Focal already has a third headphone that was released on the same day as these two: the Listen. It's not getting near the same amount of hype because it's "only" $250, but it's actually quite good for the price as well. For someone looking for a closed, portable (foldable, light, rugged), easy to drive headphone with great SQ for around $250, I think it's a clear winner. I'd recommend it over the Meze 99 any day of the week.
Hey, I was saying this two months ago, but it doesn't make a difference. Hearing is believing as you know. Otherwise, people are still waiting for consensus. I've been asking people who heard the Focals at Source events to pop in and drop some impressions. Like you, I found that everyone liked them but most people aren't posting about it. It'll take time.
And yeah, Chicago and London next weekend should help...
Yes, they're recessed, but the barrel size is so wide that you probably won't need extended plugs. Here's a pic from my review:
It's funny you mention this. Last weekend at the Source event I spent a lot more time with the Utopia (driven from LAu and AK500N) and I specifically went through my electronic collection to see how it would do. I was surprised that it was actually quite good for electronic. While the bass isn't as big as the Elear's, it's still quite adequate and it's very high quality.
One track was impressing me a lot and I made a few people listen to it to check out how good the bass was on the Utopia.
It was this track here. The bass is nicely layered and it extends decently low. The Utopia was reproducing it all with aplomb.
Remember, Grizzlybeast loved the bass on the Utopia and he's a bona fide bass-head.
