[wojpol]

I owned 3 headphones once, the Empyreans, Focal Utopia and Final D8000. I now own two, having sold the Utopias. On my amplifier, the Utopias had a thin, bright sound, no bass. The Empys and Final D8000 destroyed them having a thumping bass , much fuller sound for me. Utopias are too overpriced for what they deliver. Who cares about a beryllium driver.

 

[Jwakeford]

I owned 3 headphones once, the Empyreans, Focal Utopia and Final D8000. I now own two, having sold the Utopias. On my amplifier, the Utopias had a thin, bright sound, no bass. The Empys and Final D8000 destroyed them having a thumping bass , much fuller sound for me. Utopias are too overpriced for what they deliver. Who cares about a beryllium driver.

Yes it is overpriced and if the used market is any indication, here in France you can easily find Utopias on classified Ads going for around 1500€ LOL !

For example https://www.leboncoin.fr/image_son/1676216439.htm/
https://www.leboncoin.fr/image_son/1675364607.htm/

 

[JinTam]

I owned 3 headphones once, the Empyreans, Focal Utopia and Final D8000. I now own two, having sold the Utopias. On my amplifier, the Utopias had a thin, bright sound, no bass. The Empys and Final D8000 destroyed them having a thumping bass , much fuller sound for me. Utopias are too overpriced for what they deliver. Who cares about a beryllium driver.

I think you will find the Beats very enjoyable too.

 

[JinTam]

The Empyreans are very good but they are no where near what they are praised to be. I will keep my pair until they break but I think all the top tier HPs are all very good.

 

[up late]

Well then your blind if you haven’t read many many comments stating the Utopia sounds forward, analytical, and lacking bass. It’s my feeling as well.

Don’t get bent out of shape. The Uropia’s not your chick.

i've seen people describe the utopia in those terms. i've also seen people who disagree with them. that doesn't constitute a "general impression", let alone a consensus. i've no doubt that you can't relate to my assessment of the empyrean, which i posted way back in this thread, which is fine because we're sharing our subjective impressions and personal preferences. there's no requirement for us to agree about any of this.

we've had this discussion before - you're entitled to feel whatever you like about the utopia, but that doesn't make you right and your experience certainly doesn't hold true for everyone, including me. and if you think that i'm taking your posts personally then you're very much mistaken. i "don't get bent out of shape" over this stuff.

 

[ken6217]

i've seen people describe the utopia in those terms. i've also seen people who disagree with them. that doesn't constitute a general impression, let alone a consensus. i've no doubt that you can't relate to my assessment of the empyrean, which i posted way back in this thread, which is fine because we're sharing our subjective impressions and personal preferences. there's no requirement for us to agree about any of this.

we've had this discussion before - you're entitled to feel whatever you like about the utopia, but that doesn't make you right and your experience certainly doesn't hold true for everyone, including me. and if you think that i'm taking your posts personally then you're very much mistaken. i "don't get bent out of shape" over this stuff.

Point taken. I guess you replied to my original comment before I deleted it.

 

[up late]

Point taken. I guess you replied to my original comment before I deleted it.

how inconvenient for you

 

[ken6217]

how inconvenient for you

Inconvenient????? Come now. Give it a rest.

 

[up late]

Inconvenient????? Come now. Give it a rest.

lighten up bro, it came with a winking smiley

 

[LCMusicLover]

There's a reason why they cost more .
Nah, I got them both for the same price. So equal there.

I bought both new -- got a discount on each. I actually paid less for my Utopia (so much bigger discount, obviously).

And frankly, all this 'Empy is best! No, Utopia is best!' stuff is just silly. They sound very different. Some folks are going to prefer one, some the other. Still others, like me, will prefer something in the middle.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I owned 3 headphones once, the Empyreans, Focal Utopia and Final D8000. I now own two, having sold the Utopias. On my amplifier, the Utopias had a thin, bright sound, no bass.

I don't disagree in general, but Utopia can be 'tuned' to reduce those characteristics. With my Laz Ref cable and some warmer NOS tubes in my Liquid Platinum, Utopia does sound fuller and less bright. While I wouldn't call them bass cannons, to my ears, from that chain, bass is clean and satisfying when the source calls for it.

...Utopias are too overpriced for what they deliver...

One might be tempted to say the market agrees, but it also might be that Focal has simply pushed too much supply into the market versus to the demand for a $4k headphone. I have frequently wondered what the comparative unit sales are for various TOTL headphones. For example, how many Utopia have been sold vs how many LCD-4 or AB-1266 have been sold? I've never seen any information about that.

...Who cares about a beryllium driver.

Who cares about a Rinaro driver? Really, I don't care much about the technology. I care most about sound, then comfort, then build quality, then looks, and least about the tech.

 

[tradyblix]

I currently own the Utopia and the Empy. I used to have 12 headphones, Now I’m down to just these 2 and a couple of travel headphones.

My experience was initially disappointment going to the Empy as it does not reach the level of detail the Utopia has. And I agree that Utopia is great with warm/smooth dacamps like the TA I have. It complements the Utopia well. The Empyrean is better with the Hugo2 IMO. But then going back to the Utopia after spending time with the Empyrean was a shock, because then the Utopia sounded much worse Especially its bass.

Ultimately, they complement each other real well and it a lesson that no one tool is perfect in all situations.

 

[JinTam]

I currently own the Utopia and the Empy. I used to have 12 headphones, Now I’m down to just these 2 and a couple of travel headphones.

My experience was initially disappointment going to the Empy as it does not reach the level of detail the Utopia has. And I agree that Utopia is great with warm/smooth dacamps like the TA I have. It complements the Utopia well. The Empyrean is better with the Hugo2 IMO. But then going back to the Utopia after spending time with the Empyrean was a shock, because then the Utopia sounded much worse Especially its bass.

Ultimately, they complement each other real well and it a lesson that no one tool is perfect in all situations.

My opinion(this makes everything alright) is your ears are messed up. The headphones are fine.

 

[tradyblix]

My opinion(this makes everything alright) is your ears are messed up. The headphones are fine.

Nah, my ears are good. I love both these 2 headphones and enjoy them very much. That's just my experiences with them going back and forth. Do you own both of these headphones ? Do you want to post about what you think the differences are ? Certainly would be interested in hearing your impressions if they differ from mine.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I owned 3 headphones once, the Empyreans, Focal Utopia and Final D8000. I now own two, having sold the Utopias. On my amplifier, the Utopias had a thin, bright sound, no bass. The Empys and Final D8000 destroyed them having a thumping bass , much fuller sound for me. Utopias are too overpriced for what they deliver. Who cares about a beryllium driver.

I thought the Final D8000 were a bit of a mess personally. I'd easily take the other two headphones you mentioned over them without batting an eye lash.