[DavidA]

Any brands that you would recommend? I don't trust getting a generic one from eBay, so I guess I am willing (or forced) to pay a little more (around the price of an original Sennheiser cable which isn't cheap to begin with).

I previously came across Moon Dog Dragons, but I'm not sure such silver cables are too bright sounding. Perhaps you can share your experience? I prefer something close to the original, but not prone to damage. What about Cardas or other brands you may suggest?

My take on headphone cables is that they don't make a difference in the sound unless the cable is defective to start with but I have had in the past some really nice Forza and Double-Helix cables and if I had money growing out of trees I would get them for all my headphones just for the looks and craftsmanship, truly works of art. With that said cables made from Mogami, Canare, and Van Damme are quite good and I haven't heard of anyone have them fail on them yet like the stock Senn cable and these are quite reasonable priced. It cost me about $80-100 in parts to build a cable for the HD800 only because the HD800 connectors are $40-60 to start with so this should give you an idea of what a good cable will cost. Hope this helps in your search for a new cable.

 

[YesThisIs]

So today i travelled couple of hundred kilometers to sit down and finally have a good listen between HD800S and Focal Utopia.

All i can say is that Utopia does have better imaging and bass. BUT it feels like closed headphone when compared to HD800S. The difference is just mindblowing and in the HD800S the music "opens up".

I did expect more from the praised Utopia but was VERY dissapointed. I don't really understand why people pay 4000$/€ to get those. Also the Utopias feel heavy and the clamp was too tight for my taste.

Even if the price was the same, it would be still hard to choose between those two. It depends on what you like and what you value on a headphone.

I know many will disagree on this. But just my 2cents.

 

[DavidA]

@YesThisIs, consider yourself lucky to be able to go a couple hundred km to audition gear, I don't have any where to demo/audition gear within a few thousand miles on a plane

 

[YesThisIs]

@YesThisIs, consider yourself lucky to be able to go a couple hundred km to audition gear, I don't have any where to demo/audition gear within a few thousand miles on a plane

Yeah but you live in Hawaii. I live in Skandinavia where in june its literally almost snowing...

 

[Whazzzup]

well I'm going to a meet to see what susvara is all about at 8500$ can dollars. Im just grooving on my TT gsx mk2 to hd800S combo that i can't bring myself to add anything. Maybe ignorance is bliss but ill need a near out of body experience to go to that costly a can, report back after the weekend.

 

[DavidA]

Yeah but you live in Hawaii. I live in Skandinavia where in june its literally almost snowing...

Its interesting that you would like to be in Hawaii and I would like some place a little cooler and with some seasonal changes, everyday warm and sunny does get boring at times. Its 5am in Hawaii and I have the AC running since its a bit muggy.

 

[YesThisIs]

Its interesting that you would like to be in Hawaii and I would like some place a little cooler and with some seasonal changes, everyday warm and sunny does get boring at times. Its 5am in Hawaii and I have the AC running since its a bit muggy.

"The grass is always greener on the other side"

Yeah People in my country pay arm and leg to get on a somewhere warm for a holiday....

 

[daltonlanny]

I agree with YesThisls about the Utopia...
When I owned a pair of used Utopias for about a month, I never could get past the claustrophobic soundstage. Compared to the Sennheiser HD800 + sdr or HD800 S, the Utopia sounded alot like a top notch closed back headphone when it came to soundstaging. Lol.
It also sounded, most of the time, too "in your head", overly forward, "tense", and alittle "too dynamic", if that makes any sense?
Now, don't get me wrong, it did do some things better than the Sennheisers...less distant in the mids, more bass power, punch, dynamics, and maybe better imaging, and resolution at some frequencies.
But, I could never justify the huge price difference, even with a used Utopia.
Even at way less than half the price, the Sennheisers still hold their own in most areas, and still surpass them in an area or two, imho.
Needless to say, I sold the Utopias and kept the Sennheisers with no regrets.
To each his own.

 

[endgame]

I agree with YesThisls about the Utopia...
When I owned a pair of used Utopias for about a month, I never could get past the claustrophobic soundstage. Compared to the Sennheiser HD800 + sdr or HD800 S, the Utopia sounded alot like a top notch closed back headphone when it came to soundstaging. Lol.
It also sounded, most of the time, too "in your head", overly forward, "tense", and alittle "too dynamic", if that makes any sense?
Now, don't get me wrong, it did do some things better than the Sennheisers...less distant in the mids, more bass power, punch, dynamics, and maybe better imaging, and resolution at some frequencies.
But, I could never justify the huge price difference, even with a used Utopia.
Even at way less than half the price, the Sennheisers still hold their own in most areas, and still surpass them in an area or two, imho.
Needless to say, I sold the Utopias and kept the Sennheisers with no regrets.
To each his own.

So today i travelled couple of hundred kilometers to sit down and finally have a good listen between HD800S and Focal Utopia.

All i can say is that Utopia does have better imaging and bass. BUT it feels like closed headphone when compared to HD800S. The difference is just mindblowing and in the HD800S the music "opens up".

I did expect more from the praised Utopia but was VERY dissapointed. I don't really understand why people pay 4000$/€ to get those. Also the Utopias feel heavy and the clamp was too tight for my taste.

Even if the price was the same, it would be still hard to choose between those two. It depends on what you like and what you value on a headphone.

I know many will disagree on this. But just my 2cents.

I couldn't agree more with both of you. I was less than impressed when I heard my friend's Utopia. They sounded good, but not better than my 800S unless soundstage means nothing to you. I've learned I love a big soundstage and can't go smaller, especially not Utopia small. The only headphones I'm interested in, other than the magnificent 800S, is the Abyss Diana's. I would like to hear some impressions when those launch. But as for the Utopia's, I'll pass. I may buy a motorcycle instead.

 

[YesThisIs]

I agree with YesThisls about the Utopia...
When I owned a pair of used Utopias for about a month, I never could get past the claustrophobic soundstage. Compared to the Sennheiser HD800 + sdr or HD800 S, the Utopia sounded alot like a top notch closed back headphone when it came to soundstaging. Lol.
It also sounded, most of the time, too "in your head", overly forward, "tense", and alittle "too dynamic", if that makes any sense?
Now, don't get me wrong, it did do some things better than the Sennheisers...less distant in the mids, more bass power, punch, dynamics, and maybe better imaging, and resolution at some frequencies.
But, I could never justify the huge price difference, even with a used Utopia.
Even at way less than half the price, the Sennheisers still hold their own in most areas, and still surpass them in an area or two, imho.
Needless to say, I sold the Utopias and kept the Sennheisers with no regrets.
To each his own.

Pretty much nailed it.

Yes there are some aspects (bass) that are better. (Arguably an subjective improvement. To me bass level on the HD800S is good enough. But i have never been basshead so YMMV) And yeah maybe in some aspects (you mentioned) it was better. But it is really meassured in couple of percentages. Not enough to make up for in the regions it lacks.

But in the Utopias the "wow" is missing. When i first got these two to listen i did listen HD800S first. After that when i listened Utopias, it really really dissapointed me. Reading it in reviews and in here (and other forums) i was expecting it to blow my socks away with how good it sounds. But the sound is really really really similar to the HD800S (diminishing returns) I did have to switch back and forth to hear the differences. But one thing i did notice almost immediately was the lack of soundstage.

When listening Hans Zimmer for example. You can hear the actual bloody everything with way more depth in HD800S's. In the utopias the depth is chopped of and just slightly improved the position of the sound.

And TBH i had to really really really listen for the differences in sound and what is better in Utopias. Appart from the soundstage the difference in sound is measured in couple of percentages. With 4000$ you would expect to get same you get with HD800S and even more. But actually it's doing a lot of imporant factors (to me) wrong. It's a awesome "closed back" headphone.
And even if the Utopias did have as good soundstage than HD800S, it still wouldn't justify the extra cost.

But to me, the overall "experience" of listening and enjoying your music is better with HD800S's. So to me, the HD800S is superior.

 

[EuropeanEar]

I've been living together for a while with my HD800S. My experience of listening to Focal Utopia was pretty much the same. Beautiful design, exceptional build quality, resolution, details: all top notch. However, as I got spoiled by the HD800S' outstanding 3D performance, regardless of the music choice, I was always disappointed by the Utopia's cramped soundstage. Claustrophobic was the very first adjective that popped up to my mind too.

I seriously doubt that a lot of people would change the HD800S to Focal Utopia after spending some time with the Sennheisers — and I'm not even factoring in the price difference.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I've been living together for a while with my HD800S. My experience of listening to Focal Utopia was pretty much the same. Beautiful design, exceptional build quality, resolution, details: all top notch. However, as I got spoiled by the HD800S' outstanding 3D performance, regardless of the music choice, I was always disappointed by the Utopia's cramped soundstage. Claustrophobic was the very first adjective that popped up to my mind too.

I seriously doubt that a lot of people would change the HD800S to Focal Utopia after spending some time with the Sennheisers — and I'm not even factoring in the price difference.

Really? My Utopias get soooo much more headtime than my HD800S...it's not even close!

 

[Svatopluk]

Sorry, I can't agree with you guys concerning the comments about the HD800S and it's superior soundstage. Wider yes, but not necessarily better. The Utopia is more center Orientated and dynamic giving it an advantage in simulating the soundstage of a properly setup two channel speaker system. You know how when you get it right, you can hear that phantom center speaker that does not physically exist.

The HD800S has been around the house for over a year now and the Utopia for about five months. So I've had plenty of time to evaluate the two and although some may prefer the wider soundstage of the HD800S over the Utopia. I would not consider the Utopia to be closed or claustrophobic in any way shape or from.These are both great headphone in their own right.

I do however totally agree, when it comes to price vs performance. The HD800S blows the Utopia out of the water.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Sorry, I can't agree with you guys concerning the comments about the HD800S and it's superior soundstage. Wider yes, but not necessarily better. The Utopia is more center Orientated and dynamic giving it an advantage in simulating the soundstage of a properly setup two channel speaker system. You know how when you get it right, you can hear that phantom center speaker that does not physically exist.

The HD800S has been around the house for over a year now and the Utopia for about five months. So I've had plenty of time to evaluate the two and although some may prefer the wider soundstage of the HD800S over the Utopia. I would not consider the Utopia to be closed or claustrophobic in any way shape or from.These are both great headphone in their own right.

I do however totally agree, when it comes to price vs performance. The HD800S blows the Utopia out of the water.

I think that HD800S can safely be named an end-game headphone for those who enjoy its sound. I wish Focal would send some samples in Romania, at least in some stores showrooms, but they don't so I cannot say how good they sound.

Considering their price, Utopia competes with LCD-4 price-wise, curious how they compare to each other since I heard LCD-4 and it is a lovely headphone indeed.

HD800S's soundstage is quite the thing for soundstage addicts, I really can't get enough of it whenever I have the chance to listen to a HD800S (don't own one...)

 

[Topspin70]

My take on headphone cables is that they don't make a difference in the sound unless the cable is defective to start with but I have had in the past some really nice Forza and Double-Helix cables and if I had money growing out of trees I would get them for all my headphones just for the looks and craftsmanship, truly works of art. With that said cables made from Mogami, Canare, and Van Damme are quite good and I haven't heard of anyone have them fail on them yet like the stock Senn cable and these are quite reasonable priced. It cost me about $80-100 in parts to build a cable for the HD800 only because the HD800 connectors are $40-60 to start with so this should give you an idea of what a good cable will cost. Hope this helps in your search for a new cable.

That's a great idea. I can get someone to piece the parts together to form one instead of a ready made pair. Better control over cost too. Thanks for the tip!