The Mighty Utopia: Focal Utopia Revisited

the Clears dont benefit with the foams? how much of a downgrade were the clears after the U?

 

The Clears don't dig into the mix as much as the Utopias. The Utopia's detail retrieval is really impressive, though I felt they needed a bit of EQ for really long listening sessions. Clears are a little more laidback with less transient overshoot than the Utopias so I haven't thought about putting foam in front of the drivers nor considered EQ as I am able to listen to them all day without a problem.

I had Clears before upgrading to Utopias, but now that I've been able to dedicate a room to 2-channel I never use my headphone rig anymore. I felt like it was a waste to have Utopias sitting around so I downgraded back to Clears.

 

Been using this EQ with my Utopia, to great effect!
Cleans up the lower mid quite a bit and let the bass be both tighter and more impactful without clouding up the lower mids.
The upper mid boost might just be my personal preference, but it gives voices more substance and presence.
The treble part is as one would expect.

Chain is Wavelight -> J-ISO -> Lokius -> -10dB attenuator -> ECP T4 -> Utopia

 

I invite every Utopia owner to try their hd650 foam. I simply installed the foam via holding the foam down by clamping in down with the ear pads.
It calms the Utopia down, I definitely like it.

I totally agree with that guys description of the foam in front of drivers
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EDIT: 24 hours later.
kinda blown away by the simple hd650 foam mod. truly fix some of the few issues I have with the U

 

I've been seeing a "new" Utopia variant / SKU called the Utopia 2020. Is anyone familiar with the differences, soundwise or otherwise? Or is it really the same thing but just with some manufacturing and reliability fixes, etc.

edit: answered via text, the headphones are the same, the accessories are different.

 

It's the same headphones with a new packaging/bundle (similar to the Stellia - more cables, felt carrying case).

 

I am new to Utopia have only had for a week, can someone tell me what the "hd650 foam" is? is that something you buy or do you need to have a hd650 (I do not) Have not done any type of mods.
best

 

I'm pretty sure people are talking about the inner foam that covers the drivers, these come with the HD 650 ear pads:

 

Someone wants a Utopia. Lurker!

 

You can buy just the foam without the pads, search for Sennheiser 586410

 

thanks for the info, I ordered them

 

Does anyone off the top of their head know of a material or solution that brings down the peak around 5.5k while leaving everything else intact, including technical performance?

 

Not just to state the obvious, but quality digital EQ comes the closest to being the ideal - a fix with no side effects...

 

I'd disagree, digital processing adds artefacts and makes things a touch hazy. It takes me a few days to realize it's on when I forgot about it, nagging feeling something's not quite right. Great to identify frequency issues but overall I find tuning with hardware means is preferable.

 

I've been meaning to create a thread on this. Properly implemented, I contend that quality digital EQ is more transparent (i.e. least side effects) than any other tweak. Like anything else if it's not properly implemented, it of course becomes audible and undesirable. I'll create this thread when I get back to the office in a few days...

 

I am new to doing anything to headphones. I have been trying the foam over the driver on the Utopias. Started with complete coverage then started donut shape with small hole to bigger then bigger. To my ears with my system the Utopia sounds best with no foam. Custom mini PC built for music only-Yggsdrasil LIM-Studio B ( upgraded tubes, LinLai Global e 300b) Its like throwing different thicknesses of a blanket over the driver, the headphone has such amazing retrieval of detail and the attack and lingering qualities of a note, the air around each instrument is also diminished. much is lost with the foam to my hearing. Listening to varied music, rock, country, jazz, vocal.

 

Regarding EQ on Utopia:

I will have to admit that my opinion on EQ vs mods has changed since my HD800 days. The HD800 was obviously a different animal anyway, and its specific flaws were related to the enclosure which could be more easily modified with materials to reach a certain goal. Many folks EQ'd the HD800 to their own personal level of acceptable tone and had great success. I would have told them that the physical mods were superior. At the very least one would have to admit that the physical mods to the HD800 were really not equivalent to EQ. And IMO, if you wanted to truly fix the HD800's issues you would need those physical mods to do so.

The Utopia is a different story as far as I can tell. Its issues do not seem to be related to the enclosure, and I would have very strong reservations about placing any sort of materials in front of the driver. My general experience with headphone modding is that this is a cheap trick that does more harm than good. While we can spend a long time debating the absolute transparency of digital PEQ, we should keep scale in mind. And I will take digital PEQ over stuff-on-driver most any day of the week. Any piece of material will act as a ACOUSTIC FILTER that affects the sound across the whole audioband, just as digital filters will. The degree of control that the modder has with regard to the engineering of this material is also incredibly course and inconsistent compared to what the EQer has. I don't want to go through different brands of toilet paper to discover which type provides just the right amount of attenuation at the targeted peak. Couple that with the ease of removing said tweaks with the click of a mouse, and that makes PEQ the winner for me. The physical mods would have to be obviously superior to using EQ as well as doing-no-harm in order for me to choose them.

I will try to get some listening time this weekend now that I am moved into the new place. Don't think I have had any headphone time for at least 2 months now. Still had been listening to all my tunes w/o EQ when I left off.

 

Random update - received Utopia. Not sure if it's the chain, the tubes, the individual headphone, my mood, or my hearing right now, but the 5.5k peak is "not as prominent" right now. Hoping I just got lucky with the natural variation between individual headphones and this one "has less peak".

Edit: update 2 - I still like 15-20% of songs better on the Clear (original, not Mg). Why......