2. headphones
  3. 156385-119962

Headphone Amp for Focal Utopias?

Just bought a pair of Focal Utopia headphones and have been driving them through the headphone jack in my Cary SLP-05 preamp. I thought I would try out a dedicated headphone amp. I see decent deals on the Simaudio Moon 430 HA and Cayin HA-300, as well as a Pass HPA-1. Does anyone have recommendations on any of these? Would another work better with my setup? I thought about going all-Cary with the now-discontinued HH-1, but they’re hard to find...
tammanyman

Showing 1 response by davehg

davehg
85 posts
 
I have Focal Clears, as well as LCD3’s. My favorite amp is the Woo WA5 - it is magic with every headphone. I also have a Woo WA22 which does great on the Focal  but prefers balanced sources. 
I am not a fan of pairing the Utopia with Sim - you need a warmer sounding amp as the Utopia can have a slight bite in the upper treble region. 
One other amp to consider is the Violetric V281 - lots of people with Focals like that pairing.
More to discover