Its 490g is definitely a little on the heavier side, but I find that the headband, the pads, and clamp force help in evenly distributing the weight, making it an unlikely source of fatigue. Unless you take into account the cables, there is no component of this headphone’s build that I can flaw it’s remarkably well put-together and it looks gorgeous with its sporty but elegant look.įor comfort, the Utopia isn’t the greatest I’ve tried, but I’d still say that it’s a pretty easy wear. Its design is a blend of outstanding material work and craftsmanship, with the result being a headphone that feels and looks the part. Build and ComfortĪs is to be expected from a Focal headphone, the Utopia’s build is simply fantastic. They’re extremely stiff and I find them awkward even for desktop use, so purchasing an after-market cable is highly encouraged. I feel like I say this everytime I review a Focal product, but unfortunately, until they give me a reason to stop saying it I will note: the included cables, despite looking nice, are really, really bad. The Utopia’s packaging has recently been updated and it now resembles that of the Stellia, with a slide-off top cover that’s wrapped in pleather, albeit in black to more closely match the Utopia’s aesthetic design. I played tracks from my own FLAC library as well as from Qobuz streaming service played via Roon (exclusive mode). For the listening tests I used music from a wide variety of genres including Rock, Jazz, Classical, Acoustic, Hip-Hop, and latin. The Amplifier/DACs used in this review were the SPL Phonitor XE (with built-in DAC), Grace Design SDAC + Topping A90, and the JDS Labs Element II connected via USB to my desktop computer.
Sources and Music Used in Listening Tests
Standard Utopia includes a different cable and omits the case. NOTE: the Utopia reviewed here is the 2020 Premium Accessories version, which retails for $4,400.
Focal utopia driver#
The Utopia, which retails at a whopping $3,990, was the first headphone designed by Focal and it’s the one that introduced their signature, pure-Beryllium ‘M’ shape dome speaker driver, which has laid the foundation for the driver designs and variations in all of Focal’s subsequent headphones releases. As a culmination of Focal’s 40 years of loudspeaker-making experience, the Utopia is a French-made headphone designed with the goal of delivering nothing short of the purest, most faithful listening experience.
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