Headphones for N272

analogmusic posted:

has anyone has heard the focal utopia headphones. At 4000 USD they must be completely superb  ?

They look and the reviews make it seem quite interesting, they are gorgeous. I have heard the Elear headphones and I don't think they are nearly as involving or lively as the Grado GS1000e or PS500e. I also prefer the BeyerDynamic T1's. , I don't own a pair of the Senn's so don't have the same first hand experience as with the GS or PS phones. but all of them are fairly comparable in price. The Utopia would have to be a huge step forward to be worth 4x the cost of any of those three exceptional headphones (T1's, GS1000e, PS500e). I guess with headphones at that performance level it all comes down to personal preference as they all seem to have a "House" sound. I prefer Grado and Beyerdyamic's sound to any others I have come across. Grado being overall the best for it's liveness and great open sound and resolution, Beyer a close second for being a bit more practical in terms of isolation, a bit more comfortable but a little less involving. 

Very interesting thread. Without having given it much thought before, maybe there's a pattern developing here? Seems to me that a lot of people who love the Senn HDs are using headphone amps.

When I auditioned HD650s it was with my 172xs and an AQ Dragonfly 1.2, neither of which is very high quality for 'phones. Compared with the Grados, the Senn's sound was obviously very good, but also a bit warm and 'rolled off'. I could imagine reading a book or working while listening to them, which is fine but not to my taste. The Grado SR325e put me right at the front of the stage and seemed more lively and entertaining. They aren't neutral, but Naim isn't exactly renowned for neutrality either. The Grados were an easy choice. I'm now using them mostly with an AQ Dragonfly Red and they're outstanding.

With a proper headphone amp, things might have been different though. 

Its clearly important to choose 'phones for the amp you'll be using day-to-day, which isn't news obviously, but this thread definitely reinforces that. 

i once tried grade 325 years a go, bought it from States without listening them, i could listen like a album or two thats all, sold them right away... i did find them very forward and trying, on your face....  so this things are not sometime is a taste rather than good/bad but one thing is for sure the build quality of Senn vs grado is a fact! Elear is perfect as well..... Grado got this hand made feel like LCD which i dont find to my taste in headphones..... with all respect to Grado owners, i am sure that they deliver excellent sound if you like that sound....

I would not choose a headphone for comfort only and I hope there's no need to explain why. I've owned Senn HD700 for a short while and I was surprised how much I disliked the sound. I suspect they need a proper amp to come to life. I used Qute2 and SN2 at that time. I guess HD800 are a different beast over 700.

S

I see from your profile you have a similar streaming set up to mine. How do you find your Focal Elear with your current set up?

Are you talking to me 

If so, my experience with Elear is limited, since I picked them up yesterday. What I do hear is that it's a very capable headphone and so far with a sound to my liking. Open, fresh, insightsful and dynamic, still sweet and colorful. One should always live with a product for a while, before concluding.

In comparison, HD700 sounded totally different, boring and I wonder if something was wrong with them or amp sensitive. I really wondered if this could have anything to do with taste only, it was that bad.

I look forward to add an xps to see what that brings to it. I would not go down in headphone quality, I would rather find a suited amp then, if necessary and I hope and believe I won't.

Good luck!

S

They are veRyan good and comfortable! They will be just fine with 272, hd800 won't be, other top notch candidate is fostex 900

Sorry Stover I was talking to you. I'm new to all this. I'm really tied between the 800s and Elear so am interested to see how you get on with yours. Mac