I am still baffled by the stereotypical labels when it comes to the headphone community. Headphones are discussed as a separate entity as if the amplification, cabling, DAC, none of it comes into play when we all know that is the furthest from the truth. If a headphone has serious deficiencies, ok, perhaps nothing will save it but when discussing reference grade headphones? The top players know how to build a good headphone and the results speak for themselves. True that some offer different flavors for different tastes and purposes but you would be hard presed to find a terrible set overall from the brands we typically discuss here on AA.
As far as the Focal Utopia. It has tremendous resolution and speed, not too far from electrostatics. It does bass better than most electrostatics but not a bass heavy set and it has weight and body to the sound instead of the lightweight presentation. I can clearly hear all the differences between all the amps and cables. My favorite amp so far with Utopia is the smooth and weighty, full bodied sounding Violectric but tubes are showing incredible potential as well. I just don’t have a great tube amp to partner them with yet. I could never call Utopia bright but simply jaw dropping resolving and detailed. A wrong amp may simply produce grain and the lean sonic signature will definitely show through. As does intentional guitar distortion in music, tube vs solid state guitar amps, dynamic range compression, all becomes very clear and audible. I didn’t pay the crazy money for Utopia for them to sound colored. My euphonic and romantic set is the LCD3 and I also enjoy them but it is a different flavor for sure.
It would be unwise to invest that kind of money into Utopia and not go through the motions of finding a great partnering amp paying attention to your source/DAC. Fantastic headphones but require care in matching with other gear.
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