Focal Elear and Utopia Review / Preview With Measurements - Head-Fi TV | Page 27 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

Netforce · Jun 18, 2016 at 2:35 AM

vo_obgyn said:

http://www.bendyhead.com/

It is pretty!

Came out tad blurry as lights were tad dim

Sonic impressions for the Utopia and Elear tomorrow. Comfort was surprising nice on the Utopia. Padding on the headband was nice and squishy, clamp was secure but tight enough not to slip off, pads were light and breathable. Honestly the weight or comfort did not like seem they would be an issue to me but I roll with planars all day at home so I might have mighty neck muscles

The Listen was pretty cool, it had v or u shaped sound to me with an elevated bass and treble. Clamped a bit like the previous spirit line but the Listen was without a doubt over ear and comfier than its earlier predecessors. Didn't have any portable over ears on me to compare with sadly.

Going to possibly have a little bit of fun tomorrow with the Utopia and play a little Overwatch with dolby atmos....

ubs28 · Jun 18, 2016 at 2:47 AM

ghost pack said:
If either of these headphones are good enough to knock the HD800(S) off it's throne then Sennheiser will be schiiting their pants pretty soon. Can't wait to compare them.

Edit: Love me some good old fashioned dynamics!

Not at $4000. If price didn't matter, there is still the Orpheus 2.

cladane · Jun 18, 2016 at 4:49 AM

tsavjason said:
Wait until tomorrow when people write about their personal experiences

Wise advice.
Waiting for the returns.

Evshrug · Jun 18, 2016 at 7:18 AM

netforce said:
Going to possibly have a little bit of fun tomorrow with the Utopia and play a little Overwatch with dolby atmos....

Someone knows how to make a young man jealous... Talk about maxed out gaming! That said, I'd play for a bit, get suuuuuuuper curious about music and switch to that... Who knows which I would end up losing track of time with?

Both.

GodsInHisHeaven · Jun 18, 2016 at 9:44 AM

ghost pack said:
If either of these headphones are good enough to knock the HD800(S) off it's throne then Sennheiser will be schiiting their pants pretty soon. Can't wait to compare them.

Edit: Love me some good old fashioned dynamics!

The hype is real... Why would Sennheiser "****" their pants?
The HD 800 has been around for so long and sold a huge amount of units.
The HD 800S is "just" a tweaked version of the HD 800 and is selling extremely well too.

The Utopia better BE BETTER considering it costs 2-3 times more.

Competition is good for us, period.
There is no need to get overly eager before more (not sponsored) people have heard them.

louisxiawei · Jun 18, 2016 at 9:53 AM

matttcg said:
Well, honestly while these both look very interesting they are a fail for me. There is no need to design a headphone that weighs more than 400 grams with the materials and tech available for todays headphone designers. Both Ether headphones and both variations of the hd800 are under 400 grams and are all world class IMO. It doesn't really matter that "the weight is evenly balanced." The rules of gravity still apply regardless. I wear headphones for several hours at a pop when I'm working from home. I refuse to pay a grand much less 4k for a headphone that isn't still comfortable after an hour. IMO, ymmv

Agree! 490g, almost half of a motorcycle helmet. Maybe a suspend wearing system should be introduced like the picture below.

raypin · Jun 18, 2016 at 10:39 AM

mmm.......the LCD X weighs 600 grams. While it is not the most comfortable headphone to wear for extended periods of time, I can still rock it. So, in comparison, 490 grams is a good deal lighter.

drez · Jun 18, 2016 at 10:44 AM

Put one way - Focal Utopia is the cheapest Berrylium dome headphone available. I don't think there was any way the headphone was going to be cheap while using such exotic material. I think it's pretty cool to chase the design to the ultimate realisation regardless of price.

louisxiawei · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:21 AM

drez said:
Put one way - Focal Utopia is the cheapest Berrylium dome headphone available. I don't think there was any way the headphone was going to be cheap while using such exotic material. I think it's pretty cool to chase the design to the ultimate realisation regardless of price.

are u listening to yourself? Saying the Utopia cheap by its Berrylium dome? Is it Head-fi channel anymore or mineral trade market?

Dillan · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:30 AM

raypin said:
mmm.......the LCD X weighs 600 grams. While it is not the most comfortable headphone to wear for extended periods of time, I can still rock it. So, in comparison, 490 grams is a good deal lighter.

Yea I agree with this, isn't the utopia comparable to the lcd-4 and abyss in price? I'd imagine it weighs less than both right? Looking forward to impressions today

TSAVJason · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:40 AM

james6333 said:
I would like to hear more about this experience.

Yes Id like to know where and when you had that experience. Please tell us about that experience

raypin · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:43 AM

dillan said:
Yea I agree with this, isn't the utopia comparable to the lcd-4 and abyss in price? I'd imagine it weighs less than both right? Looking forward to impressions today

mmm.....LCD XC weighs 650 grams. The LCD 4 is slightly heavier and the Abyss is even heavier. But all 3 are planar magnetics so it is normal. The Utopia is heavier than normal for a dynamic hp. Abyss is around USD 5,000, I think. I'm also looking forward to more listening impressions but it is more anticipatory than anything else for me since I've already made the decision to purchase. I trust Focal, established brand and all.

TSAVJason · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:43 AM

echineko said:
I didn't even realize the toxic properties of Be until the earlier comment, I'd be interested to know more about the treatment as well, even if just high-level. But it's something that does seem to be more commonly used in speakers recently, so I'd imagine there's been time and effort spent in learning how to make it safe.

During the manufacturing process of the BE itself there is a dust produced. This dust is toxic. Once its solid its no longer toxic .... This is how BE toxicity was explained to me 27 years ago

TSAVJason · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:51 AM

raypin said:
mmm.....LCD XC weighs 650 grams. The LCD 4 is slightly heavier and the Abyss is even heavier. But all 3 are planar magnetics so it is normal. The Utopia is heavier than normal for a dynamic hp. Abyss is around USD 5,000, I think. I'm also looking forward to more listening impressions but it is more anticipatory than anything else for me since I've already made the decision to purchase. I trust Focal, established brand and all.

You'll never notice the weight the way it's built.... Pure genius how they did it. Today is the official day to be able to buy it. We've got them and will be delivering in store sales today and shipping phone orders on Monday. We open for sales and demos today 12 - 5pm. If you get our VM, don't worry we'll get to you. You can also txt me at 310-809-7597

warrenpchi · Jun 18, 2016 at 11:52 AM

dillan said:
raypin said:

mmm.......the LCD X weighs 600 grams. While it is not the most comfortable headphone to wear for extended periods of time, I can still rock it. So, in comparison, 490 grams is a good deal lighter.

Click to expand...

Yea I agree with this, isn't the utopia comparable to the lcd-4 and abyss in price? I'd imagine it weighs less than both right? Looking forward to impressions today

@Dillan, this is a good point that I'd like to elaborate on for just a moment.

For a long time, I used an LCD-X as my main headphone. It weighed about 600 grams (612 grams according to Ken Rockwell). And regardless of how I felt about the weight, it was certainly "light enough" to tolerate for the enjoyment I was getting. When I switched over to using an ETHER as my main headphone, I switched over to a unit that weighed only 370 grams. If I were to get a Utopia, which at 490 grams is just about halfway between the ETHER and LCD-X, I highly doubt that the weight would be so off-putting so as to dissuade me from enjoying it.

IOW, I think it's probably worth it to consider the Utopia's relative weight, taking our past experiences and individual comfort levels into account, rather than focus on the number 490 in isolation?

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