Focal Utopia Review (collective stream of consciousness)

Not sure where to put this, but since the other thread's starter is off the island, I guess I'll jack this thread for a little bit...

Here are my impressions of the Utopia after 5 days of listening to it (sporadically):

First, some photos so you know I'm not talking about some chi-fi stuff...



And the TL;DR version: I liked it! But I didn't love it! Why? Read on...

Tonality: smack dab in between Audeze LCD-2r2 (the non-fazor one) and Sennheiser HD600 (silver-screen) to me, maybe with a hint of Stax SR-009. Well, not quite like any of those, but you should have an idea. I don't think this one sounds anything like anything else I have ever heard. Marv's comments about them sounding like LFF's Code-X and/or HE-6, or Stax Omega 1 probably has some weight here. But I'm also kinda split on whether it's too bright or too dark. It does sound a bit laid-back, but is also surprisingly aggressive sometimes.

Bass: hits hard, extends deep, not rumbly but very tight and articulate. There is a bit of bloom a la most dynamic headphones, so it still has that "dynamic driver" sound to it. Sometimes sounds like an e-stat with dynamic bloom, but... in the worse way. It's not as tight, clean, detailed, multi-layered and forceful like a planar magnetic, though, but it's miles better than the other dynamic headphones (HD800?). I don't think any dynamic headphone can compete with Utopia in this regard. And it doesn't sound like there's a mid bass hump, either. If there is, it's very slight.

Midrange: this is... weird. I think it largely keeps the same midrange tonality as HD600. It kind of sits between HD600 and HD650 in the way it presents midrange. Lower mid is thick like LCD-2, but sometimes sounds unexpectedly hollow as well. The "thickness" or "warmth" in most vocals is pushed to lower frequencies compared to HD6xx headphones, me thinks. High mid is definitely more reminiscent of stock HD600, but sometimes sounds a bit more laid back? There is no high mid peak as per HD600, but there is some sharpness to vocal that I can't quite identifiy. If you find HD600 shouty, then I think you'll find Utopia equally shouty. But otherwise, I think it has managed to keep really good midrange tonality while at the same time fixing some problems with HD6xx headphones, and at the same time sounding more technical, more articulate, more detailed than any dynamic headphone in existence. It actually approximates and sounds pretty close to the Stax SR-009 IMO. I think Utopia is quite masterfully tuned in this range. There is indeed a hint of every headphone that has been considered "midrange kings" in its midrange presentation. Kudos to Focal for pulling this off!

Treble: surprisingly laid back and actually somewhat dark/distant sounding, but yet equally sharp sounding? It's weirdly like the SR-009 here to me. 009 also sounds a bit dark and yet sharp to my ears. Not sure what frequency range is causing this, or if it's the much-talked-about Utopia driver "house sound" influence from the sibling speakers, but there is definitely something a bit different than the HD6xx presentation in this range. HD6xx is still definitely smoother and easier to listen to, as is Stax SR-007 and a well-tuned HE-5/Code-X IMO. Sometimes Utopia sounds very bitey and sibilant in this range with some tracks, but 99% of the time, it doesn't annoy. Maybe it's my amp (Jotunheim), or the DAC (Geek Out V2), and other things, but I'm definitely picking something in this range up that I don't hear in the HD6xx headphones, which are still my reference for how smooth treble should be. But I must praise Focal for being to pull off what I'd consider "the most versatile" treble presentation. Treble heads and HD650 lovers will love this headphone equally on the right rigs, I think, because it has managed to walk that tight rope between sounding too sharp/sibilant/fake detailed (a la HD800), and too smooth/laid-back/diffused (a la HD6xx or SR-007). Even though my preference would fall more toward HD6xx, I can't help but be amazed that I'm hearing more details, sharper details, and somewhat hot treble sometimes but without being overly annoyed by it, whereas stock HD800 loses me after 2-3 seconds.

Soundstage: this is where it gets interesting, I think. Some say it's HD6xx, some say it's got decent soundstaging, and then I've also had people tell me they hear things coming from behind. I agree... with all of those accounts. And I don't think it's DAC-dependent, because... I'm hearing all of those at once. Vocals and certain instruments with specific frequencies are placed closer in the soundscape, whereas others are placed much further apart in an almost tunnel-like soundscape. Not so much width like HD800, though definitely wider than HD6xx (I think width sits like about 75-80% that of HD800?), but depth is definitely as good if not better than HD800. And at the same time, there are instruments and sounds that sound like they are coming from behind me. All in all, what the Utopia attempts to sound like is pretty interesting. I find that it attempts to place me in between a "surround sound" experience, and still tries to keep vocals "intimate". Like it's attempting to recreate what most would describe as "good audiophile adjectives".

Imaging: as mentioned several times already, it's sharp, clean, clear, distinct, and may actually be a bit more accentuated than the last "king of imaging", the HD800 (for some, that'd be the SR-009). Basically, I find the Utopia to have the clearest "image" out of any headphone I have ever heard, and by a significant margin. Stock HD800 would most likely sound "blurry" in comparison even taking into account the accentuated treble. Not sure how much of this is due to the "sharp" hint in the treble that I mentioned above, but I personally don't think so. Going from experience, I think this is as a result of super low distortion coupled with super fast driver response. If there is anything that I can say that Utopia does very well, it is imaging. It is simply unmatched in this regard.

So, all in all, I find the Utopia to be quite enjoyable. It does everything equally well, and I think it does a bit of the "audiophile buzzwords" as well. I couldn't quite wrap my head around what Focal was trying to do the first few days, but the last two days, it started to dawn on me.

Focal's goal with the Utopia clearly wasn't to create the world's most neutral headphone. They wanted to make a headphone that everyone would put on and at least find one thing that they can like about it.

And if I judge it in that regard, then yes, they have clearly succeeded in creating what I'd call a "jack of all trades, but master of none". I don't think anyone will dislike the Utopia completely. Personally, it doesn't have everything that I want, but it does have at least about 50% of what I want, and if I didn't want to spend time modding, or modifying other headphones, just to reach almost this level of performance, then I'd just grab one of these and quit. It is undoubtedly a headphone that I'd just take as is, with no additional mod, because it doesn't need any extra tuning.

Is it worth $4000 then? Well, do you think you can take any headphone under this price point, and modify it to sound like this? Or even get to 80% this? I'm honestly not very confident that I can pull that off. But maybe someone else will surprise me. Not to say I'm a master or anything, but the Utopia surely has made me re-consider the "worth" of trying to modify any existing headphone to get even close to its level of performance.

If this was $2000, though, then I'd simply grab one, stop modding other headphones, and spend more time thinking about which amp/DAC to pair it with.

On that note, I do know which amp I won't be pairing it with: Jotunheim.

 

This is it's very best feature. I think it may not succeed at specifics like other headphones, but it's the most well-rounded headphone I've heard.

 

I don't think it is a joke. The iLL Lines Dot Com Storefront has a lot of products for sale with their special touch of class.

Looks like this one is sold out.

 

Bill-p, What % of the Utopia approximates the recently modded LCD 2r2?

 

Nice impressions @Bill-P, I find truth in everything you mentioned. I find the treble to amazing, it really walks right up to the line of near sibilance but doesn't actually get there. On the other hand, combined with how dynamic it is I do find it can get fatiguing after a few hours listening. I find it to be accurate though - listening to live music for a few hours can get fatiguing as well.

It's taken me a while to get a grip on just how good these are. I still wish they had a bit more sub bass and soundstage, but they have such incredible technicalities everywhere else I'm finding I'm quickly getting accustomed to the sound and finding it spoil me when I listen to other headphones.

 

Thanks to this thread I now have some Focal Utopias on order and I should get them soon-ish. I will be sure to post a review of these cans coming out of my Chord DAVE.

And if the FUs suck, well, for the price I got them for I can flip them in a jiff.

I'll be going from stock HD800s, so if the FUs don't work for me then I don't know what the hell will.

 

@Bill-P

Thanks for the fantastic impressions of the Utopia. I'd love to hear more about why you won't be pairing it with the Jotunheim. I've got a Jotunheim and an Yggdrasil and was hoping that the Utopia would be a synergistic pairing.

 

To what extent do you think this can be mitigated with synergistic amp/dac pairings? it does pretty well with a modded t3 and brimar 6060 tubes, maybe still a bit on the bright side. it also does fairly well with a black widow since it warms the sound a bit more and sounds more full. maybe the truth is somewhere in between the two, or maybe it's just the nature of the driver. perhaps it's still true that there are always compromises with headphones.

 

Well I'm far less experienced with Utopias than other reviewers, as my own are still pending arrival and I've only spent a bit of time with @brencho 's pair. But the brightness descriptor does surprise me. I never found the Utopias bright through a Gungnir Multibit / T3 combo (a tonally fairly neutral pairing). I actually wonder if some might be conflating the dynamicism and impact of the Utopia for brightness. I could certainly understand it if, for example, one's reference were something like a Code-X which, while excellent in most ways, is somewhat lacking in those areas. Whatever the case, I'd be interested in further discussion because what I found from the Utopias was a headphone that very much followed the character of the source material being played through them - warm or bright when the track calls for it, even both simultaneously. And a hard hit snare drum in the middle of an otherwise quiet section will startle the shit out of you. It's really something else in this way, I found.

 

Hmmm...that's interesting. If I'm prone to really hearing that 6-7khz spike with HD800s coming out of the DAVE, do you think that's a deal killer for the FUs?

 

Yeah, of course if your other headphones aren't "bright" with the same front end chain, then that chain is sub-optimal for Utopias. And Utopias will not be shy about making you aware of that. This is why God, Craig, and Marv invented the ZDS.

 

FWIW I felt the Utopia was more problematic than my modded HD800, but most likely less problematic than HD800 with SBAF+SD mods or HD800S(DR).
HD800 does have much more air but I don't find it exaggerated. Speakers with metal tweeters that ring just above 20kHz (and thus have a rising FR up to 20kHz) often sound brighter up top to me. The HD800 driver when used as a speaker driver does exhibit a slight rise above 10kHz perfectly on-axis, but I think that this is probably a good thing for headphone nearfield environments. The HD800 driver sounds very smooth (but not overly smooth).

What I fear is that the Utopia's glare/hardness is inherent to the driver. Only time will tell, I guess.

EDIT: I should mention that I suspect that my ear geometry possibly makes me hear less 6kHz than other people. My in-ear measurements showed nearly 10db more 6kHz when I measured other people's heads. I think Marvey mentioned that the HD650 actually has a slight bump from 5-6kHz or so. I hear a massive dip from 5-6kHz with the HD6X0, while my HD800 seems to be flat here. This could be a case where we hear differently.

 

I've actually wondered the same thing. That the dynamicism and clarity and transient response is subjectively heard as brightness. The measurements don't show anything that stand out in terms of brightness. Especially the measurements against other headphones like the HD650 that's in the Utopia measurement thread.

Either way, wouldn't classify these as relaxing headphones.

 

Which might be a good thing, lest I fall asleep during a listening session.

 

I think the 6k and 9k peaks are maybe 3-4 dB elevated from B&K 1974? Maybe that 6k peak is accentuated by the sharp dip just after it. I'll have to try to pick that one out specifically, but some mere mortals like myself may have a hard time spotting such niggles in routine listening. Ear geometry, ear wax content, wooly reference points, who knows. But synergy is always "a thing", and perhaps worth spending more time addressing. I.e. synergistic pairings of headphone and amp as the generally accepted gear acquisition path as in the Schiit Compendium, rather than condemning the Utopia to being forever bright. Source chain as well, actually. But I do understand the "not relaxing" comment. Norah Jones might sound plenty relaxing through Utopias but a clear, dynamic headphone with sharp attack is not generally "relaxing" - even in lighter acoustical pieces.