Get past the price, if you can, and you will find that Focal has given its range-topping open-back headphones a gentle revamp. Not that they needed much work, given the original Utopia were right up there with the very best that money could buy. Surprisingly, even at this new higher price, they continue to cost less than most of the top-end competition.
The most obvious changes are cosmetic. The grilles that cover the outside of the earcups now have a hexagonal pattern to more closely match Focal’s other recent premium offerings, such as the Clear Mg. That pattern isn’t just for show either; it is claimed to be more open than the previous version, so helping to produce a more spacious and dynamic sound.
The wide and soft ear pads use perforated lambskin and memory foam as before, but now include a slightly different material on the inside edge to fine-tune the acoustics around the ear. The grille that protects the 40mm Beryllium driver is reshaped too, to reduce distortion at high frequencies.
That drive unit has a new voice coil made of a copper/aluminium alloy rather than just the aluminium of the original, which is claimed to deliver a more neutral and refined presentation. As before, Focal’s engineers have angled the driver to create a more spacious out-of-the-head presentation that aims to be closer to that achieved by speakers.
The use of a single drive-unit per channel means that there isn’t a crossover in the signal path, so the phase shifts and loss of transparency that are part and parcel of such circuits are avoided. Of course, a crossover network normally allows the designers to tweak and equalise the driver’s sonic outputs, something Focal cannot do here; but given the company’s expertise in drive unit design it is in a better position than most to solve any issues.
SUITABLY LUXURIOUS
These Focals feel wonderfully welcoming. The clamping pressure is nicely judged to hold the Utopia securely without being oppressive over longer listening sessions, and those soft ear pads feel pleasant to the touch, as does the nicely padded, leather-bound headband. There have been cosmetic changes to the sliding yoke that holds the earcups, but it’s still made of carbon fibre and is sensibly shaped.
The Utopia come in packaging that is suitably luxurious for a product at this level. Unboxing them is every inch the feel-good luxury experience we would hope for. But more important are the inclusion of a relatively short 1.5m cable terminated by a conventional 3.5mm jack and a longer 3m balanced lead with a four-pin XLR. Both these cables con
