[redmonddad]

Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it.

I have since figured out that the plastic “clank” came from the heat shrink being less than tight on my Arctic Cable and not the slightly wiggly 3.5mm connection. I fixed the cable hitting the inside of the heat shrink by wedging a match stick in there

You must feel really relieved to have found the issue! You should contact AC…they have great customer support and will make this right for you.

 

[walakalulu]

This discolouration is annoying. Suggestions welcome!

 

[noplsestar]

This discolouration is annoying. Suggestions welcome!

There have been so many suggestions in this thread (also only a few pages back).

My Stellia in the meantime is completely dark brown and I personally love its new look.

 

[boxster233]

There have been so many suggestions in this thread (also only a few pages back).

My Stellia in the meantime is completely dark brown and I personally love its new look.

Mine became that way by trying to protect it with a leather care kit. At least now it’s consistent across the headband.

 

[jrlan]

Focal is so concerned about build quality, it will be interesting to see if they correct this issue in the next iteration.

 

[Mkoll]

This discolouration is annoying. Suggestions welcome!

Rub your face and hair on the light parts. Over time, it will darken to a more uniform patina that looks better than stark change from light and dark brown, IMO.

 

[mainguy]

I made the dire mistake of trying these the other day….My god, this is the best headphone I’ve ever tried by quite some margin.

Been searching for well over a year for a closed back I like more than the P9, this is it. Not only that, I think I like them considerably more than my Clears. Now to get saving…

Edit: Uh-oh, found an open box pair for 2.2k. Time to become homeless.

Edit 2: The same dealer has offered me a brand new pair for £2280, hard to refuse when they're usually £2890. Wowzer.

 

[AudioDuck]

I made the dire mistake of trying these the other day….My god, this is the best headphone I’ve ever tried by quite some margin.

Been searching for well over a year for a closed back I like more than the P9, this is it. Not only that, I think I like them considerably more than my Clears. Now to get saving…

Edit: Uh-oh, found an open box pair for 2.2k. Time to become homeless.

Edit 2: The same dealer has offered me a brand new pair for £2280, hard to refuse when they're usually £2890. Wowzer.

Congratulations on end game status! Now you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the music!

 

[jlbrach]

no such thing as end game status

 

[AudioDuck]

no such thing as end game status

For some it is more about the journey than the arrival and the enjoyment/peace that follows.

For me the search was for the latter, though the journey was fun while it lasted. Thus end game is achieved for me.

May you find joy in your chosen path.

 

[dynavit]

This discolouration is annoying. Suggestions welcome!

Better think, before you buy this fancy stuff!
It was so clear that the Clear & co won`t stay clear. They should have called them Nuclear.

 

[Mkoll]

I'm looking forward to some comparisons of the Stellia to the newly released Dan Clark Audio Stealth. Please share if you've heard/own both.

 

[gaming]

The real question is, is this driver limited by the mechanical clipping "protection" that the other focal headphones are. If it is, is it consistent between models, and does it get worse over time? I really enjoyed my Utopia, but it became pretty much unusable near the end due to this "feature."

Hello, I'm new to Focal headphones

What is the clipping protection feature and how does it work?

Is it on the Elegia?

Do you mean your Utopia's sound quality degraded over time until it became unlistenable? How many months did it take?

 

[ufospls2]

Hello, I'm new to Focal headphones

What is the clipping protection feature and how does it work?

Is it on the Elegia?

Do you mean your Utopia's sound quality degraded over time until it became unlistenable? How many months did it take?

Well, as Focal said, the driver will reach a point in its excursion, typically with heavy bass content, that it clips instead of continuing excursion therefore protecting the driver. The Elegia supposedly has this "feature" as well.

I'm a conspiracy theorist on this one though, and I don't think its a "feature" at all, but poor design.

My Utopia originally only clipped if I used a large bass boost, with heavy bass content, at high volumes.

Over time, it got the point where it would clip with heavy bass material, at medium volume, with no bass boost via EQ, at all.

It took 1.5 months, but Focal replaced the headphones, as this was before they announced the clipping "feature."

My guess? The clipping is a design flaw that would require them to recall every headphone they had produced, which would destroy them financially.

Maybe it is a design feature, and it is implemented much better now, I don't know. I'm not buying another Focal to check, as $4400USD is a lot of money for a 2020 Utopia.

 

[AudioDuck]

It took 1.5 months, but Focal replaced the headphones, as this was before they announced the clipping "feature."

My guess? The clipping is a design flaw that would require them to recall every headphone they had produced, which would destroy them financially.

On a similar note, I had a bass clipping issue with my Focal Elears. Focal replaced the drivers under warranty (the service through my local dealer was great), and no issues have arisen since.

The Radiance I previously owned and the Stellia I currently own have exhibited NO issues with clipping on bass-heavy content.

That said, everything I’ve read from Focal owners seems to indicate that either 1) initial driver design of the Elear/Elex/Clear was more bass-sensitive/extreme excursion-sensitive over time, but it has been fixed since and most issues have been handled under warranty OR 2) this is an ongoing issue affecting parts of their product line.

While this is the first time I’ve seen someone note clipping issues with Utopia, I am a recent Stellia owner and have not been frequenting Stellia/Utopia forum threads until now.

Overall, though, I’d be cautious about using bass-heavy (especially if boosted further via EQ or similar) at high volumes with Elegia/Elear/Elex/Clear/Radiance (all Mg-Al drivers)- and perhaps Stellia/Utopia (Be drivers) as well.

Mind you, we are talking A LOT of bass at HIGH volumes, so I see these as edge cases personally and am not really concerned.

Last but not least I am in no way associated with Focal and the above is anecdotal knowledge… feel free to disagree.