Focal Utopia 2022 Review, Measurements

[Skeza]

Do you work for A2A? Why would you recommend people buy grey market goods from a retailer known to not be an authorized dealer of Focal? You also said the following which is misleading: “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.”

Did you know Focal charges over US$1k for a headband replacement and well over US$2k for driver replacement? Do you think A2A will foot the bill if you experience a driver failure in year 3? That’s what the meme was for.

Why would A2A be footing the bill if it's under Focals warranty period?

You've made it very clear you have no idea how good Australian consumer laws are or how they work here.

 

[up late]

Do you work for A2A? Why would you recommend people buy grey market goods from a retailer known to not be an authorized dealer of Focal? You also said the following which is misleading: “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.”

Did you know Focal charges over US$1k for a headband replacement and well over US$2k for driver replacement? Do you think A2A will foot the bill if you experience a driver failure in year 3? That’s what the meme was for.

you have a propensity for incorrect and inflammatory posts, which is tiresome

 

[shaylin3]

Hope everyone has more opinions on the headset, a lot of non-audio related issues are frustrating

 

[559938]

Did you know Focal charges over US$1k for a headband replacement and well over US$2k for driver replacement? Do you think A2A will foot the bill if you experience a driver failure in year 3? That’s what the meme was for.

My 2018-purchase OG got a replacement driver for free at the start of this year. Known fault. Doesn't meet reasonable standards of longevity and reliability. Replaced. It took a while, but it was free.

 

[559938]

Hope everyone has more opinions on the headset, a lot of non-audio related issues are frustrating

Great point. I'm LOVING my 2022. Using it out of a HMS/TT2 combo and using a Heimdall 2 cable. Honestly, every time I sit down to listen I learn new things about music. The expression of microdynamics is just fabulous and makes the music move freely and naturally. I've been thinking about adding a headphone amp that can double as a preamp, as TT2 is currently doing the preamp duties to a Pass Labs XA25. I borrowed a friend's Hugo2/2Go and headed down to ATA. There I listened to the Feliks Euforia EVO and the LTA Z10e. Both were a delight to hear.

The Euforia EVO was marvellously detailed and brought added body to the sound without being at all bass-heavy. I was worried a valve amp might make the (warmer than OG) 2022 too dark and heavy, but it absolutely wasn't the case. I compared the crossfeed of the Feliks with the Hugo2's onboard settings and very much enjoyed the Hugo2 more in that regard. The Euforia EVO crossfeed added a LOT of bass and made things a bit blurred.

Then it was over to the Z10e. WOWEE! It played right into my preferences. It was sublime and I'm afraid I have nothing to really say about its sound perse, because I was just enthralled by the music I was listening to. I caught myself with a broad smile at least half a dozen times.

So I'm saving for an LTA MZ3 now. It will take a year, but it will be so very worth it.

 

[chesebert]

Why would A2A be footing the bill if it's under Focals warranty period?

You've made it very clear you have no idea how good Australian consumer laws are or how they work here.

Focal would not honor warranty of products sold by an unauthorized dealer. did you check whether A2A is an authorized dealer?

 

[559938]

Focal would not honor warranty of products sold by an unauthorized dealer. did you check whether A2A is an authorized dealer?

I already answered that question in a previous reply to you.

 

[chesebert]

I already answered that question in a previous reply to you.

A2A did not turn up in a dealer search.

 

[559938]

A2A did not turn up in a dealer search.

We've been through this already. Can we drop it, please? Move on?

 

[up late]

A2A did not turn up in a dealer search.

it has already been explained to you more than once that a2a was a distributor and authorised dealer for focal. there are reports in this thread that it no longer is.

 

[shaylin3]

Great point. I'm LOVING my 2022. Using it out of a HMS/TT2 combo and using a Heimdall 2 cable. Honestly, every time I sit down to listen I learn new things about music. The expression of microdynamics is just fabulous and makes the music move freely and naturally. I've been thinking about adding a headphone amp that can double as a preamp, as TT2 is currently doing the preamp duties to a Pass Labs XA25. I borrowed a friend's Hugo2/2Go and headed down to ATA. There I listened to the Feliks Euforia EVO and the LTA Z10e. Both were a delight to hear.

The Euforia EVO was marvellously detailed and brought added body to the sound without being at all bass-heavy. I was worried a valve amp might make the (warmer than OG) 2022 too dark and heavy, but it absolutely wasn't the case. I compared the crossfeed of the Feliks with the Hugo2's onboard settings and very much enjoyed the Hugo2 more in that regard. The Euforia EVO crossfeed added a LOT of bass and made things a bit blurred.

Then it was over to the Z10e. WOWEE! It played right into my preferences. It was sublime and I'm afraid I have nothing to really say about its sound perse, because I was just enthralled by the music I was listening to. I caught myself with a broad smile at least half a dozen times.

So I'm saving for an LTA MZ3 now. It will take a year, but it will be so very worth it.

Have you ever heard of LTA MZ3? I don’t know how big the gap is compared to Z10E. The performance of tt2 should be very good.

 

[shaylin3]

I'm also considering upgrading the OOR to a small tube amp like feilks or LTA

 

[559938]

Have you ever heard of LTA MZ3? I don’t know how big the gap is compared to Z10E. The performance of tt2 should be very good.

LTA say the MZ3 1/4 inch headphone and preamp sections sound the same across the MZ3, Z10e and the microZOTL preamp. MZ3 has all the features I need, so I’ll save the $700 difference in price between it and the microZOTL.

The TT2 direct into the XA25 is fabulous and I’m not unhappy at all. This is more of a hobbyist’s deep dive and the opportunity to have a few different flavours. I thought about buying an LDC5 as that extra flavour, but the MZ3 can also be used on my speaker set up, so it wins.

 

[PaisleyUnderground]

LTA say the MZ3 1/4 inch headphone and preamp sections sound the same across the MZ3, Z10e and the microZOTL preamp.

One small correction. I happened to be talking to LTA about this a few months ago and they confirmed that only the MZ3 and LTA Preamp have the same headphone circuit, so they should sound the same through headphones. The Z10E definitely sounds quite different (from memory of using it at Axpona, the MZ3 was richer), as do the Ultralinear+ and Z40+.

I’m a huge fan of the MZ3 and LTA in general. I only sold my MZ3 so that I could upgrade to an LTA Ultralinear +, which is more neutral.

I think that LTA amps have great synergy with Focal headphones, as I used the MZ3 extensively with my Stellia, so I’m sure you’ll love it. I didn’t have a Utopia when I owned the MZ3 but I will say that my new U22 sounds sublime on the Ultralinear +.

 

[559938]

One small correction. I happened to be talking to LTA about this a few months ago and they confirmed that only the MZ3 and LTA Preamp have the same headphone circuit, so they should sound the same through headphones. The Z10E definitely sounds quite different (from memory of using it at Axpona, the MZ3 was richer), as do the Ultralinear+ and Z40+.

I’m a huge fan of the MZ3 and LTA in general. I only sold my MZ3 so that I could upgrade to an LTA Ultralinear +, which is more neutral.

I think that LTA amps have great synergy with Focal headphones, as I used the MZ3 extensively with my Stellia, so I’m sure you’ll love it. I didn’t have a Utopia when I owned the MZ3 but I will say that my new U22 sounds sublime on the Ultralinear +.

Thanks for this, that’s great to know. The choice for me is definitely between the preamp and the MZ3. I can’t see myself ever owning an electrostatic headphone.