Jump to content

Focal Utopia


A1UC

Recommended Posts

Just placed my pre order for the Focal Utopia , I had a chance to grab a pair when they first came out but timing was bad so now I need to wait .

Also have a Chord Dave Headphone amp Dac on the way cant wait to pair them .

Capture.JPG

 

Utopia are THE reference high-fidelity headphones manufactured in France by Focal. They are the result of 35 years of innovation, development and manufacturing of high-end speaker drivers and loudspeakers. Equipped with exclusive technology, they offer striking realism, neutrality, dynamics and clarity, for sound with unrivalled purity. Utopia are unique they are the world’s first audiophile headphones to be equipped with totally open-backed full-range speaker drivers with pure Beryllium ’M’-shaped domes. They meet all the requirements expected of high-end headphones due to their sophisticated and elegant design and to purposeful materiality, such as the carbon fibre yoke and true lambskin leather ear cushions.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice!  What music/song do you expect to first play on them?

 

I don't know what I would suggest to you.  Certainly something magnificent.  Maybe Mahler's 2nd, the Resurrection Symphony?

 

Does anyone else have a musical suggestion for Mr. A1UC for song 001?  B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites



MSRP of $4k for headphones?  Wow, those must sound awesome.



Yeah high end headphones have a hefty price tag my Abyss costed me more than these but they sound awesome . The focal and Abyss both have a 4 week wait time . Also the Abyss has had this wait time from the 1st day they were released


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites




Nice!  What music/song do you expect to first play on them?








 








I don't know what I would suggest to you.  Certainly something magnificent.  Maybe Mahler's 2nd, the Resurrection Symphony?








 








Does anyone else have a musical suggestion for Mr. A1UC for song 001?  B)


I usually just loop my music and let them play for a few days to break them in , after that I find myself in my DSD folder .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I have been listening to the Focal Utopia for a few days now and comparing them to my Abyss headphones . They are both very good , I thought I could pick one over the other but I really enjoy both of them . I spent most of the day today comparing the Chord Dave to the Totaldac through the Woo Audio WA5LE and Straight to the Chord Dave again both good but in their on way . I know the Focals are not cheap but anyone that is in to headphones should really give them a try , very easy to drive . I also use a pair of HD800S with my Astel &Kerns but the Focals also work great with the AK 240 . 

 

I never thought I would be a headphone person but find myself listening to headphones most of the time lately

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It's a great headphone, really follows the Harman curve closely and has some of the lowest distortion numbers and maybe the fastest driver in a headphone yet.

 

Unfortunately it's kind of heavy, and lacks soundstage for a top of the line headphone, due it's use of a traditional dome driver. Domes produces spherical sound waves which compress as they approach the ear cavity, which reduces the size of the image. This was actually the reason that Sennheiser went with a ring radiator with the HD800, as the flat sound wave it produces gives a massive sound stage, similar to the flat waves produced by large electrostatic or planar drivers.

 

It's very close to being the perfect headphone, but I feel the Hifiman HE1000V2 checks more boxes and I've been enjoying it a bit more than the Utopias. The much lighter headphone also is great. Also planars do have a leg up over dynamics (even with Focal's fantastic beryllium driver) in terms of bass texture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

 

 

It's a great headphone, really follows the Harman curve closely and has some of the lowest distortion numbers and maybe the fastest driver in a headphone yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately it's kind of heavy, and lacks soundstage for a top of the line headphone, due it's use of a traditional dome driver. Domes produces spherical sound waves which compress as they approach the ear cavity, which reduces the size of the image. This was actually the reason that Sennheiser went with a ring radiator with the HD800, as the flat sound wave it produces gives a massive sound stage, similar to the flat waves produced by large electrostatic or planar drivers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's very close to being the perfect headphone, but I feel the Hifiman HE1000V2 checks more boxes and I've been enjoying it a bit more than the Utopias. The much lighter headphone also is great. Also planars do have a leg up over dynamics (even with Focal's fantastic beryllium driver) in terms of bass texture.

 

 

 

I didn't care for the HE1000 or V2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

 

I was an early adopter of Roon.. at the time it wasn't worth the price to me - too much work was needed to refine the product. I may revisit in the future though.

 

 

Came a long way in the last few months , really not worth it unless one has other Roon compatible devices . I use it on 2 systems and my AK240

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know they have support for Raspberry pi's as endpoints now. I've got a windows PC driving my living room system, so it could be installed there as an endpoint as well. And then there's growing support for various manufactured products. Price is probably the biggest sticking point for me still. It's only the same annual cost as a streaming service, but streaming services provide me with access to music, not just just a playback/organization tool for my existing music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...