Focal Utopia 2022 Review, Measurements

[up late]

the utopia ear pads page on the focal website: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones-0/headphones/cables-and-accessories/utopia-ear-pads
note that focal has not updated the picture of the utopia. make of that what you will.

 

[Nomax]

(In the fall?i have it since many months)






NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[iDesign]

(In the fall?i have it since many months)

Unfortunately, Focal Naim-America will not receive them until the fall. Your post confirms the new part number I listed in my previous post.

 

[Nomax]

Unfortunately, Focal Naim-America will not receive them until the fall. Your post confirms the new part number I listed in my previous post.

Yes but they are the same as from the OG

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[iDesign]

Yes but they are the same as from the OG

NOMAX

PS.lol

They’re not the same according to Focal-Naim America. I tried to place an order and they stated availability was expected in the fall and they gave me the new part number for the Utopia 2022 pads in their reply— they didn’t describe how they’re different. And yes, I realize Mégane Montabonel previously said they are the same. Ultimately, North American dealers can’t currently order them from Focal-Naim America and I certainly don’t want to order new old stock pads made in 2016 from a dealer that will seep glue so it’s best to order the latest version.

 

[up late]

Again, they’re not the same according to Focal-Naim America. I tried to place an order and they stated availability was expected in the fall and they gave me the new part number for the Utopia 2022 pads in their email— they didn’t describe how they’re different. And yes, I realize Mégane Montabonel previously said they are the same. Ultimately, North American dealers can’t currently order them from Focal-Naim America and I certainly wouldn’t want to order new old stock pads made in 2016 from a dealer that may seep glue so it’s best to order the latest version.

just because focal-naim america has allocated a new part number for the utopia's ear pads doesn't necessarily make them different. why not take Ms Montabonel's word for it?

 

[Nomax]

I even cut a couple open with a knife....they are the same
(Those who know me know that I don't fool around for long )

Wish everyone many more wonderful hours with their Nutopia

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[Tanalasta]

Listened to the Utopia 2022 cables with the Cardas Clear Beyond … and SP3K.

Okay. Wow. Just wow. From the very first chords. Sublime, slightly laid back tonality, neutral without any unpleasant brightness. Sublime separation and cohesion.

Had to hand it back to the dealer. Work in progress. There is no doubt the 2022 utopia is tuned slightly warmer and appealing to the masses.

Felt like being in the very best of acoustic rooms listening to the performance.

*edit: The pair at the dealership had 150 hours on it. The pair I have that are two hours into listening are perhaps a tad warm with the Danacable LR Plus. It could open up more and seems a tad closed in the mids/voice frequency ranges. We'll see how it evolves before I invest in a new cable. I suspect it will sound better out of the Chord Hugo 2 than the Naim HE*

 

[thecrow]

Under Australian law, ATA will continue to offer warranty support to any product they have sold, even if they no longer sell that item. There’s no real danger of no warranty support from ATA.

Oh the a2a website they now state that these come with 1 year warranty.

Consumer law would override any attempt by a seller to go “cheap” on warranty but then the questions are:
what is a reasonable warranty for a headphone (in australia) as some hps are only 1 year.
And would that change depending on the price of the hp - ie would/should that be expected to be higher for more premium

I’ll leave that to fair trading/the courts

3rd question: how much would focal help the buyer if an issue occurred.



btw no new dealer announced at this point.
i won’t go into any rumours though as to why no new distributor yet as they are nothing more than rumours that i have read on line.
(Might be as reliable as reading the daily mail or reddit - i wouldn’t know)

cheers

 

[thecrow]

Stupid question, but if I have the Utopias, are the OG Clear ever worth buying? I'm not able to demo them as the local dealer doesn't carry them anymore. Anyhow, now that I have a clean slate for a system to be built, I'm very much looking forward to exploring tubes to pair with the Utopias.

No - around these prices it may be worth looking at one of the he1000 versions (stealth or v2 or se) to complement the utopias, it you haven’t already

 

[Tanalasta]

Stupid question, but if I have the Utopias, are the OG Clear ever worth buying? I'm not able to demo them as the local dealer doesn't carry them anymore. Anyhow, now that I have a clean slate for a system to be built, I'm very much looking forward to exploring tubes to pair with the Utopias.

Not unless you want a pair of spare headphones you wouldn’t really value. You’re used to (much) better and your utopia 2022 is a significant step up.

 

[Tanalasta]

Oh the a2a website they now state that these come with 1 year warranty.

Consumer law would override any attempt by a seller to go “cheap” on warranty but then the questions are:
what is a reasonable warranty for a headphone (in australia) as some hps are only 1 year.
And would that change depending on the price of the hp - ie would/should that be expected to be higher for more premium

I’ll leave that to fair trading/the courts



3rd question: how much would focal help the buyer if an issue occurred.



btw no new dealer announced at this point.
i won’t go into any rumours though as to why no new distributor yet as they are nothing more than rumours that i have read on line.
(Might be as reliable as reading the daily mail or reddit - i wouldn’t know)

cheers

I wonder why the loss of distributor given the money A2A put not investing in their entire lineup.

As to warranty, it may relate to cost and manufacturer specifications. I would have thought at least two years which is standard for Focal. Although drivers on the utopia OG had a 5 year warranty.

No idea what the process is if the distributor is changing or doesn’t exist.

A2A national practices probably are an unfair reflection on the local franchises some of whom are genuinely excellent

 

[Skeza]

Oh the a2a website they now state that these come with 1 year warranty.

Consumer law would override any attempt by a seller to go “cheap” on warranty but then the questions are:
what is a reasonable warranty for a headphone (in australia) as some hps are only 1 year.
And would that change depending on the price of the hp - ie would/should that be expected to be higher for more premium

I’ll leave that to fair trading/the courts



3rd question: how much would focal help the buyer if an issue occurred.



btw no new dealer announced at this point.
i won’t go into any rumours though as to why no new distributor yet as they are nothing more than rumours that i have read on line.
(Might be as reliable as reading the daily mail or reddit - i wouldn’t know)

cheers

I would be very interested in reading any rumours, I tried to prod the staff this week but they were very tight lipped.

I found it very interesting they are advertising only a year warranty now but this doesnt over rule any laws in place by our ACCC. The ACCC here generally go on price when dealing with any complaints with warranty lengths. As far as I'm concerned it's still 5 years as specified by Focal.

 

[Tanalasta]

There's a little

I would be very interested in reading any rumours, I tried to prod the staff this week but they were very tight lipped.

I found it very interesting they are advertising only a year warranty now but this doesnt over rule any laws in place by our ACCC. The ACCC here generally go on price when dealing with any complaints with warranty lengths. As far as I'm concerned it's still 5 years as specified by Focal.

Have a look at the Naim community forum
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/insane-new-pricing-in-australia/27307/92

 

[Tanalasta]

I would recommend the Danacable Lazuli Ultra or Reference Plus.

But if you can stomach the price the Lazuli Nirvana is sublime.

But with any you can get adapters so you can use with more than one set of headphones.

But what ever you do try an go with a Hybrid type cable.

I found the Danacable LR plus over-accentuated the warmth on the Utopia 2022. It filled a gap for the Utopia OG. That and I haven’t quite worked out why they insist on such a heavy cable sheath.

YMMV and for (burn-in) believers my set probably still has to relax a little. Agreed that the hybrid cable would work best for the tuning of the Utopia.

I’m likely to go with the Cardas Beyond but sheesh … paucity of reviews and damned expensive.

The stock cable is left wanting. It’s ‘okay’ but somewhat thin on the sound. I did some initial listening last night over several hours alternating between the stock cable ; the Danacable LR plus ; Naim HE / Hugo 2 / SP2K / Cayin C9. First impressions are pretty congruent with what I’ve read.