[Stu79]

Initially I tried to install Roon Rock, it installed in 5 seconds, but it was missing codecs, ffmpeg. I could not gain access to it to manually install the codecs, all due to network problems that I didn't solve until the weekend ( 1 week later ).

I had to abort my roon rock install and I just threw windows 10 on it and installed Roon Server. ( 1 week ago )

Looking back, I think going with windows was the correct decision, as my nuc is super fast and it would be a complete waste of money to let it just run roon rock. An i3 with 8 gig of ram would do that job easy.

I don't think there is anything wrong with USB connects, I was using usb and optical on my big rig, mostly usb and hms & tt2 sounded great, on my nuc it sounds even better.

Roon server has no gui on my nuc, it's completely hidden except for an icon that has one option, exit. I connect to it and change settings using my ipad via the roon ios app.

Great, thanks for your feedback. I may well go the same route myself, albeit with a lower spec, because I would be building mine purely as a headless Roon server. Plex server can stay on the NAS.

 

[musickid]

Amber when you used your main pc usb out to hms did you use the same computer for web surfing or other tasks whilst streaming roon? If so any negative observations or was everything fine doing this. I'm checking my mode of useage.

 

[GreenBow]

When I was earlier discussing headphones that I thought I might like with TT2, I wrote off the Utopia. (Am on the hunt for headphones to buy.) However on further reading on the Focal Utopia, I was surprised by many things.

Firstly that the beryllium drive is far more accurate at hitting the frequency, than 'normal' driver material. Having a dynamic driver headphone near or, at the top of the list in best headphones, is unusual in itself.
Secondly I was of the general impression that some open back headphones can sound thin. Apparently this not the case with the Utopia either.

Anyway without rattling on, sorry if I misrepresented the Utopia. From what I understand now, it should be an excellent headphone to pair with Chord. What with the Utopia being relatively flat, and Chord too. I just never knew that you could get full bodied sound from open-back headphones. Meaning they should rock with TT2 or any Chord. … Just saying.

I also recently came across a Simaudio Moon cable that apparently smooths out even more the top end. Plus adds some warmth to the bass somewhere. Not that I mean I think the Utopia is bright, just that the cable takes the utopia to the next level.

 

[miketlse]

When I was earlier discussing headphones that I thought I might like with TT2, I wrote off the Utopia. (Am on the hunt for headphones to buy.) However on further reading on the Focal Utopia, I was surprised by many things.

Firstly that the beryllium drive is far more accurate at hitting the frequency, than 'normal' driver material. Having a dynamic driver headphone near or, at the top of the list in best headphones, is unusual in itself.
Secondly I was of the general impression that some open back headphones can sound thin. Apparently this not the case with the Utopia either.

Anyway without rattling on, sorry if I misrepresented the Utopia. From what I understand now, it should be an excellent headphone to pair with Chord. What with the Utopia being relatively flat, and Chord too. I just never knew that you could get full bodied sound from open-back headphones. Meaning they should rock with TT2 or any Chord. … Just saying.

I also recently came across a Simaudio Moon cable that apparently smooths out even more the top end. Plus adds some warmth to the bass somewhere. Not that I mean I think the Utopia is bright, just that the cable takes the utopia to the next level.

The Utopia do divide owners, some state that they are wonderful even with the entry-level Mojo (whose price they dwarf), but others post the exact opposite.
They are expensive so demo before you buy, but you may find that they are the right headphones for you.

 

[rkt31]

I tried utoptia , lcd4 and hifiman he1000 V2 with tt2 and HMS combo at Singapore. He1000v2 easily bettered both , sounding extremely clean and very open sounding.

 

[Deftone]

When I was earlier discussing headphones that I thought I might like with TT2, I wrote off the Utopia. (Am on the hunt for headphones to buy.) However on further reading on the Focal Utopia, I was surprised by many things.

Firstly that the beryllium drive is far more accurate at hitting the frequency, than 'normal' driver material. Having a dynamic driver headphone near or, at the top of the list in best headphones, is unusual in itself.
Secondly I was of the general impression that some open back headphones can sound thin. Apparently this not the case with the Utopia either.

Anyway without rattling on, sorry if I misrepresented the Utopia. From what I understand now, it should be an excellent headphone to pair with Chord. What with the Utopia being relatively flat, and Chord too. I just never knew that you could get full bodied sound from open-back headphones. Meaning they should rock with TT2 or any Chord. … Just saying.

I also recently came across a Simaudio Moon cable that apparently smooths out even more the top end. Plus adds some warmth to the bass somewhere. Not that I mean I think the Utopia is bright, just that the cable takes the utopia to the next level.

Some people feel that the utopia has a small sounstage and lacks bass, you should try to demo it for yourself with a headphone at that kind of price.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Some people feel that the utopia has a small sounstage and lacks bass, you should try to demo it for yourself with a headphone at that kind of price.

I have an Utopia running through the TT2. I own a bunch of other headphones as well (LCD-2, HD800, TH900mk.2, RS1e), and with stock cables, the Utopia had slightly better HD800 bass, which I would consider a bad thing, as I appreciate bass, and was hoping for more refined Audeze/Fostex type bass. So, I read up on this problem, and I found that people that bought DanaCables Lazuli Reference headphone cables claimed that the bass opens up and so does the soundstage. I ended up blindly pulling the trigger on the Lazuli Reference cables. Let me tell you, the bass opened up immediately. It's compatible to the LCD-2s now, but a little less than the TH900s. I recently went back to my old stock cables, just to hear them, and they sound bad, bad. I was kind of up in the air about the whole cable improving your sound performance argument, but now I completely believe that cables have a considerable effect on SQ.

So, if you all wanna buy the Utopias, plan on spending another $1k on cables, minimum (more if you want the higher end options).

 

[x RELIC x]

I own the Utopia and have no issue with bass and the stock cable. Compared to my other headphones (see my signature) I don’t find them lacking at all.

One person’s opinion does not equal another’s. An audition with your own gear would be best.

 

[GreenBow]

Yeah, I am not saying that I mean to buy the Utopias now. More just saying I didn't mean to be misleading. This was caused by a period of time where I was totally stuck in my tracks over headphones. I think I have always been that way. I have found it easier to choose amp and speakers, unless I have always just been lucky. Whereas headphones are a task to decide on. However speakers don't have the issues that headphones have, like heat from being closed backed etc. Or 'arrgghrrrr' cable noise!

I am curious about the Utopias though. E.g. going back to their graphs, they actually have a very flat response according to some. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foc...-preview-with-measurements-head-fi-tv.811270/

That looks OK to me. However the Harman curve tends to like a bit more gain in the bass. Oddly, even the totally flat response curve, would require a touch more treble, than Jude's measurement. Apparently a flat response in headphones doesn't mean a linear response physically. It requires a dip around the 3-4KHz, and a peak higher up. Something like that. I would have to look it up again to be sure to be right.

I actually expected to see the bass roll off on the Utopia. I think I have seen that in other graphs, but don't quote me, as I am not sure. Rolling off bass is not so good for me. However it might have to be a compromise. Often we can't have everything.

Anyway whatever. Whatever headphone I audition, I can take my Mojo to listen with. (Or Hugo 2 at a push.) If I am happy with a headphones balance on a Mojo, I would be happy with it on TT2.

@Ciggavelli yeah for sure I was convinced over analogue cables too. I had some budget active speakers with a bit of cabinet boom. That boom went when I bought a better quality cable that fed their RCA in. I have heard it before though, with speaker cable. It's surprising just how much difference it makes. It seems to me that analogue cables are as important as any other electrical component. There's quantities like capacitance with can reduce bass signals. Thus folk buy low capacitance cables.

 

[ra990]

My Hugo TT 2 powering some huge Klipsch Cornwall speakers with ease...

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

My Hugo TT 2 powering some huge Klipsch Cornwall speakers with ease...

That's awesome!

I definitely want to try out some high sensitivity speakers with the TT-2, just not sure which speakers yet.

 

[CreditingKarma]

Yeah, I am not saying that I mean to buy the Utopias now. More just saying I didn't mean to be misleading. This was caused by a period of time where I was totally stuck in my tracks over headphones. I think I have always been that way. I have found it easier to choose amp and speakers, unless I have always just been lucky. Whereas headphones are a task to decide on. However speakers don't have the issues that headphones have, like heat from being closed backed etc. Or 'arrgghrrrr' cable noise!

I am curious about the Utopias though. E.g. going back to their graphs, they actually have a very flat response according to some. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foc...-preview-with-measurements-head-fi-tv.811270/

That looks OK to me. However the Harman curve tends to like a bit more gain in the bass. Oddly, even the totally flat response curve, would require a touch more treble, than Jude's measurement. Apparently a flat response in headphones doesn't mean a linear response physically. It requires a dip around the 3-4KHz, and a peak higher up. Something like that. I would have to look it up again to be sure to be right.

I actually expected to see the bass roll off on the Utopia. I think I have seen that in other graphs, but don't quote me, as I am not sure. Rolling off bass is not so good for me. However it might have to be a compromise. Often we can't have everything.

Anyway whatever. Whatever headphone I audition, I can take my Mojo to listen with. (Or Hugo 2 at a push.) If I am happy with a headphones balance on a Mojo, I would be happy with it on TT2.

@Ciggavelli yeah for sure I was convinced over analogue cables too. I had some budget active speakers with a bit of cabinet boom. That boom went when I bought a better quality cable that fed their RCA in. I have heard it before though, with speaker cable. It's surprising just how much difference it makes. It seems to me that analogue cables are as important as any other electrical component. There's quantities like capacitance with can reduce bass signals. Thus folk buy low capacitance cables.

Give the abyss 1266 phi tc a shot. I like it more than the utopia. It has just as much or more resolution than the utopia with much better bass and a much bigger sound stage. It is more pricey than the utopia as you can get a utopia at a pretty good discount now. The abyss though is hard and shoulders above the utopia to me. I think it is even better than the stax sr009s.

 

[alota]

My Hugo TT 2 powering some huge Klipsch Cornwall speakers with ease...

really nice and minimalist setup.great envy and great sound(i suppose)

 

[ra990]

really nice and minimalist setup.great envy and great sound(i suppose)

I just put it out there to test, this isn't my final setup. I'm moving to a place where I'll have a huge room to dedicate for listening and I can't wait. Actually, I tested a few amps and surprisingly an old Yamaha AVR receiver putting out 75watts/channel made the speakers sound their best. The TT2 sounded very clean but was missing low end impact, even when connected to balanced outs - which was a surprise to me. I was hoping the TT2's 18watts/channel would be the perfect match for them considering how efficient they are.

 

[miketlse]

I just put it out there to test, this isn't my final setup. I'm moving to a place where I'll have a huge room to dedicate for listening and I can't wait. Actually, I tested a few amps and surprisingly an old Yamaha AVR receiver putting out 75watts/channel made the speakers sound their best. The TT2 sounded very clean but was missing low end impact, even when connected to balanced outs - which was a surprise to me. I was hoping the TT2's 18watts/channel would be the perfect match for them considering how efficient they are.

Maybe you are confusing power and sound signature.
I presume that you are direct driving the speakers. The TT2 is producing a neutral sound signature, with no bass range artificially boosted by distortion, and the speakers are reproducing this.
Your old Yamaha AVR receiver may well have a sound signature with a boosted bass range, which your speakers then reproduced.
The speakers may have sounded good, but you could merely have been enjoying the distorted bass notes.