Hell yeah, Focal has the magic touch with trim don’t they. They hit the bulls eye right on first try with the Utopia and Elear and never changed the basic structure. Few manufacturers can match that and experiment a lot instead, with mixed results ranging from ridiculous to celestial.
4 Likes
Oh I agree. Focal and though I don’t own any of the ZMF line are IMHO the best looking lineups I’ve seen.
3 Likes
They’re French, so they’ve got to have Le Style 
2 Likes
(I accidentally posted this in a Clear thread initially). I recently took advantage of the open-box deal on a pair of Elears, so here are some impressions.
Going back and forth between the Elear and my HD650 I found that there are some trade-offs for both that you could make an argument for either headphone being superior. First off, I am very finicky about comfort and think that the 450 grams of the Elear are not distributed well enough to call comfy. I would consider the 650 more than adequate in this regard, as it is nearly half the weight and conforms to my head much better with a better clamp force too. The stock cable is unbelievably unwieldy, with a 3 meter length and an amazingly thick and heavy construction, leading to nothing but a cluttered desk and an even heavier headphone. Already off to a bad start, since I don’t want to listen to headphones if they are uncomfortable no matter how good they sound, but let’s move on.
With sound - and I am just going off stock sound, no EQ - I found the Elears to be most pleasant enough, with a rather open and exciting sound. The excitement seems to be mainly to to the upper treble sparkle that the 650 doesn’t have, but it is also short-lived due to the infamous lower-treble dip that cuts out a whole octave from the FR. EQ seems to be pretty well needed in order to get a full experience from these cans, otherwise you need to balance having a octave-wide dip that sounds muted and overblowing the rest of the frequencies. This is sad, since the bass well into the upper-mids are quite well-balanced and offer a dynamic, punchy sound. Guess I’ll go back to my 650’s that, though aren’t as resolving or dynamic, still have one of the best stock FR for my tastes.
2 Likes
Well dynamics are more efficient by design. That said Focal floats above other dynamics with what appears as natural ease but it is the result the cutting-edge design that brought Focal from decent but decidedly mid-fi designs (Spirit One, Listen Pro etc.) to being THE reference in high-end to esoteric models that have conquered a sizable part of that market in a mere 6 years of existence. Before those came out The reference in dynamics was the HD-800… so I stuck with planars… made poor expensive choices (HE6se), good affordable ones (Sundara), good less affordadable ones but st still within reason (Arya), well this one ceased to be within reason when the Focal Clear came out.In fact as soo as I heard the low end on the $1,000 Elear I agreed with Tyl Herstsens that it was worth the hefty (for a dynamic at the time) price provided it was backed by the Nain DAC V1 so it was a $3k combo (and the discovery of what miracles DSP can accomplish.
Then came the Clear, which also is good with the the Naim for those who don’t know the DAC V1 had been specially designed for the high-end Focals by Nain, Focal’s sister company. Oficially the company is called the Focal Naim Group but the French seem to have a hard time not being able to fit JMLabs into it, so much so is JMLabs (Focal’s first name and still the name of its driver division dating back when JMLbabs was a money no-object, no-compromise outfit. Focal is the Wilson of France, those who know Grande Utopia could not not miss the resemblance in both price and shape. as a headphone man those achievements are impressive but what interests me is how much engineening was minituarized successfully to achieve similar performance at the headphone level. The answer: a lot, and with impressive efficiency.
Impressive enough to get Hifiman’s full attention for this time it was facing a very serious competitor that meant business at the high-end and esoteric levels. there weren’t that amy models to compete with but the ones facing HFM were no-compromise (for the price) at the top end only HFM’s to of the top could compete with the Utopia (Espcially with the Utopia’s new DAC ARCHE V2 wich is more up to the task than the aging DAC V1. That’s finr for thr Utopia I suppose (I don’t have the Arche so can only comment based on hearsay, being as I am confined to my home). But stereo shops are re-opening next week in Canada. At least in Toronto, Quebec City and Ottawa. Montreal the following week, as Montreal is the hardest-hit city in the country with the number of cases and casualties, which is ridiculously low compared with Europe Methinks our closing of the US border to casual traffic despite US pressure not to do so (why? I used to to the US NY and Penn. to get cheap gas but they almost give it to us here now…) was a sound idea.
2 Likes
Currently own the Elear and the Stellia. Very happy with both. Primarily use the Stellia, as it sounds better, and it’s closed design works better most of the time. The Stellia berllinimum drivers are easily the cleanest sounding I’ve come across in dynamic cans.
Prior to these, was a planar supporter. Still like planar cans, but I think the Stellia exceeds many of the planar/ESL headphones.
Recently picked up an RME ADI-2 DAC, and that further improved the headphone performance. The built in EQ and cross feed really helps smooth out the headphone playback. The ADI-2 DAC out feeds a Mjolnir Audio Pure Bipolar headphone amp, which is the best sounding headphone amp I’ve come across.
3 Likes
New Focal? Or old Focal with new bling?
1 Like
Probably a pricier badged Utopia. Nothing’s too good (or too expensive) for a Bentley owner.
Priced at $1200.00. Maybe a closed back Clear.
1 Like
Could well be - both have an “aluminum/magnesium M-shaped dome.” I wonder if the sensitivity and impedance are the same…
There’s a spec sheet posted on another site that says:
Impedance: 35 Ohms
Sensitivity: 101dB SPL / 1mW @ 1 kHz
THD: 0,1% @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL
Freq Response: 5Hz – 23kHz
Driver: 15/8" Aluminium/Magnesium “M” shape dome 22.05lbs (435g)
Weight: 22.05lbs (435g)
The weight is a little concerning?!?
2 Likes
wearing any Audeze, ZMF, Final, Rosson Looks over at @splayname puzzled.
For those that might have missed it! New Focal Radiance limited/special editinon headphones!
1 Like
So closed back with leather headband, earcup, and cushions. Looks like the Elegia’s replacement.
2 Likes
First generation/special release to capture luxury market buyers. I expect them to move it down in price with little or no leather shortly.
3 Likes
I know nothing about branding and marketing or how these kinds of collaborations are supposed to work. On first glance, the association between the brands seemed a bit incongruous: I get that Bentley and Focal are both luxury brands in their respective industries, but something felt a bit off about the scale of a headphone alongside a house-priced car. Isn’t a Bentley a bit of a stretch for headphones enthusiasts? Conversely, would the owners of a Bentley really care all that much about the sound of Focal headphones?
And then I remembered that Focal makes loudspeakers that, as a pair, sell for more than a Bentley. The Radiance thus makes sense as an accessory to entice the super rich into purchasing a pair of $260,000 Focal Grande Utopia EM Evos (vs. $202,500 MSRP for the 2020 Bentley Continental GT coupe).
This is all perfectly fine with me, especially if it defrays the R&D expenses for Focal and makes for a pair of closed-back headphones that are to the Stellia as the Clear are to the Utopia.
But, please, let’s have a future edition without the Bentley logo. I don’t need to signal a preposterous aspirational reach to my wife and cats.
Edit: I hope and think you’re exactly right @generic
4 Likes
There is a Ferrari store in the Wynn Las Vegas. When I was there (long ago), the admission fee TO MERELY SHOP FOR GOODS was $10. [I did not pay to shop.] Many people are so affiliated with luxury brands that logic doesn’t apply. Evolutionary theorists might say that forming an association with money, power, and proven success helps to keep one alive in troubled times. Theorists use a similar explanation for why murderers in prison routinely have female groupies.
4 Likes
I can’t decide if that’s hilarious or terrifying. Or both. (I wish I could double-like your post).
And l love the Ferrari store - I need that tastefully red and brown chess set in my life. Perhaps the Radiance will provide the isolation I need to drown out the real world, concentrate properly, and defeat Garry Kasparov (or that AlphaZero AI chess champion).
3 Likes
Focal will be launching a brand-new headphone on January 28th, 2021 and will be revealing it live on The HEADPHONE Showalong with giving a brand new launch headphone away. Join @Resolve from Headphones.com and Focal’s Product Manager Megane & Product Specialist Chris they unveil and discuss the new headphone along with the giveaway!
Livestream date & time will be updated here along with link along with the giveaway details. Here is the link to the giveaway: New Mystery Focal Headphone Giveaway
Tyler edit: I’ll also post the livestream on the Headphone show dedicated thread once it is scheduled =)
For now, here is a teaser from Focal on the mystery headphones!
6 Likes
So the Clear Pro Mg is now official.
2 Likes