Names for headphones can be a tough endeavor for those who are charged with marketing and selling them. A quick look at any given headphone brand will show you their attempt over time to either create some kind of consistency, brand equity or “punch through the clutter” type efforts. For the latest headphone release from the France-based Focal, they decided to simplify things a bit with their latest and greatest flagship.
Yes, the Focal Utopia headphone has a brand new follow up. Focal is calling it simply Utopia once again. For further definition, the public can also call the version they own by an individual year. This latest version is known as the Focal Utopia 2022. There are a few upgrades to the beryllium driver itself, as well as more than a few cosmetic changes, however the overall presentation is still very much in line with the Focal lookbook. You can find our review of the original Focal Utopia headphone here. More details available in the press release below.
Focal Presents a New Edition of Its Outstanding Hi-Fi Headphones: Utopia
September 16, 2022 – First launched in 2016, Focal’s Utopia headphones rank amongst the best headphones in the world. Under constant renewal, the French brand with a unique savoir-faire in acoustics, has given its iconic product a new design while adding acoustic enhancements (new voice coil, ‘M’-shaped grilles inside the earcups…). All the exclusive, high-end technologies that make the Utopia headphones so successful are still to be found in this new edition, continuing to bring sensational listening experiences to your home with even more sophistication and elegance.
A NEW LOOK, A REWORKED DESIGN
The design of the new Utopia is a combination of moderation and distinction. Taking the aesthetics of Focal’s latest hi-fi open-back (Clear Mg) and closed-back (Stellia and Celestee) headphones, the honeycomb grille on both the outside and inside of the earcups gives a unique and remarkable look. In addition to its Black Chrome rings – now attached on from the inside for a cleaner appearance – these headphones introduce new design codes, which will also be used on Focal’s future Utopia products. Among them, the “Yin & Yang” featured on the outer case symbolizes the perfect balance between design and technology, embodied by these highend, French headphones, as well as the black and red double grille on the speaker drivers’ motor unit.
THE BEST FOCAL TECHNOLOGIES
Continuing to strive for excellence in their creations and beginning a new chapter in the history of these iconic headphones, Focal’s engineers opted for a new voice coil made up of copper – to improve reliability – and aluminum – to make it more lightweight. This alloy provides a rejuvenated sound signature, that lends even greater neutrality, with powerful bass and more mellow treble. What’s more, the grilles inside the earcups are now M-shaped, following the curves of the speaker drivers, to give improved linearity and even more precision.
In addition to these innovations, the new Utopia headphones still include everything that made the first editions such a success, such as full-range speaker drivers with pure Beryllium, ‘M’-shaped dome, and being fully open-backed for strikingly real listening full of neutrality, dynamics and transparency. Exclusive to Focal, the patented speaker drivers run with zero active or passive correction, from 5Hz to over 50 kHz. The headphones seem to totally disappear, leaving audio signal reproduction that is unrivalled in its purity.
PREMIUM MATERIALS DEDICATED TO SOUND AND COMFORT
Utopia is made from premium, sophisticated materials. The new yoke, made from forged, recycled carbon, is an elegant touch, whilst making the headphones more lightweight and distributing their weight more evenly. The genuine leather headband and perforated memory foam earcups— also leather-bound — provide unparalleled comfort and softness.
And finally, exceptional headphones merit top of the range accessories: Utopia comes in faux-leather packaging with a black fabric thermoformed carrying case and two high-fidelity cables (10ft and 5ft / 3m and 1.5m) for using the headphones at home with an amplifier or on the go with Lemo® connectors and a Jack adapter.
Utopia will be available September 2022 for $4999.
More info: Focal Utopia 2022