srkbear
500+ Head-Fier
Thought I’d sneak in a comment or two on the original issues brought up on this thread, specifically about the bass response on the Utopias.
I bought the Utopias about eight months ago, but decided to keep my Z1Rs for the “bass”. I primarily listen to rock, alternative rock, R&B, New Wave, Hip Hop, etc—and accordingly I like my gear to accommodate that level of energy and excitement, which I’ve found significantly lacking in a lot of high end audiophile components (most of have which seem to have reviews that rave about the pristine reproduction of sweaty-browed cellists sawing away on Deutsche Gramophone recordings).
I’m running a Topping D90se with an iFi Pro iCAN Signature; the DAC is very precise and neutral in sound signature, while the amp offers some coloration in the tube stage and the analog “xBass” enhancements. When I first got the Utopias, I always kept the xBass on full, due to what I perceived as a rather unexciting low-end in these particular cans—although I absolutely loved them in every other imaginable category.
Then I tried some pad rolling. First I got some Elears, as along with the original author of this thread I had heard that they offered some bass oomph over the stock Utopia pads. I was somewhat convinced, but not enough to go without the xBass. Next I tried the Dekoni hybrids, which promised to breathe new heights of excitement into my Focals; I found them to add minimal to the low end and to make an absolute disaster of the high mids; they also looked hideous. Those I returned.
Then just for fun, I decided to go in blind on some original Focal Stellia pads—I figured their chocolate brown leather would look terrific with the Utopias, and since they’re sturdy and solid in construction compared to the fenestrated, feather-light Utopia pads, I hypothesized that they might offer a bit more sound isolation and containment of the low-end than what came stock on these headphones.
To my shock and surprise, what they did was convince me to eschew the xBass on my Pro iCAN altogether. Never did I imagine a day where I would find “too much” bass coming out of these Utopias. I don’t have measurements to back up my assessment, but given what the xBass specs are, I would guess that the Stellia pads boost the frequency range from about 80 to 140hz by about 6-7 db at least, and offset any bass roll off inherent to the native tunings for sure. To my ears, the Utopias with Stellia pads have a bass slam, fullness and warmth that easily matches my Z1Rs in quantity, and definitely blows them away in quality.
A pair of Stellia pads go for around $249, which to me was insignificant compared to what I paid for the Utopias to begin with, along with the remarkable improvements they offered me for the genres of music I enjoy. I don’t want anyone to come after me should they attempt to reproduce my experiment and come to dissimilar conclusions, but given that I haven’t taken the Stellia pads off since I first tried them on, I can fairly confidently say they will offer benefits to anyone seeking a more robust bass response from their Utopias. I certainly would go this route before I looked for similar results from Elears or Dekonis, without a doubt…
I bought the Utopias about eight months ago, but decided to keep my Z1Rs for the “bass”. I primarily listen to rock, alternative rock, R&B, New Wave, Hip Hop, etc—and accordingly I like my gear to accommodate that level of energy and excitement, which I’ve found significantly lacking in a lot of high end audiophile components (most of have which seem to have reviews that rave about the pristine reproduction of sweaty-browed cellists sawing away on Deutsche Gramophone recordings).
I’m running a Topping D90se with an iFi Pro iCAN Signature; the DAC is very precise and neutral in sound signature, while the amp offers some coloration in the tube stage and the analog “xBass” enhancements. When I first got the Utopias, I always kept the xBass on full, due to what I perceived as a rather unexciting low-end in these particular cans—although I absolutely loved them in every other imaginable category.
Then I tried some pad rolling. First I got some Elears, as along with the original author of this thread I had heard that they offered some bass oomph over the stock Utopia pads. I was somewhat convinced, but not enough to go without the xBass. Next I tried the Dekoni hybrids, which promised to breathe new heights of excitement into my Focals; I found them to add minimal to the low end and to make an absolute disaster of the high mids; they also looked hideous. Those I returned.
Then just for fun, I decided to go in blind on some original Focal Stellia pads—I figured their chocolate brown leather would look terrific with the Utopias, and since they’re sturdy and solid in construction compared to the fenestrated, feather-light Utopia pads, I hypothesized that they might offer a bit more sound isolation and containment of the low-end than what came stock on these headphones.
To my shock and surprise, what they did was convince me to eschew the xBass on my Pro iCAN altogether. Never did I imagine a day where I would find “too much” bass coming out of these Utopias. I don’t have measurements to back up my assessment, but given what the xBass specs are, I would guess that the Stellia pads boost the frequency range from about 80 to 140hz by about 6-7 db at least, and offset any bass roll off inherent to the native tunings for sure. To my ears, the Utopias with Stellia pads have a bass slam, fullness and warmth that easily matches my Z1Rs in quantity, and definitely blows them away in quality.
A pair of Stellia pads go for around $249, which to me was insignificant compared to what I paid for the Utopias to begin with, along with the remarkable improvements they offered me for the genres of music I enjoy. I don’t want anyone to come after me should they attempt to reproduce my experiment and come to dissimilar conclusions, but given that I haven’t taken the Stellia pads off since I first tried them on, I can fairly confidently say they will offer benefits to anyone seeking a more robust bass response from their Utopias. I certainly would go this route before I looked for similar results from Elears or Dekonis, without a doubt…
