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Have you tried the Meze Audio Empyrean?
I have a Focal Utopia but not the Sennheiser HD 800s. Frankly speaking, I'm an ordinary kind of person so I am commenting like one. Over the years I have hunted for the very best headphone with a generous but not unlimited budget. Each time I bought one, thinking that this is the ultimate one, much better that anything I ever heard before. Each time I have been rather disappointed.
In this process I learned a bit about various technologies and audiophile jargon. Basically the last words tend to be soundstage, bass, mids and lows, bright and neutral. That's about it. Even I can find a lot of difference between 'Lifestyle' headphones and audiophile ones. But where does one go from there?
I just kept moving the cost ladder without adding much proportionate value to my listening pleasure. I became obsessed. Starting with Audio Technica MX50 to Sennheiser 650 to Beyerdynamics T series to Audeze EL 8s to Audeze LCD, the money kept on increasing without my discovering anything substantially different. I forgot all about the music and started to look for sounds, in the process losing a few years of listening to good music to enjoy the music than the sounds of music.
Then I got a Focal Elear. Now that was sort of transformative for reasons I cannot articulate. A few Audeze LCDs later I got the Holy Grail - Focal Utopia. Boy, did I do cartwheels in the joy of Utopia. Sadly no. The Wow! factor that I got from the Elear, I did not find here at five times the price. Maybe I over-anticipated. Actually I had this sinking feeling that perhaps the Elear is actually better than Utopia.
The Utopia did one good thing. It cured my obsession and I will not buy another single headphone (or DAC for that matter). I will enjoy my music on any good headphone that is wired and obviously in the higher end of my collection.
I know I am dumb (or rather deaf) not because I cannot distinguish minor tweaks and 'brightness' or 'neutrality', but because of my insane obsession for the pinnacle of sound technology, I nearly lost my capability of enjoying the music.
Will I vote for the Utopia? No. Will I buy the HD 800s? Certainly not. Which DAC will I use? Maybe a trusty ifi ican Black Label or an ifi xDSD (both of which I have). Will I buy a Chord Hugo? Certainly not.
Am I an Audiophile? I hope not.
I understand that there is a substantial price difference between these two headphones but, sonically, they are not even close. I have listened to both of these cans extensively and the Utopia is objectively a much better headphone. It does everything the HD800S but better. The only leg up the Senns have is the larger soundstage.
donnyb99
0
Same and agreed. Parted w/ my beloved HD800S shortly after receiving the Utopia.
yup. just another poll for the ADD inclined. I mean. REALLY???

not EVEN voting. this is, like, second grader schtuff.
I kind of have the same reaction as Zenbert's opening line. What... exactly... am I voting on?
The poll title is clear enough; between the Focal Utopia and Sennheiser HD 800; which one would we want Massdrop to try and make a deal on...
So what's the justification for the other products that were added to the poll? I'm not seeing a post from each person who added an item saying WHY the item they added should be voted on over the original subjects of the poll.
Certainly at the price levels of the flagship headphones a listening session would definitely be called for. Although as both the HD800 and the Utopia are open back try to find a store that has a pristine quiet listening environment otherwise you won't be able to hear their full potential especially on certain types of music.
I think this poll is too mixed with speakers, audio gear and headphones. That aside each of us can have very personal preference over music. Face it - we all hear things differently and describe differently what and how we like them.
My top choice for the poll is trying to get a good deal (backed by MD) on a pair of Sennheiser HD8x0 or Focal Utopia. These are flagship lines of headphones, and they have a real chance of bringing joy and entertainment as they are with at least a decent amp and dac.. And of course you can dig that hole deeply and mix in all the variance of which amp, dac, dsp, eq, etc. However, at the end of the day, it's how you like it and want it. I don't have 2-4K to drop in a bucket so definitely would audition at the local shop before jumping the gun on a drop.
I use my headphones with both tubes and solid state gear, so there's more variety to play with. Kind of a double-edge sword if you get too analytical and don't listen to what you're hearing. Luckily my go to headphone and gear setup has stayed true for the last year and loving the music all the time.
I will say though the pro online reviews on the HD800(s) and the Utopia suggest these headphones can deliver qualities a notch above their respective lines or have some edge over competing brands. If you already own headphones in these brands, you may already know.
I would love to own any of the Focal or Sennheiser flagship products, so I'm all for those particularly if MD can work out a great deal. Party on!
Getting a pair is just like making a reservation for a fine meal at that restaurant you always wanted to patronize, which is the same as a wish for something to occur,, unless it already did... here we are simply selecting which table we would like. I’m going for one near the window and will bring my new MEMS cans on this trip; reserved a pair already.
What MD is doing is the next step; let the consumers construct the polls, vote on them and then critique everything as well as each other... they get to watch and study us, pass the popcorn.
”Reservations are easily obtained, since they can be booked once the patron returns to his or her original time after their meal, and the restaurant's bill can be paid by depositing a penny in any bank account of the present time: by the end of the universe, the compound interest on that penny over the course of time after 170 quintillion years (short scale) will be enough to pay the extremely high bill. Near-instant transportation to the restaurant can be achieved in certain rarefied circumstances, such as being next to an exploding hyperspatial field generator on the planet where Milliways will eventually be built several billion years after the explosion occurs. Or have access to a Infinite Improbability Drive, such as The Heart of Gold.” D.A.
What are we really voting on here?
Isn't this just a "Wheeeee! I love Sennheiser!" or "Wheeeeee! I love Focal!" poll? I know only a very few people who have spent any quality time listening to one of these, let alone both. I highly doubt 587 Massdroppers have an actual opinion on the sonic superiority of one of these over the other.
Perhaps more marketing oriented questions would make sense here. • When considering spending over $1000 on a pair of headphones you've never heard, is brand recognition and trust in a brand an important factor? • When considering spending over $1000 on a pair of headphones you've never heard, how important are online reviews by specialists who focus on the product category in question (such as open back audiophile headphones)? • Which brand are you more familiar with, Focal or Sennheiser? • On an absolute scale, which brand's flagship model represents a higher level of sonic achievement? • On a relative scale, which brand's flagship model represents the best value? (considering you can buy 3 pairs of HD-800s for the price of 1 Utopia…)
Anyway, food for thought.
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prestidigitator
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yes. it's all about the "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
I agree with you. not really a poll, really.
prestidigitator
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For your information I really want to get a pair of 800s's and have done a significant amount of research on them. I also own sennhieser and an familiar with they sound in general and would love to own their flagship model, especially if it were a couple hundred off MSRP. And, for the record, they are below 1K.