[JimL11]

  While this cost comparison might be appropriate for a more DIY-centric community, I don't think this is a fair assessment unless a SRX-Plus can be purchased or commissioned anywhere close to this amount.
 
Can't discredit the prospect of the SRX-Plus performance (having not yet heard one), but I do know the 009 + HV is not TOTL by my standards. For the same $5-6k street I think it would be possible to eke something preferable out of the Utopia.

Well, I don't consider the SRX-Plus TOTL but in your original post you stated "at/near TOTL" and I would consider it to fit in that broader category.  Now to be clear, I consider the KGST, KGSSHV to be in near TOTL level, and the KGSS Carbon,BHSE, Megatron and DIY T2 in the TOTL category.  I haven't heard any of them except for a maxxed out KGST so I am going by internet reputation (I know, I know), which is partly why I am lumping in relatively broad categories rather than trying to make fine distinctions.

 

[MacedonianHero]

How do you rate bass on Utopia vs 009?

 
I own both and would put them at the very top of my collection. If there ever was a headphone that would displace my SR-009s, it might very well be the Utopias. That said, my SR-009s aren't going anywhere as their speed and detail retrieval is still just slightly ahead. Tonally, the Utopias hit all the right notes. Love them both actually! My SR-007Mk1's are just below these two headphones. Actually I'd put the LCD-4 and HE-1000V2 ahead of them too. YMMV of course

 

[sensui123]

I don't miss lcd 3/4 with sr007 mk1....either out the carbon or the bhse.

 

[litleGrasshoper]

Even if the midrange hardness is intrinsic to the drivers it can be ameliorated via amplification unless it's caused by the housing or resonances. FWIW some type of coloration in the midrange does indeed seem to be a common impression among those that have heard the Utopia (myself included) but I believe to-date most impressions have been from mediocre solid-state amplifiers.

For me personally I'd probably take the Utopia's slightly iffy midrange over the upper-midrange/treble issues of the SR-009 (among other problems with the latter). I don't doubt that a $6k amplifier+headphone pairing built around the Utopia might trounce an equally-expensive system tailored around the SR-009. SR-007 is another story of course.

is it not coloration in the midrange desired? Coloration is what makes he90 better than omega.

 

[zolkis]

 
If there ever was a headphone that would displace my SR-009s, it might very well be the Utopias. That said, my SR-009s aren't going anywhere as their speed and detail retrieval is still just slightly ahead. Tonally, the Utopias hit all the right notes. Love them both actually! My SR-007Mk1's are just below these two headphones. Actually I'd put the LCD-4 and HE-1000V2 ahead of them too. YMMV of course

All these headphones I consider very good . I wonder how would you compare the HE1000 v2 to your 007 Mk1 (or Mk2), or send a link if you've already done that. I have only heard the HEK v1, and while it's very pleasant sounding, it still had a hardness in the upper mids the 007's did not have. 
 
Actually it would be very useful if you could do the 007 Mk1 mods (actually 2 levels of them), and report the findings. I've been doing some headphone measurements to check the mods sanity, but feedback from others is the most valuable. I will update the mods thread soon, just saying they are reversible, but require some work.

 

[TheAttorney]

  If you're lazy to look up what the mod was: I replaced the 4mm thick white foam disk in the earpad stuffing with a wool felt disk.
An easier version of the mod (that doesn't require any disassembly) the following: cut a crescent moon shaped piece of thin (2-4 mm) foam or felt, about 15-20 mm wide at the center and about as long as the half circumference; place it under the pads on the back side of the ear (i.w. making the pads higher and more angled). Experiment with multiple densities (the less density and the more rigidity, the better).

I've already done the crescent shaped mod to my 009's rear half a long time ago. At the time, it was as much to do with moving the phones a bit further from my ears, but I thought I heard a slight improvement in SQ as well, although I didn't do A/B swaps to be sure. Are you saying this particular mod does specifically help reduce the 4khz hump? 
 
Regarding the 009 v Utopia question, my demo of this and other TOTL headphones keeps getting postponed because the dealer can't get a demo Utopia by the expected dates. Apparently, some people are buying these without even listening to them, so those lucky/rich so and so's  are jumping ahead of me. .  

 

[zolkis]

  I've already done the crescent shaped mod to my 009's rear half a long time ago. At the time, it was as much to do with moving the phones a bit further from my ears, but I thought I heard a slight improvement in SQ as well, although I didn't do A/B swaps to be sure. Are you saying this particular mod does specifically help reduce the 4khz hump? 

 
My mod had, but it depends on the material you have used. If you don't have a measurement rig, you can try using an EQ to determine whether it has helped with yours (or bright piano recordings).

 

[mtoc]

DHT amp which has not been published yet really is more than $18K in parts? Which is it?

 

[3X0]

is it not coloration in the midrange desired? Coloration is what makes he90 better than omega.

Different types of coloration. The HE90 has a certain richness rather than hardness.
 
Don't really agree WRT HE90 vs. Omega but I don't have an Aristaeus (yet). I wonder how the SRX-Plus would do actually...

 

[MacedonianHero]

  All these headphones I consider very good . I wonder how would you compare the HE1000 v2 to your 007 Mk1 (or Mk2), or send a link if you've already done that. I have only heard the HEK v1, and while it's very pleasant sounding, it still had a hardness in the upper mids the 007's did not have. 
 
Actually it would be very useful if you could do the 007 Mk1 mods (actually 2 levels of them), and report the findings. I've been doing some headphone measurements to check the mods sanity, but feedback from others is the most valuable. I will update the mods thread soon, just saying they are reversible, but require some work.

I'm in the midst of reviewing the HE1000 V2. I haven't published anything yet....but I'm working on it. 

 

[Sorrodje]

Different types of coloration. The HE90 has a certain richness rather than hardness.

Don't really agree WRT HE90 vs. Omega but I don't have an Aristaeus (yet). I wonder how the SRX-Plus would do actually...

You likely will know very soon. Crossed fingers!

 

[mtoc]

You would know very soon would be a more proper sentence.

 

[Sorrodje]

Fixed for something more accurate indeed

 

[listen4joy]

Anyone compared utopia to SR-009?

 

[Ali-Pacha]

Side by side, no, but I'm a BHSE/SR-009 owner and did listen briefly to Utopia recently.
Tonal balances and soundstage sound indeed very very close, but Utopia sounds more dry to me, with this so typical grain of electrodynamic drivers...knowing the less grainy ones for me are still HD800's.
This dryness / kind of "correctness" makes Utopia sound very very quick BTW, and 009 are slower / blurrier on average amps like my ex modded 727 was (not the case with some BHSE).
 
Meet conditions, so not favorable to e-dyn since you have to crank up the volume and reach their once again typical sreechiness in the high-mids / treble. I've tested them on humongous Viva Egoista amps, and no doubt I do prefer smoothness from the 2A3 version rather than straight amount of power from 845.
 
YMMV, grain of salt, etc...will have better occasions to compare maybe in january.
 
Ali