[Nomax]

Jesus...what the hell is this? K1000's successor!? When will it be released? Exciting!

Sorry,It's little bit to early to speak about this Upcoming Masterpiece from RYBACK&RENNER

NOMAX

PS.all in alluminium,weight will be not 500 gramm,not 400gramm......will be under 320 gramm.....you will see more about STRATOSPHERE at End of this year

 

[Whitigir]

i think I recall there is a China headphones drivers that were made out of beryllium as well .....I can not remember the name ?

 

[up late]

I got a TH-900 for you, but I think you already have one.

it's the thought that counts

 

[hrklg01]

Focal's Utopia tagret is really great - at least to my understanding....
It's exactly what the aim of the old K1000 was.
But based on newest technologies.
I'm very interested how it sound in practise. Hope that it not to closed by the ear cushion.
HR

 

[Roderick]

i think I recall there is a China headphones drivers that were made out of beryllium as well .....I can not remember the name ?

 
Xiaomi Mi was the first to my knowledge. Then there are some other headphones with various rebrands... msur n350/n550/n650, bosshifi db6/db8 etc... Too many to count. But I think all those have just beryllium coated drivers, I'm not 100% sure though.

 

[TokenGesture]

   
Hm, in this video from RMAF 2015 the Pioneer rep says that they were going to bring them to the North American market starting in Spring 2016.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/canjam-rmaf-2015-pioneer-se-master-1-flagship-headphones#xPaHofHtAXxTJKeE.97
 
Then again, he also says that they've been available worldwide for a couple of years, which definitely doesn't add up, so maybe he just doesn't know what he's talking about. 

 
 
I would also be interested in such a comparison. From what I've read here (and owning the Pioneer), it sounds to me like Master1 does about everything Utopia does in regards to SQ, BQ, comfort while exceeding it in terms of bass quantity/quality and soundstage, but I'm admittedly biased. Still, so far I get the impression that, obviously very generally speaking, SE-M1 > Utopia > HD800(S) while Elear > TH-900, but I could be wrong, of course.
 
In any case, the concept is interesting, the Focal guy in the video seems to know what he's talking about, and I'm curious to see (i.e. hear) if Focal has succeeded in creating a headphone with a "speaker-like" sound, which I would probably be inclined to like. I know Pioneer already has (and for almost half the price at that -- which is still a LOT of money, mind you).

I'd love that comparison to. But as I don't live in, and can't afford to pay for, a Utopia, the Master 1 (which is not inexpensive itsef!) is the one I'll be going for

 

[JayLam]

  Focal's Utopia tagret is really great - at least to my understanding....
It's exactly what the aim of the old K1000 was.
But based on newest technologies.
I'm very interested how it sound in practise. Hope that it not to closed by the ear cushion.
HR

I think the two are all aim to make the headphones sound like speakers. And the two‘s sound are all natural.( judging from the impression of Utopia so far)
That's why i look forward the comparison between Utopia and K1000. Exciting!

 

[Duncan]

I'd love that comparison to. But as I don't live in, and can't afford to pay for, a Utopia, the Master 1 (which is not inexpensive itsef!) is the one I'll be going for

You won't be disappointed

The SE M1 brought me out of headphone retirement, after I'd entrenched myself into IEMs...

The M1 to me is the love child of the HD800(S) and the TH900 - does so many things right

 

[raypin]

You won't be disappointed

The SE M1 brought me out of headphone retirement, after I'd entrenched myself into IEMs...

The M1 to me is the love child of the HD800(S) and the TH900 - does so many things right

mmm.....damn. A missed opportunity.

 

[phonomat]

mmm.....damn. A missed opportunity.

Indeed.

 

[hrklg01]

Hey, from my understanding FOCAL's target are totally right. An open driver and open surrounding will offer great sound stage.
The extreme large membrane displacement multiplied with the membrane area will offer the needed air flow.
As the explanations in the video says, the moving mass will be low too.
Sorry - I did not had the chance to a listening test till now, however according to my my believes, it will be really great headphone. Hope I can test it soon!
However, I do not understand why it is “packed” into a normal standard over ear headphone case....
br HR

 

[fjrabon]

   
True but all those costs are recouped via retail sales obviously. I still think if we could see the costs and ratios it would be an interesting and useful data point. How much is material cost? For example they said in the video that beryllium costs 40 times the cost of gold. If you found out the material cost was $100 and they were selling it for $4000 and the excuse was to cover R&D would you look at the same way as if it was $2000 BOM and the other $2000 was from R&D?

lol, no headphone's bill of materials is ever going to even get in the ball park of $1000.  It's almost all R&D cost.  THink about it, they had a team of probably several engineers working on this for a couple of years.  All those guys likely making ~$150K US for a French 35 hour work week.  

 

[tufundra]

Hey I would like to thank Jason and Focal, Woo audio, and Cavalli audio for putting on such wonderful event yesterday I had a awesome time I got to here some amazing headphones and equipment have a few cold ones and a couple slices of pizza and talk to some of the guys that I respect their opinions and post on this site Dan (Stillheart) and Mike (Hifi Insider) and audioman612. I really enjoyed listening to Focal headphones but I think the Elear was the star of the show for me It was Like a upgraded Hd 650 with tightened up bass and not the rolled off treble but had even creamier mids which made my listening so enjoyable. Don't get me wrong the Utopia is a better headphone but I found myself analyzing the sound too much and not just sinking into the music. For me the value was in the Elear but hey what do I know. Thanks again TSAV and Mike from woo for the dac recommendation.

 

[hrklg01]

The costs are not really an argument for me...
Ok, this sound totally wrong..... I agree!
The point here is that a great headphone will enjoy your life for at least 20years!
If you just divide and compare to any annual cost you spend in your daily life - it’s still cheap compared to to fun your got!

 

[bmichels]

Hey I would like to thank Jason and Focal, Woo audio, and Cavalli audio for putting on such wonderful event yesterday

 
which event ?  was the WooAudio WA8 there also ? paired with the Utopia ?