Focal Utopia 2022 Review, Measurements

[PrTv]

Is this the consensus view? If the 2022's dynamics fall short of the OGs, that would be a deal-breaker for me.

After my 2022 Utopia has now more than 800hours, I can say that dynamic and slam is back! Actually, things started to turn back to "normal". Now I can say that my 2022 version has about the same level of dynamic and slam as my OG Utopia.

Plus, it's more forgiving when it comes to bad recording and less fatiguing. So I think generally it's a more agreeable pair of headphones.

 

[jlbrach]

I do not believe any HP requires 800 hours of burn in to sound proper...but if it appears that way to you that is all that matters

 

[jlbrach]

I do not believe any HP requires 800 hours of burn in to sound proper...but if it appears that way to you that is all that matters..that is half a year assuming 5 hours a day

 

[559938]

I do not believe any HP requires 800 hours of burn in to sound proper...but if it appears that way to you that is all that matters

Earpads of various materials change across this time span on the head. It can contribute to sound changing over time.
I agree about 800 hours being unlikely for moving parts to settle. Personal experience has been most of it in 24 hours, Tiny changes for a hike after that.
The LCD5 loses its upper-mid emphasis once the pads have softened.

 

[jlbrach]

I agree that earpads change can influence sound ,that said in the past when I got a new HP I used to leave playing with my amp on for a period of time to in theory burn them in....I gave up doing this because it just wasnt worth the effort to me...I do kind of laugh at the idea of literally spending half a year burning a HP...

 

[kkrazik2008]

I agree that earpads change can influence sound ,that said in the past when I got a new HP I used to leave playing with my amp on for a period of time to in theory burn them in....I gave up doing this because it just wasnt worth the effort to me...I do kind of laugh at the idea of literally spending half a year burning a HP...

Is it really half a year? There are 24 hours in a day….when I first get ZMF headphones, they recommend 300 hours so I set up a station to run them 6 hours on, 1 hour off, 6 hours on, 1 hour off. Then listened in the evenings to hear how they change. Now with the Utopia, they are burned in at the factory if I recall, and still recommend about 50-75 hours once received (rough estimate based off memory)

Anyway @PrTv you may have very well heard that change at 800 hours, although a lot could happen in that time such as gear changes, auditory changes, mood changes, etc…
How many days, months did it take for you to reach 800 and was it burning in continuously or are you counting the hours you listened to it?

 

[jlbrach]

5 hours a day is half a year....hard for me to imagine anything more the effort would be out of proportion

 

[kkrazik2008]

5 hours a day is half a year....hard for me to imagine anything more the effort would be out of proportion

Yes, but why would one want to only do 5 hours a day to reach their goal?

 

[559938]

Volume level plays a part, too. Some (not all) transducers need high SPL to run in properly.

 

[PrTv]

Is it really half a year? There are 24 hours in a day….when I first get ZMF headphones, they recommend 300 hours so I set up a station to run them 6 hours on, 1 hour off, 6 hours on, 1 hour off. Then listened in the evenings to hear how they change. Now with the Utopia, they are burned in at the factory if I recall, and still recommend about 50-75 hours once received (rough estimate based off memory)

Anyway @PrTv you may have very well heard that change at 800 hours, although a lot could happen in that time such as gear changes, auditory changes, mood changes, etc…
How many days, months did it take for you to reach 800 and was it burning in continuously or are you counting the hours you listened to it?

Well the number of hours is approximate and not exact, but give or take the total time should be 800-ish.

Out of this 800-ish hours, my listening time (headphones on my head) should be around 7-10% an the rest I left it on this track (not from YouTube but from album on my streamer):

I chose this track as it seems to have high DR which I believe can help with break in.

While I'm not listening, it was on this song almost all day/every day, so let's say 18-20 hours of play time each day. This takes around one and half month. At that time I still had my OG Utopia and I did the A/B with the same cable and switching back and forth several times, I then came to the conclusion that the 2022 Utopia, for me, has about the same slam as the OG. I then sold my OG Utopia to my friend.

 

[kkrazik2008]

Well the number of hours is approximate and not exact, but give or take the total time should be 800-ish.

Out of this 800-ish hours, my listening time (headphones on my head) should be around 7-10% an the rest I left it on this track (not from YouTube but from album on my streamer):

I chose this track as it seems to have high DR which I believe can help with break in.

While I'm not listening, it was on this song almost all day/every day, so let's say 18-20 hours of play time each day. This takes around one and half month. At that time I still had my OG Utopia and I did the A/B with the same cable and switching back and forth several times, I then came to the conclusion that the 2022 Utopia, for me, has about the same slam as the OG. I then sold my OG Utopia to my friend.

Thanks for the insight, so not 6 months as @jlbrach alluded to. Most importantly you arrived at this conclusion on your own terms, which is all that matters.

 

[CFGamescape]

For anyone interested, I'm selling my Utopia 2022. They unfortunately don't fit my head very well. See signature for ad.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Yeah it's literally just a question of tuning preference. The OG has a bit more sparkle and sense of excitement in the upper mids and top end; on the flipside the 2022 version has (to me at least) richer and more fleshed out mids.

One thing I will say - the bass on the 2022 version is addictive. Precise and impactful.

Correct. And the upper mids and treble downtuning in the 2022 is what gives its mids a bit more prominence (and maybe for some the bass).

The bass and dynamic presentation struck me as the same as the OG. Controlling the highs, which were offensive to many, was basically the main change implemented. Otherwise they sound very similar.

 

[PrTv]

For anyone interested, I'm selling my Utopia 2022. They unfortunately don't fit my head very well. See signature for ad.

I guess, I might be in the same situation. I have quite a small head and the Utopia (OG and 2022) creates a nasty hot-spot on the top of my skull, especially when paired with a heavy cable like Dana's Lazuli Ref. However, I decided to deal with it and finding ways to make it possible for me to live with it.

Now, I'm placing ZMG's Co-Pilot (originally it doesn't fit as the Utopia's headband is too thick) underneath the headband (the Co-Pilot sits on the top of my head), and this helps with comfort a lot. I now have Dekoni's Nuggets in the mail and will try them out.

Hope someone takes it off your hands soon!

Correct. And the upper mids and treble downtuning in the 2022 is what gives its mids a bit more prominence (and maybe for some the bass).

The bass and dynamic presentation struck me as the same as the OG. Controlling the highs, which were offensive to many, was basically the main change implemented. Otherwise they sound very similar.

Agreed. I think the 2022 is not a "better" headphone in terms of technicality, but it is just tuned differently. The main reason for my switching is the slightly different tuning (and a bonus reason is the claimed driver failure mitigation (fingers crossed).

 

[bpcans]

@PrTv, my 9yr old daughter has a relatively small human head and she listens to her OG Utopia’s and Danacable Lazuli Ultra cable with just a woven headband cover on them.