There is a life and presence on the better recordings that is incredible with these headphones. No, they won’t make a blase’ recording sound good and you will be punished for bad recordings. Because they”re so revealing I’ve found that minor adjustments to my system can be easily discerned. My last few purchases have been to improve the quality of the power to my DAC beginning with a iFi AC Conditioner, a better power umbilical between my DAC and linear power supply and a higher quality AC power cable for the LPS and I’m hearing deeper into the mix with greater transparency and low level detail all wonderfully revealed by the Utopia.
Kacper Cieśla I did the same thing as well. Utopia is nothing like Clears for me. The only thing that is remotely similar is the sound stage. The tonality / FR is different, the presentation is different and the technical ability is on another level. Clears are great headphones, but they sound grainy and unrefined compared to Utopias 🤯
A great review once again!....I agree on all you've said. They are extremely revealing, which is their strength and their downside because sometimes you don't want to hear everything in particular on a bad recording. I had the chance to try them at my local store in Melbourne and no matter how complex and busy the tracks were, the detail and separation of instruments and notes were impressive. One track that stood up above others was "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" from the In Rainbows album by Radiohead. Every note, every strum, every vocal for all five members of the band was placed perfectly in space and in a very engaging but cohesive way. It was breathtaking. I've noticed, they are also quite picky of the gear. I've tried them first with a Violectric V281 (which I own) but I was barely impressed. It was only after I've switched to a Simaudio Moon amp that I got the magic. Unfortunately, I didn't have the "balls" to get them (A$5,500!)...instead I've left the store with the Z1R's purely because they are completely different to anything else I own...but deep down I keep regretting it. The Sony's are great in their own way but the Utopias are far better than anything else.
If you get Focal Utopia Headphones and buy the Focal Sopra N1 or N2 speakers, the little silver crosshatch tweeter cover is the same as on the headphones. How cool is that?!
I auditioned the utopia @ socal canjam, in my opinion best overall headphone, eletrostat speed and resolution with the convenience of a low impedance dynamic driver. I never though that another headphone can make my hd800s sound slower in comparison! what I did notice was the hd800s had more headroom on lower frequencies at very high volume. hd800s have a bigger sound stage, but the utopia image slightly better. HD800s with eq is significantly more dynamic then the utopia, bass is just epic on the 800s when eq. I'm definitely going to buy one for the added resolution and the perfect sound signature. compare to the hd800s straight up with no eq it's significantly better, but with eq, I'm not sure if I can justify the price.
Hello, i enjoyed your review. Coming from current Focal owner of their Elear (i also have Moon Audio's silver dragon cables for this headphone), i can only imagine what the upgrade from that to Utopia would be. The Elear has replaced most of my listening from previously oppo pm-1 and pm-3. Your review was the last one i was holding out (after somewhat extensive researching) before i can decide to pull the trigger on Utopia. And i'm now more than convinced on Utopia. If i may ask this one question. I see you have Chord Mojo. That's probably the only equipment i see having common with your inventory of of equipment's you listed in the head-fi forum. Did the Chord Mojo gave you about the same listening experiences as you have obtained from your best of your best gears? Or, not even close? Asking this to see if i can normalize your experience with the same gear i have. Besides the Chord Mojo, current equipment's that i would use right away with Utopia (before upgrading near future) would be oppo ha-1 and mytek brooklyn dac/headphone amp's. Thanks.
even something that I had noticed with my focal elex plugged into my thx amp & smsl su-8 there was this really specific sound where it started out as a pinpoint sound & kinda meddled out just like water & I didn’t even know that that was even possible when it came too sound. I did kinda get high before I listened which I have done in a long time & I was able to take in every little intention that when into the recording which I really never get while sober & that meddling effect was just crazy, I could almost just visualize the sound
These headphones are addictive. So easy to drive as well! Shocking how my portable algorithm trio tube amp from Cypher Labs can drive these with ease along with my AK JR lined out. Stunning combination.
Thanks for an excellent review Amos. The only observation I disagree with is they are sometimes considered thin sounding. I asked the attendant to pair them with the Sony TA ZH1ES dac/amp which upcoverted the signals to DSD stream I used tidal CD quality files via MacBook Pro USB input. The Utopia was single ended. I listened to a variety of well recorded and not so well recorded music to see how they faired across a range of genres. The bass track I like to use is The Legendary Pink Dot’s “on high” and Massive Attacks “Dissolved girl”. The Utopias bass didn’t sound thin at all. Pink Floyd’s comfortably numb bass lines sounded really tight. I found them extremely enjoyable and not clinical sound at all. To me it’s almost as if Focal took some of the best attributes of the HD800 - speed, accuracy and detail and merged them with TH900 bass (be it not as extensive) and the TH900s ephonic biocellulose driver sound. In fact the headphone they sound the most like to me (dare I say it as I know the “doubting Thomas but they measured poorly” gang will comment) the Pioneer Master SE1. (Focals treble is better the SEM1 bass & soundstage slightly bettered the Focal IMO.) I only listened at my local headphone store for an hour or so, so I don’t consider to have heard all the nuances yet. They are certainly superb sounding and to me just as important musically engaging.
Thanks for posting impressions. I don't usually find them to be thin or light-sounding, but some music I like was mastered fairly bass-light and more bass-heavy cans are a better match for that.
Yeah that makes sense a more forgiving bass emphasised h/p such as the Sony Z1R - some eighties pop & rock in particular suffered from anemic bass - here’s looking at you “DIO Last in Line” on LP. In fact the whole record sounded terrible.
after tyl from inner fidelity stopped reviewing headphones, i didn't know who i can trust. i've looked at a few other channels and couldn't really believe their reviews. i think i just found the channel i can trust. the reason i say that is because the comments and criticism are in line with what tyl says. subscribed!
Thanks for the reply, i seriously doubt the Hugo 2 amp section would be in the league of the GSX-MK2 which comes with its own power supply. Your comments in this review regarding the Focal Utopia requiring sufficient power to extract the best out of it caught my attention, as not too many people had mentioned that. I'm sure your right. Your studio 6 looks wonderful wouldn't mind one myself!
I have the Hugo 2, WA7, and HDV 820. If I want the highest amount of detail possible,I use the Hugo 2 DAC/AMP. If I want a smoother sound I use the Hugo 2 DAC and WA7 amp. (The HDV 820 does not pair well with the Focal Utopia) Just depends on what song I am playing or what mood I am in when I choose which Amp to use.
I truly enjoy all of your videos. I have a pair of Pryma headphones I just bought a month ago. What is your opinion on the sound quality? To me they sound kind of dark which is okay I guess. Nice built style. Do you like the sound of these headphones?
Still bruting about the question high end dynamics or Stax for every listening at work myself. What I noticed about Stax, even the entry level Lambdas, is that when I listen to them and the speakers in the room and switching back and forth, that there is not that much of a difference. Listing with Stax is like listening to good room speakers. While listening to dynamics is always more in your head, which sometimes is more comfortable while working. With this in mind, would you consider the Focal Utopia a good middle ground?
Review aside, I was listening to shpongled - monster hit on my hd598 played back on surface book (yeah low fi hp but that's all I could afford now.. the book is very clean tho). Blown Away!! Sounds circling around me and visualising the waves travelling around. First time I was hearing front imaging.. Played it back on my OnePlus 3 and it confirms what my OnePlus 3 lacks - imaging . Being able to visualise sound waves moving around and things building up.. all lost. OP3 has bad crosstalk as well.
I had a similar experience after getting the HE1000se and comparing them to the HD 800s. The difference in detail and clarity was so big I listed the 800s on ebaY the same day. The HEKse made the 800s sound like a mediocre $500 HP
Head Fi is such a personal choice. These cans resolve exceptionally well. Yes, one will hear new musical elements in tracks one has listened to for many years. The separation of instruments and vocals is another strong characteristic. The Utopia presents gorgeous bass but just not quite enough of it. If you've heard the soundstage is small, it really is not and is very acceptable. Warning: If you are not partial to bright sounding cans the Utopia is not for you. If one prefers a bit darker, warmer, richer and lusher sounding headphone with quality impactful bass, checkout the impressive Sony MDR-Z1R. Much less expensive and are preferable to the Focal if you like a warmer sound sig. Also, the Utopia is $1000.00 overpriced IMHO.
Having now heard every single one of the headphones highlighted in this video besides the Hifimans, I don't really buy the whole "badly recorded" reasoning. Most music is not actually badly recorded per se, not to the point that those tracks start to sound bad purely because of the recording anyway. If they actually sound bad, it's instead likely that the headphones in question (like the HD800 and Utopia) are skewed towards highs, transparency or clarity, and this is extenuating any glare or harshness that you don't really experience with more neutral or warm sounding headphones, and that isn't really supposed to be present in the first place! Essentially, headphones like the HD800 and Utopia, are actually coloured towards detailing and this exasperates any hotness or rough edges, not because of the recording, but because of the headphones themselves. I also think reviewers or users such as yourself, have sort of skewed the perception of what 'neutral' actually is. Headphones like the Utopia or HD800 are not neutral imo. They are very clearly geared towards transparency (the Utopia a touch less so) and not neutrality. They are tuned to be revealing. Even looking at the frequency response charts this much is clear. I also don't agree that the MDR-Z1R's are necessarily especially coloured. They're only really coloured when compared to these more articulate headphones, but compare them to a premium high end speaker system or live performance, and actually it's headphones like the MDR-Z1R's or LCD4's that end up sounding more honest or accurate. That warmth, that bass impact and presence, that atmosphere, it's all stuff that is present with high end speaker systems or live performances and ironically it's these supposedly "coloured" headphones like the MDR-Z1R's that better represent it.
You're right, and I should probably express it as "music that is less than ideally recorded and mastered". However, if I'm hearing distortion from a piece of music with multiple pairs of headphones, then that recording has issues that prevent it being fully enjoyed from my point of view. Since there is a large amount of music that could be described this way, I see it as a possible explanation for a common argument found online where a person has tried a more expensive pair of headphones (or other gear) and expressed that it doesn't sound better to them than what they already have, or as good as other people have said. For example, someone just posted a review where they felt the Utopias didn't resolve more than their other headphones and rated them much lower than I did. What I'd like to do is, someday, listen with the exact set-up and music someone has where the person has had a contrasting experience to mine to understand better to what brought them to their conclusions. Their equipment list is not in the least inexpensive, so I can't help wondering, from my own experience, if it doesn't somewhat come from the quality of the recordings they were listening with. I disagree with your thoughts on "neutral". To me, "neutral" means that they don't emphasise any particular frequency region excessively, even if such a presentation is unrealistic (and somewhat technically impossible with headphones). Sony's Justear "monitor" tuning, for example, is extremely bass-light. I'd agree though that my definition of neutral is not the same as how a live performance sounds, let alone many high-end systems. If I owned a high-end 2-channel system, I'd probably prefer it to sound like the Z1Rs do and, I'd agree, do a better job in that way. I find that I'm much more likely to purely enjoy listening with the Z1Rs than the Utopias if I were to pick a random track out of what I like for the very reasons you argued about the Utopias over-emphasising distortion in the higher frequencies. I don't think though that you can "tune" a pair of headphones to be revealing. Either they resolve low-level detail, or they do not. To me, the Utopias, on my system, with the best recordings I have, were resolving things that most certainly the other headphones I have here were not, and that not just in frequency ranges that are stronger with them than other headphones. Thanks for your comment. :)
YES! I wish it were more possible to compare the sound quality of headphones and speakers to that of a live performance, instead of just to other speakers or headphones. I have always felt that live music, especially acoustic music (orchestras, solo piano, quartets, jazz ensembles, etc.), sound WARMER than most any recording I hear via headphones. So, I understand your view that the MDR-Z1Rs are MORE ACCURATE, if your definition of accuracy is the sound of LIVE music. Congrats for making that point! I fear that not many of our beloved reviewers of gear are able to spend much time listening to live performances.
Hi Currawong, I recently heard the Focal Utopia directly on a Chord Dave and a STAX SRS-3100 system. This weekend I was able to the STAX SR-009. At the moment a really thorn up between the SR-009 and the Utopia. Your review suggests that the Utopia would sound a lot better on my home system which consists out of an Yggdrasil and a WA22 compared to the Dave only. Since I won't be able to directly compare SR-009 and the Utopia I would like to ask you since seem to have quite some experience with both speakers. Do you feel that the Utopia can come close enough in terms of detail to be able to outshine the SR-009s performance with respect to the Utopias more complete presentation?
The best I've heard the 009s was from the T8000 amp with the Hugo 2. That system would no doubt challenge my home Utopia/Studio Six/Hugo 2 system. I think the critical thing is the amp (since we both already have TOTL DACs). I reckon if you can't get at least a similar grade amp to the T8000 (tricky as almost all alternatives are DIY/custom/waiting list) I wouldn't go with a 009 system. The other thing is, I moved away from Stax as i didn't want to invest in an amp just for one pair of headphones. For me, the Utopias ended up justifying that decision.
Thank you very much for your quick response! I'm really glad to hear the T8000 ranks so high, since it will be much easier for me to hear it than the mostly US-manufactured 3rd party STAX-Amps. I guess there is no way around getting to hear the T8000/009 combination and comparing it to a properly driven Utopia before I can make the final decision.
Since these headphones are so revealing would you get fatiqued for just relaxed listening? So 4k headphone and another 8-10K for the perfect amp and dac to get the sound of them. So do you think the pairing of amp and dac is as critical as HD 800 or HD800S ? Hope to hear these at RMAF this year.
Genuine detail is not fatiguing at all. If anything, they are less that way, more remarkably so if used with less than great equipment, where you only lose the very fine details, but they still maintain their character and sound good.
I am trying to do decide between the Shure Kse1500 and the Utopia, but cant make the final decision on which to get. What would you recommend between the two. I know they are 2 completely different but it's only both of these thats come closest for me to upgrade from the shure se846 (the best sounding audio I have owned so far) i will be getting chord mojo later on so will be pairing the kse150p/utopia with those.
I hope you got Utopia already, also I would suggest a better amp for Utopia rather than mojo. I have both kse1500 and Utopia, to me, Utopia is definitely a better experience, I don't really like the comfort of kse1500.
It also depends on the amp that they are paired with. I think they are amp dependant. During the recent canJam in Singapore, I listened to the HE-1000 v.2 with Hifiman EF-1000 head amp. To my ear the combo better than the Abyss (on different amp). I also listened to the new Hifiman Edition 6 hp. The Edition 6 sounded almost the same as the HE-1000 v.2 but the speed was faster.
Ah, that is possible, the internal construction and connection just seems identical - good connectors either way, and very similar! And equally pricey, as I've found... Lemo connectors cost an arm and a leg!
Excellent review, one question I know they are very easy to drive but are they fussy about partnering amp/dac , any preference on DAC which improved the bass? also anxiosly waiting for Z1R review and if you could possibly get the Ether C Flow to compare with, also can you please provide details of the first song you played sounds like a good reference track. Thanks
The Yggdrasil is known for its bass quality, as are other DACs designed by Mike Moffat. I think much of it is the closed-form filter that does it, as I've played around with this before. I'm waiting on finding out if Audio-gd comes out with a new high-end R2R DAC too. I think though for the bass, I'd like to try the Elear pads first.
I once experienced a Stax speaker system. Its musical coherency was ground breaking SOTA. The problem with it was it had no bass output! I admire Focal, Sony and the others who are trying to push the envelope for full range transparency and dynamic expression.
Excellent review- very interesting how you made the comments on LCD-4 being spiritual successor to the R10. Did you ever own a pair of R10s?Would the utopia matchup well with GSX-MK2 & renaissance mirus dac in balanced configuration?
I've only tried R10s at a couple of meets. It would be interesting to spend a proper amount of time with them. As for the GSX, I don't have any experience with it to know how it would be with the Utopias. An interesting comment someone made was that he didn't feel that the GSX-MK2 was a big upgrade from the Hugo 2's direct headphone output. However I feel that my Studio Six is.
It's the usual Herman Miller Aeron, but with an aftermarket headrest. The hangers are old Koss "Hold-a-fone" ones which I don't think are made any more. They are plastic.
A lot of older pop music seems to have been mastered very bass-light. One of my favourite albums, Verve Remixed, seems to have been as well, despite being DJ mixes of old jazz and blues greats.
*(¬‿¬)These are very nice headphones with a tasteful build quality. I enjoy listening to them everyday! Much love from beautiful Bangor, Maine where recreational marijuana is legal for all to enjoy, home prices are still some of the lowest in the entire nation, auto insurance is the lowest in the entire nation and the scenery is absolute nirvana. Please spread the word! BANGOR, MAINE.*
hi mr currawong, really appreciate this review and mostly the the sony mdr-z1r review. would sony mdr-z1r be a significant upgrade to replace my fostex th-900? mr currawong could you please tell me the name of the song and album you reference(electronic/psychedelic) at 7:32 in this vlog? thank you.
Just look up Shpongle. As for an upgrade, they could be, but it depends what you are looking for. If it is more detail, and you have very good gear already, they could be.
HI need a headphone amp to boost bass to my Focal utopias which i use with Hugo2. I was suggested CYRUS one. I listen to lot of rock music hi -res files. Please suggest. Thank you
if you add more bass the Utopia's, Clear's & Elear's will clip. Grab another Can for more base. My HD 650's destroy the Utopia's in power and Bass Handling, though i tend to grab the Utopias before anything else. It's like drinking pure water from melting snow mountain caps, and then turning the tap on at home to fill the bottle for the day, just not the same.
I have three headphones in my shopping list but I can only afford one. These are sennheiser 820, focal utopia and audio technica adx 5000. I already owned the 800 and shure 1840 and previously the sennheiser 650. I want to hear your expert opinion.
Interesting rewiew....I'm the happy owner of the Sennheiser HD800 and I like them as they are made, but let me tray to understand your comperison by giving a different one..... the step from Beats by dre to the HD800 is like the step from the HD800 to this Focal Utopia....I hope you disagre and can explaie what makes the HD800 sound flat?? ;-)
I reckon, if you've got a system set up perfectly for the HD800, then stay with them. Comparisons will ruin you. That being said, I feel that I can perceive the depth of music more clearly with the Utopias, at least with the $2500 or better DAC/amps I have here. The down-side is, especially compared to the HD800, the (perceive) soundstage seems a lot narrower.
I haven't compared them directly, but when I've tried the LCD-4s out of a good system they have been highly enjoyable. The Utopias are maybe a bit more "analytical" in a sense.
I didn't like your review too much. But I started to realize that you are still the best one on RU-vid. I don't want to miss your vids anymore so I subbed.
Currawong This utopia review is fantastic. Very detailed. All the different amp comparison, comparison with other headphones are super good. This is just making a lot of sense as a review to me. What I prefer to see in the future might be more comparison videos between headphones and probably at different price ranges. Because I personally think that more expensive doesn't mean better.
Would be great if you could compare all headphones you have tried with the Abyss Phi, witch is the best headphone at the moment, and leave the rest in the dust
I have the utopia and Sony Wm1Z . The sony player can push the volume up to more than enough and it sound good. But I don’t know if I should get an amp for the utopia Or should I save the money for HD820 . I have never had a amp
Currawong Thank you for your reply. I was thinking of buying the Hugo 2 for the wm1z and utopia. And I also have the JH roxanne and se846 . I bought the utopia and roxanne because of your videos haha so your words means a lot. Do you think the Hugo 2 is a big upgrade? Is it much better than the wm1z. Yes I have the 4.4 balanced black dragon cable on the utopia
The main thing with these is that they have more plastic than the lower end focal elears/clears while actually weighing more despite using carbon fiber. That piece on the cups that says focal in particular contributes a bunch of needles weight while making the sound less open.
@@douglaspcollins4987 what kind of cable should the stock cable be replaced with? Is there. Any difference in the latest version of the Utopias? And how do you rate the match between the focal utopias and th Bartok, does the Bartok counteract/warm up the analytic nature of the Utopias and raise the base performance?
I'd personally put the money towards a serious source with headphone output such as the Hugo 2, Pro iDSD or the full Schiit Yggy/Ragnarok rig if you're going to get headphones that good.
I went ahead and purchased the Utopias anyway and I'll get a better dac and amp later when I can afford it. It still sounds way better than anything I've ever heard in my life. I'm a professional musician (viola player) and I know what it feels like to draw a bow across a string. I know the resistance of the rosin and the spring of the wood and the vibration against my jaw. Everything I hear and feel when I play the viola, I can hear with these headphones. It's shocking how incredible they are! It demands your complete attention! And that's just with the little Jotunheim. I plan on getting a high end dac/amp sometime next year when my bank account recovers. Thank you for helping us in this joyful hobby!
Yesterday I went to minidisc again. And did another demo with my new friend. I would say, the mids and bass are awesome on utopia. Seperation, imaging, depth, detail of the bass and mids are very good. However the highs are just a dynamic driver's high. The opinion of revealing is actually it being a bit energy cumulated on low/mid treble. And it lacks high extension from any planar headphones. Even dt990pro has much better highs. It kind of sound like hd800 in the highs but not that serious. Only a bit of that of enery cumulation. It's ok, but I feel uncomfortable with the highs. On ether flow, the lower range does not performed as well but the high frequency is out performed than the utopia. Utopia gives the feeling of 'I can't handle that much information'. But it is pleasing and well extended on ether. On he1000/v2 it is a even bigger difference. Highs are way better on these. In conclusion, utopia is outstanding, bass is punchy and fast, outstanding bass mid seperation. But it is not perfect. It would make more sense if the price is just under he1000v2 according to the sound alone. The build quality looks good but some friends had their bands on the side broken. The material is very good etc. I rather choose he1000v2 over utopia. And it is on par to the ether. BTW i personally think ether sounds better than ether flow.
What did you plug them in to? I'd probably agree on most gear with the Utopias, but on my system, the detail wasn't an illusion from the frequency response. Changes to my system, such as switching components, were much more audible.
Currawong Moon 430ha. I know this is not any idaal to utopia. But I kind of get the limit of them. They are quite amazing on lower range seperation and detail and the depth. Much clearer than ether/ flow. But the smoothness and information in the high frequency are not as good as most planars and electrostatics. The highs are sort of peaky but not too serious. Not like straight line or something. Namely 6k peak is there even tho is only 1/4 of that of hd800 but it's audible. As a whole I think he1000v2 is better. At least imo.
For example, when I listen some metal band(good recording tho), the high hat sounds more airy and accurate on ether/ he1000v2/ er4sr. And sounds a bit capped down and focused on lower high on utopia. Also when listen to violins, the other three sounds well extended and really beautiful. But on utopia it shows the texture well but more like dragged down to your face rather than the airy, beautiful, floating(but not diffused still pretty focused).
Currawong Oh another thing in the vid is that...They are actually bass heavy. I am already uncomfortable with the Bass. People are asking tooooo much bass, wtf with those people.
I reckon if you have a system like mine, and you're a detail junkie, you want the Utopia. If you don't, the Ether Flow. The Ether Flow is a bit more entertaining with more bass.
Mr. Evolution it’s probably 3 years too late, but I had PM3s and have the Utopia now. No point comparing, I would maybe compare PM3 to Sony Z1r. PM3 are a bit dark and entertaining entry level headphones. Completely different from Utopia. I did enjoy my time with PM3 though, nice and portable closed back planar, and inexpensive 👍 was good for travelling
@@krisrudecki9477 I just like the pm3s for their neutrality. I now have a pair of koss esp 95x and i still love them. They don't have the macro detail of the koss but the micro detail is still pretty good. I know my koss probably aren't as good as the utopia, but the neutrality coupled with their ability to realistically render the music, makes them my favorite. And with that i'm pretty much done with headphones. Maybe in the future i'll try for the final audio d8000 pro. But for now i just want to be satisfied with my headphones.
I'm surprised with what I heard with the utopia compared to explanations like yours - because to me the HD800 vs the Utopia was sort of the opposite of what you mentioned.. Partially I suspect its because of the Utopias rolled off treble by comparison to the 800 - which you can argue which of the two is better/more correct. That and I didn't really get much impact from the Utopia, partly maybe due to the lacking bass. The result was the Utopia seeming a bit bland and boring compared to the 800. Not that it was bad, not at all, the 800 just seemed more engaging. Confused me a bit... I heard them on a Mytek Brooklyn and the ifi procan. Not the best possible but they should hold their own. They might just not be for me/my music, or the setup might just not have been good for them... The build is absolutely stellar though!
In my experience, during my audition, they were very picky of not just the source but also on the amplification. And that was confirmed by everyone at my local audio store. So, for all the people out there that think they are easy to drive because of their low impedance and high sensitivity, you simply haven't experienced them as their true potential until you pair them with the right gear.
Lord Victor Halgaard could be the music as well bro. Remember once I said that I loved your music collection but also mentioned that they were on the darker side of things?
I definitely reckon it is the system, and very likely the different impedance. I reckon a lot of gear can swing the voltage required nowadays, so the HD800 is easy to get going on a system, but the Utopias are more like planar headphones in that they need an amp that has fantastic power delivery to get the most out of them, otherwise they sound as you described them.
Yes, but as I said back then, what is on here is relatively limited at it is simply things I've saved that I havent gotten around to purchasing - my actual music collection is much more varied :) Its more so that I want my music to sound a certain way -- lively, engaging... Not laid back.
Just surprises me considering the pro iCan has 4800mw in SE or 14000mw in balanced, so plenty of power, and as far as I know the Brooklyn is a pretty darn good source - and no slouch on power either when driving them itself... But maybe you're right. I've just never experienced a headphone that "lacked" that much, which recovered it on a different amp, short of mayber going from an ipod to a speaker amp with an HE-6.... The HE-1000mk2. LCD-4, HD800 and ether all sounded good on that setup however. But I suppose I'll have to see if I can get the chance to hear it again at some point :)
I thought of buying a Jotunheim to review, but didn't in the end. If you're only using the inbuilt DAC in the Jotunheim, then I'd be very hesitant to recommend Utopias.
Ok watched to the end. I kind of thinking that the high frequency has some problems. It is not perfect. When hekv2 can has as much information and much mkre friends. Ether flow imo was the bigger brother to the utopia. It does sounds like it. But I will do another demo specifically for utopia.
It depends what you listen to. It's much more noticeable with a high-quality stereo (ie: 2-mic, non-mixed) recording, where you can make out the depth and detail on a good system.
STANLEY MOISE and a car not more than 20.000 ? Lol , I feel the same but if you want the best of the best you must pay big money , sad but this is the truth
The Ragnarok will literally drive the schitt out of the Utopia. I'm very pleased with the pairing after over a year of use, always with the Ragnarok set on low gain and the volume at a reasonable level. A very sweet combo in my opinion.
I am trying to do decide between the Shure Kse1500 and the Utopia, but cant make the final decision on which to get. What would you recommend between the two. I know they are 2 completely different but it's only both of these thats come closest for me to upgrade from the shure se846 (the best sounding audio I have owned so far) i will be getting chord mojo later on so will be pairing the kse150/utopia with those.
