Focal Utopia: the best DAC/ headphone amp...
Aug 29, 2017 at 7:00 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 41

Bart Goyens

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Hi,
I need some good advice...
I have a couple of, in my opinion decent headphones, The focal Utopia, Elear the McIntosh MPH1000 and the B&W P9, and a set of Shure 846's.
Most of my listening is streaming from tidal, either on my mac through a Chord Mojo or airplay on my Denon AVR.
I like all sort of music ranging from Classical and opera to dance, most of the time i listen to Chill house and EDM.
What i noticed especially with the focals is that I like the sound signature of the AVR better than the Mojo, it is more dynamic and fun. as the AVR is in the living room and despite the enormous cable focal supplies, it is still too far away from my desk... so I'm looking for a dedicated amp for my desk. I have been listening to the McIntosh C2600 (yes it's a pre-amp not a dedicated headphone amp) . Apart from the fact that i love it, it is too expensive ($ 7,000) and too big for my desk, so that is a no-go.
I have been reading some threads and forums and have made a selection of potential contenders but need your help to find what I'm looking for without having to rob a bank.
The contenders so far are: WooAudio WA7 and WA8, Ifi I can pro and the Schiit Valhalla2, Lyr2 or Mjolnir 2, however these would require a separate DAC as compared to the build-in mac of the Woo and Ifi. I could use the mojo here or go for the Bifrost or Gugnir, depending on the amp I choose. all combinations are in about the same price range (up to $ 2,000).
alternative could be the Macintosh MHA 150 (out of range).
all other suggestions are, of course, more than welcome! Thanks in advance!
By the way, the MPH 1000 is for sale, my wife believes my collection is growing out of control... hit me up for more info.
Bart
 
Aug 29, 2017 at 9:49 PM Post #2 of 41
I think that I've only have heard the Utopia's from tube amps now that I think about. The best I've heard would explode the budget I'm sure it was from a Cavalli Liquid Tungsten prototype and a Chord Dave it was plain awesome. The first time I heard them was from a amp that I now own and knew that they were stellar headphones and that is a Amps and Sound Kenzie . I might have to take back the only tubes thing as I can't remember what they had at their booth at CanJam but it was unremarkable anyway. I didn't hear the Utopias from the WA8 but I love that little amp anyway.
 
Sep 23, 2017 at 1:43 PM Post #3 of 41
I am currently running my Focal Utopia's through the Schiit Gungnir (multibit) + Mjolnir 2 in LISST mode and couldn't be happier. I listen to everything (Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz) mostly all in 16/44 rez and this Schiit just sounds.... AWESOME.
 
Sep 24, 2017 at 2:24 AM Post #4 of 41
I have been reading some threads and forums and have made a selection of potential contenders but need your help to find what I'm looking for without having to rob a bank.
The contenders so far are: WooAudio WA7 and WA8, Ifi I can pro and the Schiit Valhalla2, Lyr2 or Mjolnir 2, however these would require a separate DAC as compared to the build-in mac of the Woo and Ifi. I could use the mojo here or go for the Bifrost or Gugnir, depending on the amp I choose. all combinations are in about the same price range (up to $ 2,000).

At 80ohms impedance (and relatively high damping factor/low output impedance on the Valhalla2) don't blow any money on an OTL tube amp, even the Valhalla2, if your goal is to maximize that "dynamic" sound. A lot of that is mostly from playing louder, but the amp has to be very far from clipping (OTL tube amps have less power at 32ohms than at 300 to 600ohms) and distortion ie, you need to play loud and more importantly, very clean and effortless power.

You can get the Lyr2 or even the Asgard2. Or try the Meier Corda Jazz FF or a Violectric V200.
 
Sep 25, 2017 at 11:07 PM Post #5 of 41
i’ve been to the source AV here in Torrance, they have a huge amount of gear to test so I listed to the WA7 and the WA8, I like the 7 better than the 8, but than I started listening to the Sony TA-ZH1ES, and that certainly sounded better, at least to my ears. As they also had the Hugo TT on display and I’m just intrigued by its looks, I also have that one a listen... and oh boy, did it blow my mind, sound so crisp and open! Really loved it! Now i’m Waiting until they have a Hugo 2 demo unit... not sure if the H2 is going to be better than the TT, yes, newer tech... but it all depends on your own ears... any thoughts here?
 
Sep 26, 2017 at 2:03 AM Post #6 of 41
It took a seriously expensive amp to best the Hugo 2's direct output with the Utopias in my experience.
 
Sep 26, 2017 at 7:44 AM Post #7 of 41
It took a seriously expensive amp to best the Hugo 2's direct output with the Utopias in my experience.

Good info. I may have to give the Hugo2 a try; however, in a recent head to head of the Hugo TT versus Schiit Gungnir/Mjolnir 2 through my Utopias I felt the differences were not all that striking. On its own I felt the HugoTT had a slightly blacker background, slightly less (albeit tighter) bass, and a slightly narrower soundstage. With the Hugo TT through the Mjolnir 2 the differences between the two were even less discernible. In the end, with longer listening sessions I just found the Schiit combo more enjoyable and couldn't justify 2X the price for the HugoTT. Given my experience --and the fact that you seem to have quite a bit of experience with both Chord and Schiit-- do you think the Hugo2 would be a significant improvement over Gungnir/Mjolnir2? If so what comparison/contrast would you make between the two? Thanks!
 
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Sep 26, 2017 at 6:10 PM Post #8 of 41
If you want the form factor of a Hugo 2 or a WOO WA8 then both are great. If a slightly larger form factor works for you I love my Violectric V281 with my Utopia's. Detailed, accurate and effortless performance across the frequency range. I agree with you on the Utopia's with tubes. I do a majority of my Utopia's listening on a WOO WA5-LE with EML and KR tubes. It's exceptional.
 
Sep 26, 2017 at 6:20 PM Post #9 of 41
Have to agree with the Utopias and a tube amp. I have a Amps and Sounds Kenzie and heard the Utopias from it and it was really nice I must say. The best I've heard the Utopias was from a Chord Dave and the Cavalli Liquid Tungsten is was up there as one of the best headphone setups I've heard the new Orpheus was better but not by a huge margin pretty good one but not huge.
 
Sep 28, 2017 at 3:31 AM Post #10 of 41
well, cannot comment on most of the amp named here, what I can do is suggest what I use almost daily...
I love my Utopia amplified by a quite peculiar (and custom made) 2A3 Halgorythme amplifier. second but very close a 300B Halgorythme amplifier (again, custom made, not on the standard pricelist). third, but not so far away, the Auralic Taurus MKII.
I don't know if this can be generalized, given the quite peculiar customizations done (but for eample I have heard a 2A3 Eddie Current amp and it sounded very similar), but maybe can help to get an idea :)
 
Sep 28, 2017 at 2:38 PM Post #11 of 41
I am currently driving the Utopia with the RME ADI-2 Pro, it is a DAC-amp,
I don't think that in that price category any other device will drive them to this level of detail and cleanness.
 
Sep 28, 2017 at 4:28 PM Post #12 of 41
I am currently driving the Utopia with the RME ADI-2 Pro, it is a DAC-amp,
I don't think that in that price category any other device will drive them to this level of detail and cleanness.

I don’t have any experience with RME gear. However I’ve had a Mytek Brooklyn for a while and it works well. Great DAC with PCM, DSD and native MQA, good with phones and it has a built in phono stage Swiss Army knife product that is spectacular as a DAC.
 
Sep 28, 2017 at 9:34 PM Post #13 of 41
I absolutely love the Hugo2 + Utopias! One of the best upstream units I've heard with the Utopias. I've tried adding in another amplifier and ended up preferring the cleaner sound from just the Hugo 2. The absolute pinnacle is the Chord DAVE + Dana Cable Lanzuli Reference Cable + Utopia headphones. Listening to it right now with some Nirvana and I am floored!
 
Sep 28, 2017 at 10:17 PM Post #15 of 41
have you tried the TT? I'm listening to some Diana Krall now with the Mojo on my Mac. what source are you using? quality of audio files?

Compared with my Gungnir/Mjolnir 2 @ 2k the HugoTT @ 4k left me feeling... underwhelmed. See above.

Would love to hear other's comparison of the Hugo 2 v TT.
 

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