I sampled them as well as the Stellia and Clear. For my ears, the Clear were the ones that sounded best to my ears. Still, that’s good peace of mind by Focal in their part. Sounds like good customer service
FWIW, Stellia and Clear were released later than Utopia and Elear, and since the issue seemed to be more with ealry production it would make sense that there would be less reported issues with Stellia and Clear.
It's only anecdotal, but I haven't had a single issue with my early Utopia and they've been my only pair of headphones for almost 3 years now.
FWIW, Stellia and Clear were released later than Utopia and Elear, and since the issue seemed to be more with ealry production it would make sense that there would be less reported issues with Stellia and Clear.
It's only anecdotal, but I haven't had a single issue with my early Utopia and they've been my only pair of headphones for almost 3 years now.
Yup, already new that. I was in the market to get Focal cans and sampled them all. Decided the Clear would be the best and didn’t feel the Utopia warranted the price. They certainly give off a different sound signature, but I expected a lot more for the price. The Stellia are excellent even for the price, but the Clear just had better instrument echo and overall soundstage and the accuracy of all the instruments was even, while still having a fun sound signature.
I hope the Utopia owners continue to love their earphones. They are just not for me. Doesn’t mean my choice is wrong or worse, everyone’s ears operate differently
Yup, already new that. I was in the market to get Focal cans and sampled them all. Decided the Clear would be the best and didn’t feel the Utopia warranted the price. They certainly give off a different sound signature, but I expected a lot more for the price. The Stellia are excellent even for the price, but the Clear just had better instrument echo and overall soundstage and the accuracy of all the instruments was even, while still having a fun sound signature.
I hope the Utopia owners continue to love their earphones. They are just not for me. Doesn’t mean my choice is wrong or worse, everyone’s ears operate differently
The Stellia will be in my radar down the road if they ever go on clearance for half the price. But I think $1500 USD is perhaps impossible to reach for the Stellia
Yup, already new that. I was in the market to get Focal cans and sampled them all. Decided the Clear would be the best and didn’t feel the Utopia warranted the price. They certainly give off a different sound signature, but I expected a lot more for the price. The Stellia are excellent even for the price, but the Clear just had better instrument echo and overall soundstage and the accuracy of all the instruments was even, while still having a fun sound signature.
I hope the Utopia owners continue to love their earphones. They are just not for me. Doesn’t mean my choice is wrong or worse, everyone’s ears operate differently
it's been a while since i compared the clear to the utopia but i found the clear rather meh tbh. dug the stellia tho. "different strokes for different folks" as @dontfeedphils says.
it's been a while since i compared the clear to the utopia but i found the clear rather meh tbh. but "different strokes for different folks" as @dontfeedphils says.
I had the same thought on that comparison, which was the same way I felt about the Empyrean. Both nice enough listens and inoffensive overall, but a bit boring and not engaging/exciting enough for me.
I had the same thought on that comparison, which was the same way I felt about the Empyrean. Both nice enough listens and inoffensive overall, but a bit boring and not engaging/exciting enough for me.
I had the same thought on that comparison, which was the same way I felt about the Empyrean. Both nice enough listens and inoffensive overall, but a bit boring and not engaging/exciting enough for me.
I felt metallic reverberations from trumpets, cymbals, and triangles. Just didn’t have that sparkle that usually comes from those instruments and the singers pushed the mid range instruments too far back. I was surprised and thought that everything would be more smooth across the board. The Clear has deeper bass without pounding my ears but the instruments and voices, everything had its distinct sound and where their direction came from.
Both cases aren’t wrong. Which is why I realized People do need to sample cans before committing to them. The build quality on the Utopia are in the upper echelon without a doubt. Really well made.
I sampled them for 50 minutes. I thought that was enough time to gather whatever opinions my ears detected
I felt metallic reverberations from trumpets, cymbals, and triangles. Just didn’t have that sparkle that usually comes from those instruments and the singers pushed the mid range instruments too far back. I was surprised and thought that everything would be more smooth across the board. The Clear has deeper bass without pounding my ears but the instruments and voices, everything had its distinct sound where their direction came from.
Aptly put. I feel the same way about Stellia. Clear Professional feels like a raw photograph formed on its own that needs no further edit. Stellia feels like the same photograph but with a lot of editing done on it by powerful set of tools in pursuit of the perfect look to be matched only by the reality, which ends up looking a bit less realistic than that sufficiently beautiful and effortlessly original raw pic that is fearlessly unambiguous in its portrayal of realism. Clear Professional is Alex from "A Clockwork Orange" before he receives the treatment. Stellia is the same person after the treatment - mature, obedient, respectful, accepted and loved by all; but not Alex anymore and never ever again will be.
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