[xxx1313]

Hey thanks.
What would be your initial thoughts between the 2 that I may find when swopping from one to the other? Im not into bass and metal etc, more relaxed Katie Melua, vocals with dark backgrounds, and a bit of Eagles, Fleetwood Mac etc...

Diana Phi has a more neutral (=better) tone than other Abyss headphones. So frequency response measurements of Diana Phi and Utopia do not look too different:

I have an Utopia and also had a Diana Phi (without Superconductor Cable though), so I was able to compare both for a few months. The Utopias are easier to drive, but this does not seem to be an issue for you. With the SP2000 the Utopia sounded better to me, with the Questyle CMA Twelve Master it was a very close call though. The Utopia is a bit more forward sounding with slighly emphasised presence area. Its soundstage is quite small but with pinpoint instrument positioning. Diana Phi offers a slightly larger soundstage and sounds more open. Both have decent bass with the Utopia being even faster. Bass of planar headphones and dynamic heaphones always sounds a bit different, it is often a matter of preference with one to prefer. Both headphones have very good resolution with the Utopia being even a bit more transparent, imho. Both are great headphones in terms of sound quality. I personally prefer the Utopias, but the Diana Phi is no slouch either. Look & feel is a clear positive for the Utopia, as well as reliability imho. My Diana Phi had to be repaired and a heard of similar issues from other Diana Phi owners, whereas no Utopia headphone of me and my friends ever had an issue.

Cheers,
Bernie

 

[HeavenlyD]

Bernie thanks for that..
I spent ages trying to find the right Amp/Dac combo for the Phi. I live in kent home of Chord and also KEF. my best friend is the reference builder at KEF and I know them well. I spoke to Chord and offered my Phi's up to them to test with the Hugo2, but due to covid they declined. I did manage to test the Phi against the Hugo2 and ifi BL (which I owned and sent back) and the Conductor 3xr. To be honest the Hugo2 just didn't do it for me compared to the Burson, and ultimately that was what I bought.
However I know the Phi is challenging to drive, and hoping if I get on the Utopia train, I may be able to look at the Hugo2 again as I like the size, portability and looks of the product. I spoke to Ed Selley at Chord and he thought the Hugo2 would be ok but couldn't verify without testing.

 

[LarsMan]

Jumping into this thread quite late.
Im considering a pair of Utopia's. Im currently listening to a pair of Diana Phi's with Superconductor cable through a Burson Conductor 3XR, but the Utopia keeps drawing me in now. Maybe the disease has caught me seeing people buying and selling all the time!
I may consider selling the Phi set up if the Utopia suits me better, but just wonder if anyone in the UK, knows if discounts are available through Focal dealers, as its probably one of the only brands I cant source through my line of work.
Im fortunate I have a couple of brand new sealed Diana V2 bundles with ifi xCan I need to sell to fund the Utopia's, but want to understand where I may get the best Utopia deal as I know the new version retails for around £3699 in the UK.
Im really frustrated because last year I actually took my Phi's into a store out of town to test some DAC/Amp combinations and was recommended to try the Utopia's but never took much notice of them. I really wish I had now with everything shut and our own stores.

Among other phones, I've been auditioning Utopia and Diana; the Diana Phi was just a bit too revealing to me to the
point of distraction, and I've currently got V2's on order. I've also got a ZMF Verite Open that was just shipped to me today!
One big thing I've learned - don't judge anything unless it's been broken in for at least 100 hours. I realize I may have
liked the Diana Phi better, especially with my new tube amp. We shall see!

 

[dontfeedphils]

Bernie thanks for that..
I spent ages trying to find the right Amp/Dac combo for the Phi. I live in kent home of Chord and also KEF. my best friend is the reference builder at KEF and I know them well. I spoke to Chord and offered my Phi's up to them to test with the Hugo2, but due to covid they declined. I did manage to test the Phi against the Hugo2 and ifi BL (which I owned and sent back) and the Conductor 3xr. To be honest the Hugo2 just didn't do it for me compared to the Burson, and ultimately that was what I bought.
However I know the Phi is challenging to drive, and hoping if I get on the Utopia train, I may be able to look at the Hugo2 again as I like the size, portability and looks of the product. I spoke to Ed Selley at Chord and he thought the Hugo2 would be ok but couldn't verify without testing.

I just managed to squeeze some time in with my Hugo 2/Utopia pairing listening to the latest Glass Animals. Count me as a fan of the pairing.

 

[LarsMan]

Bernie thanks for that..
I spent ages trying to find the right Amp/Dac combo for the Phi. I live in kent home of Chord and also KEF. my best friend is the reference builder at KEF and I know them well. I spoke to Chord and offered my Phi's up to them to test with the Hugo2, but due to covid they declined. I did manage to test the Phi against the Hugo2 and ifi BL (which I owned and sent back) and the Conductor 3xr. To be honest the Hugo2 just didn't do it for me compared to the Burson, and ultimately that was what I bought.
However I know the Phi is challenging to drive, and hoping if I get on the Utopia train, I may be able to look at the Hugo2 again as I like the size, portability and looks of the product. I spoke to Ed Selley at Chord and he thought the Hugo2 would be ok but couldn't verify without testing.

I was first using a Hugo 2 as a DAC into my Lyr 3, which I plugged the headphones into. I replaced the Hugo 2 with an RME ADI-2 DAC which I liked better in every way and was just a bit more than half the price. I replaced the Lyr 3 with a Quicksilver Audio headphone amp and that made all the difference in the world to all the headphones. Utopia sounded awesome with that Quicksilver amp.

 

[Roasty]

Guys, am really enjoying this album with the Utopia. Give it a listen! I think it sounds fantastic on the Utopia. Even more so than with the TC Phi or Susvara.

I like all her songs on this album. Sounds different from main stream pop and vocal jazz. The lyrics and arrangement makes it almost like she is telling a story or it could even be a soundtrack to a movie.

Some of the songs can get quite busy, with a lot of elements going on all at once. But I think the Utopia really shines here; despite busy passages, the imaging, placement, and front to back depth really helps in separating everything out. The center imaging is spot on for her vocals and it's just a pleasure that the Utopia is so transparent, her voice seems to just come out of nowhere.

A lot of her songs are very dynamic, from quiet to sudden loudness and wow the Utopia doesn't miss a beat at all. Manages to handle the sudden changes with ease. Also the drum beats, percussions, changes in tempo..just crazy PRAT! Love the texture and detail of the low bass notes and also the piano sections.

One of the strengths of the utopia, I feel, is its ability to sound great even at lower volumes. With the TC Phi and Susvara, I find they only really sound enjoyable at higher volumes. Almost like the high end and low end sounds lifeless until the volume knob is cranked. I tried this album with the TC and Susvara, and with the volume up high and all those busy passages coming in, I felt they sounded congested and frequently jarring (especially with her sometimes piercing voice).

I listened to this album with the utopia at medium listening volume and didn't feel anything was missing. Raised the volume and was half expecting my tinnitus to start, but no, the highs on the Utopia, even at higher volumes, are amazingly well controlled.

The TC Phi and Susvara may be more expensive, more desirable (?) and there is always the "enjoyment" of the pursuit of the perfect amp to power them etc but IMO the Utopia should not be out of contention at any time, because hot damn, this is an amazing headphone which can sound wonderful even without some super expensive super powerful headphone amp or integrated/power/speaker amp.

As usual, always amazed at the Utopia and it will always have a place in my lineup. Added points if you pair it with a nice tube amp!

 

[tajpapa]

This is a good idea. I'm going to do that. I was thinking it was a two year warranty.

Is the driver crackle a sign of impending failure? Or has anyone else lived with this for some time?

I had mine crackling at lower bass 35hz below and testing it using https://onlinetonegenerator.com/ set it as 35hz and crank the volume up slowly until I hear only the right channel is crackling.

I tried to contact Marine from Focale and it could possibly not fall under warranty but you may want to ask him/her directly but most likely he/she will explain it the same.

Luckily I bought it from authorized distributor here which didn't ask too much and will to replace it immediately and I'm now on a pair that doesn't have the issue and very happy.

 

[Empyah]

I had mine crackling at lower bass 35hz below and testing it using https://onlinetonegenerator.com/ set it as 35hz and crank the volume up slowly until I hear only the right channel is crackling.

I tried to contact Marine from Focale and it could possibly not fall under warranty but you may want to ask him/her directly but most likely he/she will explain it the same.

Luckily I bought it from authorized distributor here which didn't ask too much and will to replace it immediately and I'm now on a pair that doesn't have the issue and very happy.

Veeery likely that its just a hair (yes a hair) rattling/touching the driver. Something similar happend to my Ether 2.

 

[silversurfer616]

Have sold my Utopias a while ago as I couldn’t live with the small soundstage. Considering that the Stellia is my favourite headphone I thought I should give it another try and have just bought a brand new pair from A2A in Melbourne.
Hope I can appreciate it this time...

 

[Empyah]

Have sold my Utopias a while ago as I couldn’t live with the small soundstage. Considering that the Stellia is my favourite headphone I thought I should give it another try and have just bought a brand new pair from A2A in Melbourne.
Hope I can appreciate it this time...

I believe you need a Big-Boy SET tube amp to get everything out of them - especially soundstage.

 

[silversurfer616]

You need a Big-Boy SET tube amp to get everything out of them - especially soundstage.

Had originally a WA22 with it but just didn’t agree with me at the time.

 

[Empyah]

Had originally a WA22 with it but just didn’t agree with me at the time.

Had the Wa22 too - very good amp, but very tube dependant.
My Junior on the other hand sounds great with any tube I throw at it.
And the Wa22 is not the be all, end all, the Junior is 2 steps above it(and my V281 at the time) in every aspect.

 

[LarsMan]

Have sold my Utopias a while ago as I couldn’t live with the small soundstage. Considering that the Stellia is my favourite headphone I thought I should give it another try and have just bought a brand new pair from A2A in Melbourne.
Hope I can appreciate it this time...

My Quicksilver Audio tube headphone amp opened up the soundstage, increased the bass, and slightly rolled off the somewhat 'shouty' high frequencies to where they are no longer a bother.

 

[thecrow]

Enjoying my nordost heimdall 2 headhone cable with utopias that I bought yesterday.
They seem to come up as suggestions here from time to time.

Also own some Norne cables (Silver, copper and hybrid) and Arctic cable signum+ (silver).
Even though I enjoy silver cables, I found they weren't quite right for the utopias and I re what I am looking for from them.

The Nordost cable presents a detailed and (relatively) wide sound. Clear/Clean.
Nicely weighted with an honest tone and sound.
Not too bright or too bottom heavy. Not too coloured as that is not what I was after but appreciate that others might be (eg Dana Cable).

I have not gone back to compare with (old) stock cable tonight, but.....I feel the stock cable is a bit richer/weightier (in sound and literally) and a bit more bottom end whereas the Nordost is very neutral but not light or thin at all. Just honest.

I'll probably keep the stock cable in rotation as I don't mind it.

Highly recommend a demo if you are looking for cables and if you can.

(I was also able to demo the cable with a susvara and was vey impressed for the same reasons - that cable has now been ordered as well)

my 2 cents and what i have put my money into

the next few weeks will see how it all comes up after the honeymoon period.

 

[HeavenlyD]

Would like to say thanks for the small input to some questions I posted on here. It’s a very genuine and nice community..
I’ve taken the plunge and ordered a new pair of Utopia’s now, so when they arrive I’ll be able to see which suits me better, these or my Phi’s.
I don’t plan on keeping both.
If I do sell the Phi’s which have full warranty till August 2023 I’ll post in for sale. I have a brand new 4ft superconductor cable and brand new black pads alongside the originals also so it’s a nice as new set up.
Ideally someone in the U.K., failing that the Utopias will be up for sale.
I think this is all going to be about pairing with the Burson Conductor 3XR for me.
This headphone malarkey has pretty much made my home systems redundant! Much to the pleasure of my wife
Nest stage is cables for the Utopia!
Open to suggestion to these if people have any thoughts? I think the issue is always going to be what you can get and what I can get in the U.K.
I keep seeing DanaCables but we can’t get them.