Black Dragon Premium Cable for Focal Utopia Headphones

excellent

I don't have enough adjectives to describe how much of an improvement in SQ this cable provides. I'm very pleased. Just simply Amazing. Just earned another loyal customer.

I’ve owned the Black Dragon V2 with 4 pin XLR for my HD800 since July 2016 when I purchase both and have been extremely pleased with that combo. I also have 2 Black Dragon V2 4 pin XLR to ¼” adapters – the longer of the two for use with my home theater. I historically stayed away from silver involved designs always buying into the usual verbal description of silver being thin and bright sounding, just the opposite of what I like in my sound. Recently the curiosity bug got the better of me and I bought 2 identical 3 meter lengths of 4 pin XLR connector Black and Silver Premium Dragon’s from Moon Audio fitted for my Utopia which is certainly not lightweight in the bass and very extended in the highs (as far up as my hearing goes anyway). I also bought a Silver Dragon 4 pin to ¼ inch adapter so I can so I can run all silver to with any of my amps and home theater. I used one of the several burn-in CD’s available for no more than say12 hours play time on each over 2 nights before I started listening comparisons. The difference between the 2 cables was not subtle but it was not a “this one’s good, that one’s bad” conclusion I came to.
Not surprisingly to me the midranges were similar but the Black is slightly recessed (giving it a sense of a deeper sound stage and the Silver is slightly forward and images are more sharply drawn. I hear the Silver as more transparent, especially on vocals, and maybe I was being influenced by the Silver’s delivery over the copper at the frequency extremes because at the frequency extremes I found them more different. The Silver Dragon was tightly controlled in the mid-bass and bottom bass going all the way down revealing a little more fine detail than the all copper Black Dragon with my Utopia but never sounding dry or lacking impact. The Black went just as deep but generated more air which added in nicely, but that air tended to slightly obscure some of that very fine detail in the bottom octaves I was getting with the Silver. I actually almost expected something along these lines. It was the highs where my expected results were completely reversed.
My pet peeve with any reproduced classical music is a tendency for high strings and horns to get a glazing resonance that I would visually describe as “ghosting” as seen in the good ole’days of B&W TV’s with rabbit ears, but much more subtle. In the concert hall I’ve heard certain combinations of held high notes on violins and horns combined simultaneously that give a similar, but not as cringe-worthy effect as I hear with many of my orchestral music recordings. I always chalked it up to the recording quality in most cases, microphone resonances, too much gain on a spotlight mic from the recording booth, a resonance in my transducer(s), a hall resonance, and as many other excuses as I could come up with.
But the Silver sounded significantly cleaner to my ears and sounded more extended with sharper transient attack and decay than the all copper Black Dragon on my Utopia in the highs. It was smooth with no more edginess than the Black on a lot of my usually suspect recordings. Maybe the Silver is even smoother.
I think the Black Dragon on my HD800 is just the right combo and wouldn’t consider a Silver Dragon for it as I think the HD 800 needs all the oomph it can get on the bottom and I don’t think its highs will be better served with the Silver over the Black Dragon sound.
I’m thinking next up I’ll purchase an HD800 S with Silver Dragon Premium and see what shakes out. If it turns out to be too hot in the highs I could send it in to Moon to replace the 800 type connectors for my Abyss (I think that combination could be very complimentary to my tastes). I’ll need to spend more time listening to some of my 60’s and 70’s classical labels that had a tendency to be thin on bottom and hot on top, especially as the years progressed and more current electronics became more linear and transparent. But in the 70’s the gear of those days made those recordings sound just fine on my AR3a’s. I may just hang on to the Black for Utopia for that reason or have it retrofitted for HD800 / S if the Silver is too intense.
Let me close by saying in additional to the above comments, the Dragons are very light, very flexible, very low in microphonics, and easy to dress, especially given that I buy 3 meter lengths on almost all HP cables, better too much than too little, especially if one likes to watch movies with HP’s on a 60” or plus sized screen. The Dragon’s are also among the most reasonably priced I’ve seen (especially the Silver’s), and they are well put together with quality connectors. The price difference between the Black and Silver isn’t really that much, especially when compared to other brands with offerings of copper, silver, or hybrids that are generally many times more expensive. It’s more a matter of personal preference as to which will be better.

This cable accomplished exactly what these headphones needed in my system. The factory supplied cable augmented their extended highs to a point of sounding ever so slightly shrill. They also had a tip up in the upper midrange that interrupted some of the natural warmth of voices. The bass, while deep, was soft and not as tight as I desire.

Enter the Black Dragon. The warmth returned the highs, while still extended in a wonderful way, were tamed. The bass is deep and tight and I am not even through break in.

This great headphone is now world class in my system. Associated gear includes a Holo Audio Spring 2 Dac through a NAD 50.2 streamer and an Audio Valve OTL tube amp. Wow....Moon Audio does it again. Thanks

Better than the stock cable.
This should be the last step in your upgrade process.
Make sure you already have a great DAC, Amp, etc first..
“No ragrets” :-)

I have several cables for Utoipa headphones, but this is the one for Utopia. There might be other cables make sound better than this one of course, if your amplifying device is not THA3.. But I think this is the best for Utopia and THA3.

It is very smooth, but maybe too much bass sometimes. Overall this combination of headphone and cable is very analytical, great with good recordings but really shows the limitations with sub par recordings.

The product is well made, but the cable is quite firm and shiny and does not always lay comfortably during use, which reduces comfort slightly.

SOUNDS VERY GOOD WITH A MORE DEFINITIVE BASS FROM STOCK CABLE AND EXTRA LONG CABLE MAKES WANDERING FROM BASE UNIT A BREEZE.

I think audiophiles should deem sound accuracy as top priority. I own numerous Silver Dragons and love them but found them sometimes to be a tad bright on lesser than stellar digital sources. The Focal Utopias are known to be slightly bright for some so I wanted give the Black Dragons a try. This cable is very nicely made and terminated. However, I found the bass not as tight and overall sound to be slightly laidback from the stock cable. It did not have the overall spark and speed compare to the stock. No doubt this would appeal to many "personal preference" listeners but not quite what I'm looking for.

Like other reviews said, these warm up the utopia sound, esp in bass and mids and take it from good to transparently great. A huge improvement over the good stock cable.

Test

A beautifully crafted and sounding alternative cable to the one provided with the Focal Utopias.

Music - and the pleasure of listening to well recorded pieces - has played a large part in my life. I have always been on the lookout for the medium that will provide me the best possible sound; and now, 'as a wizened old guy�, I think I have found my �utopian' medium. Yes, it is via the Focal Utopia headphones, coupled with the Black Dragon Premium Cable V2.

Have no doubt - the Focal Utopia headphones are outstanding in their own right! But, by adding the Black Dragons, my own listening experience has been taken to a superlative level - with greater warmth of sound, acute transparency and heightened instrument and voice delineation. This combination has �opened' my music to me; pieces I have listed to many, many times have somehow become �more alive� for me. The emotional engagement of my music is now, for me, palpable. Oh! The joy of the �purity of sound�!!

I would also like to add some comments about Moon Audio. Let me say at the outset, I only �discovered� Moon Audio in the last 12 months or so; and I have never met Drew or Nichole Baird and am unlikely ever to do so as I live in Australia. Sure, Moon Audio is in business to make a $. But I have a sense that their company means much more than that to them. While I love my music, I am - to say the least - �technically challenged� as to how to make this happen and I need the advice of understanding experts to guide me and to answer my basic queries (and, when I say basic I mean really, really basic!). Drew and Nichole and all at Moon Audio are the experts that this music lover needed to take my enjoyment to a new level.

I rarely write product or merchant reviews. I have made an exception here simply because I want to salute a top product and also the outstanding service I have experienced from Moon Audio.

Paul

Melbourne, Australia

First, I would just like to commend both Moon Audio and Fed Ex postal services for a stellar delivery service. From placing my order to landing on my doorstep in the UK...just three days duration. I consider that to be exceptional service by any standards.

Talking of exceptional..... Just a brief outline as to how I arrived at owning the Focal Utopia headphone.

There are a lot of highly capable so called 'Flagship' headphones...and I have owned or auditioned the vast majority of them. Of those I have owned....including Sennheiser HD800, Hifiman HE500, Fostex TH900, Beyerdynamic T1, Audeze LCD-3, LCD-X ......and most recently the Hifiman HE1000.... all of them eventually revealed a compromise or an unsatisfying element to their sound quality that made me keep looking for 'The One'.

A while ago I allowed myself audition of the Focal Utopia Headphone...... Big Mistake!! Straight away I knew that it was game over. The Utopia is a magical headphone in that it has clarity and resolving power but has an incredible insight into the recording of a production and can pull apart the various elements of a song or musical piece...but at the same time by not being analytical in a sterile and stark kind of way.

I had to sell quite a bit of stuff...if only to justify to myself buying the Utopia and easing the cost.....which is considerable. However once I heard what the Utopia was capable of with, it has to be said, ALL kinds of musical genres, I was hopelessly in Love and a lost cause. In a way I do not recommend that you audition the Utopia because I think that once you hear it you will find ways to beg steal or borrow in order to get a pair in your life.

Utilizing the stock single ended cable that the headphone is supplied with, they are exceptional. I compared them directly in an A/B audition with my Hifiman HE1000's and as good as the Hifiman's are, they sounded a bit muddled and anaemic in direct comparison to the Utopia. They lack a bit of 'oomph' which only becomes apparent when heard side by side with the Utopia. The reason I went looking for an upgrade cable was not because I was unhappy with the sound quality I was hearing from the Utopia, but more because I drive the them with a Violectric V281 headphone amp via an Auralic Vega Dac and it is a well known fact that the V281 is at its best when using its balanced XLR inputs and outputs.

The amp is a solid state Teutonic powerhouse and drives the Utopias with ease.... But the balanced input utilizes all the power that the amp can muster.

So I did a bit of homework and decided to purchase a Black Dragon cable terminated with a 4 pin XLR plug. Mainly on the recommendation of Drew from Moon Audio who considers it the best option for the Utopia....even more so than their Silver dragon cable which is more expensive. That fact alone was quite telling for me, as it would be easy for Moon audio to recommend the more expensive cable if they were just in the business to make money. No...the man is a true Audiophile who wants the best outcome for his customers.

Well the cable duly arrived.....excellent fit and beautiful finish by the way...... And when I first heard the combination all I could think was.....WOW!

The Black Dragon takes the Utopia to a higher level than it was already at.... Vocals now have a liquid velvet quality, especially female voices. And no way was the headphone lacking in the Bass dept, but the new cable makes them kick like a mule. I have never heard such drive, timing and sheer visceral power from a Headphone. Its a big grin from ear to ear when you listen to a bit of your favorite music and get new insights into the way the producer or band wanted it to be heard....even after several years of knowing it inside out.

The Black Dragon cable is not a cheap cable by any means ...but I reckon if you are prepared to shell out on the Utopia's then another $500 or thereabouts is money well spent. The Utopia's reproduce all genres of music exceptionally well. By adding the Black Dragon into the mix, things move into very rarefied air indeed.

The Black Dragon cable really does make the best even better!

A level of clarity and scope I have not heard before in my system with my new Focus Utopia headphones