Focal Utopia Review (collective stream of consciousness)

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Aug 25, 2016.

  1. kevnin

    kevnin #facetweeting - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    366
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    San Diego
    Also consider waiting until June and check out the Liquid Platinum.
     
  2. slankoe

    slankoe Tongue tastes of LH butthole

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2017
    Likes Received:
    397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Edmonton, Canada
    I usually am using my Utopia out of Gungnir Multibit -- fed into the Bottlehead SEX 3.0 (with C4S). I find the synergy to be rather good but I cannot say that I've experimented with any really higher-end tube amps. I have a Zana Deux Super being built now, and I am stoked to find out just how awesome this pairing is.

    For the time being, I can say that the SEX 3.0 is a more-than-decent amplifier for Utopia, but I know that more potential for real synergy is there.With Mjolnir 2 I actually found it to have much less syngery especially in regard to tone. Technicalities were surely there, but it sounded rather unnatural to pair such a fast as hell (and treble-happy) amp with a super fast (and treble-energetic) headphone.
     
  3. BillOhio

    BillOhio Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    2,395
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Glendale CA
    Home Page:
    I need to get my Mjo2 listed ASAP I think.
     
  4. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,102
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Seoul, South Korea
    Has anyone has tried Cavalli amps (not Massdrop-made, but the original ones such as LC, LG, LAu, etc.) with Utopia? The best amp I've heard with Utopia was ZDS (preferable to Studio due to tonality), but now that I own the Liquid Glass I wonder if it would be just as good if not better than ZDS.
     
  5. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,999
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tempe, Arizona
    @Jozurr uses the Liquid Glass with the Utopia. I'll let him chime in if he wants.
     
  6. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,102
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Seoul, South Korea
    I already asked him via PM but just wanted other people's opinions on this matter too. I haven't seen that many Cavalli owners, however.

    For the record, Jozurr owned both ZDS and LG and said he preferred the latter for Utopia. I'm surprised if this is true since ZDS/Utopia was one of the 3 best setups I've ever heard.
     
  7. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,999
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tempe, Arizona
    I'm sure it's all personal preference. Plus tubes can even shift the tonality a decent amount that I'm sure you could find a tube that suits most peoples tastes. I think his reasoning preferring the LG was that it gave better bass slam and overall weight to the sound that the EC amps seemed to lack.

    I'm hoping that changing out the resistors will get me where I want.
     
  8. MrButchi

    MrButchi Gear Master Europe

    Staff Member Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    361
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Paris
    @bclark8923 sell your Gungnir Multibit and get a used Yggdrasil (not upgraded). You'll get a great upgrade for a bargain price.
     
  9. kvn864

    kvn864 New

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2018
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Phoenix AZ
    I think your setup is great, and sufficient enough to drive Utopias respectfully. Don't rush spending more money right now, just enjoy what you have. I can only vouch for 2 units as a great pairing I tried with Utopia: RME ADI2-DAC, Fostex HP-A4BL, both are great. I am also convinced that Utopias sound great with almost anything.
     
  10. Olias of Sunhillow

    Olias of Sunhillow New

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    High up in Colorado
    I’m using an Audio-GD Master 9 with Gungnir MB and Utopia and can strongly recommend the combination.
     
  11. nachocheese70

    nachocheese70 Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    May 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    112
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    US and China
    I’ve
    I’ve been thinking about your question. Is there something in particular you feel is missing with your current amp?

    Everything I’ve read and my own experience with the Utopia is they don’t have any glaring issues solvable by amp. They do highlight certain aspects of the amp, and thus can scale with the amp.

    More to the point, I would say at <$1k it’s more about finding the amp that fits your taste best. Maybe find a dealer and bring your own Utopia, so you can try out a few different amps.

    Or if you are generally ok with the Liquid Carbon X and looking to really step up, maybe save a little bit more and hit the next level of stuff. There is a big gap between <1k and 2-3k. Still go take your Utopia and listen to as many amps as you can.
     
  12. sheldaze

    sheldaze Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    977
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Land of Merriment
    I owned the Glass and Gold. I've very limited experience with the Crimson (cannot comment on it).

    I disliked the Glass and Utopia first because I could hear tube hum. Utopia is the most sensitive headphone to hum, hiss, electrical noise, etc. headphone I own. Even through the absolute cleanest of NOS tubes I could buy, there was still a slight something through the Glass. Second I just generally disliked the Glass sound compared to ZDS (using Utopia and many other headphones, such as HD600 or HD800S with no hum, and having the same source plugged into both amplifiers). I could spend a day, or just a few hours, listening to just the Glass - get into a mode where I was enjoying myself! Then I would turn on the ZDS, plug in the same headphones and enjoy it a little more. In fact, I might replay the album...

    When I owned the Gold, my problem was source. I think I would like it with Yggdrasil analog 2 (heard Gold and Utopia a few weeks ago, but my allergies were in high gear - so I only heard the setup in an A/B of Yggdrasil analog 1 vs analog 2, through my right ear). Still, I went into eargasm mode with analog 2 and just the one ear - it felt cold and analytical with analog 1.

    I sold my Gold when my ZDS arrived the first part of 2017. Plugged my Utopia into ZDS and kept them plugged in :)
     
  13. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,102
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Seoul, South Korea
    Yes, I admit the Liquid Glass is not really the quietest amp, I could hear a faint background hum when the volume pot is cranked up regardless of whatever tubes I use, even when the amp is not connected to any source. Of course, the hum becomes inaudible once music starts playing. My current primary headphone is LFF Code-X, which was built upon the HE-5 which is one of the most inefficient headphones after the HE-6. I'm guessing the hum isn't loud on the Code-X because of its sensitivity/efficiency (or should I say lack thereof), but I was concerned about using more efficient headphones like Utopia.

    If my headphones were Utopia or HD800 I would probably go for ZDS too. The ZDS however doesn't have what it takes to drive the Code-X.
     
  14. bclark8923

    bclark8923 New

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Thanks! Mostly just curious if anyone had heard anything else that had a great pairing. I like the Utopia great 95% of the time but sometimes it gets just a tad bright. I think I'm going to wait for the Liquid Platinum or maybe Pathos Aurium and try one of those hybrid amps.
     
  15. Jozurr

    Jozurr Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2015
    Likes Received:
    208
    Trophy Points:
    43
    It's surprising that a couple of people say that they hear tube hum on the Glass. My Glass is very quiet and has no hum on my Utopias. On the contrary, I heard slight hum on the AF.
     
  16. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,999
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tempe, Arizona
    I think it's simply tube variance. Some of my tubes are dead silent, others are not.
     
  17. sheldaze

    sheldaze Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    977
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Land of Merriment
    Noise on...

    If I continue to listen to the Aficionado, I may never return to reality.

    ...noise off.

    So I just now plugged in my Utopia, powered on the Aficionado. All tubes are stock, except the RCA 2A3. I could hear these tubes powering on, a few ticks in the left, a few ticks in the right. It goes back and forth a few times. Then it is silent.

    Some tubes on the Glass were more noisy. I could never find a pair, of lovely NOS, that was quiet on both channels. I agree it is tube dependent. But that is the only tube amplifier I owned that I could not get tubes quiet enough for the Utopia.
     
  18. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,999
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tempe, Arizona
    Hahahaha Andro is not noise, it's BLISS!

    In regards to Glass having more noise with the same tubes, it might have more gain and or power at the same output level. I think it could do 6W @ 50 Ohm.

    I'm pretty jelly...Glass and AF. Do you mind doing a quick comparison?
     
  19. BillOhio

    BillOhio Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2017
    Likes Received:
    2,395
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Glendale CA
    Home Page:
    Thanks to Melvillian I had the chance to hear Utopias via Tidal/Eitr/OG Gungnir Multibit this afternoon and found them to be very much worth checking out. The added detail is no joke, you hear it right away. That said, as Really happy as I was for the chance to spend a little time with them, I couldn't imagine them as my daily drivers. The acclimation factor would have to be significant. Add to that the cost of pads, cables, and lack of availability for out of warranty repairs and there's not a lot of impulse to become an owner.
     
  20. sheldaze

    sheldaze Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    977
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Land of Merriment
    I did sell the Glass...went towards another Eddie Current amplifier.

    How's this - the Glass made me smile. It made the music approachable. It softened a few details, just to let me listen for a little longer. The Af is very new, so I'll try to explain via one of the tracks I heard, at a meet event when listening to the Gold and Yggdrasil w/ analog 2. Track 5, titled "Sorrow" from the soundtrack of Gladiator. That's the one where I felt the sound became amazing - clear, lifelike, eargasm. However on the Af, I felt a strange panging, as if I wanted to cry. I did not feel sad, but I felt the emotion of the music. It is this disconnect, this feeling like someone else, for the briefest moment, that I meant above. It is like I'm going to get lost in the music, and not return. It is quite strange!

    Sorry, that's not very descriptive of the sonic character of the Af, but it is very new to me.
     

Share This Page