As far as sonics, I love my Eletech Inferno with my Radiance. It’s not too warm, or too bright. It’s just a very transparent and neutral cable, IMO.
It’s a bit heavy, and not the most pliable, but sonically it’s excellent, IMO. Just a really good, thick copper cable.
I wouldn’t go with silver or a hybrid with the Clear. I think it would exaggerate its treble. I like the Inferno, but in general I’d try any quality copper cable that’s a good thickness.
Thanks so much for the guidance!
Definitely leaning towards copper and trying to find the sweet spot for price, performance and quality!
Can I ask what country/continent you’re based in? I generally recommend that people use a cable company that’s in the same country because it’s easier to deal with returns and repairs, and it’s less likely to get lost in delivery.
If you’re in the US, then I like Arctic, mainly because of the customer service. I normally email them with my budget, the headphones I’m buying the cable for and what kind of sound I’m trying to get, and they give me a short list to choose from. In my experience, they haven’t tried to upsell me on something outside of my budget, and in fact there was one time they talked me out of spending more money.
All of the popular boutique cables I’ve tried (Arctic, DHC, Norne, Danacable) have been built very well, and I sometimes wonder if they source their wire from the same places, so you probably can’t go wrong with whichever company you choose.
Thanks for the recommendations and sharing your impressions! 
Looking at Arctic and PlusSound currently since I have some experience with both of them🫡
I’m with @PaisleyUnderground, another +1 for Arctic. I’ve bought 3 different cables at a range of prices in their lineup for different headphones, all are excellent. Great build, sound, and service. 
Curious to know if you’ve tried PlusSound as well?
PlusSound uses Type 6 litz which some say to be slightly better. I’m pretty new to understanding the engineering behind cables so looking to hear any experiential knowledge
I want to try the Eleteck inferno as per the recommendations here. But the plussound x8 fits my needs just right and is supple and flexible enough to use on the go.
Was really intrigued by the X8 and even more so by the Copper XL. The Copper XL seems to be great performance for a pure copper cable. But at that price I was also thinking about Dana Cables on the used market.
However I feel that the Dana Cables and higher offerings require even more resolving source gear and there would be a point of diminishing returns as well. So I will probably resort to X8 and hope that is a sweet spot of performance for me. Want to save up for a much better desktop source eventually!
Dana can be a bit hefty, and i never tried the Copper XL. The x8 fit my needs well, but to each their own.
I’ll be watching your cable journey with the Clear OG. I recently reacquired the v550, and my chain is tilting toward the bright side.
I’ll be sure to post some impressions as soon as I receive the PlusSound cable!
For any Roon users, the crinacle and Inner Fidelity OPRA settings for the Clear both sound excellent. I decided on the IF settings for now.
Has anybody compared how the Utopia 2022 sounds in relation to the Utopia OG?
A few here have, you should be able to find some impressions in this thread.
In short some prefer OG, others the 2022.
I think @Camus owns and uses both
I got to demo the Utopia 2022 at a local store today. The sources the store had for testing were dCS Lina system and also a McIntosh MHA200 Tube amplifier. Later on I tried the LPGT as well with the Utopia 2022. Lastly, the store had a balanced cable only from Transparent and I do not remember the exact model name but the quoted price was around 2.2k USD
I listened to instrumental electric guitar for the most part and then some progressive rock and instrumental electronic music. To my ears, the McIntosh tube amplifier had a lot of texture in the midrange and sounded really organic. The tonal density was spot on with both, the solid state amplifier of dCS and the McIntosh. But the overall presentation on the McIntosh was more organic and also revealing a lot more in the midrange, especially some really subtle details that guitar players might exhibit on the fretboard. I really really value that a lot. So that was the most enjoyable pairing for me with the limited options I got
I also got to try the LPGT with the Utopia 2022 finally but sadly it was the stock cable with 3.5mm termination since the store did not have an XLR to 4.4mm balanced adapter. I was still pretty surprised at how well rounded, refined and matured the experience was. It was a lot more intimate and slightly polite sounding though. Still extremely resolving, organic and natural sounding. The DSD through the LPGT sounder much richer than the PCM!
Through the desktop gear, it felt that the Utopia is gaining more power and sounding fuller. In one particular aspect though, I feel that the LPGT pulled ahead which is background blackness. I do not know how that is possible. However that is what my hearing was telling me!
In any regard, I am looking to complement the LPGT with a portable amplifier. I know I could and should be aiming to get a lot more from desktop amplifiers like the Pass Labs HPA-1 or something from LTA perhaps, but I just do not have that much with me currently. I want to save for a better DAC because eventually speakers is where my heart truly is. So I feel that awesomely decent portable gear is where my sweet spot is currently
I have two choices: Mass Kobo 475 and Woo Audio WA8. I had earlier thought of the Mass Kobo 475 so that I could use that with my current transducers, Focal Clear OG. But going through the thread and reading how the Utopia OG is slightly brighter, should I resort to the WA8 instead?
@Camus @Towa and all forum members, any help and guidance is much appreciated! Thank you!
I would be happy to help answer any of your questions, as @NickMimi pointed out I own both of the versions.
Perhaps share a bit more of your current chain, and where it may be going to get an understanding of where you are now and where you would like to go in the future.
Thank you!
My current chain for headphones is PC => Bifrost 2 => RNHP => Focal Clear OG or using the LPGT with Focal Clear OG. I prefer the LPGT overall as a source for the Focal Clear and hence I tried it as a source when I demoed the Utopia 2022 yesterday
For speakers the chain is PC => Bifrost 2 => PS Audio Sprout100 => Klipsch RP600M
For now I am looking for a portable solution for the headphones since that is within budget and unlike speakers, there is no space restraint. In long term I want to get a better DAC so that I can start looking into better speakers and then choose the amplifier accordingly. But that is still a while’s away
For headphones specifically, I am looking to get an upgrade over the Focal Clear OG that can be used with the LPGT along with a portable amplifier like the WA8 or the Mass Kobo 475. That is the sweet spot of performance for me at the moment and this would also allow me to share this setup with friends and colleagues who are interested. So that is the idea behind the portable setup. To get better performance out of Utopia through dedicated desktop gear would probably require a lot more funds and sadly I cannot do that right now. That is the reason I want to stick to a portable solution that still looks to get a lot out of resolving headphones!
Let me know if I can provide any additional information from my side!
Thanks for this, for a portable set up I can only share I have tried both Utopia versions with. Cayin N8ii and the Chord Mojo/Poly combo. Of the two I greatly preferred the N8ii, despite both portables having plenty of power to drive the Utopia there was something holding it back.
I noticed you described the original Utopia as brighter in a previous post, assuming you are describing tonality then that is a half assessment compared to the U22. On the latter there is an obvious shift in tonality towards the lower end, whereas the original has a more balanced sound profile which some may consider bright or shouty if they tend to enjoy a smoother presentation.
I look at their major differences as the original being very resolving to a fault, and the U22 being more amenable to a variety of genres and quality of recording. While this area may be of importance to me, it may not to the preferences of others.
An aspect I find they have in common, despite the tonal shift, is with amp pairing. For my preference is tubes for both models, something you discovered with the Macintosh experience. When it comes to solid state amps I have owned and demo’d a decent variety while using both Utopia versions, majority of them are well regarded in this forum and unfortunately all desktop systems.
Now here is my controversial take with a fan favorite tube amp recommendation mentioned several times; MZ3 and either Utopia was not my cup of tea, did not bring the tube goodness I enjoy. It came across as a solid state amp along the lines of the Pass HPA-1 rather than my tube amps or the solid state amp pairings listed below.
Which solid state amps passed muster for me; DSHA-3F, Ferrum Oor w/Hypsos, and Bryston BHA-1 (this amp is the everyman amp in terms of does great with a lot of different headphones, yet doesn’t stand out in any particular area). Some which I did not care for; Pass HPA-1, Headamp GSX mini (ouch my ears), and Chord TT2 (wall of sound with too much in your face)
You will notice I did not mention any cables above, I found that an upgraded cable will not save a component. It will either make it better or do no harm, obviously a generalization from my experience which has shown this to be a trend. I will freely admit I am not one to hear significant changes with cables outside the basement bin offerings. I can say the stock Utopia cables are not bad sounding and are made of quality metals, 100% their aesthetics are less desirable compared to aftermarket cables. Whether this plays a role is not for me to say.
Long winded, hopefully gives you some better insight. However I will end with this suggestion which is from @Mon Shit List:
Portable: Getting a lot out of it on the go, focused a bit more toward the higher end
DAP: Luxury & Precision P6 Pro >OR= Lotoo PAW Gold Touch Ti >OR= Questyle QPM
Amp: Mass Kobo 424/428 >OR= Woo WA8
https://www.sonusapparatus.com/2023/05/m0ns-shit-list/#shortlist
Now for some brutally honest advice, if your passion lies in speakers. Use your current chain as is and focus your funds toward a speaker upgrade, or another component such as a DAC or Amp.