Hey there. I find the Utopia the overall better headphone. The top end is more enjoyable for me, with better clarity, air and transparency. VO highs sound more rolled off and blunted somewhat. The VO does have more bass, but I find the Utopia has better punch and slam and it is easier to hear the texture and details. VO bass seems a little boomy and there is some slight bleed into the mids with mild mid bass bloat. Despite having the opinions above… I actually do find the VO quite an enjoyable headphone. It does have really good mids and the overall presentation I would think is quite agreeable to most listeners.
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I have pm 2s and use them with mojo poly. I got the leather ear pads from oppo (they still carry spares) as the ‘pleather’ ones peeled after a year. I love the sound of them but ‘she’ doesn’t like the sound leakage. I’m sure you know that they don’t produce them now so it’s auction site generally.
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Good to hear and many thanks
Do you use balanced cables?
Yes eBay it is for an open box item at $500
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Cool headphone stand @Eddy_Schouten
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Is that like a “custom” F7 with a headphone stage or some resistors? Or does the front mounted 4-pin XLR just connect directly to the normal, rear speaker taps?
Either way, nice set!
The power supply in the F7 is doubled-up & the XLR socket is wired into the speaker taps 
Can you show some more pictures of your F7? It’d be cool to see some build pics too if you have them anywhere. It’s supposed to be a single ended design,but if you doubled up the power supply did you then balance it all the way through?
Edit: thanks, those look great.
I wanted the balanced design and I thought the current mode amplification was interesting, so I got a regular F1J that I just run off the back speaker taps mostly for my HiFiMAN HE-6.
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Here are a couple of pics of the guts. It was built by a friend of mine so I’m not able to answer any super nerdy questions
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I did end up buying a pair of Oppo PM2… And a pair of B&W P7 as well just because they were stupid cheap.
So we will see how those fare with my Little Dot mkiii and Topping A90.
Fun times ahead!
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Inexpensive but a good set of headphones are Shure SRH 1840. Might not have the street cred of some headphone brands but they do make honest and very good headphones.
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I love the sound of my Grado PS1000s but could they have a more uncomfortable head strap? After about an hour the top of my head starts to hurt with the lack of padding (and hair). Anyone know any good after market mods for that?
Thanks! Is that what you’re using? Do you find it more comfortable? It doesn’t look much thicker than the stock padding.
Hi Thomas. I own 2 stax 507 headphones and i went to a turkisch leather repearshop in the netherlands. They made my drawings for about euro30, costum made. Super quality and sheap
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I’m picturing the conversation with the wife, “Um, I need to go to the Netherlands…” ; )
I haven’t got into my setup as deep as a lot of people, I guess, but it’s nice to see the range, from an Amazon link to custom work. At least gives me an idea of the range to work within.
Thanks for the tip though. I hadn’t thought of finding someone to do custom work.
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Haven’t had a pair of open backs for a couple of years now as I use cans mostly for late night listening sessions, not disturbing rest of the family. But with the covid situation, working from home, I listen also during the day and I couldn’t resist a pair of Focal Clear for €890, brand new, open box, arriving yesterday from Germany.
I’m in Sweden, and they are still being sold here for a whopping equivalent of €1750, same as the new Clear MG that I had my eyes on.
So far very happy, paired with a Chord Hugo2, but I also tried them with my main DAC, a Mytek Manhattan II and wasn’t dissapointed!
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Focal Clear is discounted in the US as well. $500 off. The Clears are great utility headphones.
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Hi Robert, what exactly do you mean by Utility headphones?
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Good, all around, easy to drive with most any amplification source.
Light weight and comfortable as well.
You can use the Focal Clear with a wide array of gear. Focal Clear is an excellent all around performer,
Do you own Focal Clear, or are you planning to purchase them.
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