Focal Updates Its Flagship Utopia Open-Back Headphones

Consumer Tech Focal Updates Its Flagship Utopia Open-Back Headphones Mark Sparrow Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Technology journalist specializing in audio, computing and photography Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 16, 2022, 11:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The new and upgraded Focal Utopia are the brand’s flagship model and offer the ultimate in comfort .

. . [+] and sound quality, in a deluxe design handmade in France.

Focal Focal, the French luxury speaker and headphone brand, has been tempting and delighting music lovers for 40 years, especially with its flagship Focal Utopia headphones. Designed and hand-crafted in France, the Utopia headphones are Focal’s ultimate model and were first launched in 2016. The company has just announced a significant upgrade to the Focal Utopia with an updated design that provides longer listening sessions and even more comfort.

Focal’s audio experts say they have explored all the ways they could squeeze even more performance from the Utopias. The M-shaped drivers and grilles have been tweaked to provide “clearer and more accurate musical reproduction. ” The full-range ‘M’-shaped speaker drivers are now fully open-backed and made using Beryllium.

The drivers have no passive or active correction throughout their 5Hz to 50kHz frequency range. Focal claims the listening experience is “authentic, precise and dynamic, with a soundstage that’s both wide and deep. ” Focal’s engineers have opted for a new and advanced voice coil design made from a copper and aluminum alloy.

The copper improves reliability while the aluminum helps to reduce weight. The new alloy produces a different sound signature with greater neutrality, powerful bass, plus a more mellow treble. In addition, the grilles inside the earcups are now M-shaped, following the curves of the speaker drivers, to deliver improved linearity and more precision.

The Focal Utopia headphones are lighter and more comfortable, while the drivers have been overhauled . . .

[+] to deliver and even more lifelike sound. Focal The Focal Utopia are made using premium materials, with a new yoke forged from recycled carbon fiber, making the headphones lighter and distributing their weight more evenly. The genuine leather headband and perforated memory foam earcups provide exceptional comfort and softness.

Finally, the Utopia are supplied 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. MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event The aesthetic overhaul of the Focal Utopia includes the distinctive honeycomb styling that is seen on the Focal Mg and not only looks good but enables a more open sound with more significant driver movement for a precision sound.

The headphones are handcrafted at Focal’s specialist headphone atelier in Saint-Étienne, France. Pricing & Availability: The Focal Utopia headphones are available now and cost $4,999 / £4,799. More info: www.

focal. com Tech Specs: Type: Circum-aural, open-back headphones. Impedance: 80Ω.

Sensitivity: 104dB SPL / 1mW @ 1kHz. THD: <0. 2 % @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL.

Frequency response: 5Hz – 50kHz. Drivers: 19/16″ (40mm) pure beryllium ‘M’-shaped dome. Weight: 1.

08lbs / 490g. Cables supplied: 1 x 5ft cable (1. 5m) with 1 x 1/8″ (3.

5mm) asymmetric TRS Jack connector and 2 x Lemo connectors / 1 x 10ft cable (3m) with 1 x symmetrical 4-point XLR connector and 2 Lemo connectors / 1 x Jack adapter, 1/8″ (3. 5mm) point socket – 1/4″ (6. 35mm) point plug.

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