Focal Utopia Headphone Review
- Thread starter Mike
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jdandy
New member
Mike.......Colorfully written review. When do yours arrive? . :cryforjoy:
- Thread Author
- #3
jdandy
New member
Mike.......I'll be watching for your review. I haven't read a bad word about the Utopia headphone. What will you drive them with?
- Thread Author
- #5
I have a couple of choices: Oppo headphone amp (good) or Chord DAVE (best).
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matt_zak
Member
Do you have a T+A DAC 8 DSD Mike? It would be interesting to hear how good it sounds with headphones.
- Thread Author
- #7
No. The DAC8 must have all material up sampled to DSD512 to sound good. Not sure I have anything with that much horse power!
My understanding from the headphone folks is that the Chord DAVE headphone amp/DAC combo is excellent.
Since I recently sold my hi-Fi rig and am absolutely jones-ing to scratch my itch without a proper space to have a big rig, I am considering the Focal Utopia headphones. Being a McIntosh guy, I am thinking about the MHA150 headphone amp. Earlier this month, I bought Pryma headphones and Audioquest DragonRed with iPhone lightning to USB dongle. Using Tidal via iPhone 6S, the sound is nice, better than earbuds obviously, but I want more. The MHA150 would also be able to handle my Aurender X100L server, fit under or beside my bed or on nightstand, and looks like a million dollars.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
Jumping into an old thread here....
The T+A headphone amp is decent.... but I would say not as good as it is a DAC, which is amazing. I do upsample everything to 512/48. I actually run the SE output from the T+A DAC 8 DSD to my new little headphone amp, the Dennis Had Dragon Inspire. Gorgeous little amp... the guy who sold it to me, at only a few months old, sold it because he just got a Dave. Since I could not afford a Dave, and already had the amazing T+A DAC... scored a great deal on this little amp. Oh, btw, just got a pair of the Focal Clear headphones from Mike. Work absolutely amazing with the Dennis Had amp (also work very well with the T+A DAC headphone amp, but not as good as the little red wonder from Dennis Had).
The T+A headphone amp is decent.... but I would say not as good as it is a DAC, which is amazing. I do upsample everything to 512/48. I actually run the SE output from the T+A DAC 8 DSD to my new little headphone amp, the Dennis Had Dragon Inspire. Gorgeous little amp... the guy who sold it to me, at only a few months old, sold it because he just got a Dave. Since I could not afford a Dave, and already had the amazing T+A DAC... scored a great deal on this little amp. Oh, btw, just got a pair of the Focal Clear headphones from Mike. Work absolutely amazing with the Dennis Had amp (also work very well with the T+A DAC headphone amp, but not as good as the little red wonder from Dennis Had).
Pure_Sound
New member
- Joined
- May 7, 2019
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Which ones would you prefer: Utopia or Stellia?
I tried both and the Stellia are much lighter and more comfortable to listen to for a longer period of time.
On the other hand, I found the Utopia as having a slightly better clarity.
I tried both and the Stellia are much lighter and more comfortable to listen to for a longer period of time.
On the other hand, I found the Utopia as having a slightly better clarity.
Leatherneck
New member
Yup, the Dave is good. especially with upsampling.
I let mine go when I downsized to a Naim Nova. Too many expensive cables involved with the Chord stack.
The Nova headphone amp sounds good especially when fed with the Lumin X1 you sold me
I let mine go when I downsized to a Naim Nova. Too many expensive cables involved with the Chord stack.
The Nova headphone amp sounds good especially when fed with the Lumin X1 you sold me