[Donald D]

I'm starting to think that the Cardas cable is biased. I'm going through my playlist to determine which songs work best with the stock cable and which with the Clear Beyond. In the Clear Beyond group today are:

Lianne La Havas, Say a Little Prayer (Live) - amazingly real

BANKS, Contaminated, Album III - the opened up soundstage works in its favor

M People, Don't Look Any Further - best version I have ever heard due to the Clear Beyond

Melissa Etheridge, Like the Way I Do - the song just rocks with a much bigger soundstage now

Toni Braxton, Un-Break My Heart, Secrets Album - holy cow, unfreakingbelievable

All powerful female voices. The men don't seem to make it easily into the Clear Beyond group.

 

[meomap]

If people keep making me feel bad about buying the Cardas cable, already, I might have to get the dCS DAC with the Clock sooner than I can afford it to satisfy some users‘ sense of hifi priorities, I think. Will need to spend the next couple of holidays at home listening to Portishead. Did I mention that their song Roads sounds amazing with the Clear Beyond and the V590 Mk2 PRO?

Talk is Cheap. Just do it.
I dare you to do it....

 

[AussieMick]

Talk is Cheap. Just do it.
I dare you to do it....

 

[Donald D]

Talk is Cheap. Just do it.
I dare you to do it....

Then people will probably say, you need to get a more expensive headphone cable now.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Then people will probably say, you need to get a more expensive headphone cable now.

I'd think twice before buying the Lina stack. It is good: I liked it when I heard it with the Calderas, but you have a whole wide variety of options at that price level. I'd do some research. A good dac is a solid investment, but it's costly. Then you gotta factor in the amp. At this level, you are looking at Susvara or TCs too. You gotta make sure you can drive them correctly. The Utopias are second tier compared with the big boys. You're in for a treat if you decide to go that route though.

 

[Donald D]

I will try to give several DACs a listen at some point, but not before next year.

There is one missing piece right now in my setup, for a number of my favorite songs the male voices are not coming through powerfully enough with the Clear Beyond and I hate to choose between using the stock cable for strong vocals and the Cardas cable for an amazing soundstage and guitar performance by Carlos Santana on a track like Put Your Lights On on the Santana Supernatural album. I even looked for an acoustic only version of that piece. It’s that good sounding with the Clear Beyond.

Interestingly, the females hit it out of the ballpark with Clear Beyond, V590 Mk2, and the Utopia 22, in almost every single track. So no dilemma there.

So, it’s either look for an alternative DAC, or stop listening to songs performed by men.

There is no way I’m ditching the Utopia. I’m even looking to get a second one so that I don’t have to swap cables.

 

[Coolmoose]

I will try to give several DACs a listen at some point, but not before next year.

There is one missing piece right now in my setup, for a number of my favorite songs the male voices are not coming through powerfully enough with the Clear Beyond and I hate to choose between using the stock cable for strong vocals and the Cardas cable for an amazing soundstage and guitar performance by Carlos Santana on a track like Put Your Lights On on the Santana Supernatural album. I even looked for an acoustic only version of that piece. It’s that good sounding with the Clear Beyond.

Interestingly, the females hit it out of the ballpark with Clear Beyond, V590 Mk2, and the Utopia 22, in almost every single track. So no dilemma there.

So, it’s either look for an alternative DAC, or stop listening to songs performed by men.

There is no way I’m ditching the Utopia. I’m even looking to get a second one so that I don’t have to swap cables.

Or maybe you can try a different set of headphones for male vocals? It would make a lot more sense than getting 2 utopias so you don't have to swap cables....

 

[Ciggavelli]

Or maybe you can try a different set of headphones for male vocals? It would make a lot more sense than getting 2 utopias so you don't have to swap cables....

Hard agree. Get another, complementary pair of headphones over buying the same headphones twice.

 

[Donald D]

I like the dynamics of the Utopia in the lows and mids. Absolutely love the bass. After I connected the Cardas Cable to it, the whole thing just opened up even more, with more detail, more clarity and the soundstage moved from being around my head to being in front of me. There are pros and cons with other headphones, too. I know now what I like and what I don’t and I’m sticking to it.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I like the dynamics of the Utopia in the lows and mids. Absolutely love the bass. After I connected the Cardas Cable to it, the whole thing just opened up even more, with more detail, more clarity and the soundstage moved from being around my head to being in front of me. There are pros and cons with other headphones, too. I know now what I like and what I don’t and I’m sticking to it.

There’s a whole new world out there though…

 

[Coolmoose]

I like the dynamics of the Utopia in the lows and mids. Absolutely love the bass. After I connected the Cardas Cable to it, the whole thing just opened up even more, with more detail, more clarity and the soundstage moved from being around my head to being in front of me. There are pros and cons with other headphones, too. I know now what I like and what I don’t and I’m sticking to it.

Thats fine, I totally agree with you. I have the OG Utopia and I love it to death, but for certain types of music, my other headphones which cost thousands less can bring more enjoyment to me. I'm not asking you to sell your pair of Utopia, just that you may find something out there better fit your specific needs, and swapping headphones will bring huge changes that swapping a dac or cable will never be able to match.

 

[Donald D]

It introduces new variables that then need to be fixed with more equipment, another Cardas cable with different connections (), it brings with it complexity, complexity is stressful, stress means less enjoyment of listening to music.

It’s one DAC that fixes the male voices in the V590 Mk2, Cardas headphone cable and the Utopia 22 combo. If there isn’t such a DAC at an “affordable” price, then I’ll just stick to the tracks where the vocals are performed by women because they sound amazing.

 

[hakunamakaka]

The best way to explore new flavors of sound is through different headphones. I have an Utopia OG and D7200 and meanwhile Utopia is superior most of the listening is with D7200.

I've done my playtime with cables and the only occasion where I thought I hear the difference was with A8000 iem's, but once my misses started swapping them it became a coinflip. Not saying there isn't any actual difference, it's just I couldn't hear it between ali axpress "cheapo" against silver dragon cable which cost me nearly 400$.

Most of us including me has a new toy syndrome where newly purchases tends to sound way better. Priority is always source where I can hear improvements. With headphones though I quickly reached the land of small improvements compared to the amount of $$$ i need to spend.

 

[Coolmoose]

It introduces new variables that then need to be fixed with more equipment, another Cardas cable with different connections (), it brings with it complexity, complexity is stressful, stress means less enjoyment of listening to music.

It’s one DAC that fixes the male voices in the V590 Mk2, Cardas headphone cable and the Utopia 22 combo. If there isn’t such a DAC at an “affordable” price, then I’ll just stick to the tracks where the vocals are performed by women because they sound amazing.

The thing is, a new DAC might fix your issue with male vocals but will introduce new problems in other areas. Most people giving you advice on this forum have years of experience and have listened to many different types of gear, I would take their advice into consideration. But hey at the end of the day its your money, so whatever floats your boat.

 

[Tanalasta]

The thing is, a new DAC might fix your issue with male vocals but will introduce new problems in other areas. Most people giving you advice on this forum have years of experience and have listened to many different types of gear, I would take their advice into consideration. But hey at the end of the day its your money, so whatever floats your boat.

I wholeheartedly agree with the statement above... It really is ... about the entire chain. Everybody's perception, hearing and preferences are different. And so it is individualised. Your brain will also adapt over time. Sound is very inter-dynamic so changing one thing easily can change others. Makes the hobby fun. But also a huge money pit until I learnt to just 'let it go'. I know people who have spent thousands going around and around in circles.

The DCS LINA stack - I was underwhelmed. It was technically excellent. Though lacked a bit of soul. And the clock made a noticeable difference - enough that once I heard it, I knew I would not entertain buying the LINA without buying the whole stack. And damn. I just couldn't justify it.

If you have the fortune of being able to afford the DCS LINA stack, you really have the budget to get the whole chain right.