[TSAVJason]

Yet brick and mortar retailers are going out of business due to online competition.

"Predators" need to be addressed much better than calling them out on page xxx of an internet forum. I bought the Elear from Amazon for $750 and am just assuming I'll be fine because I have trouble wrapping my head around what is happening here. Warranty denied even if there's a factory seal? Did Focal lose a ton of pairs somewhere?

Amazon doesn’t sell Focal.

 

[rutter]

Well, I just opened a package within a package of what I'm told are four lamps and two waist trainers or something, both labeled Focal Elear. I'm not convinced that it doesn't sell Focal but needless to say I won't be buying from there. So where am I supposed to buy Elear from, online in particular? Is headphones.com legitimate?

 

[koven]

Well, I just opened a package within a package of what I'm told are four lamps and two waist trainers or something, both labeled Focal Elear. I'm not convinced that it doesn't sell Focal but needless to say I won't be buying from there. So where am I supposed to buy Elear from, online in particular? Is headphones.com legitimate?

Headphones.com is the best because it comes with a 365 day return policy, no restocking fee.

 

[TSAVJason]

Well, I just opened a package within a package of what I'm told are four lamps and two waist trainers or something, both labeled Focal Elear. I'm not convinced that it doesn't sell Focal but needless to say I won't be buying from there. So where am I supposed to buy Elear from, online in particular? Is headphones.com legitimate?

Yes they are legitimate.

 

[rutter]

Thanks. Return policy covers not liking a pair?

 

[Allanmarcus]

I would call focal NA at 888-340-4403 to verify any dealer. Focal NA doesn't seem to publish a list of authorized dealers, other than for car stereo.

http://focal-america.com/support doesn't list headphones.com as authorized.

That said, I'm not sure Focal America even knows Focal makes and sells headphones (or home speakers, for that matter)! Their website is all about car stereos.

ahh, I just went to focal.com rather than focal-america.com.
They list authorized dealers and you can specify what you want to buy, like Headphones. They don't have a way to put in a dealer name. They can only search by location. Not good.

https://store.focal.com/en/store-locator#!country=US

A whois search of headphones.com shows the domain is owned by headsets.com. Interesting. Headsets.com is based in San Francisco. Neither they, nor headphones.com are listed as authorized dealers for Focal. The fact that headphones.com doesn't list an address or location on their web site would normally make me very squeamish about them. Scamadvisor.com shows headphones.com as 100% safe.

Now Jason says Headphones.com is legit, so I would take that as very positive. Still, Focal needs to keep its on-line database up to date.

 

[koven]

Thanks. Return policy covers not liking a pair?

Yes that's the main intent of their policy, to allow people to "try" headphones. Full refund as long as it's in as-new condition.

 

[nvfan]

No, because I’m not sure speakers with that material can be full range, even at low volumes like for headphones. I think that is the magic of the utopia. They took a tweeter and made it effectively full range.

Sure they can be full range, it's just ridiculously expensive. You can see from the FR graphs on Madisound or other DIY sites that diamond drivers have much better extension and more gradual roll off than other materials. It wouldn't be that hard to make a full range driver. The issue is cost.

Accuton has 1", 2", and even 5.5" diamond drivers. The problem is the 5.5" driver costs >$20k, you only find those kind of drivers in speakers that are in the 6+ figure range. Look up the Tidal La Assolutas.

A headphone driver similar to the Utopias would be around 1.5"--the BOM for the drivers alone would be about $10k. So a diamond driver headphone would basically exist only to compete with the HE-1 or Shangri-La.

 

[TSAVJason]

I would call focal NA at 888-340-4403 to verify any dealer. Focal NA doesn't seem to publish a list of authorized dealers, other than for car stereo.

http://focal-america.com/support doesn't list headphones.com as authorized.

That said, I'm not sure Focal America even knows Focal makes and sells headphones (or home speakers, for that matter)! Their website is all about car stereos.

ahh, I just went to focal.com rather than focal-america.com.
They list authorized dealers and you can specify what you want to buy, like Headphones. They don't have a way to put in a dealer name. They can only search by location. Not good.

https://store.focal.com/en/store-locator#!country=US

A whois search of headphones.com shows the domain is owned by headsets.com. Interesting. Headsets.com is based in San Francisco. Neither they, nor headphones.com are listed as authorized dealers for Focal. The fact that headphones.com doesn't list an address or location on their web site would normally make me very squeamish about them. Scamadvisor.com shows headphones.com as 100% safe.

Now Jason says Headphones.com is legit, so I would take that as very positive. Still, Focal needs to keep its on-line database up to date.

Focal America is car stereo only. You can check the Focal.com Global website to discover who is authorized but it is about to lose quite a lot dealers. FocalNA currently has 72 dealers in the US and is about to drop down in dealers significantly. The reason for this is to get pirate sales off the internet. Let’s understand, Focal is a great brand and makes great stuff. They don’t want you to buy a product they don’t control or unable to provide assurance of quality. They want to insure that your customer experience is worth your investment. That’s how all premier brands go to market. I think it’s safe to say that a Utopia is a luxury purchase. Cheers guys!

 

[SilverEars]

Listening to some vocals, I realize Utopia doesn't have that much of mid weight. 2-3k sounds to have some recess compared to my Fostex TH-X00 Ebony. Interestingly, Ebony sounds vocal forward in comparison. Vocals out of Utopia does have a lean tonality, with 2-3k dip(not significant like Audeze level, which is too much) and 5-6k peak(It sounds a bit excessive in level, which pushes the articulation, which I find to be a bit much particularly with vocals). Definitely should not expect warm sound out of the Utopia. Nothing warm about it's sound.

 

[Slim1970]

Listening to some vocals, I realize Utopia doesn't have that much of mid weight. 2-3k sounds to have some recess compared to my Fostex TH-X00 Ebony. Interestingly, Ebony sounds vocal forward in comparison. Vocals out of Utopia does have a lean tonality, with 2-3k dip(not significant like Audeze level, which is too much) and 5-6k peak(It sounds a bit excessive in level, which pushes the articulation, which I find to be a bit much particularly with vocals). Definitely should not expect warm sound out of the Utopia. Nothing warm about it's sound.

True, there’s nothing warm about the Utopia’s sound. It’s dynamic, forward, and resolving. Depending on the recording they can sound a little lean. But when the recording is done right it really makes you appreciate their sound and what they can do.

 

[up late]

agreed that it's not warm. vocals do not sound lean to me, however.

 

[rutter]

Focal America is car stereo only. You can check the Focal.com Global website to discover who is authorized but it is about to lose quite a lot dealers. FocalNA currently has 72 dealers in the US and is about to drop down in dealers significantly. The reason for this is to get pirate sales off the internet. Let’s understand, Focal is a great brand and makes great stuff. They don’t want you to buy a product they don’t control or unable to provide assurance of quality. They want to insure that your customer experience is worth your investment. That’s how all premier brands go to market. I think it’s safe to say that a Utopia is a luxury purchase. Cheers guys!

So is headphones.com safe to buy Focal from? My area authorized dealer sells the Elears for $150 more. I would hate to spend that money unnecessarily.

 

[TSAVJason]

So is headphones.com safe to buy Focal from? My area authorized dealer sells the Elears for $150 more. I would hate to spend that money unnecessarily.

They are an authorized dealer and so sure you can buy from them. Or you could ask your local dealer to match the price. I get asked that and if it’s a real deal and not stupid or a violation of my dealer agreement I might say ok. I’m a believer if you have an honest dealer that can meet your needs locally, you should give them a chance to earn your business. Just my thoughts Cheers!

 

[rutter]

Where do you see them listed as authorized?