[up late]

i didn't buy the hd800, whereas i've owned the utopia for more than two years now

 

[Scrum92]

i didn't buy the hd800, whereas i've owned the utopia for more than two years now

Sorry, I meant how do you find its signature? The sound overall?

 

[dontfeedphils]

IMO Utopia is brighter than the Clear, but not drastically, and not in the same league as HD800 brightness.

It's my preferred signature though and the detail resolution, imaging, impact, and speed are really addictive.

 

[up late]

Sorry, I meant how do you find its signature? The sound overall?

in a word, balanced

 

[XLR1]

I found the HD-800 to be bright, but partially due to a peak around 8K. IMO, the Utopia is not bright at all with the except of a similar, but smaller, amplitude volume bump near 8K. I am not a purest and I like to keep things simple, so I equalize down 3 db at 8K. For me problem solved.

 

[Scrum92]

IMO Utopia is brighter than the Clear, but not drastically, and not in the same league as HD800 brightness.

It's my preferred signature though and the detail resolution, imaging, impact, and speed are really addictive.

That's reassuring. The HD800 was just too much for me and I could not get on with them. The Clear, on the other hand, have been spot on signature wise but as is ever the case in this hobby, you wonder what more is out there!

Am I right to assume that the Clear and the Utopia, save for the pads material difference, feel exactly the same on the head?

 

[dontfeedphils]

That's reassuring. The HD800 was just too much for me and I could not get on with them. The Clear, on the other hand, have been spot on signature wise but as is ever the case in this hobby, you wonder what more is out there!

Am I right to assume that the Clear and the Utopia, save for the pads material difference, feel exactly the same on the head?

To me it's an obvious upgrade for the reasons I previously mentioned. I've also found Utopia to be upstream gear microscopes. So it's been fun slowly upgrading the rest of my system and hearing quite obvious changes.

From memory, yea, feels about the same. I like the feel of the leather over the alcantera on the Clear.

 

[up late]

the clear felt somewhat lighter and more balanced (that word again) than the utopia on my head - ymmv

 

[Scrum92]

Is there any indication that the Utopia may be replaced soon by Focal by another flagship? I don't want to miss that train by buying the Utopia now...

 

[catscratch]

Hello Utopia owners!

I'm currently a happy Clear owner, paired with a Hugo 2. I (very briefly) tried the Utopia in London in November and since then have been considering the upgrade. I love the Clear and have no beef with them, they're without a doubt the best headphone I've ever owned and actually convinced me to sell my beloved HD600 - something I never thought would happen to be honest.

For those with experience of both, why should/shouldn't I upgrade? What should I be aware of?

Cheers all

I have both. Utopia is actually quite HD600-like, so if you liked that, you'll probably like Utopia. The Clear to me is more HD650-like. Compared to the Clear, the Utopia is a bit brighter, leaner in the bass, wider in soundstage, noticeably more resolving and more liquid/effortless in the midrange, and with much better microdynamics. It has more 6khz peak but less 11khz peak, and while it is brighter the highs are smoother and less annoying than the Clear, though they're still sharper than I'd like. Tembre isn't great on either, and is probably the biggest weakness along with the overly sharp highs.

I think if you like one, you'll like the other. They're not that far apart. And the Utopia is a significant enough step up in resolution and microdynamics to me where I have to say it's worth it. However I wouldn't buy the Utopia at the $4k full price. These days there are deals for new or almost new for well under $3k and used for under $2k, and at those prices it makes much more sense to me.

Things to be aware of: 1) cost of replacement parts, which is frankly ridiculous, so warranty is a must 2) very heavy and bulky stock cable that is 1/4 inch terminated only (I think they're updating the accessories that come with it, which is a good move) 3) they're a bit more loose fitting than the Clear so if you move around a lot while listening, they might fall off. That's about it. Everything else is basically same as the Clear. They should be less sensitive to high output impedance amps but still sensitive enough to where low-z output is necessary.

 

[Scrum92]

I have both. Utopia is actually quite HD600-like, so if you liked that, you'll probably like Utopia. The Clear to me is more HD650-like. Compared to the Clear, the Utopia is a bit brighter, leaner in the bass, wider in soundstage, noticeably more resolving and more liquid/effortless in the midrange, and with much better microdynamics. It has more 6khz peak but less 11khz peak, and while it is brighter the highs are smoother and less annoying than the Clear, though they're still sharper than I'd like. Tembre isn't great on either, and is probably the biggest weakness along with the overly sharp highs.

I think if you like one, you'll like the other. They're not that far apart. And the Utopia is a significant enough step up in resolution and microdynamics to me where I have to say it's worth it. However I wouldn't buy the Utopia at the $4k full price. These days there are deals for new or almost new for well under $3k and used for under $2k, and at those prices it makes much more sense to me.

Things to be aware of: 1) cost of replacement parts, which is frankly ridiculous, so warranty is a must 2) very heavy and bulky stock cable that is 1/4 inch terminated only (I think they're updating the accessories that come with it, which is a good move) 3) they're a bit more loose fitting than the Clear so if you move around a lot while listening, they might fall off. That's about it. Everything else is basically same as the Clear. They should be less sensitive to high output impedance amps but still sensitive enough to where low-z output is necessary.

Thank you for this!

A few questions if you don't mind:

- Any idea why the Utopia fits more loosely? I thought that physically they were basically the same save for materials. My head isn't wide and so the Clear doesn't tightly hug my head though it does hug enough to distribute the weight nicely so comfort is not an issue at all.

- I'm based in the UK and the Utopia goes for £3495 here. I have an open box deal (with warranty) @ £3,000 - seems OK?

- Do you know when the new accessories came in? This pair, being new, are approx 1-2 months old. I sit very close to my Hugo 2 so I only use the 1.2m cable on the Clear so having a 3m cable isn't ideal. That said, the Clear cable, whilst visually pleasing, is quite clunky and not very flexible.

 

[LCMusicLover]

...I'm based in the UK and the Utopia goes for £3495 here. I have an open box deal (with warranty) @ £3,000 - seems OK?...

I don’t know the market in the UK. But ... £3,000 converts to $3924, very close to the $4000 MSRP here in the US. Folks have been reporting purchase prices well under $3000 — I paid $2400 about 2 years ago on a dealer close out. And there have been ‘bundle deals’ w/ Questyle DAP and ‘trade-in’ deals which brought prices down into the $2500 - 3000 range. I mean, it’s your wallet, but if you purchase at that price, you’ll incur a significant ‘drive it off the lot’ discount if you later decide to sell it.

As far as the cable, I predict you’ll end up with an after-market cable — both for aesthetics and sound quality. While some will disagree and defend the stock cable, I believe that an overwhelming majority of owners here have rolled cables w/ Utopia.

Now THAT would be an interesting poll for this thread:

What cable(s) do you use with your Utopia?

BTW, the biggest risk you run is that you could get infected with a bad case of audio.upgraditis.Daveii

 

[catscratch]

There's less clamping force in the Utopia than the Clear. No idea why. Maybe it's the pads, maybe different materials in the headband, who knows. The pads are softer and a bit more pliable on the Utopia, and I prefer how they feel over the Clear. Either way, they're both comfy, but the Clear clamps more. As far as accessories, there was info a few pages further back in this thread. It wasn't an official announcement, more of a leak but from a source that has been very reliable thus far with this sort of thing.

Mine was an open box too and I paid $2600, but I'm in the US. I don't know what the prices in the UK are like so I can't tell you if your price is a good deal or not. But I would advise shopping around and not necessarily being in a rush to buy right now. Also asking for discounts never hurts, unsurprisingly very expensive headphones don't exactly fly off the shelves and dealers might be persuaded to drop prices on stock they haven't been able to move in a while.

One more suggestion - the headband on both the Clear and the Utopia is not user replaceable the way it is on the HD600. Over time, headbands get grimy and dirty, and with Focal spare part prices being what they are, I would strongly suggest using a headband protector of some sort to keep the dirt off, something like this maybe (get the large size, the smaller ones won't fit). In terms of replacement earpads, you're probably best off buying the OEM ones as most aftermarket ones change the frequency response significantly, but they're pricey.

 

[Scrum92]

There's less clamping force in the Utopia than the Clear. No idea why. Maybe it's the pads, maybe different materials in the headband, who knows. The pads are softer and a bit more pliable on the Utopia, and I prefer how they feel over the Clear. Either way, they're both comfy, but the Clear clamps more. As far as accessories, there was info a few pages further back in this thread. It wasn't an official announcement, more of a leak but from a source that has been very reliable thus far with this sort of thing.

Mine was an open box too and I paid $2600, but I'm in the US. I don't know what the prices in the UK are like so I can't tell you if your price is a good deal or not. But I would advise shopping around and not necessarily being in a rush to buy right now. Also asking for discounts never hurts, unsurprisingly very expensive headphones don't exactly fly off the shelves and dealers might be persuaded to drop prices on stock they haven't been able to move in a while.

One more suggestion - the headband on both the Clear and the Utopia is not user replaceable the way it is on the HD600. Over time, headbands get grimy and dirty, and with Focal spare part prices being what they are, I would strongly suggest using a headband protector of some sort to keep the dirt off, something like this maybe (get the large size, the smaller ones won't fit). In terms of replacement earpads, you're probably best off buying the OEM ones as most aftermarket ones change the frequency response significantly, but they're pricey.

Thanks for this.

Judging by the Focal website, they're included with any newly manufactured Utopias but given the specific pair I am looking at are 1-2 months old, I guess they'll just have the old cable.

I think I'll ask the dealer if I can demo them. They're good guys and I've got a purchase history with them.

 

[up late]

Is there any indication that the Utopia may be replaced soon by Focal by another flagship? I don't want to miss that train by buying the Utopia now...

no there isn't but that's the risk you run by buying a headphone that's been on the market for a few years. the utopia was released in 2016.

Thanks for this.

Judging by the Focal website, they're included with any newly manufactured Utopias but given the specific pair I am looking at are 1-2 months old, I guess they'll just have the old cable.

I think I'll ask the dealer if I can demo them. They're good guys and I've got a purchase history with them.

if you can manage to demo the utopia then your questions should be answered