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I made that classic mistake....

Snoopy

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That is a very difficult question to answer. Understood.

In my HUMBLE opinion I would say it's to do with the capability of the driver, to accuratly reproduce how you tune it/EQ it.

I am a student of this game and I am barely 10% at best into actually understanding.

I like how nobody is able to REALLY answer this yet mind.


I just didn't bother to answer really. I have no idea what other headphones you owned before or what your preferences are.

I got into headphones with the Focal Elegia.. upgraded soon to the Dan Clark Aeon 2 noire, a while ago I got the Meze Liric.

I EQ all my Headphones.
I prefer planar magnetic drivers and closed back headphones.. the next person will be all over open back headphones.

I've never tried your AKG headphones.


My gear stayed the same and will probably not change at all. (Singxer SA1 + Cambridge CXN v2 & SMSL D300 and SP400)
 
OP
Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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I just didn't bother to answer really. I have no idea what other headphones you owned before or what your preferences are.

I got into headphones with the Focal Elegia.. upgraded soon to the Dan Clark Aeon 2 noire, a while ago I got the Meze Liric.

I EQ all my Headphones.
I prefer planar magnetic drivers and closed back headphones.. the next person will be all over open back headphones.

I've never tried your AKG headphones.


My gear stayed the same and will probably not change at all. (Singxer SA1 + Cambridge CXN v2 & SMSL D300 and SP400)

I feel like you just haven't really grasped my point/question.

Anyway, it's not a big deal.
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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I wish companies would do a better job at explaining the differences across their lineup. Hifiman for example, currently we have the Edition XS Stealth, Ananda Stealth, Arya Stealth, HE1000, Susvara etc. I have heard a lot of the "egg shaped Hifiman" and they seem eerily similar. If you go to Hifiman's site or Facebook group, they NEVER speak about the differences, sometimes I wonder if they are all the same headphone just tuned differently, or in case of Arya V2 vs. older Ananda, better QC.

Outside of that, what makes the Focal Utopia better than a Focal Clear? at what point are we just being bamboozled?

I like this comment I feel this guy is more in tune (no pun) with the direction my thinking is coming from. I appreciate there are 'teardowns' which can identify certain differences in build and drivers but I would be interested in MUCH more specific explanations as to exactly what 'UPGRADE' is actually resulting in with regards to the audio performance.

There's got to be more to this.
 

Phoney

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I wish companies would do a better job at explaining the differences across their lineup. Hifiman for example, currently we have the Edition XS Stealth, Ananda Stealth, Arya Stealth, HE1000, Susvara etc. I have heard a lot of the "egg shaped Hifiman" and they seem eerily similar. If you go to Hifiman's site or Facebook group, they NEVER speak about the differences, sometimes I wonder if they are all the same headphone just tuned differently, or in case of Arya V2 vs. older Ananda, better QC.

Outside of that, what makes the Focal Utopia better than a Focal Clear? at what point are we just being bamboozled?

After having had Arya v2 for a year, I didn't really like old Ananda og Edition XS in testing. All equalized to the same target. The Anandas bass performance was not as good, even after a real boost. This was my favourite thing about Arya v2, so I lost interest in Ananda. The XS sounded a bit loose, everything sounded a bit tighter on the Arya v2. While they share some of the same caracteristics, I still wouldn't feel great about selling my Arya for an XS after testing. I have Arya Stealth now, the bass is tighter than any other egg shaped I've tried.

Did you have any of them other than XS over extended periods of time? I would not trust people who write reviews based off of first impression on both headphones. Especially with the large cups, you kind of have to get used to the sound a little before you can judge. My Arya v2 allways sounded a bit dull after I had used other things for a while, but after 2-3 days of listening it was back at really good. I can see how people may struggle to hear much difference the first couple of days, but coming from a year of Arya and hoping that I could cash in and get the Ananda or Edition XS as a cheap Arya, I got a bit disappointet. XS still seems like a great headphone for the money though.

They have different sensitivity and impedance. Just because they are shaped the same way, does not mean that it's the same drivers. I'm sure they would measure differently aswell, outside of tuning.
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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Hmm sounds like first world ASR problems. It's a budget rig, so no worries :)

Be more specific, budget rig? What would more money get me? I mean, whats a better 'rig'

I am interested to know what results you think moving from the Topping E30 and L30II would yeild ?
 
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Hotwetrat

Hotwetrat

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which will sound as good as pretty much anything else. Imagine if you'd spent $2000 on a dac amp...and it wouldn't sound one iota better!

Chip in here asrUser

I'd like to see you guys have a discussion.
 

Sgt. Ear Ache

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Not sure what there is to discuss really. The gear you have has impeccable measurements. What would more expensive stuff have to offer other than perhaps specific different features or maybe (but not definitely) better build quality or QC or whatnot? I would say one's conviction that spending more would get you better sound would depend entirely on how much one believes one can hear the sound of a leaf falling to the ground from a mile away, lol.
 

asrUser

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Be more specific, budget rig? What would more money get me? I mean, whats a better 'rig'

I am interested to know what results you think moving from the Topping E30 and L30II would yeild ?
What do you want to discuss? Topping L30 is good for its price and it doesn't seem like you want to spend more money any time soon. Beware of the rabbit hole!
 
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