[Somafunk]

Kind of shocked. The light blue is catering to what? Young boys? Price points are going down? Hard pass. BTW, anyone that has a really nice condition of FOCAL BENTLEY RADIANCE, note me. Now THAT's a closed back MAN's headset!!

Well done to focal if it triggers folk to write such nonsense as above.

I like the blue colour, and I’m 50…..

 

[Death_Block]

When I first saw the focal design I was like yeah, they look awesome. Now though they really don't do it for me.

 

[mainguy]

I think something underrated people don't mention here is the weight.

294g

That is insanely light for a good passive open back. The comfort might be incredible on these.

Must admit I'm starting to sell myself on them and I don't really need a pair lol

 

[XTF1]

I like the blue colour, and I’m 50…..

Young Boy indeed!

 

[catscratch]

Interesting. These measure pretty well and shouldn't be too hard to EQ into shape. I wonder if Focal has fixed the fatigue issue with their drivers though. I could never listen to them for more than 30 minutes at a time even though I enjoyed the sound, so I kinda moved on from the brand. I know not everybody has these issues though.

Other than that, these actually look really good. The price isn't too bad. Hopefully there won't be too many QC issues. Considering the lower pricepoint and lighter weight, these might be a big hit for them.

 

[cgiammona]

Has anyone had a chance to listen to these two?

Cheers!

From Headphones.com -

 

[VandyMan]

I was just looking at the Focal website. Their headphone lineup has become very confusing, almost as bad as Hifiman. And while I know they are French, I'm tired of model names that I can't pronounce.

 

[Frabera]

I think it would have been more useful for the pro market to come out with a new Stellia cheaper, as it is not any more on top, the DCA E3 move up the all closed back market at a more realistic price target and sound quality.
DCA definitely anticipated the market before any one.

 

[VandyMan]

DCA definitely anticipated the market before any one.

That is what brands like DCA and ZMF get by being active on Head-Fi (ie participating, not just posting press releases and paying for ads/videos) and listening to all of us.

 

[Frabera]

Totally agreed DCA and ZMF are closer to the market as they are small companies making only headphones in small quantities.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

Totally unnecessary and 0 innovation from Focal.
Im a fan of the brand, but no ones needs those models when you already have plenty of wired open&close backs in the brand.

I would disagree with that...they have tons of open backs, but I swear most brands shortchange us closed back fans. I was complaining the other day that most brands I like offer few closed backs, especially at mid-tier prices, while slamming us with open backs at every price point.

Anything that brings down the prices of headphones into more sane realms is a welcome addition to me, especially for having more mid-fi closed back options. I'm still rocking my B&W P7s as this whole segment of cheaper closed backs has generally been ignored by many brands - at lower prices the options are usually Bluetooth rather than passive headphones.

this...people who love open backs dont get that most manufacturers slam us with open backs more than closed at different price points

 

[Somafunk]

I think these are priced perfectly to capture the market who initially laughed/mocked then ultimately bought the likes of Apple Airpod Max and are now looking at buying a premium looking wired headphone, the focals do look better than the majority of options around that price point and have, what appears to be, good tuning as well.

I think they’ll sell loads. It’s a headphone I’ll prob consider later this year, open/closed - I’ll wait to see the BK 5128 response first though

 

[Voohoo]

The mid-fi market in the $500-1000 range needs some life so these are welcome releases. I'm just happy that Focal isn't using their crap OG headband.

 

[mainguy]

I think it would have been more useful for the pro market to come out with a new Stellia cheaper, as it is not any more on top, the DCA E3 move up the all closed back market at a more realistic price target and sound quality.
DCA definitely anticipated the market before any one.

Hmm, I mean the Stellia is much nicer too look at than the E3. We're talking about something that looks like a work of art, vs a headphone like the E3 which is uninspired at best.

Sound quality, I've seen people prefer either. And Stellia can be had around $2400 at most dealers these days. Plus Stellia is way easier to drive, making it more convenient...I'm not so sure it needs a refresh, maybe just a price cut to $2400 or so to reflect the new market contenders.

 

[warrenpchi]

I’ll wait to see the BK 5128 response first though

They're in the video.