Focal Elear and Utopia

The 3db reduction at 4k is actually going to be more audible than the deeper, but narrower suckout at 7k. Remember a suckout at wider range is actually more audible than a sharper, narrower one.

 

I have the Utopia and Elear on loan for the day. When I first tried these a couple months ago, I felt myself leaning more towards the Elear. Despite having a slight suckout in the upper mids, it didn't do anything else wrong to my ears and the pricepoints was much more palatable. The Utopia on the other hand, while I felt like it had a certain speed and greater "technical" ability, there was this paperiness to the upper end that I couldn't quite describe but I didn't like it. Sort of a resonance type thing? A bit similar to how I felt many T50rp mods were done using reflectors to smooth upper end frequency response at the sake of cleanliness.

Anyhow, today I switched pads and I am greatly enjoying the Utopias more with the Elear pads. That same paperiness has mostly been tamped out, and I might be imagining things but I think the bass bumped up a couple db? (I know Tyll posted up graphs, but I haven't looked yet otherwise it'll skew my impressions). Feels like a bit more body down low, but perhaps less punch. I can appreciate the midrange more overall without the distraction of whatever that paperiness was. I do feel like there's a bit of mid energy missing now though. For comparison, my HD650 feels more balanced here but lacks in the clarity.

On the other hand, the Utopia pads on the Elear do it no favours whatsoever. The upper mid dip seems more prominent and the treble seems more peaked now. Not quite the same paperiness, but just too zingy.

In terms of pricing, I think the Elear is still a good buy. The Utopia with Elear pads... eh... not MSRP that's for sure. At discounted pricing... maybe.

 

I got mine for $750 USD, and I've seen some Elears being sold for as low as $700USD now. Prices like that I think puts it at a VERY competitive price for a end-game position, especially once more tweaks and mods for it start showing up over time. People already seem to be having some success swapping pads on them to the HM5s and throwing filter paper infront of the drivers. And if EQ is available to you, it's super easy to tweak them to your liking.

Utopia is kinda pricy, and it seems the general consensus is that it'd be a better buy if it weren't the price of an entire DAC, Amp, and modded HD800.

 

@Armaegis Besides overall tonality how did the Elear compare to the HE-6 in other areas like speed, soundstage, imaging, dynamics etc?

 

I still consider the HE-6 superior to the Elear in all aspects Of course, I can plug the Elear into my dac/amp and be perfectly happy. The HE-6 has another big stinkin' amp on the table to push it.

 

Utopia can be bought new for $3000 if you ask nicely.

I think the market has spoken on the Elear. Worth around $700 to $800.

 

After another hour with the Utopia, I am definitely feeling a bit of ear fatigue. Gotta factor in that I don't often listen for long stretches at a time, but I can go longer with my modded HE-6. The weight is also a bit offputting. The Senn HE650 feels like almost half the weight.

I wonder if some weight could be chopped out of that chunky headband? It feels like a lot of hard plastic or rubbery something in there to give it that fat shape, but it also makes it somewhat top heavy. I've seen a hackjob done to a Shure 840 to significantly reduce the heft, but I kinda doubt anyone is gonna cut open their Utopia anytime soon.

I feel like even $3k is high for the Utopia. Elear at 800 would be fantastic. Doubled up for Utopia would be amazing, but even triple at 2.4k would be very very good and I imagine increased sales would more than make up for the difference.

 

Wow, great insight. It would be a better buy if it weren't so expensive! Note that an HD800 new costs as much as an HD650, a DAC and an Amp. A new HD650 cost as much as ....

For used, yes. New is generally more expensive than used! New 900-1000 used 700-850 is about right.

 

I recently received my ZDS (#108) last week, and a brief comparison between the modded HD800 (SDR and rug liner mods) and Focal Utopia was interesting:

- The ZDS provides the best bass slam for the HD800 from the tube amplifiers I've tried (EAR HP4 and custom 300B SET amplifier) but still the Focal Utopias have just that little bit more slam that I have craved,
- Soundstage is wide and deep for both HD800 and Utopia, and while the HD800 was much wider and deeper on the EAR HP4, the difference narrowed considerably on the ZDS, such that I found I didn't miss the HD800,
- Microdynamics and macrodynamics were better on the Utopias - I could clearly tell the difference between soft and loud passages in the music,
- Instrument separation was excellent on both,
- The mids are still less recessed on the Utopia when compared to the HD800, and works well with the euphoric and slightly forward mids of the ZDS, but the HD800 mids are still clear, just not as rich and slightly lacking body for me, and,
- Despite mods, the treble is still a little sharper than I'd like on the HD800, while the treble is no less extended on the Utopias but nonetheless more tolerable.

While I find myself using my Utopias more with the ZDS, and relegating the HD800s to the shelf, the cost equation is very interesting:

Modded HD800 (1600 AUD / 1200 USD) + EC Zana Deux S (2450 USD / 3250 AUD excl shipping) roughly approximates how much I paid for the Utopias new, friendly dealer discount included.

I imagine that I would have been very happy with the ZDS and modded HD800s (and saved a load of cash) had I not listened to the Utopias with the ZDS, and now that I have, I really can't see myself go back to the HD800s - too drawn by the bass slam, dynamics and smoother yet extended treble!

 

http://www.innerfidelity.com/conten...-13-big-shootout-audeze-lcd-4-vs-focal-utopia
umh...
double umh.....

There have been already some (many actually) comments on this review..... what do you guys think?

I have extensively auditioned the LCD4 together with the Utopia before deciding which cans to buy, and I think they are really very close in terms of SQ, just a matter of "tonal" prefence, more bass-centric the LCD4, more mid-centric the Utopia.

While I agree the 20-40 range is somewhat shy in Utopia, I cannot agree on any other big difference with LCD4 that Katz seems to hear, even considering his known preferences for the Audeze's sound (IIRC he said that whoever like the sound of 009 must be deaf ).

Maybe a mis-synergy with the quite peculiar front-end or with the amplifier? (I don't know the AMB Katz is using)

Maybe a somewhat defective Utopia?

Really, I cannot hear any of the flaws Katz is pointing out when I listen to my Utopia with my setup....... I must be deaf.........

 

What do you use to drive these?

 

umh... maybe my post was not clear........

I'm not complaining about Katz opinions, I don't care about bying what is considered the best cans in the world, and I'm by no means disappointed of having spent "all that money" on the Utopia. I just buy what I like. I have bought the HE6 because I liked it. Same as HEK. Same as 507. Same as many other cans I own or have owned.

What I meant is that I cannot hear the huge difference that Katz seems to be hearing between LCD4 and Utopia. And since he is a very respected sound engineer, I simply would like to discuss this technical fact. I have extensively listened to LCD4, it's a great, really great hp. I have chosen Utopia because was closer to what I was looking for (a complementary cans to the HEK, which remains my preferred HPs).

Now, as I already said, could very well be that I'm deaf, and everyone agree that the difference between LCD4 and Utopia is exactly as described by Katz. That's fine, I simply asked to know if this is the case and I have to quickly book a visit to my E.N.T. .....

 

Put your LCD-4 on a loaner tour for us other Utopia owners, and we'll get a consensus either way. I'll take round one and pay your shipping.

 

Take a look at the rest of Katz' reviews on IF. His choice of words is all about magnifying differences.

 

Sometimes we all want at least a little when we throw down big bucks on our hobbies .

I agree on the overall though. My preferences don't align with Katz's but, he's consistent, concise in his wording, and thorough in his testing.

At Phaeton: He does specifically mention that the drivers had matching issues. I think it's possible there were other problems, if unlikely. There are a lot of factors that could account for the differences you hear compared to him. He's using his own masters for a lot of the test tracks, his setup is quite different, he's in a treated room, his head and ears are different, etc. The list can go on and on and be one or none of those things.

Edit: What I mean to say here is that it's still about approximation in the end. With enough ears we can determine the general sound of a headphone but it's never going to be identical for everyone.

 

I knew Bob would create a ripple at Headfi when he got his hands on the Utopia

And there are 4 or 5 of his colleagues to go, this is going to be fascinating.

I also knew that the Source AV guy would butt in with his usual snide, passive-aggressive style...

Originally Posted by TSAVJason

It's been said that some people's ears are just painted on. I'm not say'n his are but I've heard this

Man this guy maybe great in person but he really comes across as an a-hole online.

He will defend his precious Focals till his last breath.

 

The internet does bad things to people sometimes. Maybe he gets a Utopia Tournaire if he defends Focal's honor long enough ?