[llamaluv]

R......e

One would have to assume there's meaning behind posting this tasty morsel in the Utopia thread, and not the Stellia thread or any other.

FYI, this image was posted in the Stellia thread. Looks like a closed back, no? Which would make me both relieved and disappointed all at the same time.

Something new around the corner


Edit: maybe this time a „real“ closed back with better isolation (priced between the Elegia and the Stellia?) We will see ...

 

[tomwoo]

FYI, this image was posted in the Stellia thread. Looks like a closed back, no? Which would make me both relieved and disappointed all at the same time.

Does that mean Radiance is not a upgraded version of Utopia? Good.

 

[thecrow]

For future reference, people:
Hot off the "presses":
ACCESSORIES 4 LESS INC is a long standing dealer of ours and his stock comes exclusively from us and is fully guaranteed.
As we are the only one with original parts, we are also the only one capable of servicing those, so they would have to go through us.

My best
Michel

Did you ask focal about warranty re these discounted hps of bought from ACCESSORIES 4 LESS INC?

 

[pervysage]

Does that mean Radiance is not a upgraded version of Utopia? Good.

In that case my wallet is thankful from that $5000 spanking it received back in 2016.

 

[GrandNagus50]

Did you ask focal about warranty re these discounted hps of bought from ACCESSORIES 4 LESS INC?

Warrantied for 5 years. According to this Focal customer service guy.

 

[thecrow]

Warrantied for 5 years. According to this Focal customer service guy.

Great. I would definitely want the best warranty i could get for a utopia or lcd (and really any expensive) hp.
Just in case as they are not cheap.

 

[up late]

What claim did I make without evidence? If you can't point to any, it's you making the spurious claims without evidence.

Show me one. I made no such claims.

there you go:

Dropped as low as $2566 and was about $2900 for a bit for a new one. I can't imagine the Utopia costing much more than the Elegia ($399 on sale, so probably far less than that) to make. Beryllium isn't expensive and I doubt the process (probably outsourcing for chemical vapor deposition) costs a lot compared to the cost of the headphones. Especially considering that there are beryllium driver IEMs from China that cost $17. Headphones can be hyped up more than most other products, like "hand selected electrons placed by white-gloved artisanal gnomes in every cable", but at the end of the day they're just headphones, not something complex or intrinsically expensive to make unless you go out of your way to do so; and I'm not seeing anything in the Focal line that make them obviously expensive to make.

comparing the cost of making the elegia and utopia without knowing what it actually costs focal to manufacture them is imaginative at best. a significant difference in the cost of manufacturing both models may be largely attributable to the different materials that focal selected to use for the drivers. the drivers in the elegia are made from aluminium/magnesium, whereas the drivers in both the utopia and stellia are made from beryllium.

and beryllium is expensive, actually:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prices_of_chemical_elements
https://findanyanswer.com/how-much-is-beryllium-worth
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/beryllium-market
https://www.scienceinschool.org/content/elements-spotlight-beryllium

and as @dontfeedphils correctly pointed out, focal manufactures the utopia's and stellia's drivers in-house from beryllium sheets.

marketing hype is certainly not unique to headphones. there are countless products on the market that are 'hyped'. i'm not sure how you can claim with any conviction that headphones are somehow "hyped up more" than say, a 'nutribullet'.

as for your last point - try looking more closely next time.

 

[noplsestar]

FYI, this image was posted in the Stellia thread. Looks like a closed back, no? Which would make me both relieved and disappointed all at the same time.

Headphone guru @Nomax said that it won’t be a Utopia replacement, so I believe him

 

[loregnum]

Great. I would definitely want the best warranty i could get for a utopia or lcd (and really any expensive) hp.
Just in case as they are not cheap.

As long as they honour the warranty which they don't seem to do at least when it comes to the headband.

I've now seen 4 cases of people having their headband snap on the current or modern line of Focal headphones. One was for an Elear years ago where the owner dropped it from 3 feet and the other 3 from owners that said they did not drop it and it just snapped on them when they were putting it on or taking it off. In those other 3 cases, two were with the Elear and the other an Elegia and the Elegia owner posted about it here in the Elegia thread. One of the Elear cases happened within 6 months of use. In the 3 cases where the headphone was said to not be dropped, all were told to go pound sand by Focal because Focal refuses to believe their ridiculous 3 piece headband design can be faulty or could break because of a manufacturing defect and they just blame the user. It's absurd. Perhaps the design actually is pretty durable given this does so far seem to be rare but again, manufacturing defects happen and to instantly assume the user caused the issue and there is just no way it could be a defect is horrible customer service.

As an owner of the Stellia and Elear (though I only use the Stellia now as I got it a little over a month ago), I am a little concerned about this because I baby it and only stretch the cups apart enough to just get them on and off my ears that are attached to what I consider an average sized head. If my headband ever snaps from this, it will NOT be because of my supposed neglect as Focal would apparently claim but rather because of their design or a manufacturing defect. I'd probably consider filing a lawsuit if it were to ever happen within the 5 years and they claimed it was user neglect.

 

[GrandNagus50]

To change the subject a bit:
For the Utopia, is it "worth it" to buy the Focal Arche DAC/amp, or can one do just as well with something less expensive? Any recommendations? How much would one really need to spend to get the best out of these headphones?

 

[ev666il]

For the Utopia, is it "worth it" to buy the Focal Arche DAC/amp, or can one do just as well with something less expensive? Any recommendations? How much would one really need to spend to get the best out of these headphones?

I've only really heard the Utopia with my setup, so I'm unable to comment on how well they would scale with more expensive gear, but the Schiit Bifrost 2 / Schiit Jotunheim combo sure makes them sing. Schiit gear is known for punching well above their weight, and the combo I mentioned is definitely less expensive than the Arche.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

To change the subject a bit:
For the Utopia, is it "worth it" to buy the Focal Arche DAC/amp, or can one do just as well with something less expensive? Any recommendations? How much would one really need to spend to get the best out of these headphones?

I liked the Arche a lot, I think it is the last DAC/AMP you'll need for the Utopia. The dedicated setting with the Arche bring out the last 5%. Unfortunately, I sold mine for financial reasons, but the package was stolen. Would love to have my Arche back now.

 

[xxx1313]

Headphone guru @Nomax said that it won’t be a Utopia replacement, so I believe him

I believe him too. He is not only our headphone guru in Europe, he is also the craziest headphone enthusiast that we have! I am sure that people would be surprised which pictures of upcoming models are already on his iPad.

 

[GrandNagus50]

I liked the Arche a lot, I think it is the last DAC/AMP you'll need for the Utopia. The dedicated setting with the Arche bring out the last 5%. Unfortunately, I sold mine for financial reasons, but the package was stolen. Would love to have my Arche back now.

Not to return to a previous thread, but Accessories4Less is selling refurb units (stated 3 year warranty) for $1449. This dealer is clearly a real, official reseller of Focal gear, legitimate, etc.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

Not to return to a previous thread, but Accessories4Less is selling refurb units (stated 3 year warranty) for $1449. This dealer is clearly a real, official reseller of Focal gear, legitimate, etc.

Thanks, I will refund the buyer next week (still have some faint hope the parcel appears magically in the tracking system or with the buyer) and let him know of this. I feel bad for him (but he probably feels better than I do, I hope).