Question for Focal Utopia headphone owners

When I had my single ended connector changed out to 4 pin XLR, he changed it out the same day he received it and right back out for shipping. My cable was not gone longer than 5 days and that was all just shipping time. Vinh emailed saying he knew I wouldn’t want to be without my cable for very long. I’ve mentioned in the past that cable made more difference than changing amps.

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That’s awesome, he is doing perfect jobs.
I asked him about the ’ coupon code ’ on the website, he said that’s a discount between for thanksgiving till Boxing Day, they donate 10% to charity
I told him that I planning to purchase the cable before Christmas, but I was waiting to receive my new utopia first.
he said ‘’ I know sometimes people missed their chance , but it’s ok, because I’m a nice guy, I will still give you 10% ‘’

That’s sick ! I’m very excited !

Looks like there’s ongoing confusion on this.

My Utopias came in last weekend and do not have the black rubberised cables. They come with both the short and XLR long cables as braided cables with black plastic splitters rather than the metal finish ones with Focal logo that are on the Stellia (which incidentally came with a rubberised short cable and braided long).

I have to say I personally much preferred the rubberised long cables that were on the demo model since they are more flexible, though I can understand others preferring the braided look. The idea that they could be more fragile as you report is also not too encouraging though quite likely. I haven’t noticed much difference in microphonics/friction noise to tell the truth, though.

I can’t say much about sound quality at the moment, though, since they are still burning in.

The Utopias only just came into the Sevenoaks network and we had to wait, so I am assuming they were new from France, not old stock.

Bit disappointed… I could obviously supply the serial number if that helps.

I have received my new Utopias yesterday, and they have the same cables as you described. Because I needed a 3m cable with 6.3mm jack, I bought this as a replacement cable from Focal. This cable is rubberised but the splitter looks cheap heatshrink rubber with no logo on it. Actually there is no Focal logo on the cable at all.

Interesting. That’s the same as mine. So it may be that the information @Naim.Marketing received from Focal is incorrect or else that they are perhaps still sending out old stock.

Hi Clare @Naim.Marketing ! I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from Focal about whether the situation has changed with respect to the cables now supplied with the Utopias, or if I and @A_diT have received the older cables for some reason? Sorry to pester, but it would be nice to know! :slight_smile:

Position hasn’t changed AFAIK - maybe these were older models?

Thanks. I’ll try and find out. As far as I know, with there having been quite a wait for both of them, they were fresh from France….

Happy birthday!
Wish you health and happiness. Also able to enjoy musics as much as you want in age 88 :smiley: :fist_right:

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Thank you1

Hi
I had mine hand made by Atlas. Very HQ.
Big improvement over the standard cable, which failed after just a year

and still able to feel like a child when you want to :smile:

Yeah

Only after I lost my wife. She kept me grounded for 56 years.

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56 years ! ! Must be countless great memories !! :heart:
Wish I can find a partner who will have 56 years of memories with me and shared all the songs I love.

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She was a Bobby Soxer from the 50’s. She liked Doo Wop. One of the greatest generation.

Bud

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Hi, I’m looking for an upgrade cable for my Utopia on the Uniti Atom HE. I feel the braided stock XLR cable does already have a good synergy with UA HE (better than the braided stock 1/4 inch cable, which is a little lacking in the lower frequencies, but that could also be caused by the output!) How would you personally describe the difference between the stock XLR cable and the Lazuli Reference one? I’d especially like to know if there’s a difference in the upper mids and lower treble, because with some music the stock XLR cable can sound a bit bright, where ideally I would like more smoothness, while not undermining the soundstage and becoming dark sounding like a Moon Audio Black Dragon 1/4 inch cable turned out to be, at least when paired with the UA HE.

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I also have the Danacable Lazuli Reference and find it’s a noticeable improvement, especially in the mids. Not only are they clearer but have a sweeter, richer sound than the stock. The whole sound range is more transparent and airier. When I first got the cable I noticed right away a change in the vocals for the better. Guitars sound more natural with a more jangy sound I like.

The stock cable sounds really good too but whenever I’ve listened to it again, I can’t help think how this song would sound better with the Danacable.

Just to note, I opted for the Furutech XLR connection that I use with Naim HE. I originally had Furutech 1/4 connector when I previously had it hooked to the Chord Dave. The sound changes were very similar on the Dave, as well on the Focal Arche.

I can’t really speak to the brightness other than I have no issues with the Naim HE and Danacable but I haven’t really listened to the stock cord on it long enough to see if brightness would be an issue. On the Dave, with HF filter off, even with Danacable, there were a few tracks a little bright. That could have also been due to mscaler.

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I have not heard the Uniti Atom Headphone Edition.

The Focal Utopia headphone with the stock cable, if I remember correctly, is a tad “hot” (or “bright”), the bass extension is rolled off and the soundstage is more narrow than open.

The Utopia headphone with the Danacable Lazuli Reference has a much better tonal balance and a more open soundstage.

Also, I agree with the above comment: “The whole sound range is more transparent and airier.”

The Focal Utopia headphone has a lot of scalability.

My source is a Naim NDX 2 streamer powered by an XPS DR power supply and my headphone amplifier is a Niimbus US 4+. The Focal Utopia headphone has no problem matching this level of equipment.

I rolled through a few RCA interconnects (connecting the NDX 2 to the Niimbus), and I settled on a pair of Kondo KSL-VZ II (1m) interconnects. These interconnects calm the Utopia’s beryllium drivers.

On a side note: I tried the Danacable Lazuli Reference on my Hifiman Susvara headphones, and I did not like it. It was just too much of everything. I found this combination fatiguing. In my opinion, the stock cable on the Hifiman Susvara headphone is fine.

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