Focal: Utopia (2022)

Focal’s excellent open-back Utopia headphones get a mild revamp

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Headphones ₹3,99,999

How much? We are no strangers to high-end hi-fi, but even we had to take a second look at the new Focal Utopia headphones’ suggested price – just over 20 per cent more than the original model. Unfortunately, that’s the way things are at the moment.

Get past the price, if you can, and you will find Focal has given its range-topping open-back headphones a gentle revamp. The most obvious changes are cosmetic. The grilles that cover the outside of the earcups now have a hexagonal pattern to more closely match the visual design of the company’s recent premium offerings, such as the Clear Mg. That hexagonal pattern isn’t just for show either; it is claimed to be more open than the previous version, so helping to produce a more spacious and dynamic sound. The grille that protects the 40mm Beryllium driver is reshaped too, in this case to reduce distortion at high frequencies.

That drive unit has a new voice-coil made of a copper/aluminium alloy rather than just the aluminium of the original. This revision is claimed to deliver a more neutral and refined presentation. As before, Focal’s engineers have angled the driver to create a more spacious out-ofthe-head presentation that aims to be closer to that achieved by speakers.