[nvfan]

High end speakers tend to have 3 types of diaphragms, beryllium, diamond, or aluminum coated ribbons.
 
Now just recently Focal introduced beryllium into the headphone market, in order to chase "electrostatic-like speed." 
 
In terms of speed in term of loudspeaker tweeters it goes like this beryllium -> ribbon -> diamond. Cost also generally follows that pattern among loudspeaker drivers (beryllium being cheaper than RAAL/Raidho ribbon, and RAAL/Raidho ribbons being cheaper than diamond drivers).
 

 
 
As you can see the speed of sound of a pure diamond driver is about 35% faster than beryllium. So the question is, now that Focal put out a high end headphone with an exotic loudspeaker material, do you think someone will follow with a diamond driver? The way I see it you can finally get a dynamic headphone that exceeds the speed of an electrostat while not needing a specific amplifier. Of course, we could be seeing our first $6000 headphone in that case O_O.

 

[Moostrkraaft]

Well we saw our first $55,000 headphone system with the successor to the Sennheiser Orpheus. I think you mean we will see the first standalone retail-priced $6,000 headphone. I don't doubt it.

 

[Redcarmoose]

High end speakers tend to have 3 types of diaphragms, beryllium, diamond, or aluminum coated ribbons.

Now just recently Focal introduced beryllium into the headphone market, in order to chase "electrostatic-like speed." 

In terms of speed in term of loudspeaker tweeters it goes like this beryllium -> ribbon -> diamond. Cost also generally follows that pattern among loudspeaker drivers (beryllium being cheaper than RAAL/Raidho ribbon, and RAAL/Raidho ribbons being cheaper than diamond drivers).





As you can see the speed of sound of a pure diamond driver is about 35% faster than beryllium. So the question is, now that Focal put out a high end headphone with an exotic loudspeaker material, do you think someone will follow with a diamond driver? The way I see it you can finally get a dynamic headphone that exceeds the speed of an electrostat while not needing a specific amplifier. Of course, we could be seeing our first $6000 headphone in that case O_O.

"Schedule of $7000 headphone ready for delivery. Commence take-off."

 

[BearMonster]

It could be possible the only company, i know of that have diamond tweeters and a headphone divison, is Bower & Wilkins.
 
Bower & Wilkins seems to have dabbled on the portable market but have yet to truly release a fully sized headphone or one that goes beyond $1k. Their latest the p9 seems to have some speaker driver in it which could lead to a much bigger thing. Though if they do bring out a headphone with diamond tweeters it would most likely be more expensive than the utopia.

 

[ubs28]

We shall see. Maybe B&W will introduce a new flagship headphone with their Diamond tweeters. Their newest flagship speakers beat everything at the same price (including Focal speakers) according to my ears. You have to spend alot of money to find something better. 
 
But B&W is more focussed on portable headphones so I doubt they will do it.

 

[theveterans]

ALO audio has just released a diamond iem driver for $1300. It's called Campfire Audio Vega.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I think it would be interesting to see more headphones that integrate diamonds in the driver design. But there are already plenty of headphones out there that cost over $6,000.

 

[icebear]

...  

 
...

 
This table clearly is missing the most important driver material ... unobtainium

 

[Redcarmoose]

This table clearly is missing the most important driver material ... unobtainium

Also diamond is the best electronic heat sink!

http://www.electronics-cooling.com/2012/03/range-of-diamond-materials-used-in-thermal-management-applications/

 

[Skyyyeman]

​The insinuation is that diamonds are expensive and so any headphones that incorporate them will therefore be expensive, e.g. TOTL headphones retailing for $6000-$7000.
 
NOT TRUE!. The good news is that diamonds can be inexpensive. Inexpensive diamonds consist of two types: (1) industrial diamonds, which are routinely used in all kinds of industrial and consumer equipment. and {2} so called "mellies", which are very small jewelry grade diamonds typically manufactured in India and priced as low as a few dollars each.
 
So, price should not be a deterrent to using such diamonds in headphones or other consumer goods. If Focal or another manufacturer want to use diamonds in its headphones, such inexpensive diamonds are readily available right now.

 

[nvfan]

   
This table clearly is missing the most important driver material ... unobtainium

 
Haha the table was lifted from a advertising piece from Brush Wellman, which is the primary beryllium supplier for audio companies. They measured some 3rd party drivers and just gave some wack names to the alloys used in some of drivers they tested.

 

[nvfan]

 
​The insinuation is that diamonds are expensive and so any headphones that incorporate them will therefore be expensive, e.g. TOTL headphones retailing for $6000-$7000.
 
NOT TRUE!. The good news is that diamonds can be inexpensive. Inexpensive diamonds consist of two types: (1) industrial diamonds, which are routinely used in all kinds of industrial and consumer equipment. and {2} so called "mellies", which are very small jewelry grade diamonds typically manufactured in India and priced as low as a few dollars each.
 
So, price should not be a deterrent to using such diamonds in headphones or other consumer goods. If Focal or another manufacturer want to use diamonds in its headphones, such inexpensive diamonds are readily available right now.

 
The main problem I see with diamonds is a lack of suppliers. Bowers & Wilkins is vertically integrated and produce their own diamond tweeters. OEM-wise the only diamond driver manufacturers are Accuton with their D20-6 (a 3/4" tweeter) which costs $3800/pair, and the SEAs Excel T29D001 which is $6800/pair. Obviously OEM prices are much higher than suppliers charge directly to loudspeaker companies. For example, an American audio company thinking of building a speaker with the SEAs Excel T29D001 has mentioned they could charge $4000/pair for a tweeter upgrade and still make a profit. So under volume production there's certainly some major discounts to be had.
 
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/diamond-dome-tweeters/ (<- links to prices).
 
Obviously the major impediment to diamond drivers to mass market implementation right now is they simply cost *far* more than beryllium, which is far more common in the loudspeaker market. 
 
Even so, Focal chose a 40mm beryllium driver with cost considerations in mind (speculation on my part). Beryllium drivers can be made up to 100mm in size and still have first acoustic resonances out to above 27KHz. A 60-70mm driver IMO would have made this the perfect headphone. If a bigger driver had been used, you could have a headphone with superior power handling and subsonic bass, plus much bigger ear cups/bigger soundstage (the major downside of the Utopia currently) but driver material costs was most likely a consideration into determining the driver size.

 

[Music Alchemist]

C

Even so, Focal chose a 40mm beryllium driver with cost considerations in mind (speculation on my part). Beryllium drivers can be made up to 100mm in size and still have first acoustic resonances out to above 27KHz. A 60-70mm driver IMO would have made this the perfect headphone. If a bigger driver had been used, you could have a headphone with superior power handling and subsonic bass, plus much bigger ear cups/bigger soundstage (the major downside of the Utopia currently) but driver material costs was most likely a consideration into determining the driver size.

 
What do you mean by subsonic bass? The Utopia already has full bass extension with no roll-off.
 
http://cdn.head-fi.org/f/fd/fd42d022_Focal_Utopia.png
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FocalUtopia.pdf
 
As for the rest, it's just speculation. Simply having a larger driver wouldn't necessarily make it better, and in fact, it could potentially make things worse.
 
I don't see what power handling has to do with anything. At 104 dB/mW at 80 ohms, it's a very sensitive headphone and only needs 4 mW to reach 110 dB and 40 mW for 120 dB. Simply increase the volume from zero to your desired listening level as you would with any headphone.

 

[moshen]

  Even so, Focal chose a 40mm beryllium driver with cost considerations in mind (speculation on my part). Beryllium drivers can be made up to 100mm in size and still have first acoustic resonances out to above 27KHz. A 60-70mm driver IMO would have made this the perfect headphone. If a bigger driver had been used, you could have a headphone with superior power handling and subsonic bass, plus much bigger ear cups/bigger soundstage (the major downside of the Utopia currently) but driver material costs was most likely a consideration into determining the driver size.

 
Weight is also probably a major issue. Magnets around a larger diameter driver. The headphone is on the cusp of being too heavy as is.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Focal is where they are at due to science and research, they are an industry leader in speaker driver technology. So it's not hype but diligent hard science. Who cares what they make the drivers out of? They get results, thus can charge because people will pay for cutting edge technology. If your ahead of the curve you can charge.

Real sound quality is simply a value.