairs system.
2 channel downstair.
VPI Classic 1, Chinook phono, tube preamp, Mc275 tube amp.
Used to have Dyn Special 25. Now, it's Magnepan 3.7i.

 

[Lucky87]

Mine is Utopia, DHC Comp4 hp cable, ALO SS6, Denafrips Termi DAC, Jay's Audio CT2 mk2 ( CD transport )
Using i2S as connection between transport and DAC.
For higher res, I use Sony 1Z dap, dock, USB out and into DAC. These are upstairs system.
2 channel downstair.
VPI Classic 1, Chinook phono, tube preamp, Mc275 tube amp.
Used to have Dyn Special 25. Now, it's Magnepan 3.7i.

Very Nice Setup.. Do you use this for the Sony 1Z dap USB out? SONY Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10