Наушники — Focal UTOPIA

The Utopia is an open-back circumaural headphone of Focal, built by hand at the company works in Saint-Etienne, France. The first version appeared in 2016, and on 16 September 2022 Focal introduced a revised edition, priced at USD 4,999, that keeps the pure beryllium driver of the original while changing its voice coil, suspension, grilles and yokes. The outer shell carries a Yin and Yang motif, and the drivers show red reflections through the grilles.

Key specs that matter

The Utopia driver is a 40 mm driver with an M-shaped dome of pure beryllium. Focal quotes a frequency response of 5 Hz to 23 kHz within 3 dB, an impedance of 80 ohm and sensitivity of 104 dB SPL at 1 mW and 1 kHz. Harmonic distortion is under 0.2 percent at 1 kHz and 100 dB SPL, and the diaphragm material and size are unchanged from the 2016 original. The headphone weighs 490 g.

Engineering and use context

The 2022 driver uses a hybrid voice coil wound from 30 percent copper and 70 percent aluminium, and its suspension was tuned alongside the new coil. Focal also reshaped the inner grille into an M that follows the dome, which shrinks the gap between diaphragm and grille and helps the linearity of the response, mostly in the treble. The gimbals are now forged entirely from recycled carbon fibre, lowering weight and raising stiffness, and a redesigned headband spreads the load more evenly for long listening sessions. The headband is wrapped in leather, and memory foam ear pads sit against the head. Outside, a honeycomb grille surrounds a diamond-shaped centre section framed by Black Chrome rings. Cables enter at the bottom of each cup with a forward rake.

Pairing

The Utopia arrives in a black leatherette presentation cabinet together with a thermoformed travel case measuring 240 x 250 x 120 mm. Both supplied cables use Lemo connectors at the headphone end. One is 1.5 m long with a 3.5 mm jack, and a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter extends it to full-size headphone sockets. The other is 3 m long and terminates in a 4-pin XLR plug for balanced headphone amplifiers. An optional display stand is sold separately for keeping the headphone on a desk or shelf.

Alternatives

Focal also makes the Clear MG, an open-back model for the home with an M-shaped magnesium dome, a solid aluminium yoke, perforated microfiber earpads and a 55 ohm load, sold at USD 1,490 from March 2021.