[cantcacheme]

That table is wonky anyway. The 1266 is very good with its punch and slam, but voices are not great sounding (for TOTL standards), that's just the truth. On the other side, i had the HE1000v2 and it is fantastic, but i would not rank any Hifiman in the top tier for metal, doesn't matter what metal. They are brilliant with string instruments and voices, but they often lack the energy and aggressivness as they are laid-back. Also they can have too much treble for these genres and get fatiguing.
The Utopia is the #1 jack of all trades TOTL and is excellent with everything you throw at it, yes. That's why we audiophiles love it.
Also, that the LCD-2 has no marks there is a crime, i had the LCD-2f (should not be THAT much of a difference), and it's is very good for all sorts of rock and metal.

Certainly an interesting take on Utopia. I agree it does some things very well like its amazing sense of soundstage depth/reverb which lends to outstanding performance with acoustic and similar genres, and balanced tonality. But it is IMHO much too light on the bass for adequate performance with bass-heavy genres; excellent impact and slam, yes, but no body or weight behind the initial punch. Used for $2k is certainly worth it, but $5k for the 2022 refresh is just hilariously overpriced

 

[Exekuhtor]

It has a mediocre soundstage in terms of width and height, the depth is not bad, i agree. It's standard Focal level. Focal never leaned into soundstage, that's Hifimans schtick. 1266 / HE1000v2 / Susvara are way bigger.
Light on bass? Hmmm, well, it doesn't have an elevated bass per se like a Stellia / DT1770 etc, but it slaps so hard with its macrodynamics. They are the very best of any headphone except the 1266. I would never EQ bass into it. I personally dislike too much midbass, since it often bloats into the mids and makes male voices sound very bad (MDR-Z1R and Stellia was way too much). I know that also drums live in there, but only because you elevate the midbass does not make the headphone more dynamic. I agree that the refresh is a bit of a joke, the Nutopia might be worth 5k€ in comparison to the other TOTL's, but not when you can get the old model for half the price used. Also they needed to switch to dual 3.5mm and could have altered the tuning more than they did (hooray, -1.5db treble). I will probably hear it at Highend Munich in may and have no desire buying one before that (and probably after haha).

Ha! You also have a D9200, an old Utopia and a Rognir. Nice. The TH900Mk2 would maybe be to V-shaped for me, i haven't heard it, i was close in buying in several times but got the Denon in the end. I dislike how it's much older and still pricey. I almost bought the white pearl version three weeks ago until i read that is has even more treble than the regular red one.

 

[cantcacheme]

It has a mediocre soundstage in terms of width and height, the depth is not bad, i agree. It's standard Focal level. Focal never leaned into soundstage, that's Hifimans schtick. 1266 / HE1000v2 / Susvara are way bigger.
Light on bass? Hmmm, well, it doesn't have an elevated bass per se like a Stellia / DT1770 etc, but it slaps so hard with its macrodynamics. They are the very best of any headphone except the 1266. I would never EQ bass into it. I personally dislike too much midbass, since it often bloats into the mids and makes male voices sound very bad (MDR-Z1R and Stellia was way too much). I know that also drums live in there, but only because you elevate the midbass does not make the headphone more dynamic. I agree that the refresh is a bit of a joke, the Nutopia might be worth 5k€ in comparison to the other TOTL's, but not when you can get the old model for half the price used. Also they needed to switch to dual 3.5mm and could have altered the tuning more than they did (hooray, -1.5db treble). I will probably hear it at Highend Munich in may and have no desire buying one before that (and probably after haha).

Ha! You also have a D9200, an old Utopia and a Rognir. Nice. The TH900Mk2 would maybe be to V-shaped for me, i haven't heard it, i was close in buying in several times but got the Denon in the end. I dislike how it's much older and still pricey. I almost bought the white pearl version three weeks ago until i read that is has even more treble than the regular red one.

Yes the soundstage width is just too narrow especially for a TOTL; but the reverb I got in tracks sounded so good that I had to re-purchase a used set after trading the first one. I never heard any other headphone that could replicate this; maybe soundstage depth is not the correct term but whatever it is called, Utopia does it extremely well.

I can certainly see a lot of people being satisfied with Utopia bass, especially since most audiophiles are so quick to separate bassheads from non-bassheads. But for me even cheaper headphones like th900, d9200 had more quantity and just as much slam/impact, if not even better. Then Rognir with its crazy sub-bass which obviously Utopia struggles with. I tried toying with EQ on Utopia and even analog bass toggle on my iFi unit, but it is clear that Utopia was never designed to handle any sort of bass boost. 2022 refresh with its tuning change supposedly made it warmer and slightly bassier, which I feel it certainly needs; it really is a shame that Focal decided to raise the price.

TH900 is certainly an acquired taste, given its extreme v-shape and lackluster mids. But its bass is really quite impressive given its price, and the treble can actually work in its favor for certain tracks; for some genres like EDM it is absolutely class-leading. I think the anniversary tuning editions are supposed to make the headphone less v-shaped and more balanced, but I haven't heard them yet, OG red is absolutely the way to go IMO

 

[feverfive]

So my "audiophile" journey has been an interesting, winding trip. I joined head-fi as a teenager looking for IEMs as I waas moving away from 2-channel speaker rigs (my uncle who introduced me to audio likely rolled over in his grave while I was doing this, LOL). I've experienced much of the voodoo AND science of audio, transducer "burn-in" among them.

Sorry for the intro, but: I never expected the "burn-in" of a paper membrane driver like that found in the Gjallarhorn GH40 would cause me to go "damn...I now seriously LIKE these instead of merely finding them acceptable."

I bought my GH40 from a head-fi'er a year ago now. He had them only for like 6 weeks or so, purchased direct from Kennerton as some sort of package deal with another set and before re-sellers had them, I believe. Anyway, I am not a headphone guy, but I always keep a set around in case of a "break glass in case of emergency" scenario. I've never owned a set of cans that I personally put more than maybe 100 total hours on. The GH40, until a month ago, were no different.

I was planning to list them for sale, but for some reason, I decided to put them on a burn-in rig; let them play for 5 straight days, let them sit for a day, then burned-in again for another 3 straight days. I've been using them these past few days and have been astounded by how much I like these in comparison to the prior time of ownership.

This hobby is straight-up weird, and I love it.

 

[Lickumms]

It has a mediocre soundstage in terms of width and height, the depth is not bad, i agree. It's standard Focal level. Focal never leaned into soundstage, that's Hifimans schtick. 1266 / HE1000v2 / Susvara are way bigger.
Light on bass? Hmmm, well, it doesn't have an elevated bass per se like a Stellia / DT1770 etc, but it slaps so hard with its macrodynamics. They are the very best of any headphone except the 1266. I would never EQ bass into it. I personally dislike too much midbass, since it often bloats into the mids and makes male voices sound very bad (MDR-Z1R and Stellia was way too much). I know that also drums live in there, but only because you elevate the midbass does not make the headphone more dynamic. I agree that the refresh is a bit of a joke, the Nutopia might be worth 5k€ in comparison to the other TOTL's, but not when you can get the old model for half the price used. Also they needed to switch to dual 3.5mm and could have altered the tuning more than they did (hooray, -1.5db treble). I will probably hear it at Highend Munich in may and have no desire buying one before that (and probably after haha).

Ha! You also have a D9200, an old Utopia and a Rognir. Nice. The TH900Mk2 would maybe be to V-shaped for me, i haven't heard it, i was close in buying in several times but got the Denon in the end. I dislike how it's much older and still pricey. I almost bought the white pearl version three weeks ago until i read that is has even more treble than the regular red one.

I presonally find the Th900 headphones to be violently V shaped and painful to listen to there highs. Which is why my pair is so heavily modified. I like the 9200 a lot more than the Th900 and would recommend it over the TH900 any day of the week. That is if you don't want the GH50 JM.

 

[521282]

it is a (three-fingered) salute for rallying rebels in the Hunger Games; your cinematographic culture is very weak my "friend".

I would hardly call the hunger games cinematic culture, but yey you..

 

[ithilienrp]

Not coming here for a while ..... glad to see you guys still here

I'd been thinking of adding a Heartland to my collection. But since I'm moving to a bigger house .... so that will have to wait unfortunately.

And yes, I'm still enjoying my Thror Novel (personalized tuning, with more emphasizing on bass and subbass, as well as making the mid lean a bit toward the Odin Mk2, and with ECL-03 pads -- so it's not a Thror tuning. I also have a Thror, they are completely different) and Rognir Planar (also with ECL-03), for most things I'm listening, and that including symphonic metals

Pic: Me with Thror Novel, as I'm writing this and listing to Xandria's new album. Also working on my new university lecture

 

[eric65]

I would hardly call the hunger games cinematic culture, but yey you..

It's a very topical saga, like Chaplin's dictator.

 

[521282]

It's a very topical saga, like Chaplin's dictator.

Uh-huh

 

[Exekuhtor]

Ok, if you guys won't, i'll do.
I'm gonna change the subject:
I got the Kennerton Rögnir and it's on its way. I'm excited. Can we focus less on Nazis and more on headphones? Thanks. I say that as german. It's bad enough that the stock of Kennerton headphones is most likely limited, direct quote from their Rögnir site:
"Our drivers are solely designed and produced in Russia, which involves a facility that also work for the aerospace and military industries, which ensures the highest quality and durability of our headphones."
I hate to say it, but i don't think that Mr. Putin wants to fabricate headphones in his military facilities right now.
It's a sensitive topic but it's reality.

 

[eric65]

Do you know Fischer Audio, Kennerton's parent company. Here is an example of headphone production made by the Russian industry that you mentioned. A weapon, like any other.

https://zh-hk.facebook.com/fischeraudio/posts/2731525673525356

 

[fullbass]

@Exekuhtor don't worry, there are enough rognir for everyone and there is nothing militaristic about these headphones. just a cannon sound

 

[Lickumms]

The new sale item on Kennerton is the GH 50 and the GH50 JM. After the discount it ends up being ~$1000 in total, including shipping, for the headphones. Which is a fantastic price for a truly great dynamic headphone. I would highly recommend jumping on it if you were looking at getting a pair.

 

[Bergamot]

My RD.

 

[Minkypou]

Really interested in the Gjallarhorn JM Edition, being a basshead, i miss that exciting bass ^^. I was just wondering, is the JM the * mk2 * version? because it seems logical to me that it would be but i see some people adding the mk2 even with the JM already mentionned so im a bit confused. Im planning to buy one soon and just want to make sure before i order. Im interested in the MK2 ^^