I’ve done a lot of tube rolling in the Pendant, what’s in there are my current favorites.
Sorry meant to be clear, comparison was both with the Verites.
And both with the same DAC (Lampizator Amber 3).
To be clear I like the Pendant, but it gets very little play time since I got the Stratus.
Other people may feel differently, to me there is something about the presentation of the Stratus, that I don’t get from the pendant, in my exchanges with Donald, he says it’s the 2A3’s.
I’m going to sell the Pendant, I was considering moving it to my secondary setup, but I like what I have there, and it’s not a big enough step up for that setup right now.
I am interested in picking up a 300B amp at some point.
The 1/4 inch is also 8 Ohms output impedance on Low/0dB’s, but yes I use the XLR which is always 8 Ohms.
And FWIW The 1/4 inch is 3 Ohms on Low/-6dB’s.
Question is: Do you think your missing something? Your a musician, so how does what your hearing now with your stuff sound to you…yes if you get other gear there is a good chance the “sound” might change…will it be better or just different?
After seriously thinking about this, I don’t think I’m missing much, if anything.
I do appreciate options though so I would say that I am probably more interested in trying a different “flavor” than having a need to resolve any shortcomings with my current amp.
I decided that I would scratch this itch by purchasing an inexpensive used hybrid, which will arrive tomorrow, so that I can finally put this question to rest.
I picked up an XDuoo TA-20 with some extra tubes for 2 bills shipped and figured at the price, it’s worth a shot. If I hate it or decide to get rid of it, at least I won’t take a beating on it. I was going to order a Liquid Platinum and then decided that I really didn’t want to spend that much on a “test” amp, especially since the LP is as powerful as the 887 yet has no gain adjustment.
Alright, it’s official! One Pendant with NOS tubes inbound. Appreciate everyone’s help and advice through this, I’m excited to put it through it’s paces and compare it to the Mjolnir 2 once the Rad-0 and Verite Closed are in hand.
Anyone have suggestions for a non-unobtanium (~$1k - $3k) tube amp that pairs well with a Focal Utopia? I’ve been all solid state thus far, and enjoying it, but tubes seem like a fun experiment. My understanding is that the low impedance of the Utopias make it a poor match for a lot of tube amps, so I’m trying to be careful about that. Some amps that seem like good options from my reading thus far include the Feliks Euforia (apparently Focal’s go-to), ZMF Pendant, DNA Starlett/Stratus, and Woo WA6-SE (with some tube upgrades).
Feedback and sharing of your experiences appreciated!
The Euforia matches well as they tend to be warmer so it likely takes down the Utopias treble a bit. I imagine this is probably why they show it with that amp as the Utopia treble response can throw people who aren’t expecting it. Theres a reason why almost every review of any kind of headphone spends more time talking about bass response than other areas of the FR.
The Pendant would provide great dynamics but is more neutral from what I gather. The Starlett pairs well with it from my own personal experience but I have a warmer DAC as well.
It depends upon what your preference is for the Utopias treble response as that’s most people breaking point with it. I got it specifically for it.
A great choice would be Jim Hagermans “TUBA” EL84 Parafeed Non-OTL amp, a very clean wide open design that woould work with the 80 ohn Utopias rather well…
This is a steal at $649 and has a 10 year warranty! Hand made in Hawaii by Jim himself.
Thanks for the reply! I never had issues w/ the Utopia treble response. I’m currently running it directly out of a Hugo 2, and never found it harsh. As a slight tangent, I also just got a PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3, and that made a noticeable difference in the sound as well. The background of recordings is pitch black now, and instrument separation has improved, but most relevant to this discussion is that I also got the perception of the treble region rolling off a bit. The only explanation/theory I have for this is that, according to my understanding, the bulk of power-related interference is in high frequency ranges, and given the Utopia’s incredibly efficient and sensitive drivers (and perhaps tuning as well - can’t know for sure), this interference could manifest itself on Utopias more than other headphones. This is all to say that I’m not particularly trying to alter the frequency response by getting a tube amp, but more want to figure out if other features of “tube sound” are something I’d enjoy without diminishing what I love about the Utopia - detail and speed.
I don’t have any truly top end SS amps to compare to but the Starlett is stock with a 5AR4 rectifier which has electrical characteristics closest to SS (someone correct me if I’m mistaken) of the typical rectifier tubes. With a good rectifier the Starlett is quite fast IMO. I agree that you would not want to lose that aspect of the Utopia. Rectifier does matter here.
The dynamics are excellent as well, dependent on tubes though.
The detail retrieval on the Starlett is very good. The caveat being it will pick up noisy tubes. The Auteur didn’t pick up the noise.
Tube amps should also expand the soundstage a bit, at least that’s my finding between the only SS amp I use (micro idsd black label) and the starlett. The “narrow” soundstage doesn’t bother me due to its precise imaging so not a big thing to me either way.
So basically I think that you can keep your favoured characteristics of the Utopia with a tube amp depending upon the amp. You may have to roll tubes to get there. All my Starlett tubes are non stock and the current complement is really matched well for the Utopia.
You might have already done so, but you might want to investigate damping factor and how OTLs GENERALLY pair well with high impedance cans and transformer based/coupled GENERALLY pair well with low impedance cans such as the Utopia. However, there are exceptions, including Focal’s selection of the Euforia to showcase. I haven’t seen the output impedance of the Euforia disclosed.
I would personally recommend the Stratus or Starlett. I’m demoing the Starlett now with my high impedance ZMF and Senn cans, will possibly demo the Stratus in the near future.
The Pendant is usually regarded as more neutral, versus what people tend to consider as tubey.
