Focal Elear and Utopia Review / Preview With Measurements - Head-Fi TV

[up late]

you're describing its resolving capability which is something i'd expect from a totl can costing 5k

 

[goldendarko]

  Is it just me that being driven crazy by Utopia, for how much it picks up on the little imperfections in the music. I use headphone for lots of different genre including youtube and movies. The fact that you can hear the different quality of each video and electrical interference is literally driving me crazy.... If I can point out something i don't particularly enjoy with Utopia is its soooooooo intolerant to flaws. Utopia has too many contradicting characters including transparent while deep and punchy, sounding musical yet suuuuuuuper precise. ARGH!! I still love it.  

I agree, it's quite simply the most resolving headphone I've ever heard, even better than the other contenders IMO (HD-800, HE1000, etc.) but it has a very musical sound signature without sounding so bright like the HD-800 or lean like the HE1000. Quite a feat.

 

[nickif]

nickif, looking forward to your impressions of the Dana Lazuli reference. I'm upgrading my source end with a microRendu / sonicTransporter, and psu's, which will be delivered on Saturday. Cabling is next. From what you are saying it sounds very promising!

That's due to the incredible resolving capability the Utopia has, it scales up by a larger margin than anything else I've experienced on upgrades on any component of the system. It's just so much fun to witness how the Utopia scales up on anything you add into the chain.

 

[SurFi]

That's due to the incredible resolving capability the Utopia has, it scales up by a larger margin than anything else I've experienced on upgrades on any component of the system. It's just so much fun to witness how the Utopia scales up on anything you add into the chain.

 
 
Yup! A scaling champion.
 
It is one of those rare components that makes it sooooo easy to justify upgrading the chain. And the scary part is that, that doesn't scare me.  

 

[guitardave]

I have a pair of Utopias with the Heimdall 2 cable.  What I find best about the Utopia is that it is just a very "satisfying" headphone.  I had HD800's previously and would switch between them and my Ethers, because each was better in different areas.  But with the Utopia's, I have no desire to switch to anything else, and find them excellent for all the music I listen to, which includes vocals, jazz, rock, and classical.  
As far as break-in time, I would say that fresh out of the box they were more analytical, with all the little recording nuances really standing out.   Soundstaging was also mostly inside your head.  Later, the stage expands and is all outside your head.   Over time, they have just become highly detailed music masters!  
They are just a joy to listen to with my Mojo or Dragonfly Red.  They certainly show the Mojo to be better, but they are perfectly fine with the Red. I keep pondering upgrading the source, maybe getting a Questyle 600i or similar to hear them balanced, so if anyone has that combo I would be curious...
I bought the Slappa case recommended here, and it works great.  It is similar to my Ether case, which they also fit in fine.
When I bought them, I fully thought that if I didn't like them I would send them back.  But after listening to them for a few days, any thoughts of returning them went away.  They are spectacular!

 

[god-bluff]

They are a great match, I don't use the classic with my home headphone DAC much since there closed, I use the them with my mojo more. The classics and naim have a very forward fun sound, great with rock and jazz.

I got a Mojo in the end and the Classics do sound fantastic out of it. Incredibly dynamic and more open sounding combined with their wonderfully natural and realistic tonality enhanced further. Thanks
 
I'm sure the Elear will also sound nice with the Mojo if and when funds allow. I would still love to hear a direct comparison of the two Focal phones (Spirit Classic vs Elear) by someone who has both rather than speculation based on their respective prices, open vs closed design and differing driver technology, They do seem to share some similar characteristics from what i read..

 

[pkcpga]

I got a Mojo in the end and the Classics do sound fantastic out of it. Incredibly dynamic and more open sounding combined with their wonderfully natural and realistic tonality enhanced further. Thanks

I'm sure the Elear will also sound nice with the Mojo if and when funds allow. I would still love to hear a direct comparison of the two Focal phones (Spirit Classic vs Elear) by someone who has both rather than speculation based on their respective prices, open vs closed design and differing driver technology, They do seem to share some similar characteristics from what i read..

Glad you like it, I have the utopia and classic, they are very different sounding. Pretty night and day, the classic has a much smaller sound stage, much less transparent and much less detail, the classic is warmer sounding. But they are in such different categories that it's not a fair comparison, I'd say the classics are more like a punchy more musical hd280. I still have never heard the elear since it's always been sold out by me but if it's anything like the utopia there's a big difference. Only thing is the utopia leaks sound and you can easily hear outside sound so it works best in a quite area.

 

[god-bluff]

Glad you like it, I have the utopia and classic, they are very different sounding. Pretty night and day, the classic has a much smaller sound stage, much less transparent and much less detail, the classic is warmer sounding. But they are in such different categories that it's not a fair comparison, I'd say the classics are more like a punchy more musical hd280. I still have never heard the elear since it's always been sold out by me but if it's anything like the utopia there's a big difference. Only thing is the utopia leaks sound and you can easily hear outside sound so it works best in a quite area.

Yes I realise the Utopia is in a different class to the Classic & just about everything else !

 

[TOPnut]

Well,
 
Got the Utopias in last evening and am running them 24/7 to burn in.  While I am not usually the most patient person in the world, when I get new speakers or components, I will run them 24/7 for 200 hours minimum (this habit is from my reviewing days) before ever listening (other than a quick 2 second test to ensure they work out of the box) to burn them in so that my first potential "bad" impression is not an unfairly lingering or lasting one.
 
So I slipped up last night and listened to a couple of songs right off the bat and my VERY first impression was "Damn, I just wasted $4k - what's all the fuss about?"  But, having been around this hobby a long time, I am experienced enough to know not to trust such a short, two-song, cold audition.
 
So, last night, after about 6 straight hours of the Utopias playing in the other room, I went into my audio room and decided to listen to a few more songs before bed.  This time, I noticed right away what others are saying - these headphone are even more resolute than my HD-800s and I can hear very intricate details and instruments with amazing clarity.  So far, so good.  Still not quite enough though for me to retire my HD-800s.
 
This morning before going to work, I played a few cuts from a Herbie Hancock  CD - Gershwin's World.  WHOA!  Definitely going in the right direction . . . .
 
Reading what others have said, especially GuitarDave, about these Utopias opening up after more burn-in with a larger soundstage, I now have to decide whether I will go home late tonight (have a retirement party that will keep me busy until later) and listen again or just wait until maybe late Saturday or even Sunday after they have about 50-75 hours on them at least, to listen more critically and maybe even then switch from my EC 445 amp (which is what I listened to last night) to the Balancing Act or either of the Allnic amps - both of which have different sonic signatures than my 445 (which I am addicted to).
 
My guess at this point is, if these keep going in the same direction, this could get close to dethroning or even dethrone my beloved HD-800s (or, at a minimum, provide me a mistress to cheat on them with).
 
Will keep you posted as the burn in continues.
 
PS  - Damn all of you for now making me think about these Dana Cables - have you NOT cost me enough already? 
 
Frank a/k/a/ TOPNut
 
[T]ower [O]f [P]ower Nut  -- any other Tower of Power [TOP] fans out here in Head-Fi land?

 

[Kukua]

^^^^^^^^^
Frank, your assertion made me laugh out extremely loud....fantastic first take

 

[MarkF786]

To balance out the discussion on expensive cables, check out my post about a $16 cable for the Elear.  It's available from Amazon and sounds great!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/811961/focal-elear-impressions-thread/615#post_12885364
 

 

[Bambule]

Does it depend on music genre, whether the utopia really delivers? Say, maybe an extreme example: for hip hop, edm, electro? Elear the better choice?

 

[jamato8]

  Well,
 
Got the Utopias in last evening and am running them 24/7 to burn in.  While I am not usually the most patient person in the world, when I get new speakers or components, I will run them 24/7 for 200 hours minimum (this habit is from my reviewing days) before ever listening (other than a quick 2 second test to ensure they work out of the box) to burn them in so that my first potential "bad" impression is not an unfairly lingering or lasting one.
 
So I slipped up last night and listened to a couple of songs right off the bat and my VERY first impression was "Damn, I just wasted $4k - what's all the fuss about?"  But, having been around this hobby a long time, I am experienced enough to know not to trust such a short, two-song, cold audition.
 
So, last night, after about 6 straight hours of the Utopias playing in the other room, I went into my audio room and decided to listen to a few more songs before bed.  This time, I noticed right away what others are saying - these headphone are even more resolute than my HD-800s and I can hear very intricate details and instruments with amazing clarity.  So far, so good.  Still not quite enough though for me to retire my HD-800s.
 
This morning before going to work, I played a few cuts from a Herbie Hancock  CD - Gershwin's World.  WHOA!  Definitely going in the right direction . . . .
 
Reading what others have said, especially GuitarDave, about these Utopias opening up after more burn-in with a larger soundstage, I now have to decide whether I will go home late tonight (have a retirement party that will keep me busy until later) and listen again or just wait until maybe late Saturday or even Sunday after they have about 50-75 hours on them at least, to listen more critically and maybe even then switch from my EC 445 amp (which is what I listened to last night) to the Balancing Act or either of the Allnic amps - both of which have different sonic signatures than my 445 (which I am addicted to).
 
My guess at this point is, if these keep going in the same direction, this could get close to dethroning or even dethrone my beloved HD-800s (or, at a minimum, provide me a mistress to cheat on them with).
 
Will keep you posted as the burn in continues.
 
PS  - Damn all of you for now making me think about these Dana Cables - have you NOT cost me enough already? 
 
Frank a/k/a/ TOPNut
 
[T]ower [O]f [P]ower Nut  -- any other Tower of Power [TOP] fans out here in Head-Fi land?

This is what i stated as mine burned in. They were up and down in sound and I knew I just had to hang on. At around 250 the sound totally came in and has improved in little ways since them. I use an aftermarket cable that allowed them to sound better than the stock cable and all is good. These are a totally different level of sound. 

 

[phase0]

Does it depend on music genre, whether the utopia really delivers? Say, maybe an extreme example: for hip hop, edm, electro? Elear the better choice?

 
The Focals sound best if you feed the French music. I tried some Indila and it was great.
 
Kidding aside I have not heard the Elears. At times I still feel like the Utopia is a little bit bass light. I have them plugged into a Denon receiver for burning in, and ther e must be something in the tuning cause it just sounds more bass weighted out there than on my main setup. That makes me LOL quite a bit since what I have is supposed to be pretty good. I haven't found an EQ setting that I like more than no EQ so I've left it alone and the Utopia still sound really really good. I think it reveals flaws in some of the music I have. Where it's just more mediocre recording/mixing quality and it's not bad but just a bit :| When I feed it better recordings everything is there with plenty of bass and it sounds very amazing. It seems like they're really good for lighter acoustic fare and classical. As for EDM and more popular music. If it's well mixed I think it should translate great. As has been mentioned several times, Utopia is more neutral balance like a reference studio monitor (which I like quite a bit too) vs something with a strong V curve an exaggerated bass (which can be a lot of fun too). I'm hoping Focal comes up with an ear pad replacement for Utopia that adds a little more color and bass boost for some more fun. I'm hoping I can try the Elear pads on them and see how that goes. IDK it probably sounds like I'm complaining but I really don't intend it that way. It's just that I've tried some of the fun headphones like Denon D5000 and I absolutely love it some times. That said occasionally the Utopia kind of feels like it's rattling my skull and I wonder where all that bass came from LOL.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  ....
 
My guess at this point is, if these keep going in the same direction, this could get close to dethroning or even dethrone my beloved HD-800s (or, at a minimum, provide me a mistress to cheat on them with).
 
 

 
They have completely dethroned my HD800S (which very quickly dethroned my HD800...now sold) and they did this within only a day or two. They are not a mistress...they are the hotter and nicer upgrade wife!