Thanks for sharing. Can you share photos of your old pads maybe?
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Not much to see, no real visible signs of wear. I think the foam inside had just become worn and overly soft. Felt perfectly fine on my head, but the new pads feel very different - much firmer and honestly a bit more comfortable. Sound isnāt drastically different, but I swear thereās a sense of āfinesseā with fine detail that I didnāt even realize I was missing before.
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Perhaps the foam was getting old and compressing more on your head, moving the drivers in closer to your ear than optimal?
Hard to say, glad it made a noticeable improvement. 
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The OG Utopia has less treble air and that 1 peak when itās pressed closer to the head.
Old collapsing earpads is probably a good thing (unless your head has one side collapsing too much more than the other side).
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I have the OG Utopia headphones (with both drivers replaced by Focal about three years ago).
Although I have tried dozens of other headphones, IEMs, CIEMs, etc. I keep reaching for the Utopias as my preferred headphones.
Part of the reason is that I use Roon with10-band Parametric Equalization specifically tuned to bring out the best in the Utopias.
I also have gotten rid of most of the stacks of equipment and ratās nest of connection cables in favor of the Unity Atom Headphone Edition all-in-one unit.
Combined with the Utopias, it is the perfect, simple solution for me.
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Iām also very happy with my Utopia OGs and a Roon user. Can you share your parametric EQ settings?
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This is one set of parameters which works nicely. You can use the first five filters independently if you like.
Excellent! Thanks so much, this is super helpful. BTW, did you get rid of your beloved Bartok? Iāve followed your postings for years, and have always appreciated your depth of experience and insights.
I still have the Bartok and love it. Thanks for the kind words.
Hey all 
I managed to pick up a 2020 Utopia for Ā£2k at the start of this year. Iāve been a long time user (about 11 years!) of the Sennheiser H800 which I still use semi regularly, albeit mainly for classical. I was originally using a Woo WA6SE which unfortunately went bang last year, so I went for a Feliks Euforia to replace it (then got it fixed anyway).
I then decided I wanted something a bit more fun as opposed to analytical, so I went down to a Hi-Fi dealer in London and tried out a few. I was mainly looking at the Focal Clear OG but hadnāt tried it, hence the trip down. It didnāt really hit for me, canāt put my finger on why but I found it kind of dull. Then I did what I said I wouldnāt and tried the Utopia. I was actually able to try the 2020 and the 2022 side by side and absolutely loved the 2020 version. They even had a Euforia for me to try it with, though with different tubes to what I use.
I then decided to make a new cable for them since Focal donāt seem to know how to provide useful cables. Seriously, whatās with the extra short 6.3mm cable and the extra long XLR, and why so damn stiff?
Anyway, hereās my set
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Preach. Thatās my preference, too. I have an OG Utopia and was worried Iād want to buy the new one, and I pretty strongly preferred the OG. Cheers! 
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Itās a shame you both got it wrongā¦ 
22 forever!
I kid, Iām glad you found something you really enjoy @sausage_pianist
And I canāt help but think of Tom Green when I read your name haha.
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It is absolutely to each his own! AB tested on the same stack, the 2022 sounded much flatter and āsaferā to my ears. Either way, you preferring the 2022 means thereās more 2020 for myself and @andris 
ā¦that may or may not be me in the gif.
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Iāve added Caldera and Susvara to my arsenal since Iāve had Utopia, and yet still Utopia is irreplaceable when impactful & engaging mids/vocals are at a premium. 
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When I bought mine I was actually worried Iād be reaching for the olā faithful HD800 more often, but I only really use them for classical now. I even went and bought an Elegia for office use because of that Focal sound. They definitely tempered my urges to go out and get more high end sets though, so Iām very grateful for that 
Now Iām thinking of making a pair of DIY planars just so I donāt completely miss outā¦
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Hi tmarshl - I wanted to thank you again for the Roon PEQ settings for our beloved Utopia OGs, which Iām really enjoying. Do you, by chance, happen to know where I can find a good PEQ setting for my Focal Elegias? Iām currently using them in my office rig. Thanks again for your expert assistance!
-Dan
Hi Dan,
There is a forum on Headphones.com which either has the PEQ settings for each headphone, or the author, listen_r, will locate one for you. Just click on the link below.
Great, thanks so much!
Hi fellows,
For those who listened to both Utopia OG and Elex. Do you think they should at least have a very similar amount of bass?
It was a yes to me when I had the first chance to hear the Utopia OG a month ago. The Utopia OG has been a dream for me since then. But when I finally got a preowned one from an original owner. I find the bass is significantly weaker than it should be in my memory, and it is not even comparable to my Elex. It has a āgoopā problem on both pads (the seller didnāt disclose that to me), so Iām not sure if thatās the reason.
Now Iām very upset. It would be great to have someone to talk about it.