[chesebert]

Way too many box pushers, hyper attention getters and people who think they know what they are doing but they don’t, so they end up selling effectively snake oils or dangerously designed products (most hobbyists turn manufacturers fit in this category).

A combination of measurements and evaluation by people who know how to evaluate properly (most reviewers don’t know how to listen - they know how to write well).

 

[greggf]

Way too many box pushers, hyper attention getters and people who think they know what they are doing but they don’t, so they end up selling effectively snake oils or dangerously designed products (most hobbyists turn manufacturers fit in this category).

A combination of measurements and evaluation by people who know how to evaluate properly (most reviewers don’t know how to listen - they know how to write well).

Yes, I worry about the unsafe electrostatic amps especially. The ones that are "more power", the ones that are "more loud". Most homeowner insurance policies won't cover them if they kill, maim, deafen, or burn down. What are people thinking?? If you make and sell third party amps, how do you sleep at night knowing that you could be wiped out financially overnite? Or that your customers could be?

 

[silversurfer616]

There’s a certain gullible naivety when it comes to consumer and reviews etc. a dealer/agent once told me he has a hard time getting anything reviewed by an audio magazine…unless he pays big bucks…which he didn’t.
At Munich High End a while ago I asked a small headphone manufacturer why his stuff isn’t more visible on HeadFi? His reply was that he doesn’t pay to get his stuff pushed all the time by the usual suspects/influencers.
The list goes on.

 

[Spektrograf]

There's a level of truth that @protoss has been saying that resonates with me. Through all the TOTL headphones that have passed through my hands or that I've sampled—esp. in the last decade, none have held sway more than my HD580's powered by my EC ZD fed by my TT2/MS. Through those times, 100% of my non-audiophile friends who have sampled the TOTL headphone that I have in v. the 580/ZD combo have picked the 580/ZD combo as their preferred sound that they enjoy.

Most recently, some friends who were over tried the 580's vs. Utopia's. They unanimously agreed that they enjoyed the 580's more with the music they selected. They don't know anything about headphones or gear or how much things cost, so they are all effectively knowledge blind. Some of them don't even listen to music regularly.

For myself, I find that while I enjoy the Utopia's for what they do and will spend some nights enjoying them, I most often go to my 580's.

That being said, I do appreciate and respect @number1sixerfan's point that a lot of people here really just enjoy the journey of trying out new gear for new experiences or just to learn more. As happy as I am with what I have, I'll be getting in the 660s2's in soon to try. Why? Because I'm curious and it's fun.

For those of us who've been in it since the early days, I imagine we all have our own reasons why we're still around. For me, I do enjoy the thought exchange here—especially this thread. Thanks, y'all.

 

[malenak]

There's a level of truth that @protoss has been saying that resonates with me. Through all the TOTL headphones that have passed through my hands or that I've sampled—esp. in the last decade, none have held sway more than my HD580's powered by my EC ZD fed by my TT2/MS. Through those times, 100% of my non-audiophile friends who have sampled the TOTL headphone that I have in v. the 580/ZD combo have picked the 580/ZD combo as their preferred sound that they enjoy.

Most recently, some friends who were over tried the 580's vs. Utopia's. They unanimously agreed that they enjoyed the 580's more with the music they selected. They don't know anything about headphones or gear or how much things cost, so they are all effectively knowledge blind. Some of them don't even listen to music regularly.

For myself, I find that while I enjoy the Utopia's for what they do and will spend some nights enjoying them, I most often go to my 580's.

That being said, I do appreciate and respect @number1sixerfan's point that a lot of people here really just enjoy the journey of trying out new gear for new experiences or just to learn more. As happy as I am with what I have, I'll be getting in the 660s2's in soon to try. Why? Because I'm curious and it's fun.

For those of us who've been in it since the early days, I imagine we all have our own reasons why we're still around. For me, I do enjoy the thought exchange here—especially this thread. Thanks, y'all.

I don't like Utopia. They are narrow and claustrophobic. I even prefer Meze 109 Pro.

 

[LFC_SL]

There’s a certain gullible naivety when it comes to consumer and reviews etc. a dealer/agent once told me he has a hard time getting anything reviewed by an audio magazine…unless he pays big bucks…which he didn’t.
At Munich High End a while ago I asked a small headphone manufacturer why his stuff isn’t more visible on HeadFi? His reply was that he doesn’t pay to get his stuff pushed all the time by the usual suspects/influencers.
The list goes on.

Head-fi possibly could look at the influencer policy, maybe put a notice of "promotional content" label on influencer content as on other websites. As a reader I am not wholly reassured by someone writing "my opinions are still neutral" and self-determining the extent of disclosure. Journalists and bloggers are identified on head-fi but review samples are not restricted to only those groups. P.S. for influencers that might not consider themselves to be influencers, this is feedback, not criticism. It is outlining what would improve my enjoyment of the site and why

 

[Strayngs]

I find the Utopia to be the most dependent headphone I have ever tried with amp pairing. Most amps I tried, it was meh….but with the right amp (in my case Primaluna EVO 300 Integrated) it will blow most headphones out of the water.

 

[rangerid]

I find all summit fi tier headphones to be very chain dependent, some more so than others. The magical 'synergy' is definitely real and if you're willing to put the effort to finding it with your favourite headphones you won't believe the level of performance they can scale to

 

[572217]

I find the Utopia to be the most dependent headphone I have ever tried with amp pairing. Most amps I tried, it was meh….but with the right amp (in my case Primaluna EVO 300 Integrated) it will blow most headphones out of the water.

I like the Utopia as well. It is my “oldest” headphone. With a good cable, it is already very capable. Right now it serves travel duty hooked up to A&K SP3000 and Cayin C9. What I found after upgrading from dCS Bartók with Headamp GSX mk2 to Vivaldi with Riviera Labs AIC-10, it did not scale and became the bottleneck. The DCA Stealth solved that issue. The server is an Innuos Statement.

Since we are in the disappointment thread, I’ll throw in some personal mentions. In music reproduction I am looking for deep insight into the music, being involved without being overwhelmed, a meditative experience, the ability to easily fall into the music and forget the day.

Abyss Diana v2 . Just underwhelming and not involving.
Abyss AB1266 Phi TC . Too heavy, overly resolving and hence fatiguing. Music presentation felt too technical as well. Nice for system tuning, not so much for listening.
Grado PS2000 . Distracted me from the music.
Stax SR009-S . Too specialised, I don’t want to switch around headphones and amps when relaxing in a long listening session.
ZMF VC . I’m sill on the fence. It didn’t get much playtime, which is a sign it does not fit my bill. Probably something about the insight into the music, which both Utopia and Stealth deliver.

I know the Chord electronics get a lot of love here. I owned a Hugo and sold it right away. Yuck. Don’t want technology in my ears, but the music. Their higher end gear I only heard at dealers and it did not convince me otherwise.

(puts on protective helmet)

 

[dfiled]

For me the biggest disappointments were the Diana TC and ZMF Caldera, for the same reason. Both have excellent bass resolution and detail, but both are sorely lacking in the macrodynamics/slam department. The only planars I’ve owned that have enough slam for my tastes are the LCD-4s (and possibly the Empyrean and Elites), though I’ve never heard the 1266.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

For me the biggest disappointments were the Diana TC and ZMF Caldera, for the same reason. Both have excellent bass resolution and detail, but both are sorely lacking in the macrodynamics/slam department. The only planars I’ve owned that have enough slam for my tastes are the LCD-4s (and possibly the Empyrean and Elites), though I’ve never heard the 1266.

You will love AB1266 TC if want exceptional macrodynamic. DTC could be helped with the new ported pad. Really improve the bass impact, slightly lessen the midrange quantity a bit (to make it closer to balance presentation), and widen the soundstage image.

 

[monkey4054]

For me the biggest disappointments were the Diana TC and ZMF Caldera, for the same reason. Both have excellent bass resolution and detail, but both are sorely lacking in the macrodynamics/slam department. The only planars I’ve owned that have enough slam for my tastes are the LCD-4s (and possibly the Empyrean and Elites), though I’ve never heard the 1266.

Yeah, not a fan of the Diana either. TC or bust. You would love the TC. It's the king of slam and bass!

 

[Ficcion2]

Speaking of Abyss; the Diana V2 and Phi. I bought them based on their aesthetic and the praising reviews claiming all sorts of things about it.
Besides the looks and the treble; the entire thing sounded puny. Soundstage, sub bass, and the mids (mostly referring to the Phi) were just not impressive at all for a TOTL headphone.

I tried Abyss's own headphone test track and it sounded way more impressive on my Arya SE. The opportunity to try out the 1266 hasn't come up yet but the mixed reviews has me think it wouldnt be my preference over a well chained Susvara but they do seem to fit the ticket for whenever Im in the mood for some electro or house.

To Diana's credit; the customer color TCs have me lusting over a pair just for the looks (again).

 

[dfiled]

Speaking of pretty colors, am I the only one who finds all the discussion of the aesthetics of ZMF headphones a bit offputting? I love my VCs and I enjoyed the atrium as well, but if you look at any ZMF thread, 2/3 of the comments seem to be about the looks of the headphones. I have nothing against headphones being beautiful but I feel like a lot of ZMF owners seem to care more about how their headphones look than how they sound.

 

[Ficcion2]

Speaking of ZMF; I also owned a pair of VO which only lasted for a few months in my collection. I bought them for their looks (I know) and while they don't sound bad it didn't strike me as a TOTL headphone either. The timbre and dynamics were excellent but I was expecting more detail to shine through.

I started looking into planars because I felt I wanted something different than what I had at the time which was the VO and 660s. I do miss the Feliks Euforia I had paired with it though. I also mostly bought the Euforia due to looks (I know, I know) though it sounded great too.