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Focal For Bentley Radiance Headphones
Sep 14, 2020 at 6:08 PM Post #62 of 1,465
The Radiance are almost certainly NOT Bentley headphones. At least in the long-term.

A long-term affiliation with a carmaker does not makes sense for Focal... But a run of limited-edition co-branded headphones as a way to introduce a new model does.

I'm betting the mass-production Radiance will not feature Bentley branding, and probably feature different colors... Some other metal finish in place of the gold, most likely. I think the design elements and architecture of the headphone is all mass-production though... Including that cool "swirling grid" pattern on the cups.

I believe the Radiance will be a permanent member of the Focal family... It's priced less than the Clear, but more than the Elear, so make of that what you will. Although I suppose a production model might be priced directly alongside the Elear, since LEs are always up-priced anyway.
 
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Sep 14, 2020 at 7:20 PM Post #64 of 1,465
Earbones said:
The Radiance are almost certainly NOT Bentley headphones. At least in the long-term.
Click to expand...

This isn't an isolated time that a car brand has slapped their "design" with a manufacturer involved in a different market. The pre-orders for these headphones are on Bentley's site (along with various other products that they have been selling). Porsche has a design studio (F.A. Porche) that has used Chroma for producing cutlery knives that are in the same price range as other 'gourmet' knives (that they've also been selling for quite a few years now). Seems like a good deal for Focal: as they worked with Bentley for contract of a retooled Elegia at a higher price margin and different market of consumers.
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 7:48 PM Post #65 of 1,465
Earbones said:
The Radiance are almost certainly NOT Bentley headphones. At least in the long-term.

A long-term affiliation with a carmaker does not makes sense for Focal... But a run of limited-edition co-branded headphones as a way to introduce a new model does.

I'm betting the mass-production Radiance will not feature Bentley branding, and probably feature different colors... Some other metal finish in place of the gold, most likely. I think the design elements and architecture of the headphone is all mass-production though... Including that cool "swirling grid" pattern on the cups.

I believe the Radiance will be a permanent member of the Focal family... It's priced less than the Clear, but more than the Elear, so make of that what you will. Although I suppose a production model might be priced directly alongside the Elear, since LEs are always up-priced anyway.
Click to expand...
Focal has their car audio speakers and most likely were in talks with Focal as a result of that. McIntosh just announced their partnership with Jeep even though McIntosh hasn't done car audio in years. With the number of car manufacturers vs audio manufacturers, the audio manufacturers love big partnerships like this.
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 7:53 PM Post #66 of 1,465
On that image of the Mu-so in the original post...

mu.jpg

Did anyone else immediately think of a Radeon graphics card?

radeon.png

Also, how many PCI card slots will this take up in my PC?
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 9:03 PM Post #68 of 1,465
These are the prettiest headphones ever. That Mu-so is also amazing.
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 9:53 PM Post #71 of 1,465
Warmer than the Elegia? Oh dear... I didn't think that was possible. :rolling_eyes:
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 10:18 PM Post #73 of 1,465
Davesrose said:
This isn't an isolated time that a car brand has slapped their "design" with a manufacturer involved in a different market. The pre-orders for these headphones are on Bentley's site (along with various other products that they have been selling). Porsche has a design studio (F.A. Porche) that has used Chroma for producing cutlery knives that are in the same price range as other 'gourmet' knives (that they've also been selling for quite a few years now). Seems like a good deal for Focal: as they worked with Bentley for contract of a retooled Elegia at a higher price margin and different market of consumers.
Click to expand...

TSAVAlan said:
Focal has their car audio speakers and most likely were in talks with Focal as a result of that. McIntosh just announced their partnership with Jeep even though McIntosh hasn't done car audio in years. With the number of car manufacturers vs audio manufacturers, the audio manufacturers love big partnerships like this.
Click to expand...
I'm not disputing (nor was it even my intention to comment) on any of that.

Merely that it is highly unlikely that Focal designed the Radiance as a co-branded product from the ground up and intends to sell it as such in perpetuity.

Focal's product line structure is pretty well-documented... With the discontinuation of the Elegia, a lower-tier closed-back can has been an inevitability. So which scenario is more likely? That Focal intends to occupy that product spot with a co-branded special edition headphone? For the foreseeable future? Even though none of the other headphones in their lineup are collaborations? Or that this co-branded special edition is simply a way of introducing a new model?

I'd bet a thousand dollars that the "Focal for Bentley Radiance Headphone" is a limited edition run of what will come to be known as the "Focal Radiance Headphone"... Or in the very least, the Bentley co-branded run will be limited, and an identical headphone with a different name (but again, most likely in a different color scheme) will emerge as a regular product.
 
Sep 14, 2020 at 10:53 PM Post #74 of 1,465
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