Focal Utopia 2022 Review, Measurements

[quasimoto]

For the record I had already registered the utopia with focal and was given the 24 months warranty letter.

 

[iDesign]

Focal should ideally oblige for the unit sold before they were removed.
If my dealer is removed as official focal seller tomorrow doesn’t mean I should be left in cold.

Adorama knew they were dropped. Focal immediately contacted Adorama and they proceeded to ship used and unsealed Utopia 2022 units anyway. And one would hope Focal honors the warranty for unknowing customers.

 

[draytonklammer]

Anyone want to trade their 2022 Utopia for my DCA Stealth, by chance?

I liked the OG Utopia and owned it ages ago.
Considering owning one TOTL dynamic in my new collection.

To be honest, the DCA Stealth doesn't do a whole lot for me personally...

 

[iDesign]

Anyone want to trade their 2022 Utopia for my DCA Stealth, by chance?

I liked the OG Utopia and owned it ages ago.
Considering owning one TOTL dynamic in my new collection.

To be honest, the DCA Stealth doesn't do a whole lot for me personally...

I would personally pick the original Utopia over the 2022 version because it lost the characteristics that made it special— and especially if you find the Stealth doesn’t do it for you.

 

[headstef]

Anyone else have a Focal Clear Mg?

I feel like going from it to Utopia is like going from 1440p to 4k. It's such a big difference, and the Utopia has this smoothness, where the Clear is sometimes a tad grainy/bitty/harsh, Utopia is just smooth as a lake on a windless day. I think the difference between these headphones is underplayed a lot in comparisons

This is very close to my experience! Interestingly, I too found the difference between the Clear MG and the Utopia 2022 rather pronounced (in favour of the Utopia) though I didn't really expect it. "Smooth as a lake on a windless day" is a fine description for the Utopia. I tried to accurately log my impressions after listening to these and one more headphone some time ago:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/neumann-ndh-30.963439/page-146#post-17561577

 

[draytonklammer]

I would personally pick the original Utopia over the 2022 version because it lost the characteristics that made it special— and especially if you find the Stealth doesn’t do it for you.

I'll have to read through this thread more and find more thoughts on the two.

 

[iDesign]

I'll have to read through this thread more and find more thoughts on the two.

Aminus and Ayrit had what I feel are the two best reviews that align with my impressions. Drew Baird from Moon Audio similarly said he wished the change in tuning was somewhere between the two versions. And I agree with that, the 2022 is a slight over-correction and I prefer the earlier version.

• MrAryit on YouTube
• Aminus on Head-Fi:

Utopia 2022:
I owned an original Utopia for a while, and for that brief period of time it was my favorite headphone, until I decided that it was too unnatural and metallic sounding. The Utopia 2022, had it been what I owned all those years ago, may not have been as blatantly colored as the original, but I doubt I would have found much reason to love it in the first place either. Sure, it's less metallic, but it's also a lot less lively and arguably has none of the special sauce that made the OG so memorable. It's very unfortunate that the only solution Focal could come up with to fix their flagship headphone's biggest criticism was to neuter it like stray mutt and throw a handy 25% pricetag increase on an already ludicrously expensive headphone, but that's high end audio for you.

 

[jlbrach]

Aminus and Ayrit had what I feel are the two best reviews that align with my impressions. Drew Baird from Moon Audio similarly said he wished the change in tuning was somewhere between the two versions. And I agree with that, the 2022 is a slight over-correction and I prefer the earlier version.

• Aminus on Head-Fi
• MrAyrit on YouTube

the problem for we lunatics who are always looking for the latest and greatest is at this point IMHO HP's have reached a point where more often than not new editions are sideways movements rather than obvious improvements worthy of upgrade

 

[up late]

I'll have to read through this thread more and find more thoughts on the two.

my thoughts on the two: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-focal-utopia-for-2022-impressions.964461/page-43

 

[ra990]

I couldn't listen to the OG Utopias for more than 20-30 minutes without getting listening fatigue. I can listen for hours on the 2022, no problem. Whatever they did to it really helped for me. They're easily one of my favorites now.

 

[up late]

that has never been an issue for me but 'we all hear differently', 'different strokes for different folks', 'ymmv' etc

 

[mainguy]

This is very close to my experience! Interestingly, I too found the difference between the Clear MG and the Utopia 2022 rather pronounced (in favour of the Utopia) though I didn't really expected it. "Smooth as a lake on a windless day" is a fine description for the Utopia. I tried to accurately log my impressions after listening to these and one more headphone some time ago:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/neumann-ndh-30.963439/page-146#post-17561577

Indeed very similar experience.

I think for me the Clear Mg are a perfect example of how tiny changes in the wrong parts of the sound can just bring a headphone way down. Technically they are really brilliant, but the timbre is just off, and for that reason I'd rather listen to less technical, less tonally balanced headphones that at least sound 'right' in terms of timbre. For listening at the moment I much prefer the Campfire Andromeda iem, which really shouldn't be the case given the MG is full sized and open back.

I think Focal missed with the MG honestly. And you can tell because ebay used prices are rock bottom. I got mine mint for £520, and I can see listings for 600 going all the time. That's almost 33% of RRP lol....I suspect people listening instore just aren't convinced.

If the NDH 30 are so good why aren't they spoken about more? They compete with Utopia on detail that's nuts.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

And If the NDH 30 are so good why aren't they spoken about more? They compete with Utopia on detail that's nuts.

Because they don’t compete with the Utopia. They’re a slightly better hd650/600/6xx/660S/660S V2, if that’s your preference. Everything else is just fanboyism, hyperbole, fluff, etc.

 

[headstef]

Indeed very similar experience...
... ...
...If the NDH 30 are so good why aren't they spoken about more? They compete with Utopia on detail that's nuts.

Neumann is not targeting the audiophile world with the NDH 30. They designed it for demanding professionals that need a highly accurate portable reference to substitute their expensive studio systems. It sounds very similar to a carefully calibrated and treated professional room/system, based on Neumann monitor loudspeakers. Ιt seems that no money at all are spent for promotion and publicity in audiophile forums. Also, no Neumann headphones end up in "long term loans" to reviewers. But if someone reads all real users' impressions in its thread, he will soon discover that it is sonically an absolute TOTL marvel. No one cares to compare it anymore with similarly priced headphones (about €/$ 630), such comparisons soon became meaningless. (Even better, listening to it than reading about it, readily demonstrates that it is one of the best and more mature dynamics ever made and also an astonishing musical communicator, not related to the cold monitors of the past.)

 

[TheMiddleSky]

NHD30 is a great headphone for the price, but to say it produce same detail as Utopia 2022, that's ridiculous. Compared them multiple times with multiple set up, even before they officially released, I still don't understand the "hype train" of NDH-30 could be as good as today's TOTLs.