Focal Utopia (2022) Headphones

[VSG]

Focal updates its $5,000 flagship Utopia headphones with several changes both inside and out. It continues the use of innovative speaker drivers with a pure beryllium diaphragm and pairs it with a new voice coil, warmer tuning, and a cleaner aesthetic, which makes the Utopia one of the very best headphones on the market today.

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[Ayhamb99]

$5000 for a pair of headphones?! Now i will admit that i am not a headphones enthusiast but are there actual people who will spend that kind of money for headphones?!?!

 

[Leiesoldat]

Considering that $5k gets you a moderate to low speaker system in the Hi-Fi space, $5k for a set of headphones that is most likely the last set you own is not a bad deal.

 

[VSG]

$5000 for a pair of headphones?! Now i will admit that i am not a headphones enthusiast but are there actual people who will spend that kind of money for headphones?!?!

Very few can justify it, but they are getting more and more common these days with people working from home or simply not having the room for speakers.

 

[Ayhamb99]

Considering that $5k gets you a moderate to low speaker system in the Hi-Fi space, $5k for a set of headphones that is most likely the last set you own is not a bad deal.

While that is true, personally with me i guarantee it won't last me years before i accidentally break it somehow. Headphones are my achilles heel, they always manage to somehow break with me no matter how careful i try to be when i use them lol.

Very few can justify it, but they are getting more and more common these days with people working from home or simply not having the room for speakers.

I am still positive though that there would be some other extreme high end headphones that would offer similar performance to this but cost way less than $5000. You can buy a car with that amount of money.

 

[Nater]

$5k only gets you a 5 year warranty? At that price it should be lifetime, no questions asked replacement. How many of these do they actually sell I wonder?

 

[VSG]

still positive though that there would be some other extreme high end headphones that would offer similar performance to this but cost way less than $5000. You can buy a car with that amount of money.

Yup, and if you are in the position where that 5k is better spent on a car then absolutely get the car. This is a luxury purchase first and foremost.

 

[Rowsol]

I wonder what the profit margin is on these. Ridiculous price.

 

[erocker]

These are beautiful but they don't really seem worth the $5k price tag compared to the competition. There's definitely some folks that got these day 1 though. If I had that kind of disposable income for headphones I'd be very tempted.

 

[VSG]

I wonder what the profit margin is on these. Ridiculous price.

Not as much as you might think, the bill of materials is fairly high here. I'd guess maybe 20-30% and then add payroll, R&D, and dealer margins on top.

 

[cellar door]

I wonder what the profit margin is on these. Ridiculous price.

Beryllium is extremely expensive, close to $30 per gram. However there is still at least 50% margin.

 

[birdie]

I'd buy a pair of monitors instead for 1/4 of that. Yeah, there are pretty good monitors for $600 a piece.

I've worn headphones enough, don't want to torture my neck any more.

 

[VSG]

I'd buy a pair of monitors instead for 1/4 of that. Yeah, there are pretty good monitors for $600 a piece.

I've worn headphones enough, don't want to torture my neck any more.

Completely different use cases. Of course if you have the room for good monitors then go that route.

 

[zlobby]

Beryllium is extremely expensive, close to $30 per gram. However there is still at least 50% margin.

You stll need kinky equipment to make it into something. And that's expensive, too.

@VSG , I wonder how these compare to Amiron home?

 

[VSG]

@VSG , I wonder how these compare to Amiron home?

I haven't heard that one so can't really comment.

 

[zlobby]

I haven't heard that one so can't really comment.

I haven't heard the Utopia (2022) but reading the review it looks like they sound realy close to each other, even in the bass and sub-bass regions. If that's the case indeed, then the price tag of Utopia is way above justified.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Amirons, being open-back and all.

And bear in mind that I like 'sterile' sound with as much flatness as possible from DAC and amps.

 

[RogueSix]

$5000 for a pair of headphones?! Now i will admit that i am not a headphones enthusiast but are there actual people who will spend that kind of money for headphones?!?!

Elon Musk.

 

[bug]

Maybe it's just me, but $5k for "relatively cramped sound stage" and timber that gets bested by a pair of rather mundane Sennheisers is pretty much a fail.

 

[lightning70]

I think it appeals to professionals, normal user, don't give 5000$ for a headset. Those who print money, of course, give them cookie money.

 

[VSG]

Maybe it's just me, but $5k for "relatively cramped sound stage" and timber that gets bested by a pair of rather mundane Sennheisers is pretty much a fail.

This isn't the first set in mind for classical/orchestral music lovers, but that's what I meant when I said that people in this budget typically have specific interests in mind. The Utopia is a good all-rounder that is exceptional for bass and mids.

 

[zlobby]

T

Maybe it's just me, but $5k for "relatively cramped sound stage" and timber that gets bested by a pair of rather mundane Sennheisers is pretty much a fail.

True, but the lack of bass in Senns is really annoying to me.

On the other hand, Amiron's 'Tesla' drivers are producing very wide (IMO) soundstage, good separation. Excellent vocals (even for soprano) and crisp highs with no sibilance, too. Price tag is order of magnitude lower.
But as always, people should not listen to reviews but to the cans instead. Where applicable ofc.

 

[SketchyTechPL]

I had a pleasure to try them on "Audio Video Show" in Warsaw few weeks ago. This is the best sounding headphones I've ever tried, for real. My HD660s have a difficult time after that experience.

 

[zlobby]

I had a pleasure to try them in "Audio Video Show" in Warsaw few weeks ago. This is the best sounding headphones I've ever tried, for real. My HD660s have a difficult time after that experience.

I don't want to bash on the 660s but they were never considered anything special by pretty much everyone.

 

[SketchyTechPL]

I don't want to bash on the 660s but they were never considered anything special by pretty much everyone.

I know wdym but really, even Sennheiser He 1 is not that enjoyable for classical music as Focal Utopia.

 

[zlobby]

I know wdym but really, even Sennheiser He 1 is not that enjoyable for classical music as Focal Utopia.

Maybe. But I know one thing for a fact - no one size fits all. If you are listening to a specific genre only, then you should pursue headphones that perform well in that genre. Even the best (and extremely expensive) all-rounders don't sound flawless in every situation. Given you have the hearing to pick it up, though.