Thanks, man.
It really is a good headphone.
I’m still interested in getting a dap to complete my portable kit, but not sure that’s my next move. There are so many great options out there it’s hard to pick one. I’m still interested most in the Sony, but it’s a spendy unit.
I’m glad you’re happy with your Radiance as well.
They are for sure the softest (even more than @NickMimi 's 3pf) pads. Most say they are more plush than the higher up stellia. For sure a good glove grade leather, and i wonder if they over dis it for the Bentley name.
I found the Radiance disnt like to be pushed in that frequency range or it gets glarey/shouty. The hiby daps did not work with it. Outside of replacing the horrific ergonomics of the stock cable, i would agree a good copper cable (i did PlusSound 8x for myself) helped just enhance and increase the Radiance and it felt like it was allowing to be more capable in doing it’s thing. I would also love to try the Eletech and see how it compares to the PS.
I really really recommend the Cowon Plenue S with the Radiance. If you can live with a non-connected unit (no android, streaming, bluetooth) it is top notch for $500-600 used. The dap is a hair warmer than neutral, but especially the balanced out just increases the stage and holographics. I listen to the pairing daily and it gets the most play time out of any of my chains. I will drive back home from work if i forget it that day. I wont even get into the mods you can do to the cowon that kick it up a few notches.
Hi guys!
My chain:
Laptop > douk 2 pro > BF2 OG > RNHP, V222, V281 > Focal clear OG
I bought the focal clear OG November 2022. At that time I had only the V222. I didnt like pairing. It was painful to listen to. It sounded too bright and shouty. Got the RNHP, and later the V281. I watched goldensound focal clear MG review, and find out about the upper frequencies make him unconfortable.
Do you guys have any experience with the shrill feeling with focal clear or focal in general with higher end stuff ?
Im just wondering. With the other two amps I dont get that feeling, but at the same time those amp are not as resolving as the V222. I got curious that maybe the upper treble frequencies arent reproduce by those amps.
Also, the t1.2nd doesnt sound shrill with v222 as the focal(Focal are more resolving as stated).I remember from headfi, that the utopia was able to produce 15khz frequencies or something like that.
Disclaimer, Im not teble sensitive. Beyer fan here with a T1.2nd. Havent done a frequency test. Im in my early 30s.
I’ve found the focals to sometimes get a bit too hot in the treble with some higher end amps like the gsx mk2 or benchmark hpa4 and others, but generally I think with good pairings I didn’t notice that issue. I’ve got no experience with the new v222 so I can’t speak to it, although I didn’t have that issue with a v550 if that’s anywhere similar
That seems to be a case of YMMV, unfortunately.
If you see measurements of the Utopia OG frequency response, there are a couple of treble spikes. Some find them objectionable, others not. It’s more or less noticeable depending on source gear, what you are listening to, and recording quality.
I’m not familiar with the specific amps you mention, but I think the ability of the Utopia to have such a high degree of resolution is why tube amp pairings are often used, or with a solid state amp that has a bit of “warmth” to it.
Got the Utopia 2022 here on demo from Mimic Audio. Came with a nice prion4 from Double Helix cables too.
That’s a gorgeous paring. 
And this came out today…
Amazing the review was as long as it was and he really didn’t say much about sound. Just a bunch of, this amp and that amp and these connectors…what are these connectors??? This sounds good on this tube amp and this solid state, but omg on a tube.
Yeah, haha.
He did eventually say how he thought they were $5k headphones and that they were great but not why they sounded like $5k headphones.
At least we know the new Geshelli is the SS amp to get for them. 
Nice Utopias! Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the two preamps and how they pair with the power amps you’re using atm. Happy listening!
I’ve been listening to the utopia all day. My initial impression was that they didn’t have enough bass and so I wasn’t going to enjoy them 
. But that issue has faded away as I’ve adjusted to their sound. I was listening to the Diana v2 a lot before this headphone arriving so hearing some tracks with less bass and sub bass extension was a bit alarming at first. I was able to sort of fix this but swapping the pads out for solid ones without perforations, however I am continuing to use the stock Utopia pads.
The things that stand out to me on the Utopia 22 are the tonal density, the sense of attack of different instruments, guitars especially, and the depth of the stage. Sure the bass is less then a 1266 but after adjusting to it, it doesn’t bother me at all. I did a lot of testing with the serene and f8 today but adding the lta pre back in has added some extra thickness, and improved imaging and stage which I really appreciate. However the Utopia is very sensitive so I do pick up a bit of tube noise. The Utopia also sounds really nice out of the LTA headphone output which surprised me because in the past it just didn’t seem to compare to the output from speaker amps. I think because the Utopia is so easy to drive that the synergy with the LTA headphone output is better.
I did a bunch of comparisons to most of my headphones today including 1266, diana, susvara, lcd-24, atrium, caldera, and I can post those but it will be pretty lengthy. For me the Utopia was better all around then the lcd-24, susvara (apart from bass extension), atrium, and caldera. The diana it traded blows with, and the 1266 I think I prefer overall but the Utopia still presents vocals really nicely in a way that I would miss if I didn’t buy a Utopia. I’m definitely thinking about ordering these / trading in some of my headphones towards them.
Giving him a Utopia to “review” is like giving a chimp a Stradivarius and expecting to hear a brilliant violin concerto. Some notes may be recognizable, but it’s mostly screeching and noise!
Here are my notes from today. This expandable details thing is nice, avoids a wall of text
caldera sounds wider, less attack and texture. Vocals are whispier
utopia, you hear more of the depth, and the weight of accompanying instruments
utopia vocals have more weight and texture
caldera has softer attack
caldera has more sub bass quantity
caldera has more bass texture
Notes have a bit more edge / bite to them on utopia
Diana feels a bit smoother and more laid back
Diana has more bass punch and bloom
utopia feels more 3d
utopia sounds thicker / more reverb and decay information
utopia lacks sub bass in comparison to diana
diana has more air in the treble
vocals on utopia feel a bit more dense and intimate then on diana
TLDR similar headphones, diana is easier to listen too but lacks some of the weight, and decay that the utopia presents really well
Both are fairly detailed and stage similarly however I think the utopia might show depth a bit better. Diana has more extended bass.
susvara is missing decay, vocals sound unnaturually truncated
susvara has more detail, but utopia is more in your face with detail
utopia has more depth and decay, sounds more natural overall, even with synthesized music
utopia has a richer sound
susvara has more sub bass extension
but both are similarly punchy in the low end
utopia vocals are more 3d, way better
susvara feels more closed in but a neutral sound overall. more laid back
utopia seems to emphasize vocals and cymbals. Feels a bit more exciting
TLDR utopia resolves similarly to susvara but does so in a way that sounds more real to me. There is more depth and size to vocals and instruments. Timbre is similar between the two,
perhaps a bit more real on susvara especially in the treble region. But with vocals utopia wins for me. Synthesized stuff sounds good on both but the susvara extends lower
utopia sounds closer in and has a little more weight in the mids
1266 sounds big with a lot more bass quantity and punch, makes the utopia sound like the bass is missing at times
1266 vocals sound a bit thin / distant compared to utopia
TLDR utopia sounds like a 1266 without bass and a bit sweeter midrange, similar detail, utopia is more comfy. These are very close apart from the bass.
24 has a bit more bass
24 vocals are thinner by a little?
utopia has richer vocals
utopia has thicker bass but it doesn’t extend as far
TLDR LCD-24 is like a thinner sounding Utopia with a bit more bass emphasis
similar vocal density
utopia has more depth
utopia has more detail
atrium sounds almost smeared in some cases where the utopia just shows you what’s really going on
More bass bloom and muddiness on atrium
Atrium has more bass quantity and a bit more sub bass too
Utopia presents decay more naturally
TLDR Atrium sounds like a muddier (overly smoothed) version of utopia with more bass. But that’s why atrium is so easy to listen too because it’s not the most resolving thing out there
Nice impressions and I really like them too. The slight warmer tilt is probably better for me than the OG.
I feel like these, the Susvara, and V2 can all play a role in my lineup. I’ve been listening to the V2 pretty much exclusively for the last week so I need to go back to the Utopia and see how they compare vs memory.
Thanks for sharing!
Agreed, I definitely will be keeping my v2 as those are even more comfortable for me. Yesterday I was thinking about selling my susvara to afford the utopia but I think I would regret that so I’ll probably sell one or two of these: caldera, lcd-24, lcd-4.
I think that’s the right choice 
Really appreciate your time in doing the comparison. I’ve become more intrigued as of late with the idea that I really need to hear Utopia - and I think for myself, the 2022 would be the candidate.
I have some Dekoni pads from when I used the Elegia. Using the Utopia with the solid elite sheepskin pads fixes the sub bass extension for me on the Utopia. You do lose some air in the treble and sound stage so it’s not perfect. But cool to see that the drivers are definitely capable of sub bass like this.
