[ubs28]

  I believe it's been posted that Elear is a no go with Utopia pads, only Utopia may benefit (to your ears) by using the Elear pads.

 
Oh, too bad. Suppose it's going to be the Utopia with some spare Elear pads then. 

 

[TWerk]

I believe it's been posted that Elear is a no go with Utopia pads, only Utopia may benefit (to your ears) by using the Elear pads.

Haha, it could never be that simple. But hey, I think it's a great perk to the Utopia owners that go all out that they can use the Elear pads for more bass. Still, I think Utopia is out of the budget for many of us, and I'm very thankful for the Elear to give those with smaller means a taste of premium Focal sound.

People seem blown away by the Elear. It is only when in direct comparison with the Utopia that it doesn't seem as good, which I'll take for a $3,000 savings.

 

[1c3d0g]

I haven't heard neither of them, but I agree, most reviewers praise the Elear almost as much as the Utopia. It's a great headphone that goes head-to-head with many headphones twice its price category, but the Utopia is kinda on another level entirely!
 
Reminds me of when Fedor Emelianenko first burst onto the MMA scene, beating everyone up (pretty badly too, almost killing them), champions, contenders, you name it...nobody was spared! 

 

 

[dreambass]

Now we are talking

 

[TWerk]

It's really a testament to how good they both are, when the Elears are so good, but the Utopia then pretty much outclasses it.

I appreciate them pushing technology forward, and making the best they could, but glad they made an alternative option that's within reach of more of us. $4,000 is just going to be prohibitive for many.

Focal is far from the only manufacturer pricing like this, though. It sounds as if they've crafted a truly exceptional headphone and something very worthwhile for those seeking ultimate end-game performance.

 

[music4mhell]

After a long time, something new is happening in Headphone world.
Previously it was Dynamic/Planar/Electrostatic (Old fashioned way).
 
Like Mojo in Dac world, Elear in headphone world
It will change the future of the headphone industry IMHO

 

[x RELIC x]

After a long time, something new is happening in Headphone world.
Previously it was Dynamic/Planar/Electrostatic (Old fashioned way).

Like Mojo in Dac world, Elear in headphone world
It will change the future of the headphone industry IMHO

I think you may be on to something there.

 

[music4mhell]

 

After a long time, something new is happening in Headphone world.
Previously it was Dynamic/Planar/Electrostatic (Old fashioned way).

Like Mojo in Dac world, Elear in headphone world

It will change the future of the headphone industry IMHO

I think you may be on to something there.

Thanks for your Utopia review, wish you can review Elear also, your reviews are always precise
I am just waiting Elear to be released in India, May be it will sound better with my Mojo

 

[JayLam]

  Focal Utopia Review -
 
I thought I would post my impressions to add to the collective community experience.  Through this experience I've found many helpful suggestions and wish to contribute. 
 
Top line - The focal Utopia is truly a spectacular achievement in every sense.  I've been a long time HD800 user, upgrading to the HD800s when that was released.  As a background, I'm very much a listener who is in search of the "as close to the microphone feed" as possible.  Tonal accuracy, detail retrieval, microdynamics, transients among other things are what I look for.  I do not look for colored presentations, excessive base etc.  The HD800 has been a spectacular companion through the years.  I found the treble peak to be well managed by improving my audio chain.  At least some of the difficulty with listening in this region is that many portions of the audio chain create noise and over emphasis in this region - similar to the horrible CD players of the 80's.  This is somewhat of an artifact though and is not always inherent or as bad in the source material as we realize.  Therefore I was able to live well with the treble peak of the 800s for many years.  Other headphones unfortunately could not bring me as close to the microphone feed as the HD800s.
 
Enter the Focal Utopia.  From the first moments of listening to this headphone I knew things had changed for the better.  And as good as the Utopia is in single ended, it is notably better in balanced configuration.
 
The Utopia has a remarkable character of sounding balanced from highs to lows.  Gone is the treble emphasis of my HD800s, looking back I think wow that was so artificial.  Cymbal sheen on the Utopia is remarkably accurate - just like I hear them live.  They sound natural, not over emphasized.  Also, gone is the weak lows of the HD800 - my goodness I have not heard bass sound like this ever (including when I tried the Abyss).  The Utopia has significant heft as well as all the fine nuance of the real instruments.  It carries the music in a way that is just fun to hear.  For me - it opens all my recordings to something I have never heard - and I'm listening to them all like they are new.
 
As mentioned, the treble region is clean, clear, accurate with no over emphasis.  Sounds natural to me.
 Mid range is well balanced integrating perfectly and smoothly in a natural way with the rest of the music.
Bass - just great.  Accurate, full, natural.  EDM bass is spectacular.  Acoustic Jazz bass - sounds close to the real thing.  Rock/pop same.  Classical I've found also benefits providing an excellent foundation.
 
Microdetails/resolution - an area of interest for me.  Surprisingly, I find the Utopia has surpassed my HD800s.  I am hearing deeper into the music then I have ever before.  The small cues of hearing the musician grunt, or the opening / closing of the sax keys are now all right there for me to hear without trying, easier and more natural than I've experienced.
 
Soundstage - curiously for me, in this configuration the soundstage is just as wide and deep as the HD800s.  Not sure why, as this is contrary to Innerfidelity's review.  Never the less for me I prefer the soundstage on the Utopia.  It is broad but as the Utopia is presenting the instruments in such pinpoint location the Utopia casts a vision of a true group of musicians before me.  The soundstage in the end depends on the recording for me.  Some are truly out the head experiences unlike any I'd experienced with my HD800s.  Others are more closed in - again depends on how it was recorded.
 
I just love these headphones.  I do indeed just stop thinking about any of this and just enjoy the music! 
 
Currently - Utopia is on balanced Nordost cable - great cable and trumps the stock cable by a wide margin with better resolution and soundstage, balance, etc.  Running fully balanced with Lau.
 
And as a side note - the headphones take time to break in.  They gave me a headache for 2 days! Over stringent treble and bass was over emphasized. 

How about Utopia‘s Soundstage compared with Abyss’s?
I tried HD800, and found the soundstage was very huge, and very close to AKG K1000. If Utopia is as wide and deep as HD800S, i think its soundstage is one of the top. Exciting!

 

[rsbrsvp]

I was wondering it Tyle would tell us if the Elear is the second best headphone he has ever heard considering how it is in the same family as the Utopia and considering how good his report on the Elear was???

 

[nordkapp]

I was wondering it Tyle would tell us if the Elear is the second best headphone he has ever heard considering how it is in the same family as the Utopia and considering how good his report on the Elear was???

That would be interesting to see where it ranks....in his opinion.

 

[STR-1]

Has anyone had an extensive listen of the Utopia with the Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse that the Focal exhibition team are carrying around with them? Jude certainly liked the pairing.

 

[melb0028]

How about Utopia‘s Soundstage compared with Abyss’s?
I tried HD800, and found the soundstage was very huge, and very close to AKG K1000. If Utopia is as wide and deep as HD800S, i think its soundstage is one of the top. Exciting!

The sounstage I find is wide and relatively deep. Somewhat better than the abyss. For what ever reason it sounds better than the hd800 and 800s to me but I readily admit the hd800 for me was never very much out of the head so I'm an outlier (though better than any other of the many headphones Ive tried). In many respects the Utopia to my ear sounds better as the imaging is so spot on its easier for it to sound more out of the head and deep.

 

[chowmein83]

  How about Utopia‘s Soundstage compared with Abyss’s?
I tried HD800, and found the soundstage was very huge, and very close to AKG K1000. If Utopia is as wide and deep as HD800S, i think its soundstage is one of the top. Exciting!

 
Personally, I found the HD800S to have a wider and somewhat deeper soundstage. Not that the Utopia has a small soundstage, but IMO the HD800's soundstage is just bigger.

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
Personally, I found the HD800S to have a wider and somewhat deeper soundstage. Not that the Utopia has a small soundstage, but IMO the HD800's soundstage is just bigger.

 
I would definitely agree with this...but the Utopia's are a bit more precise within that soundstage and even a bit cleaner sounding (now that is impressive considering I'm comparing them to the HD800S).