As someone who sells Focal, I can tell you the websites that leaked it did it in bad faith.
Not everything needs to be solved in court as there are other, easier repercussions that would have similar effects.
No longer selling to the leaking dealers is the most obvious one but beyond that they can also exclude said dealers from any future product launches.
Specifically relating to headphones, generally product launches are timed around CanJams with unveilings happening then. Since COVID is here, those shows are no longer happening so announcements happen in various ways (in this case a live stream).
It’s almost like Focal sends their dealers product info ahead of time so that they can prepare for the launch, get in appropriate orders for the units and train their staff ahead of time. They don’t send it over so dealers can get cached in google ahead of others so that when pre-orders are available, they’ll show up first on Google.
Crinacle’s post was made after the initial leak from seller websites. Crinacle isn’t bound by NDA because he’s sharing someone else’s leak.
For one, I’d be surprised if Focal leaked the info to marthastewartshop.com. It seems more likely sellers posted it prematurely in CMS and it went on google.
It would be very dishonest for Focal to give exclusive launch to a media partner, headphones.com, and then leak it to everyone else. When I do exclusive launches and product announcements with a media partner or supplier, it’s always with the understanding that they are providing a platform for my launch and I am providing news for them and we should keep our agreements.
Yeah I’d be pissed if I was Headphones.com and someone “slipped” up and posted a photo. Hopefully Focal will allow headphones.com to do another exclusive announcement.
They are getting some attention with this though.
Agree, but find it really interesting as to the numbers of places that did an early-release announcement of the product. It can’t all be in “bad faith”, maybe greed is better, to get the first sale via reserving a pair.
In all this hubbub, I failed to register for the giveaway. Consider that done. I’ve owned or tried four pairs of Focal headphones. These are sure to be a treat. I like the thicker pad look because that’s one complaint I have about Stellia.
If I were focal I’d give the dealer or people who leaked the info/pics wrong info next time. Like a bs design model with wrong specs. Then when they leak it again they look like fools haha.
Guys I think we should step back from talking about the leak now and return our focus to the headphones and the event. I should have done my part to end the conversation sooner. I don’t want to take away from the event and launch with other people’s unfortunate choices.
I think this headphone continues a new design direction for Focal that likely started with the Stellia. They seem to be going away from the solid blacks and grays of earlier releases to a more colorful palette. I really like the old look but also love the look of Stellia. These look elegant and strong.
The color scheme of this headphone really is attractive - it’s subtle and dark enough to be unobtrusive (unlike the Stellia, depending on one’s taste) but the copper tones give it a nice bit of pizzazz. I know these things are highly personal but this gorgeous to me (I’m also a fan of the HD 6XX’s dark blue color).
Good on Focal for doing things differently with their choice of colors. When you see all of their headphones lined up together they’re really quite attractive, both individually and collectively. This release should complement the previous ones nicely!
Channel: all
Preamp: -34 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 83 Hz Gain 32 dB
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 140 Hz Gain 11 dB Q 2
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1800 Hz Gain -2 dB Q 3
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2161 Hz Gain -6 dB Q 4
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 4170 Hz Gain -11 dB Q 3
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 4500 Hz Gain -15 dB Q 2
Filter 8: ON HSC 4 dB Fc 8000 Hz Gain -22 dB
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