[montanari]

Sony z1r

 

[koven]

Anyone happen to own the Utopia and in looking for something to balance with it in a 2 headphone setup, consider Empyrean against D8000/D8000 Pro? Or any other suggestions for something warmer, smoother with bass.

I’ve listened to them all, though not together, and I own the Utopia already. I’m trying to find the best headphone to sit alongside the Utopia in a home rig. I use Stellia in the office.

Music preferences include mostly EDM, Chill/House, vocals, soundtracks and acoustic/Jazz music. No classical.

I think Verite is a nice complement to Utopia. More laid back and smoother but still quite resolving, more so than Empyrean at least.

 

[GreenBow]

I had the Empyrean and sold it recently. It is a warmer headphone, and the thicker bass and midbass will accentuate that even more. The highs are comparatively less in your face. Mids are super sweet though; they're amazing for vocal jazz.

I sold it because it didn't get much play time compared to the Utopia and Abyss. It is definitely a more relaxing headphone.. I found it occasionally not engaging enough and I have fallen asleep quite a few times whilst listening with the Empyrean.

I have nodded off with my Shure KSE1200. They are right down the middle tonally.

 

[Focux]

Anyone happen to own the Utopia and in looking for something to balance with it in a 2 headphone setup, consider Empyrean against D8000/D8000 Pro? Or any other suggestions for something warmer, smoother with bass.

I’ve listened to them all, though not together, and I own the Utopia already. I’m trying to find the best headphone to sit alongside the Utopia in a home rig. I use Stellia in the office.

Music preferences include mostly EDM, Chill/House, vocals, soundtracks and acoustic/Jazz music. No classical.

I turn to the Aeolus when looking for something more “cosy” and “soothing”..

But opposite sequence from ya, had Aeolus for abt a year before the Utopia

 

[Focux]

Has any fellow Utopia owners past and present tried parings w Cavalli Liquid Carbon?

 

[Hoegaardener70]

Sony z1r

I owned this. I really wanted to like this one, but I moved on to the Stellia and never looked back.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Has any fellow Utopia owners past and present tried parings w Cavalli Liquid Carbon?

the "original" liquid carbon or the massdrop one?

The original produce neutral to warm sound, with full body character in bass and midrange sector, combine with smooth and sweet treble. Definitely great with Utopia to add some musical energy without adding harshness. Soundstage is not that spacious though, with decent depth.

 

[Focux]

the "original" liquid carbon or the massdrop one?

The original produce neutral to warm sound, with full body character in bass and midrange sector, combine with smooth and sweet treble. Definitely great with Utopia to add some musical energy without adding harshness. Soundstage is not that spacious though, with decent depth.

oops, sorry the original one..

 

[340519]

Sony z1r

My favorite out of all my cans hands down.

 

[up late]

not content with posting that repeatedly in the z1r thread?

 

[meomap]

I have the utopia and hekse and hd800. With my woo wa2 the hd800 is the most laid back of three. I’m using the auralic taurus with the other two.

though different on presentation, to an extent, the utopias and hekse are in the same end of town.

the empyreans will give you something different. i have that too. Not sure how it will sit with alo ss. I understand how some people really like the empyrean (eg currawong review on youtube) and how some don’t (eg metal 571 on youtube).

other than the empyrean, depending on your budget, to look for something different you could look at an audeze 4 or zmf. I have an auteur. It’s like an hd600 on steroids. very neutral and even but not as magical as the utopia or hekse - nuce touch of wood sound for acoustic music (think unplugged albums). Maybe the verite would offer something interesting. I have not heard those at all.

the susvaras would be great but the ss would not have enough power. Probably the same for the lcd 4 too.

so from there maybe sus out the verites if you can

Thank you for your impressions with other hp vs Utopia.
I am looking into Verite Open also.

Wondering if any dealers in Northern Bay Area have any high end hp to demo....
OR
Waiting for any hp in near future to outperform the Utopia....

 

[montanari]

My favorite out of all my cans hands down.

I prefer the th900. But according to the request posted the sony would be the perfect complement and what is looking for

 

[340519]

I prefer the th900. But according to the request posted the sony would be the perfect complement and what is looking for

I might pick up a 900 too.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Anyone happen to own the Utopia and in looking for something to balance with it in a 2 headphone setup, consider Empyrean...

I had the Empyrean and sold it recently. It is a warmer headphone, and the thicker bass and midbass will accentuate that even more. The highs are comparatively less in your face. Mids are super sweet though; they're amazing for vocal jazz...

I second @Roasty — right down to ‘had it/sold it’. To my ears, Empyrean were too far from the ‘neutral/reference’ tonality I prefer. But that’s just my preference. They are very engaging, with an enveloping headstage and a warm, musical signature. And they do detail very well, though they do it in a relaxed ‘here’s some detail for you if you like’ sort of way vs Utopia’s ‘You will pay attention to this, NOW’ approach. Also, on my head, they even more comfortable than Utopia, which are the best for me otherwise. I’m actually tempted to call them ‘anti-Utopia’.

I guess you can sense my ambivalence regarding Empyrean. I really did like them — I just couldn’t tweak my system to the point where I loved them. Always just a little too lush, with the headstage being just a bit smeared. But if your don’t mind the relative intimacy of Utopia’s headstage (which I wish was more open/airy), and if you won’t mind losing a lot of the precision of the headstage (That instrument RIGHT THERE), then Empyrean can be a great compliment to Utopia.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I second @Roasty — right down to ‘had it/sold it’. To my ears, Empyrean were too far from the ‘neutral/reference’ tonality I prefer. But that’s just my preference. They are very engaging, with an enveloping headstage and a warm, musical signature. And they do detail very well, though they do it in a relaxed ‘here’s some detail for you if you like’ sort of way vs Utopia’s ‘You will pay attention to this, NOW’ approach. Also, on my head, they even more comfortable than Utopia, which are the best for me otherwise. I’m actually tempted to call them ‘anti-Utopia’.

I guess you can sense my ambivalence regarding Empyrean. I really did like them — I just couldn’t tweak my system to the point where I loved them. Always just a little too lush, with the headstage being just a bit smeared. But if your don’t mind the relative intimacy of Utopia’s headstage (which I wish was more open/airy), and if you won’t mind losing a lot of the precision of the headstage (That instrument RIGHT THERE), then Empyrean can be a great compliment to Utopia.

It all depends on what you do. The Empy is just perfect with older low-res files ... I have a lot of 80s music which is not commercially available ... which I digitized from tape. It sounds horrible with the utopia, but the Empy makes the best of it. I’d keep it only for that alone ...