Thanks for sharing the information. Definitely not early production, my current pair are actually a little earlier at 1BHG0052XX with a Focal shipping date of 07/19/2018. Hopefully if the issue has not been totally resolved perhaps the rate of occurrence has dropped significantly. Best wishes...

My condolences. As an early adapter on my 3rd pair, I'm curious as to what the serial number is on your pair. If you don't mind could you please share the serial number, you can leave out the last 3 numbers. I'm wondering if this may be a earlier pair that my have some how remained in stock for...

The problem with audio equipment reviews is their dependent on the reviewers personal tastes. If the person conducting the review preference leans toward a slightly rolled off treble, they may describe Utopia's treble as being bright when in reality it tends to be very accurate or natural. The...

Nice, sounds like you found the headphones that were made for your ears. I've owned the PM-2's since their interdiction and plan on keeping them for the long run. Still think the Utopia's on a whole different level when comes to realism and unfortunately price as well.

I agree with the dedicated headphone amp part, not sure about it having to be high end. Currently using a Nuforce Icon/DAC (no longer in production) for a bedroom amp with the Utopia. The pairing definitely works without any detectable shortcomings or at least to my 60 year old ears. Not saying...

Wouldn't you know, the one that disappeared only showed up after I posted a correction. Damned tablet !!

Focal USA has a "find a dealer" feature on their website. There may be a dealer nearby which would allow you to audition the headphones before considering a purchase. Not sure about Amazon but some online dealers may not handle warranty issues in house. In other words, you may end beinthe one...

1 No, after three years of production, Focal sould have the voice coil issues worked out on their high end headphones. 2 Cable information can be found pertaining to Stellia under Headphones (full-size) in the Equipment Forums. 3 Yes, Focal has dealers in the USA.

Unfortunately I've never had the opportunity to try Utopia with a lower impedance tube amp, only the LD MK6. Definitely something to avoid at all cost due to the MK6's not so low, low impedance setting. Thanks for all the compatible tube amp suggestions, I'm using the Ragnarok and V280 currently...

Welcome aboard. Wish we had a place locally to audition audio gear. I always assume people maybe listening at excessive volume levels when they say the HD800S/Utopia are fatiguing. HD800 and T1, now that's a different story.

I'm actually on my third pair due to voice coil failures on the two early production pair I owned so I've probably spent more time with earlier and now a later production unit than most. Honestly, I can't tell any real difference between my current pair and the two early production pair. There...

True, from my experience the Violectric amps tend to be a little on the warm side which would effect tonality. My comment was actually made in an attempt to shed light on the Utopia's efficiency and how using a powerful speaker amp woujd not be necessary. Although, I'm not saying speaker taps...

One of the things I enjoy most about the Utopia is it's ability to produce clear full sound at relatively low volume levels. At age 60, I'm trying to preserve what hearing I have left so it's doubtful I will ever feel the need to resort to using a speaker amp. The Ragnarok set on low gain is...

Yes, the V280's sibling the V281 definitely wins the popularity contest due to it's additional pre-amp section. It's nice Vioelectric provides the option of obtaining the amp with or without the pre-amp.

No apologies needed, I understand. We all have different tastes and expectations when it comes to audio equipment. I spend the majority of my listening time with speakers, headphones are used more for analyzing and detail retrieval plus I kind of like the way their not effected by acoustic...

If you prefer your modified T1 over the Utopia, you may need to look no further. This is the first time I've heard someone describe the Utopia as being congested, perhaps the V280's impedance setting was too high or something. I do however agree with the aspect of the T1's superior...

Wonder if the remote volume control will be standard or optional. I also like the added heat sinks, should cut operating temperatures down considerably and lower air conditioning cost during the summer months. Very impressive but I will probably hang on to my vintage Ragnarok for the foreseeable...

That 5x the cost part has discouraged me from getting too serious about vinyl over the years. I still have the Technics SL-3300 turntable I bought back in the early 80's and my vinyl collection hasn't grown in the past thirty years. It's truely been an enjoyable year and a half with the...

Noted condensation is due to temperature change, just glass being glass.The covers are small, unlike a big old window, they can not produce enough condensation to cause a problem. My grandmother would always say: "Worrying is like paying interest on money you never borrowed."

I'm a longtime owner of both. The 800 tends to be polarizing, some find it's sound signature too lean or bright for their taste.The 800S sound signature is more mainstream, it has a little more weight and is less fatiguing for many people. It's also less dependent on the quality of recordings...

I'm using the -6dB setting with both HD800S and the 80ohm Utopia. The Utopia's bass clarity definitely suffers with higher gain settings, being a characteristic of the headphones regardless of the amp they are paired with. I was quite surprised after discovering how much I enjoyed the HD800S...

I see no reason whatsoever to worry. I've tried +6dB with the 300 ohm HD800S, everything was fine.

Taking into consideration Utopia's better tonal balance, it's probably the Nighthawks that are rendering the material inaccurately. In my opinion, Utopia excels even when used at reasonable volume levels.

Stop by your local auto parts store and check out their Shoulder-Belt Pads, Amazon is another source. The pad should fit around the headband with the velcro strip on the top side.

I use both balanced and unbalanced. The balanced outputs feed the Ragnarok and the unbalanced outputs feed my Yamaha A-S701. The A-S701 sounds perfectly fine paired with Heresy III's and the Ragnarok, it's powing a set of Aria 906 speakers. Just my opinion but personal I feel the Ragnarok lacks...