The ear is very forgiving, and if I had spent a few hours only listening to the Sennheisers they would have sounded great, but when you make the change to the Focals and level match, the sound just opens up and the proverbial veils are lifted. The Focal Utopia headphones look expensive — and they’re built with clearly premium materials too. 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Gorgeous … Up Next NAD VISO HP70 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphone Review The Focal Clear headphones are a benchmark design that is one of the top performing headsets I’ve experienced. Mel spent most of his life working in television journalism in Ohio, Florida, the BBC in London, and in Seattle, WA. Updated Dec 20, 2018 at 11:21 am. So the Focal Utopia headphones are arguably a perfect pair — but there’s one other breathtaking thing about these headphones, and that’s the price. These are a high quality speaker system for your ears, to listen to in a home environment playing excellent source material through high quality electronics. Around the same time the Elear hit the scene, Focal released the Listen , as well. I used the mini jack cable to connect to my portable music player, an Astell and Kern Kann, and I used the included 1/4 “ stereo jack to listen to my Denon receiver and my Emotiva XMC-1 Preamp. Focal has an honest uncolored natural sound. Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the Focal Utopia headphones sound incredible. In my experience, open back headphones, like the Focal Clears can give you a less captive sound, letting the music extend beyond the confines of the driver enclosures. In general, I listened to high resolution recordings, or CDs that were of known good quality. It just might not be the right headphone for you and your listening tastes. Part way down the right side of the cable, you’ll find a three-button remote with a MicroUSB charging port. I’ve heard a lot of headphones going way back to the original Koss designs and the classic Sennheiser 414 headphones I used when I worked in radio. Products include Focal Radiance for Bentley headphones made in the tradition of Focal’s upper-end headphone line, and a new edition Naim Mu-so Gen-2 for Bentley wireless speaker system, this time Mu-so gets a classic dark-wood finish. Both headphones seemed to provide an equal soundstage, spread from my left ear to my right. Audiophiles, take note — if you’re looking for arguably the best-sounding pair of headphones you can find, the Focal Utopia headphones may well be it. Rendered in 24 bit at 196 kHz, the sound is transparent and sounds almost like it was recorded yesterday. It’s not over the top, as consumer headphones might tend to get, but it’s still clear-sounding and detailed. Despite the heavy weight, we were able to listen to music on these headphones for hours on end, so don’t let the weight put you off too much. Headphones are among the most personal of purchases. So, I purchased them after reading some professional headphone reviews. Listen Wireless and its Chic edition guarantee superior sound performance, close to CD quality. The cables are thick and professional-grade, and it terminates in a Neutrik 1/4-inch plug. Now the bad part (and hence the 1 star): My Focal spark right earpiece stopped working after 3 months of use (same happened with my Focal Sense, wired headsets which conked off in a month's time). Headphones have an advantage because they don’t interact with your room, giving you a very intimate sound of the recording. Advantage-According to the review, Focal Listen Wireless headphones have a sturdy design and is comfortable over-ear headphones.Sounds excellent for being a Bluetooth headphone. In comparison to all those headphones the Focal Clear was obviously superior in sound and comfort. Exclusive cone technology offering remarkable neutrality and sound quality. It … As far as the Spark wireless go, the truth is I wasn’t expecting much at this price point and the fact that these are Bluetooth wireless.....These exceeded my expectations, for on the go, the sound is very good. Many headphones fail to make this music sound realistic. 7: December 2020, A COLLECTION OF NEW VINYL FOR THE AUDIOPHILE: DECEMBER 2020, What We’re Listening To. They have an obviously sculpted sound profile, with a dual emphasis on treble and bass. Tested using Methodology v1.4. I’ve listened to high end electrostatics, and have some excellent quality planar headphones which I use for listening at home. They must be comfortable, and give you a realistic (or in some case hyper-realistic) presentation. He resides in Arizona where, when he’s not adjusting his home theater, he dabbles in landscape and astronomical photography. The Focal Sphear Wireless headphones look like other Focal in-ear headphones in many ways. Usually when we review consumer headphones we look at bass, midrange, and high-end individually, but there’s almost no point in doing that here — these headphones do it all well. It was a natural evolution for the company to be offering headphones, and their design tries to emulate the sound of their speakers in a more intimate environment, around your head. © Copyright 2021 Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity /, Show Reports, Film Festivals and Concerts, McIntosh C2700 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier and MC462 Power Amplifier Review, Bluesound Powernode 2i Wireless Streaming Amplifier and Pulse Flex 2i Wireless Streaming Speaker Review, PS Audio Stellar Strata Integrated Amplifier Review, McIntosh MX170 Surround Sound Processor and MC257 7-Channel Power Amplifier Review, Sonus Faber Electa Amator III Speaker Review, Naim Mu-so 2 and Mu-so Qb 2 Wireless Music Systems Review, What We Are Watching Vol. They do a good job smoothing out harsh sounds, but they’re also a brighter set of headphones than some. In just a few short years, Focal has produced both excellent entry-level and uber high-end models, such as the exquisite $4,000 Utopia. Externally, the headphones are built with beautiful metallic silver accents, soft yet strong leather, and a premium look throughout. The word “detailed” may become a theme here. The midrange boasts plenty of clarity, with a natural-sounding warmth to the low-mids and a certain air to the high-mids that’s rare to find in the headphone world. Bass response is also very natural. He graduated college with a Bachelor of Science in Music Technology, and has been producing music, writing about tech, and trying out new headphones ever since. The earphones have a balanced sound with comfort for long sessions of listening. Focal engineers have been very careful to keep our DNA in these headphones. The Focal Listen Wireless utilizes Bluetooth 4.1 wireless technology and is aptX compatible. While some like a lot of color, I appreciate what a sleek black build can offer. All sound great. At the back of the cable, there’s another module that we assume houses a battery. Other equipment is from Oppo, Sony, Aurender, PS Audio and Emotiva. Transient response on the Focal Utopia headphones is incredible, while the imaging is extremely precise. Focal is not a new name to the hi-fi scene. When first putting the headsets on, I immediately noticed how comfortable they were. The open-back design helps make for a more natural feel too. On to the main event — the sound quality. Hello / Greetings To Everyone, So Today I am going to put my true views on focal utopia Review. The bassist, Paul Chambers gives us some lovey low notes you can feel through the Focal Clears, and percussion is crisp and lively. They are comfortable to listen to, with an excellent build quality that looks like the headphones will last forever. SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless vs. Astro A50: Which gaming headset reigns supreme? Focal Listen Wireless Review The Focal Listen is a full-size wireless headphone with quality design. The headphones are built largely out of plastic, but in this case that doesn’t seem to be such a bad thing. All these headphone designs are circumaural open back designs. They’ve built an enviable reputation designing speakers. The Focal Listen Wireless headphones delivers a beautifully balanced frequency response in an easy-to-operate design. Focal Clear review: One of the finest headphones money can buy (and you'll need lots of it) Once you hear Focal's Clear, you won't be able to go back to your old headphones. Being around all those expensive monitors frustrated him when he got home to his threadbare TV and stereo, so he began to improve things, brand by brand, upgrade by upgrade. 2018 headphonesFeaturedFocal Clear reviewHeadphones Review 2018. They don’t seal you away from your environment, and people sitting near you can hear (faintly) audio coming from the headphones. 5.1. In the end, the Focal Utopia headphones sound effortlessly incredible. Mel has written a biography of film producer Samuel Bronston (El Cid, King of Kings) and is working now on a second film related book. The design of these headphones extends under the hood. For most of my comparisons I listened to my HiFi Man HE560 Open Back Planar headphones. Ultimately, when you’re spending such a huge sum of money on a pair of headphones, you want them to sound amazing — but a great design helps too. The headphones feature a sleek black design save for the Focal logo on each ear cup, and we really liked the look. They’re big, to be sure, but not unnecessarily so. There’s no surprises here — the Focal Utopia headphones are one of the few pairs of headphones to get the Headphone Review Gold Medal. I found the Focals quite neutral in their sonic presentation, and that’s what I want as a serious music listener. They’re not ultr… The trumpets in Feel It Still by frustratingly-punctuated band Portugal. Musical tastes range from Classical to Jazz to New Age to classic Rock and Roll. MSRP $299.00 PCMag editors select and review … I consider that a marked advantage for headphone listening, letting the experience more closely approach listening to high quality speakers in a normal acoustical requirement. If a phone rang, I could hear it, as well as close by conversations. That’s to say, while they have a number of different design elements than other Focal headphones, including color offerings, they carry that classic Focal headphones look, the beautiful mesh grills on each ear cup, and so on. 3m unbalanced cable (1/4″ TRS jack) The midrage is a distant afterthought in the Focal Spark Wireless’ make-up. The earbuds feature a silver cap on each, with the Focal logo and a relatively small build. The Focal Clear, which is the subject of this review, is not an inexpensive product at $1500, but in my testing the Focal Clear is a best in class design in terms of sound and ergonomics. The reviews were dead on. I get sent a lot of headphones. When I purchased them back in 2014 they were $899.00, but are frequently discounted now. Needed new wireless headphones, could not believe the price on these Focal's! I felt with the Focal Clears, I was listening through the headphones to the original recordings. The Focal Listen Wireless are a great headset for commutes since they are able to effectively attenuate ambient noise due to the 22mm ear cushions. Listen Wireless are Focal’s closed-back wireless headphones, equipped with Bluetooth® 4.1 wireless technology aptX compatible. Focal even makes use of carbon fiber for a super-strong frame — and while we would never recommend using these as headphones you take out and about, a strong build helps ensure that the headphones last for years of day-to-day use and the accidental drop every now and then. Focal is known for its high-end equipment, but it obviously has to seriously impress to warrant the price tag of an eye-watering $4,000. We were really impressed by the all-round performance of the Spirit Pro phones back then, with, perhaps, the only misgiving being the fit. Are the worth it? You’d be surprised how many headphone manufacturers almost hide that information so you really have to search for it. I could hear sounds from the room I was in, but sounds were mostly attenuated. Excellent Build Quality with an aluminum yoke, a leather and perforated microfiber headband, 20mm memory foam ear cushion covered with a perforated microfiber fabric. These headphones are wired. Focal has been building high-end audio products for decades now, and it shows. The big-ticket feature here is the beryllium drivers, which are mounted slightly off-center and deep into the ear cups, in an attempt to produce a wider soundstage. Other headphones may excel in the deepest octaves of bass, or extend the high frequencies a slight bit, but the overall sound of the Focal Clear headphones is smooth without calling attention to any discontinuities. Focal Elegia closed-back reference headphones on location in the Virgin Islands. There’s also a concise user manual but most people won’t need it. The headphones have the uncanny ability to deliver dynamics with ease — quiet, sloppy, laid-back jazz piano sounds just as good on these headphones as a rock track that’s been cut to hell and back in recording. The high-end completes the picture. I’m a big fan of the original Focal wired headphone so I’m quite excited to give the new Focal Listen Wireless over-ear headphone a full test and review. One of the best things about the Focal headphones we’ve been reviewing is that they have such a great build quality, and the Focal Elegia headphones are no exception to that rule. He’s got a lovely OLED TV now, flanked by Magnepan 3.6r speakers, and a Home theater with an Epson Projector and Focal speakers. A great standby for testing audio quality, although it is an old stereo recording from 1959. These are also the first pair of headphones to get a perfect score in sound — and that’s not something we do lightly. So, in 2016, when Focal channeled all of its expertise into the production of an open-back headphone for the first time, headphone enthusiasts took note and awaited the reviews. Also scatted about the house are HiFiMan headphones, and 6 Sonos Connect devices that are spraying his rather large music collection from room to room. The jacks that plug into the headphones are clearly marked left and right, so no confusion there. Like speakers, they have their own sound, where most electronic components simply pass the signal along straight through to a transducer, be they speakers or headphones. Besides their home speakers, the company has been active in designing monitor speakers for professional studio venues. Best Wishes for a Peaceful and Safe Holiday, JBL Synthesis SDP-55 & SDR-35 Q&A Nick Clarke – Senior Director of Global Engineering, Thank You To All of Our SECRETS Fans and Supporters, RIAA Vinyl Sales Q&A with McIntosh Group CEO Jeff Poggi. Focal Utopia over-ear audiophile headphones review. That, however, happened when I got a package from Focal — a package that I knew included the Focal Utopia headphones. Christian has always been fascinated with both music and technology. While the headphones do have a few silver accents in the form of the Focal logo on the ear cup and a silver speaker grill, apart from that, these headphones are black-on-black — and it’s beautiful. The first thing you’ll notice about the Focal Listen Wireless headphones is their design, and they look very nice. Headphones are also personal because you wear them. If you’re an audiophile wanting arguably the best-sounding headphones on the planet, and are willing to spend cash on a decent headphone amp and high-quality audio, then we recommend the Focal Utopia headphones without hesitation. It’s still worth a shot though — the bass response is punchy and quick. If you are looking for Bluetooth Wireless Headphones, look for the Focal Listen Wireless. A great listen for percussion, strings and deep bass. All the tech under the hood does make for a heavy pair of headphones, and these come in at 490 grams, or a little over 17 ounces, and that can be felt — but not as much as you’d expect. The plastic used is obviously strong and premium plastic, and it’s coupled with rubber buttons and some fo… If you don't need wireless headphones, take a look at the original Focal Listen, which has a similar sound and design, but is a fully wired headphone and lacks the Bluetooth features. Everything else about the headphones screams premium too. 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