Focal Utopia Review (collective stream of consciousness)

Through a combination of impatience, anxiety and outright dumbassed-ness on my part, I am now the proud owner of not one but TWO Focal Utopias.

Utopia #1 is a low-hours demo (with full warranty) manufactured in November 2016 and purchased through an authorized online seller. Utopia #2 is a new-in box unit manufactured in January 2018 and purchased from a non-authorized dealer via Audiogon.

I have previously borrowed a Utopia from a local dealer for an overnight test drive, which convinced me to buy them if the price was ever right. I am listening to Utopia #1 as we speak. It sounds wonderful, but it has noticeably more of the "metallic" Utopia sound quality than the loaner model I fell in love with.

My plan is to flip Utopia #2 as a NIB-but-no-warranty item to recover its purchase price... but I'm curious about any tonal changes that Focal may have made over the course of 14 months or so. I've read all of the associated threads and studied up on the "Tyll's defective Utopia" event, but I haven't seen any solid evidence that the Utopia sound has changed (dare I say "improved") as the headphone has become a mature product. I would be willing to open the box of Utopia #2 to compare them side-by-side if there were compelling reason to do so.

So... anyone?

 

Don't bother. The ONE original unit Tyll received was different but evert other Utopia I've heard and measured sounded the same. The angled drivers create more measurement variation than unit to unit differences.

 

Music to my ears. Thanks!

 

Can you

Can you offer more comments on the Zana Deux with Utopia? Which version of ZD is it? How is the soundstage of the two combined?

Edit: I am aware many have posted reviews here, I am just trying to gather more data points.

 

The latest version of ZD, i.e. ZDS, is the best iteration of ZD period. Don't bother with ZD or ZDSE unless you are okay with the FoMo the upgraded sonics that ZDS provide, which is quite significant IMO. Note that you cannot get a ZD or ZDSE upgraded to ZDS like you can do with Yggdrasil.

The ZDS/Utopia has been reviewed by many users here (including myself), perhaps you should do a little lurking and reading before asking what's already been answered. To answer your question, the ZDS is known for its holographic and deep soundstage and is synergistic with Utopia whose few criticisms include its relatively small staging. It still won't be as wide as say K1000 or HD800 but it's deep enough to appreciate.

ZDS/Utopia is one of the very few combos I consider truly endgame. Not even K1000 or HD800 driven by Stratus or any other $$$ amp was endgame for me.

 

Decent. Glad to see this opinion is widely shared, thank you for your thorough answer.

This will replace Bottlehead SEX 3.0 (Edit: and Mjolnir 2). It was difficult to find anything negative people had to say, so this does indeed look like a killer combo. Having read through quite a few threads I doubt I'll be disappointed. Excuse the redundancy

 

What about Utopia/Stratus? Seems I recall a some folks liking that pairing more given a more relaxing listen compared to the more energetic ZDS.

 

Unfortunately I never got around to listening to that particular combo. I had several amps (including ZDS and Studio) when I got to listen to Utopia, but Stratus wasn't one of them.

To qualify as an endgame setup, it must 1) offer SOTA performance in terms of sheer technicalities (transparency / resolution / soundstsage / frequency extension / etc.) 2) be a genre master with a natural and close-to-neutral tonal balance that isn't picky with particular recordings 3) reach satisfactory SPL without clipping or audibly dropping in sound quality to accommodate quietly recorded recordings.

Among the ones I've heard, the following systems qualify as such:

1. BHSE/SR-007 MK1: Best stat setup I've heard, better than SR-009 or Orpheus 1/2. Highly transparent yet natural and organic, although its bass presentation could use more heft. Personally not a fan of stats and their inherently ethereal sound, but I gotta hand it to this one. It's been a long time since I had listened to it, though.

2. LG/Code-X: Best planar setup I've heard. Again not really a fan of planars (not as much as stats though), but oh man, its bass and full-bodied sound is really something to die for. The slightly warm, laid-back nature of LG very well tames the slight brightness of Code-X. Being a tube roller's dream is a bonus. This is my current desktop rig.

3. Studio/HD650(modded): Overall the best headphone setup I've heard, period. Technicalities is close to ZDS/Utopia, but I found it to be the ultimate genre master whereas the ZDS/Utopia felt a bit colored (not necessarily in a bad way) by comparison. This, along with Yggdrasil 2, is the setup I would own if cost is no object.

4. ZDS/Utopia: I preferred Utopia on ZDS to Studio in terms of tonality. There isn't much to say since a lot of people have used and reviewed this particular combo. This is probably the most easily obtainable setup of the lot since SR-007 MK1, LG, Code-X and Studio are discontinued or unobtainium.

HD800 definitely meets criteria 1 and 3, but I could never get it to become the genre master I wanted it to be regardless of mods and so-called TOTL amps I threw at it, hence the reason I gave up on it. HEK V2 was better in that regard and slightly outperformed the Code-X in technicalities, but I found the Code-X's tonality to be far more pleasing and ultimately won me over. PMx2 checks the boxes of criteria 2 and 3, but so far I haven't found an amp that allows it to perform in the same technical level as the aforementioned setups. Perhaps PMx2 doesn't scale as high, or I just haven't tried out that many amps with it.

Bottom line is, if you have the money to afford any of the above setups and don't want to spend your time endlessly waiting for a discontinued product to one day pop up for sale, ZDS/Utopia is a no-brainer.

 

I still occasionally slip on my HiFiMan Planar HPs when I want a mellow listening experience, but with some equalization filtering to knock down the 6K peak, and 16K+ range (that I cannot hear, but feels like an ultrasonic attack on my brain), Yggdrasil -> MJ2 -> Utopia is addictive as hell. Love these HPs now. They convey the energy, tonality, and clarity of live music, and that is hard to do.

 

My speaker system definitely provides the sense of openness better than these cans, but cans are still cans. They are always essentially limited. Turning your head just cannot be the same experience as live, and what some speaker systems can convey, where you get that sense of directional queues. They also cannot provide that sense of bass that rattles your bones (they can provide a good illusion of if you don't over think it), but that full on experience of bass that makes your skin crawl just can't be done with cans.

They are good for what they are, but understood some HPs provide a better sense of space. No doubt it is a weakness of these headphones that it can sound in your head, though I feel that opens up when I listen to them for an extended period of time. My brain makes the shift from listening to HPs to experiencing a wider sound stage after an hour or so.

 

Very true. One of the reasons I sold it. I really wanted to settle with it as my end game but music radiated from a small point in space and it sounded like my ears were right next to some instruments.

 

I agree with this as well. I'm sensitive to upper mid /presence issues so the nasal tone really bothered me.

May main issue with all these headphones which convey a sense of energy which is great with percussive instruments is that they are all heavy or clamp a lot.

The utopia clamp got to me after 3 minutes which was really unfortunate (maybe even fortunate in that it made the decision for me).

I just don't think it put forward the same degree of texture that the hd800 did when it came to strings. But they both convey special cues exceptionally well.

I guess it's a case of macro vs macrodynamics
The Adx5000 still remains my favourite pair of headphones that I have tried because of the tone and timbre, I think it falls in between the two(slightly closer to the hd800) in terms of dynamics.

Personally I think the value proposition either hold in comparison to nearfields speakers is a lot different than the hd800 second hand.

If headphones aren't your end point than are either justifiable especially when it comes to building a rig around them

 

There is definitely a degree of that with these HPs. They aren't inexpensive Grados, but yea, the slight excess energy in the upper mids, and slight metallic tone, sometimes grates on my nerves too at times. Equalization has helped a lot, as has selecting mellow tubes. I'm hopeful that the Yggdrasil Analog 2 upgrade will polish off that last bit of what is annoyance without killing the clarity.

p.s. Wanted to add, that I'm a big fan of rock, and live music in general, and live music is often not syrupy sweet, mellow, euphoric; you do get slammed with bass, mid, and high frequency energy. I wouldn't want to listen to that for hours either, but when I do, I enjoy my fix of live levels at times. These HPs fill that want quite well at times, as does my horn speaker setup.

 

Opening up That Utopian Sound, with a Pair of HD800 Pads

So here's something weird, the HD800 pads sound phenomenal on the Utopia.

Early on when using them stock I found that pressing them down on to your head either fully, or toward the front or back only, significantly changes the sound in different ways. Far more than I’ve experienced with other headphones. Now as happy as I have been with them their closed in sound kept bugging me. They lacked air, like a closed-back would. After searching through the thread I was motivated to try out some other pads. I got my HD650 and TH900 pads, the former added some air but overall neither were preferable. Wanting to try something with a larger opening so to not obscure the driver, and give it some space, I used the only thing I had to hand, the HD800 pads, which are pretty thin. I thought it would be a disaster.

It wasn’t.

Pros
The stage opens up like a flower. Image size near doubled, and the new-found air was enveloping. Vocals were much more discernible having become larger and more upfront. Also there came real improvements in micro-dynamics and there was more space around individual sounds, or at least due to the increase in imaging it was easier to hear more deeply into what was already there. A number of times now over the last few days it has unveiled nuances I had never heard before within familiar tracks. Also Bass lines were bigger and bolder when heard on hard the L and R. The bass became less disjointed than it had been previously, and impact held up surprisingly well. They also didn't seem to have the same harshness up high, I need more time to confirm this.

This was disorienting for awhile. They don’t sound quite like headphones anymore, more like sitting between a pair of speakers. Image size is around HD650 level, but with a wider stage. Though the HD800 stage remains larger I find it more disjointed, whereas the Utopia with the HD800 pads is much more cohesive, producing a more engaging result.

Cons
The audible downsides were mainly related to the lower mids and upper bass. In stock form I would EQ a dip around 300hz to alleviate some odd mid fullness, I found that I now need to further increase or widen that EQ dip. Also I felt it now needed a little EQ boost in the bass for my taste. Not necessarily a con but I think there may also be some other milder tonal changes further up the frequency range, which I’d need more time to pin point.

In addition some may find it a little on the raw side, though oddly enough I am now using them without the open-cell foam discs I felt they needed with the stock pads to lessen the unpleasant treble colourations, but the same discs could still help if someone were to now find them too raw. Lastly the sense of depth is no longer as pronounced as it was with stock pads, and the non-tonal presentation is a little less thick and tactile.

The headband being designed for thick pads means that these won't fit well on medium to small heads, and even on a bigger head it's little looser than normal. I expect this can be improved with something to fill the gap under the pads to give it more buoyancy. Depending on ear shape you may also find the tips of your ears touching the see-through driver surround. Comfort for me was ultimately fine though, in fact they feel less bulky this way.

Conclusions
I tried some Dekoni HD800 pads but they were a disaster with the Utopia, I'd guess due to too much distance from the driver and an increase in volume of the internal cavity. They seem like fine pads otherwise.

As of now they're just held on with some double sided tape over the outer ridge of the Utopia oval, the oval fitting neatly within the HD800 pad's internal circumference. So they're not properly sealed, and the gap under the pads is unfilled. I expect there may be some potential here.

I am quite shocked by the changes. I had been increasingly eyeing up TOTL planars and electrostatics, but the improvement in imaging size and air has put a big fat damper on those ambitions. I really am quite blown away.

I expect similar improvements would be had with the Elex, Elear, and Clear. I hope someone gives that a try and reports back.

So these are the factors I am guessing are at play here:

• The shortened distance of the driver from the ears reducing the internal cup volume, as can be witnessed by simply pressing them into your head when in stock form.
• The thick leather pads no longer over damping the higher frequencies, as can be heard by listening without any pads at all.
• The increase in aperture size no longer funnelling down the front wave of the driver or increasing the pads’ damping effect.

Chain: Schiit Eitr -> Behringer DEQ2496 -> Schiit Gungnir Mutibit -> Schiit Mjolnir 2 w/ WE396a Vaccum Tubes, ATL DC Blocker, Furman RFI/EMI Filter

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I admit these headphones confuse me. Is it that the sound stage sounds small because it does, or is that the clarity and laser focus? They don't have that airy floating euphoric sound my planars do, but also when I switch out my planars for these, then it becomes dramatically clear how murky the planar sound is by comparison.

 

It’s both, the imaging is both precise and small. It’s also the most tactile sounding open back dynamic I’ve heard, whereas the Hifiman and Audeze planars I’ve listened to have a soft and ethereal presentation.

I’ve found the pads were responsible for the the small staging, though. They’re chunky with too small an opening. On the other hand I get the impression from others that planars with a lot of slam like the HE-6 and Abyss may have a more tactile and perhaps less ethereal presentation than others.

 

Yeah, there’s a bit too much energy across the higher frequencies. My current quick’n’dirty EQ adds -2db from 5khz upward. This was in-part responsible for such a strong initial sense of air, but it still sounds airy and natural vs stock pads. I reckon the upper mids/lower treble may need some taming also, probably around where we usually see that big hump around 3khz, and might be why I felt they had a rawness to them. I haven’t had enough time to confirm, and compare with the HD650.

I think with some damping mods based around these pads the tonality could be brought more to heel, without shrinking the imaging back down and making them sound so closed-in. Due to limited time and EQ proving sufficient for my purposes, I’m not motivated to try right now. Plus I’m not keen on some of the performance reducing effects damping mods seem to impart.

Does anyone have a pair of Focals and access to HD800 pads? I’d like to hear what you think. This hasn’t been a more comphrensive write up, taking it to it’s end point with a more complete solution. I won’t have capacity to work on this so I thought I’d share what I found while I can, and perhaps someone will carry the baton the rest of the way if they get to try it and see any potential themselves. Those stock pads really hold it back, and I would assume the Elex, Elear, and Clear, to different degrees too.

 

Agree with your earlier post regarding these HPs and conveying 'tactile' feel.

And this too. This is still my main gripe with them. The clarity is addictive as hell, but even with tube swap and equalization, they are still 'hot' sounding.

 

In stock form when trying to compensate for it I would have to EQ the higher frequencies so hard that they would sound far too dark and even more closed-in.

In that case it seems more an issue of colouration. Some have felt it’s a side effect of using Beryllium. Open-cell foam over the the front with a little EQ was how I settled on dealing with it previously. Just need to find a balance between performance and timbre, as the more I added the more the scale would swing to the latter at the expense of the former.

The comment quoted was with the HD800 pads though, and in that case EQ seemed to solve the hotness without the need for foam. The stock pads both tune the frequency response like a see-saw leaning down to the right as one would expect, whilst also seeming to concentrate it’s timbral issues. Making them harsher in a fairly odd way.