[Roasty]

Am working from home and have the wa33 fired up and Utopia plugged in. This album is just so nice.. Something about her voice.. Getting distracted from work.

 

[nagi8404]

Amir and his disciples are like food editors getting excited(or not) about the ingredients of a recipe without ever cooking or tasting it. It’s quite a bubble they inhabit. Myself I give the proverbial about measurements but admit having tried... against my conviction...the oratory eq with the Utopia and it sounds acceptable.

I used to be one of his devout followers. I was convinced 100% anything above $300 is a waste of money and makes no audible difference. But well look at where I am now...
My wallet is still one of his devout followers though.

 

[helljudgement]

Are they still taking formal orders on the DSHA-3F or is there some sort of way to order one? It seems that the ECP site is under construction and the DSHA-3F seems to very rarely come up for sale used.

For logistical reasons it is currently out of production so your only option is to go used for now. You can try reaching out via email to see if they have any updates.

 

[kahkityoong]

there are countless examples of cheaper products that sound better than more expensive but rarely on the scale of 10-1...in the case of the topping a90 I happen to have it as a travel amp but to say it competes with the TOTL amps costing 10 times as much or more is silly...same with susvara vs a 400 dollar HP...my problem with the site isnt that there cant be a case where a cheaper product is better than a more expensive one...there is and always will be...this site however seems to exist to run down any and all high end products and tell its readers that the product is no better than dramatically cheaper products..and they seem to a snarky attitude about it

And almost all the snarky remarks about gear that they’ve never listened to...

 

[ClicketEKlack]

I used to be one of his devout followers. I was convinced 100% anything above $300 is a waste of money and makes no audible difference. But well look at where I am now...
My wallet is still one of his devout followers though.

What was your "A-ha moment" or piece of gear where you started to think that measurements were not the be-all end all? I'm very happy with my Utopias and Topping D90/A90 stack -- which should be endgame from a measurement standpoint -- but I have a nagging curiosity about something like the Dave. Would I hear real or imagined improvements? Does it even matter? It gets very philosophical very quickly.

 

[iamoneagain]

What was your "A-ha moment" or piece of gear where you started to think that measurements were not the be-all end all? I'm very happy with my Utopias and Topping D90/A90 stack -- which should be endgame from a measurement standpoint -- but I have a nagging curiosity about something like the Dave. Would I hear real or imagined improvements? Does it even matter? It gets very philosophical very quickly.

I had a reverse ah ha moment when I got the Focal Arche. I figured for $1000 off there was nothing to lose and could either resell or return if it didn’t come anywhere close the Dave/mscaler. I wasn’t exactly looking for real comparison of going back and forth. It was playing a song that sounds amazing on the Dave/mscaler and seeing if I was still amazed with the Focal Arche.

The first thing that gave me the ah ha moment was that the soundstage seemed to have same depth and width. I was shocked because you hear Rob talk all about timing and how this effects the depth. But the Focal Arche was just using off the shelf dac chips. And second part was the weight and authority was comparable. I bought into the whole Chord philosophy that couldn’t believe a much cheaper setup could make me just as happy.

On the flip side I was disappointed when I first got the Hugo 2. It was not warm and musical like the original Hugo was. I thought it would grow on me as time went on. I got used to it but kept thinking something was off. The Utopia’s just sounded too technical. So much detail but where was the warmth and hard hitting bass.

The Chord Dave made up for all of the Hugo 2 shortcomings but I wasn’t blown away by it. I was actually a little disappointed to know that this was end game but the soundstage was smaller than I thought it would be. Could just be the Utopia’s in general. After I few days I really appreciated what the Dave could do. It made them feel full and open. And nice layering. The mscaler actually made it less warm but gave deeper soundstage and removed the studio affect. Felt like live with the band. The Focal Arche feels like listening to recording but a really enjoyable one, so kind of trade off.

 

[LarsMan]

What was your "A-ha moment" or piece of gear where you started to think that measurements were not the be-all end all? I'm very happy with my Utopias and Topping D90/A90 stack -- which should be endgame from a measurement standpoint -- but I have a nagging curiosity about something like the Dave. Would I hear real or imagined improvements? Does it even matter? It gets very philosophical very quickly.

I never had that "A-ha moment" because I never paid any attention to measurements to begin with! I don't understand them and I care not a jot!

 

[xand]

What was your "A-ha moment" or piece of gear where you started to think that measurements were not the be-all end all? I'm very happy with my Utopias and Topping D90/A90 stack -- which should be endgame from a measurement standpoint -- but I have a nagging curiosity about something like the Dave. Would I hear real or imagined improvements? Does it even matter? It gets very philosophical very quickly.

Just go demo it (i know this is harder now).

Ideally bring your stack along and A/B, because the Utopia is so open that just being in a completely quiet place is a significant advantage.

I think that there shouldn't be any measurement flaws in good equipment (the manufacturers nowadays tend to test) but measuring well doesn't mean it will sound good.

 

[nagi8404]

What was your "A-ha moment" or piece of gear where you started to think that measurements were not the be-all end all? I'm very happy with my Utopias and Topping D90/A90 stack -- which should be endgame from a measurement standpoint -- but I have a nagging curiosity about something like the Dave. Would I hear real or imagined improvements? Does it even matter? It gets very philosophical very quickly.

I've never heard the Toppings but I started out with SMSL SU-8/SP-200 stack and was totally happy with it. Then a friend of mine offered me to try his Dave as he's upgrading to a Bartok. First listen to the Dave I was not impressed but I kept listening to it for a week before I switched back to the SU-8/SP-200 stack and whoa everything sounds so flat, dynamics are lost, all the layers are smushed into one with no sense of depth. Especially with the Utopias the difference was night and day.

 

[ClicketEKlack]

Thanks for all the feedback! When I can get back into a store, I'll haul the stack and Utopias in and have an A/B Topping/Chord showdown. Granted, that's a sighted test, but c'est la guerre.

 

[iamoneagain]

I've never heard the Toppings but I started out with SMSL SU-8/SP-200 stack and was totally happy with it. Then a friend of mine offered me to try his Dave as he's upgrading to a Bartok. First listen to the Dave I was not impressed but I kept listening to it for a week before I switched back to the SU-8/SP-200 stack and whoa everything sounds so flat, dynamics are lost, all the layers are smushed into one with no sense of depth. Especially with the Utopias the difference was night and day.

This is how the Focal Arche sounds if I hook it straight to Intel Nuc running roon core. No depth and has edgy sound to it. It’s not bad but doesn’t keep you engaged. Once I hook it up the Stack Audio Link II with linear power supply, I have depth, better bass control, and just more engaging.

I listened to several tracks that I used to use when testing the Chord mscaler and didn’t feel I was missing out with my current setup. I also think the Danacable has a lot to do with it. Now if I had my old Dave/mscaler side by side with my current setup, I’m sure I would find all the flaws with my current setup and would have never sold off the Chord products.

Think if I did go end game again I might look at the dcs Bartok. I like idea of one box solution and heard many people say it’s more musical with the Utopia’s. But maybe that’s due how you’re feeding it. Bartok has streamer built in and great power supply.

 

[HeavenlyD]

Just asked this question in Cables section but has anyone changed (or upgraded if the right word with the new cables Utopia now ship with) to Artisan Silver Cables? They are doing pure silver for the Utopia in 2m for under £400 and this length for my Hugo2 suits me better than the 4 ft I have supplied in the box.
If it’s equal or better for clarity then the stock cable I’ll be tempted.
So impressed with the Hugo2 and Utopia I’ve just picked up 2Go today yet I hated it with the Diana Phi, just lacked everything.

 

[Kiats]

Listening to the Focal Utopia this morning trying out some portable source options. Starting out with the FiiO M15 line out into the PhatLab Chimera. The Chimera has SE LO input and 3.5mm and 4.4mm output. High/low gain and a choice between tube and SS sound. Currently running the Utopia (with CEMA Tianwaitian cable which is alloy of copper, silver, palladium and gold). Thus far it is driving the Utopia effortlessly. With the SS output, it is a neutral sound with slight warmth in the minds. With the tube output, the soundstage seems to be perceptibly larger, there is more warmth (without muddiness) whilst adding that bit of richness into the music.

 

[Kiats]

Early morning listening... Keeps me sane. One interesting observation about the Chimera - there is no perceptible heating up at all. It is also surprisingly light. Compared to, eg, the Cayin C9.

 

[xand]

Early morning listening... Keeps me sane. One interesting observation about the Chimera - there is no perceptible heating up at all. It is also surprisingly light. Compared to, eg, the Cayin C9.

So interesting! Couldn't tell from a quick Google - what tubes does that use?

This was suggested to me, but no demo and little online info about it - which is why I picked the C9...