Black Dragon Premium Cable for Focal Utopia Headphones V2

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