[marcussmj]

And this, while we're weeks away from another product launching at Canjam NYC. We deserve the same high standards of customer service for the same product, regardless of the region we purchase it in.

Too bad ideals and reality do not collide...

 

[ubs28]

Focal is a terrible company. They are company from the EU, yet they are only focussed on the USA. Somehow Focal is lucky that they are the only headphone makers that can produce Be drivers.

At some point, Focal was only providing headphones to customers from the USA while people in the EU who also pre-ordered the Utopia's had to wait 4+ months. That just shows that Focal only cares about the USA.

I get much better support from high-end sport companies from the USA than from a company that is located in the EU. That is just silly.

 

[koven]

Focal is a terrible company. They are company from the EU, yet they are only focussed on the USA. Somehow Focal is lucky that they are the only headphone makers that can produce Be drivers.

At some point, Focal was only providing headphones to customers from the USA while people in the EU who also pre-ordered the Utopia's had to wait 4+ months. That just shows that Focal only cares about the USA.

I get much better support from high-end sport companies from the USA than from a company that is located in the EU. That is just silly.

Focal sells $200K+ speakers, I am not surprised they don't bend over backwards for $4K headphone customers. I bet when Grand Utopia customers need support, they get a phone call within 24 hours. Companies like Audeze have A+ support because headphones are their lifeblood, it is much more do or die.

 

[LoryWiv]

Somehow Focal is lucky that they are the only headphone makers that can produce Be drivers.

ZMF's new Verite driver is Be overlying another material,. Although not fully Be it's touted as having similar speed. Perhaps a little competition will be healthy to improve Focal's customer care....one can hope.

 

[up late]

Focal is a terrible company. They are company from the EU, yet they are only focussed on the USA. Somehow Focal is lucky that they are the only headphone makers that can produce Be drivers.

At some point, Focal was only providing headphones to customers from the USA while people in the EU who also pre-ordered the Utopia's had to wait 4+ months. That just shows that Focal only cares about the USA.

I get much better support from high-end sport companies from the USA than from a company that is located in the EU. That is just silly.

i don't think it was just luck "somehow". focal would have invested significant r&d into the use of beryllium for its drivers.

ZMF's new Verite driver is Be overlying another material,. Although not fully Be it's touted as having similar speed. Perhaps a little competition will be healthy to improve Focal's customer care....one can hope.

campfire audio's cascade also utilises a beryllium coated driver. master & dynamic tout the use of a beryllium driver in their mw50+.

 

[ubs28]

Focal sells $200K+ speakers, I am not surprised they don't bend over backwards for $4K headphone customers. I bet when Grand Utopia customers need support, they get a phone call within 24 hours. Companies like Audeze have A+ support because headphones are their lifeblood, it is much more do or die.

Which is fine by me. Because my next speaker will be from someone else (which also happens to be better than their $200k speaker).

 

[dontfeedphils]

Which is fine by me. Because my next speaker will be from someone else (which also happens to be better than their $200k speaker).

Cool story, bro.

 

[PhenixS1970]

And...so we have arrived in week 8 since my defective new Utopia was sent back to the dealer...exchange pending. Appreciate that the Focal Community Manager stepped in end of last week to try to push the exchange.....but seriously 0 progress.

So, last Tuesday the distributor informed my dealer that they insist on a repair under warranty and they are waiting for the new drivers. As both the dealer and myself are pushing for an exchange...deadlock. I'm done with this and I'm pushing for a full refund.

 

[dontfeedphils]

So, last Tuesday the distributor informed my dealer that they insist on a repair under warranty and they are waiting for the new drivers. As both the dealer and myself are pushing for an exchange...deadlock. I'm done with this and I'm pushing for a full refund.

@FocalOfficial this is extremely disappointing.

Can you explain why Focal is unable to get their dealers and distributors to step up and do the job they're being paid for? I haven't had issues with my pair yet, but if I have to deal with something like this you better believe I'll be requesting and fighting for a refund in full.

This is sad and completely unacceptable from any company, let along a company of this caliber.

 

[TSAVJason]

ZMF's new Verite driver is Be overlying another material,. Although not fully Be it's touted as having similar speed. Perhaps a little competition will be healthy to improve Focal's customer care....one can hope.

ZMF has a strong customer service level. GO Zach!

 

[marcussmj]

This is precisely why I was quick to sell my utopia before problems could arise, guess I did the right thing.

 

[Zhanming057]

@FocalOfficial this is extremely disappointing.

Can you explain why Focal is unable to get their dealers and distributors to step up and do the job they're being paid for? I haven't had issues with my pair yet, but if I have to deal with something like this you better believe I'll be requesting and fighting for a refund in full.

This is sad and completely unacceptable from any company, let along a company of this caliber.

- $4,000 headphones broken less than 50 hours out of the box
- Waiting 8 weeks for a full unit replacement despite dealer pushing for it
- Told to keep waiting for replacement drivers
- All this, after a Focal community manager reached out on PhenixS1970's behalf?

That's wild. I could use a pair of summit-fi headphones with some isolation and was thinking about TSAV's Utopia bundle deal. Nothing on TSAV or Jason, but I wonder if I should give Focal money on a matter of principle.

 

[PhenixS1970]

Thank you for the support I'm finding in this community What really bothers me is that 1) a Focal dealer can make a promise to a customer that a distributor is not willing to respect and 2) Focal does not seem to be bothered with the negative publicity being generated here. Customer satisfaction and retention do not seem to be a priority.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Thank you for the support I'm finding in this community What really bothers me is that 1) a Focal dealer can make a promise to a customer that a distributor is not willing to respect and 2) Focal does not seem to be bothered with the negative publicity being generated here. Customer satisfaction and retention do not seem to be a priority.

You've got a pretty wild story, and I don't envy you at all.

Focal needs to get up off their asses and start taking care of their customers, even if we only spent $4k on our lowly headphones and not $250k on a set of speakers.

 

[meomap]

Which is fine by me. Because my next speaker will be from someone else (which also happens to be better than their $200k speaker).

Perhaps Wilson Audio?