Focal Elear and Utopia

Haha they were there for under 30 seconds and the tubes were just turned on.

Don't worry I definitely thought of that. It was for the photo only as I didn't have room anywhere else. Heat was not reaching them yet.

Though besides me just generally being a heat freak (my pcs too lol) why is beryllium in particular bad to leave there compared to like a planar magnetic or something?

Edit: @FallingObjects below I agree. Berylliums melting point is like well above what tubes could do, so I'm assuming something else is vulnerable. I was thinking planar magnetics would be more problematic because heat affects magnetism.

 

Just curious, but are they especially sensitive to heat or something? Legitimately haven't heard of this before.

 

From the warning manual that came with the headphones:

Conditions to avoid: heat, sparks, open flame....

Better safe than sorry, especially with hazardous materials.

We are especially cautious with this kind of stuff where I work

 

Yeah, definitely good to be cautious. Especially when your stuff is worth the same as a cheap car!

 

Welp my wallet is gonna get lighter.

It's been quite some time since I just couldn't stop listening. I should totally be asleep right now, but every new song I try just sounds so amazing. From Queen to Green Day to Dr. Dre/Eminem to Spyro Gyra and Miles Davis to M83. Super impressed. It's sound stage may be smaller than the HD800s, but boy does it make the most of it.

Bands like Green Day in particular the HD800s really lacked punch imo.

Edit: to the point where I have to stop because my tubes have been on for too long lol.

 

I should really get around to trying the Utopias one of these days.

 

Honestly It was pretty impressive! It had everything the Elear had PLUS the tactility and speed I have with my HE 4, can't say it's worth the $4000 tag yet. But it was impressive.

@Galm as far as what to own, If you haven't already. Upgrade the tubes in your amp, I REALLY liked both the Utopia and the Elear out of a good tube. Pair's nice with their overall low distortion and the really pretty mid range.

 

Oh yeah. Part of the reason I think the WA7s get a lot of hate is their stock tubes and stock upgrade options. The stock tubes are fairly boring in the psu (the amps are actually solid, but the psu helps a lot and rolls better). This is important because one of the only pairs for the amp are these electro harmonix gold pin tubes... Horrific, literally no low end, the HD800s lost bass below like 120Hz or something almost completely. Maybe they were defective idk, but they sounded almost unbelievably bad paired with HD800. Maybe great with bass heavy headhones who knows.

So stock amp tubes... PSU wise though there are a ton of options. The CBS Hytron's 5814A tubes are freakin amazing. Really smooth, great low end, they basically sound like the ones that came stock but more alive. I like it so much with Utopia right now I may not upgrade my tube amp at all. I am still planning on getting Yggdrasil in a little while and losing my Cayin iDac-6 (although the tube mode on it is cool).

I think Utopia can be my do it all. I really am liking them with every genre. I already sold my ZMF Atticus and will probably sell my HD800s. Then Utopia won't be too costly from a dealer willing to negotiate a bit from that towering MSRP.

My only debate is the Elear pads... I think I might enjoy the extra bass response, but the pads on Utopia are crazy comfortable and look awesome too. Plus I've heard it messes with the high end a little. I haven't really been feeling these lack bass either like I did with HD800.

 

I just wanted to add a follow up... After a week with the Utopias... My HD800s are basically ruined to me. They now sound awful and I can clearly hear their limitations. But I had send the Utopia's back thecablecompany.

ugh... Welp time to save for Utopia. The 800s totally sound artificial and too airy now to me. Plus less bass.

 

...Modded HD 800s right?

 

Yeah yeah SDR's and stuff. Haha don't worry, I could only stand stock for like 5 minutes. But I was a fan of my modded ones.

 

Been listening to my Utopia through my three amps:

TORPEDO III (ALL BEEZAR UPGRADES)

• pretty punchy and decently fast
• Forward midrange and excellent dynamic range
• Narrow but deep soundstage
• Sweet tonality in the midrange with the tubes inside. Switching to the Electro harmonix tubes makes things a little less organic and rich.
• Bass sounds controlled enough but is not as warm as the other three
• Tone density is decent but doesn't help the Utopia have much body compared to the other two. Still better than solid state
• Good clarity
• Better Macro Dynamics than the Mogwai and Auris
• Good treble bite for a tube amp

AURIS HA 2SE

• Slightly better separated and wider than Torpedo
• Bass is a little warmer than the Torpedo and also more solid and tangible
• Midrange can be as sweet as the Torpedo but never really as forward and the dynamic range is not as good
• Better micro dynamics than the Torpedo III Maxed and the Upgraded Mogwai
• Less wide than the Upgraded Mogwai bit wider than the Torpedo III
• Snappier attacks than Upgraded Mogwai
• Decent treble bite but could use just a bit more resolve in the treble as can the Torpedo III when compared to the Mogwai
• Good overall resolution and the best control of the lot

AMPSANDSOUND MOGWAI (upgraded caps)

• Sounds most refined and organic with the Utopia and gives it body
• Best soundstage width
• Dynamics are good and about as punchy as the
• Bass synergy with the Utopia was unexpected because the Mogwai has been disappointing me in the bass for my Atticus but the Utopia bass gains weight without sounding too sloppy on the this amp.
• Smoothest and at the same time most visceral with the heaviest hits of the three
• Most resolving
• Most Tubey sounding
• Best treble resolution but could sometimes stand to have a little more bite like the others. E.g. Cymbal shimmer, brushwork sounds more clear than the others but high hats sound less crisp in attack.

FAVORITE FOR THE UTOPIA - MOGWAI w Upgraded caps
My findings with the Mogwai are a little unexpected to me. The Mogwai has been sounding a little loose in the bass compared to the Auris and Torpedo. It still doesn't have the focus of the Auris but it has better weight than the Torpedo and I personally find the Utopia bass just a bit wanting in weight. The Torpedo maxed brings the vocals out wonderfully and makes them sound a little forward but the Mogwai gives them better body and realism all while helping the Utopia sound a little wider. When I switch from the Torpedo III to the Mogwai the music sounds more saturated and natural with better timbre. The tones gain roundness, depth, and physicality even when coming from the Auris which has better tone density than the Torpedo III.

Depending on the song the Auris or Torpedo III are the runner ups though I tend to most usually take the slight hit in dynamic range and vocal presentation of the Auris in favor of its better nuance and bass density. They are extremely close. The areas the Torpedo III consistently do better at is allowing voices to sound full and open, all while sounding punchy at the same time. The Auris sounds less dramatic but apart from the treble, it consistently sounds more snappy, controlled, dense, yet slightly more spacious. Sometimes the Auris can sound like it suffers in dynamic range relatively which on busy songs sounds like voices don't flesh out as genuinely as they should.

The takeaway is that I prefer the Atticus with the Auris and Torpedo III (most usually the Auris) over the Mogwai because they make the Atticus sound more snappy and controlled. Sometimes the Mogwai makes the Atticus sound just a little to smooth in its attacks. Ampsandsound is offering upgrades to the Mogwai with input transformers. If the music gets a little more bite and the bass gains details I would say it would definitely be my preference over these other two amps. With the Aficinado coming though, I don't see the need for the Mogwai unless it's a different sound overall that will work better for some headphones. The Utopia enables me to easily hear how the Mogwai is more resolving with better realism but its weaknesses are real weaknesses(could be the 32 ohm jack) whereas it almost sounds like the Torpedo III and Auris have no real weaknesses.

The most obvious differences (recap):
Dynamic range:
T3>Mogwai>>Auris(can sound a little restrained)
T3 maxed -sounds the most open and free which may be the deal maker for most people. It gives a great sense of immediacy and conveys the energy of the instruments the best.

Tone density:
Auris/Mogwai>T3

Control:
Auris>T3>Mogwai

Speed:
T3/Auris>Mogwai

Timbre:
Mogwai>T3/Auris

Microdynamics:
Auris>Mogwai/T3

Body,Saturation:
Mogwai>Auris>T3

Resolution:
Mogwai>Auris/T3 (sometimes I felt like the Auris was slightly more resolving but it is just better separated)

 

For a second I really though you ended your Utopia post speaking about how much you like the ZMF Atticus lol, though frankly I like the Atticus more than I did the Elear

 

That was just a comment to show that all pairings aren't equal and just cause I my Mogwai on the Utopia does not mean I like it for my Atticus.

 

Thanks for the impressions @gbeast! Which non-EH tubes were you using in the T3 and were you using the low-gain setting?

 

Had the opportunity to try the Utopias* when I went to Headphonebar in person last week. Got to compare them to the HD800S as well.

I can sum up the experience in one sentence:

I need to get a job somewhere and start saving.

 

Nice impressions, @gbeast . If you have a competent tubed preamp, you will find that T3 opens up more in width.

@zonto the T3 does not have a gain selector. It has a dual secondary opt which allows selective impedance matching. With Utopes, bass response rolls off when using the low 32R setting, though.

 

I was using the low and high impedance setting and the EH tubes I used were the 6072A's/12AY7s. I prefer the triple mica black plates as they sound more developed in the midrange.

I feel like the Utopias open up more with the high impedance setting they sound more open dynamically especially with voices but the low impedance setting seems slightly more tactile. But also the same thing goes for the Auris but to a lesser degree, that is that it sounds a little more open on the 100ohm setting vs the 50 ohm setting. The bass is a little stronger that way too.

 

Ahh, but well that goes without saying though... I've got 3 different amps my self. One for my dynamics, one for my planar's and one for my portables. My Nhoord Red V1 sounds terrible out of my Ember II and my Audio GD NFB10ES2, being such a THICK headphone it sounds best out of my hm 901 and pico power

Good impressions, I didn't have enough time with the Utopia's but even with a first listen... they had both the warmth of the Elear with the Tactility of my HE 4, this was out of the same Zana Deux Rig I had my HE 4 hooked up to. Also... in terms of resolve it was VERY obvious how much more the Utopia pulled out... and from what I can remember. I wasn't impressed with the HD 800 for it's resolve, but rather it's sound stage and it's mix of both warmth and tactility, how ever when compared to my HE 4 unlike the HD 800, the Utopia was clearly more resolving. Now I listened to different tracks with each, so it's not a totally fair fight... but I'd love a listen at home in my rig... still

@gbeast good to hear the Utopia opened up with the High Impedance setting

 

Is Elear still the best option if you want a HD650 on steroids? Atleast a more clean, bassy HD650?
What can you do with the mid suckout?