Focal Utopia 2022 Review, Measurements

[rthomas]

Just saw the FR measurements of old Utopia vs new Utopia.

Guys, this looks like the exact same headphone with a slight reduction in treble. Very much a HD800 and HD800S situation.

I have nothing against Focal releasing an update after 6 years but I expected more than a slight tuning tweak, reliability increase and cosmetic tweaks.

The biggest news here is not the ''greatly improved bass'' claimed by some breathless ''pro'' reviewers (salemen). The biggest news is the greatly improved price.

$1000 extra for what can be achieved with a few db tweaks in EQ APO in a few minutes.

I'm sure a replacement cable is now $1500

$2500 for new in box original Utopias as dealers liquidate stock looks like a good deal now if you enjoy the Utopia sound.

Improved soundstage? with the same cup and driver dimensions? I'm not buying it without an engineering related explanation.
Improved bass? the FR looks exactly the same. Did they increase bass by 1 db? Even that would be valid if they stated that as a design goal.

I guess I'm being a bit harsh but with a $1000 increase in price they better bring something valuable to the table.

I think we've all forgotten that the HD800 was $1000 when it was launched in 2008. $1000 is now the price increase in flagships

Well done to marketing departments everywhere. You guys win.

 

[jaboki]

$1000 increase in price they better bring something valuable to the table.

Just a guess: I assume a large portion of that has to do with supply chain, inflation, etc. because they had trouble keeping the Utopia 2020 in stock. While the remaining portion was spent to R&D a more reliable driver.

 

[rthomas]

Just a guess: I assume a large portion of that has to do with supply chain, inflation, etc. because they had trouble keeping the Utopia 2020 in stock. While the remaining portion was spent to R&D a more reliable driver.

Just a guess - the Utopia probably costs 20% more to manufacture than the Clear Mg. The rest is marketing.

I had a friend who worked as a manufacturing engineer for Nike.

The cheapest shoes cost $10 to make and sell for $60. The most expensive shoes cost $15 to make and sell for $250.

The magic of marketing.

 

[jaboki]

Just a guess - the Utopia probably costs 20% more to manufacture than the Clear Mg. The rest is marketing.

I had a friend who worked as a manufacturing engineer for Nike.

The cheapest shoes cost $10 to make and sell for $60. The most expensive shoes cost $15 to make and sell for $250.

The magic of marketing.

You're probably right. Usually the top model of any brand has way better margins, but I'm sure they want to keep those margins at those same levels.

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

Not to pick on Audeze, most manufacturers are guilty; but at one time the LCD3 was the best, most technologically advanced product they could offer and at 1/3 the price of the LCD5. What changed other than consumers willingness to pay more? This is going to change once sales are tougher in a recession. Right now it’s YOLO

 

[Whitigir]

Can’t ever judge an item MSRP based on the materials pricing. Beryllium fabrications isn’t exactly cheap. The price takes a jump due to the inflation. But to still be using the same drivers with some tweaks, they are playing it safe like HD800/S kinda style. Can’t blame focal because the original Utopia was such a huge hit already

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

More reviews popping up on YouTube, mostly from hifi shops.

 

[cantcacheme]

So, I asked my dealer when he is gonna ship my 2022 Utopia, and he said within 2 weeks. Are other places shipping it earlier? I looked at Headphones.com, but it's not clear when it ships there either

I saw Bloom audio had them in stock, 2 day shipping to my area though yours might be different

 

[b0lt 0ns]

Ok I need all the ballers to run out and upgrade their 2020s to the 2022s. $2000 used utopias LETS GO.

 

[PointyFox]

I'm saying that actually listening to them with my own ears / head, they don't sound like how you describe them.
I don't listen to measurements.

If you're going to go there, measurements are more accurate than your head. And why would I even care about YOUR head of all heads?

 

[arnaud]

More reviews popping up on YouTube, mostly from hifi shops.

That one was good I thought:

 

[meomap]

This thread is full of hyperbole.

New Utopia is that much more detailed than old Utopia?

I'm sorry but in my humble experience old Utopia extracted all the details that music had to offer. Most of the totls these days do that.

As soon as somebody says new flagship is ''much'' more detailed than old flagship they lose a bit of credibility with me.

Yes it is possible if they completely alter the FR like LCD4 to LCD5 but otherwise it's just boys getting a bit too excited with their new toys

Ok I need all the ballers to run out and upgrade their 2020s to the 2022s. $2000 used utopias LETS GO.

Not worth it.

 

[xmr0613]

Just a guess - the Utopia probably costs 20% more to manufacture than the Clear Mg. The rest is marketing.

I had a friend who worked as a manufacturing engineer for Nike.

The cheapest shoes cost $10 to make and sell for $60. The most expensive shoes cost $15 to make and sell for $250.

The magic of marketing.

I thought it should be a common consensus that for a higher-end market, material/production cost should be less of a factor of the MSRP. If someone can make a headphone that sounds as good as other $4,000 models with a cost of $20, I won't have a problem with their pricing strategy.

That said, the current reviews have all be very subtle and nuanced about the new Utopia, make me think there's little to no improvement on technical capability. While the Utopia is still a monster on technicalities, it has been surpassed by other flagships in the past 6 years (I can hear definitively it being less resolving than Susvara, LCD5, Abyss, a number of Stax models etc). Personally, I really hope the improvement is more on details, soundstage etc. I have no issues with the OG Utopia's tuning whatsoever and I don't find it to be bright or harsh, in fact I like it better than the 1266 TC/Susvara/LCD5s.

At $5,000 if it keeps the original Utopia's technical performance, it's going to be lacking in that price range considering Audeze and Hifiman (going by street price of new Susvara) are cheaper.

 

[meomap]

I thought it should be a common consensus that for a higher-end market, material/production cost should be less of a factor of the MSRP. If someone can make a headphone that sounds as good as other $4,000 models with a cost of $20, I won't have a problem with their pricing strategy.

That said, the current reviews have all be very subtle and nuanced about the new Utopia, make me think there's little to no improvement on technical capability. While the Utopia is still a monster on technicalities, it has been surpassed by other flagships in the past 6 years (I can hear definitively it being less resolving than Susvara, LCD5, Abyss, a number of Stax models etc). Personally, I really hope the improvement is more on details, soundstage etc. I have no issues with the OG Utopia's tuning whatsoever and I don't find it to be bright or harsh, in fact I like it better than the 1266 TC/Susvara/LCD5s.

At $5,000 if it keeps the original Utopia's technical performance, it's going to be lacking in that price range considering Audeze and Hifiman (going by street price of new Susvara) are cheaper.

There you go, better than the 3 hp....
No need to upgrade......

 

[Clemmaster]

If you're going to go there, measurements are more accurate than your head. And why would I even care about YOUR head of all heads?

Measurement won't tell how it will sound for YOU, either. It's a moot point.