[kahkityoong]

i have not heard the wa33. The utopia does like tubes and i have heard great reports of the wa5 and utopia.

i own the niimbus us4 and it is a beast. And detailed and “illuminating“ with headphones. Great texture. Feeding it balanced in from my hex dac i set the pregain at -12db for utopia.

imho if you buy a niimbus you will have no need for another ss amp again

and if you might be thinking of picking up a susvara in the future, just set gain to +12 and you are right to go.

I did audition my Utopia with the WA5 last year but I didn’t find it as versatile with a wide range of music compared with some other amps from phonitor or GSX. Although it certainly was very beautiful with vocals and acoustic instruments. And I did have in mind getting the Susvara in the future which from all accounts shines with the Niimbus. Thanks for confirming this.

 

[tunes]

I did audition my Utopia with the WA5 last year but I didn’t find it as versatile with a wide range of music compared with some other amps from phonitor or GSX. Although it certainly was very beautiful with vocals and acoustic instruments. And I did have in mind getting the Susvara in the future which from all accounts shines with the Niimbus. Thanks for confirming this.

If you want to try a relatively inexpensive excellent compact tube amp that has synergy with the Utopias look at this review:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/quicksilver-audio-headphone-amplifier-any-opinions.928371/

I have one on order now!

 

[tunes]

I was about to buy one last month and my partner suddenly got very concerned that we were going to be carting it around on our long road trip when she saw it at the store.

Isn’t that a $15,000 amp??

 

[kahkityoong]

If you want to try a relatively inexpensive excellent compact tube amp that has synergy with the Utopias look at this review:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/quicksilver-audio-headphone-amplifier-any-opinions.928371/

I have one on order now!

Coincidentally I did have a look at them today but prefer to get an amp that I don’t need to ship from overseas. I also had Bakoon r13 on my list but same issue.

 

[kahkityoong]

Isn’t that a $15,000 amp??

$12000 I’m looking for an endgame amp so price isn’t a big factor.

 

[Nikos K]

Hi fellow Utopia members,

Bad news for me again.
My Utopia, Right side has no sound. Left side ok.
I just used it couple days ago with WA6SE and put it back in the box. Thought it's the cable.
Swapped to stock, same no sound for the Right.
Swapped to DHC Comp 4, same no sound for the Right side.
Tested with the Ibasso DX220 MAX Transport DAP, same no sound for the Right side..
This sucks, man.

Well, it's time to contact my dealer again.......

It would be interesting for all of us on this thread to count the number of failed Utopia's just to get some metrics
Mine failed after 6 months but my dealer send me a replacement so that I did not have to wait.
Kudos to Ming of Recycle-Hifi in France. Highly recommended as Focal and Sudgen dealer for all EU based headfiers

 

[kahkityoong]

It would be interesting for all of us on this thread to count the number of failed Utopia's just to get some metrics
Mine failed after 6 months but my dealer send me a replacement so that I did not have to wait.
Kudos to Ming of Recycle-Hifi in France. Highly recommended as Focal and Sudgen dealer for all EU based headfiers

After a couple of months the sound suddenly stopped on the right and I feared it was a driver failure. Fortunately it was the cable but annoyingly it still took 5 weeks to be repaired.

 

[meomap]

It would be interesting for all of us on this thread to count the number of failed Utopia's just to get some metrics
Mine failed after 6 months but my dealer send me a replacement so that I did not have to wait.
Kudos to Ming of Recycle-Hifi in France. Highly recommended as Focal and Sudgen dealer for all EU based headfiers

According to my notes, this would be my 4th time driver failure, early adopter 2016.
I guess very unlucky for me so far but can't find an alternate replacement for Utopia yet...Still love Utopia's sound.

 

[TooFrank]

It would be interesting for all of us on this thread to count the number of failed Utopia's just to get some metrics
Mine failed after 6 months but my dealer send me a replacement so that I did not have to wait.
Kudos to Ming of Recycle-Hifi in France. Highly recommended as Focal and Sudgen dealer for all EU based headfiers

FWIW: I don’t own the Utopia’s but follow this thread due to curiosity Have the Stellia’s because I need a closed back HP.
However, if you wish to collect (hopefully in a new thread....) how many Utopia drivers that have been failing, I just advice some caution in interpreting the numbers. There is a general rule (I think) saying: if you don’t look for it, you do not find it....and vice versa. So in this case, there may be a tendency for “over reporting“ driver failures for the Utopia’s compared with other HPs? And this tends (?) to be equal to stating that the Utopia’s “often” fails. We know, that this forum attracts persons who are spending a lot of cash on this hobby, and as the Utopia’s are representing TOTL HPs, (too) much focus is on them (here). I am just saying that the reported number of cases must be seen in context. The 5 years warranty from Focal, should most likely be interpreted as good service, rather than admitting to too many failed drivers.

Just an opinion I would really like to listen to the Utopia’s one day. For me, the price is the important factor not the durability ....
Good listing all...

 

[vonBaron]

imho if you buy a niimbus you will have no need for another ss amp again

Imo if you have Niimbus you don't need ANY other amp.

 

[jirams]

On this matter of drivers in Focal headphones. I dismantled my Focal Elegia out of curiosity and discovered that the driver units are mounted in a cradle in the main body and held there by the screwed down plate that faces the ear. The driver makes electrical circuit not by being solder wired in but by making contact with spring loaded pins in the main body cradle.

When I reassembled I had "failure" of a driver which turned out to be cured by dismantling, cleaning the gold flashed contacts of pins and mating pads and reassembling.

My Elegias are the only Focal headphones I have ever dealt with. I have no idea how other models in the Focal range are constructed.

I do not understand why soldered connection is not used other than for speed during assembly.

(Robot?)

 

[LarsMan]

If you want to try a relatively inexpensive excellent compact tube amp that has synergy with the Utopias look at this review:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/quicksilver-audio-headphone-amplifier-any-opinions.928371/

I have one on order now!

I've had one for months now, and I love it - such a synergy between it and Utopia, too!!

 

[tradyblix]

It would be interesting for all of us on this thread to count the number of failed Utopia's just to get some metrics
Mine failed after 6 months but my dealer send me a replacement so that I did not have to wait.
Kudos to Ming of Recycle-Hifi in France. Highly recommended as Focal and Sudgen dealer for all EU based headfiers

Had mine for 4 years no issues yet.

 

[meomap]

Had mine for 4 years no issues yet.

Lucky for you then....

 

[catscratch]

You will never get accurate data through an opt-in survey.

Mine is fine after a year and a half but the cable fell apart a year in.