Focal Releases New Utopia Flagship Headphones

The Focal Utopia was 1st unveiled in 2016 and joined the ranks of the world’s finest headphones right after a flurry of pretty constructive opinions from both of those the Head-Fi group and press. The initial time I listened to a Utopia was at a present in North Carolina that year pushed by a tricked out Eddie Existing Zana Deux Amplifier the practical experience changed my perception of just how open up and transparent sounding a dynamic headphone could be. The Utopia stays the best sounding dynamic driver headphone that I have read so significantly the ZMF Verite operates a very close 2nd in 2022.

Focal is one of the main makers of superior-conclusion drivers and tweeters in the world and unlike many of their smaller rivals inside the substantial-end headphone class, they have considerably additional considerable methods as it pertains to R&D and a fairly potent lover in Naim Audio. The Focal Driven By Naim expertise has grown exponentially around the past 2 a long time with boutique showrooms in pretty much just about every corner of the globe. We visited the Houston place in 2021 and the emphasis on headphone methods made it instead clear that Focal and Naim have been going to be sizeable players in the classification.

Considering the fact that 2016, Focal has ongoing to tweak the layout and is now releasing a new generation of the Utopia. Like other luxury manufacturers, the new version is simply named “Utopia” considerably like the Porsche 911 or Rolex Submariner, so we’ll refer to this new design simply as the Utopia (2022) to distinguish it from earlier revisions.

This new model shares the total look, experience, and sound high quality of the first when updating both of those the body which is now created of recycled carbon fiber for a remarkable reduction in fat, and a redesigned driver for even improved sonic traits and lower distortion.

The cups use a honeycomb outer grill with a diamond shaped center grill wrapped by two arms that increase in from the sides. The honeycomb is one particular of the changes to the industrial layout and the absence of an arm reaching down from the heart that residences the cable port is yet another.  

A different alter is that the primary experienced a few compact screws that held the nameplate in area around the heart grill. On the new model, the ring is held in location from the inside so there are no noticeable screws. Cables now connect at the base of the cup with a mild ahead rake to the attachment for extra ease and comfort.   

As outlined the gimbals (yokes) are now designed solely of cast recycled carbon fiber content which lowers the fat and enhances the rigidity. The headband is wrapped in premium leather-based and in between the new gimbals and the redesigned band, excess weight distribution is enhanced which ought to make the Focal Utopia much more at ease all through more time listening sessions.

Internally, the driver is a new structure with a copper (30%) / Aluminum (70%) hybrid voice coil for improved performance although retaining minimal bodyweight. Focal engineers affirm that this change has resulted in a tonal equilibrium that shifts somewhat nearer to neutral but nevertheless maintains the potent bass overall performance and airiness of the first model. 

The driver is nonetheless the 40mm pure Beryllium M-formed diaphragm of the original but the suspension has been tweaked along with the voice coil for improved efficiency. The inner grills are now M-shaped as very well and follow the curvature of the driver for enhanced precision and linearity.  

The final result is a headphone with a frequency array of 5Hz to 50kHz with a sensitivity measured at 104dB SPL /1mw @1kHz and a nominal impedance of 80 ohms.

The package is fitting of a headphone in this course with a presentation box, journey circumstance, and two cables (one particular 3.5mm with a 6.35 adapter and the other with XLR jack).  

We will have both of those the Utopia (2022) and Naim Audio Uniti Atom Headphone Edition in for assessment shortly right after the Utopia’s launch date so glimpse for a finish evaluation of both equally solutions in mid-October.  

Utopia will be offered starting on September 16^th 2022 for $4,999.

For additional information and facts: focal.com