Focal Utopia (3rd edition) Open-back wired headphones

Focal's best gets better

There are few product names in the world of audio that carry the gravitas of the word "Utopia." It's come to symbolize ultra-premium Focal performance in car stereo, home loudspeakers, and certainly audiophile headphones. Since their debut, the Focal Utopia headphones have remained a favorite among personal audio aficionados. Now, Focal has updated the Utopia's look and made some savvy tweaks to their high-performance beryllium drivers.   

The Focal Utopia wired open-back headphones offer a striking first impression.

I had a chance to give them a try and can report that the changes — while not radical — are indeed improvements. The headphones feel lighter on the head and can perform optimally with an even wider range of headphone amps. But they still offer much of what I know and love from the original Utopias — in other words, one of the finest headphone experiences available.

Top-shelf presentation

There's a certain "wow" factor to unboxing the Utopias. They are packaged appropriately for this class of headphones, each layer with a textured, keepsake-worthy feel. The headphones themselves sat inside a form-fitting zippered case.

I removed them to find that familiar Focal design motif — they were shaped just like the original Utopias, as well as the Clear MGs, Celestee, and Stellia headphones. All sport an identical frame, built from lightweight, premium materials — in this case lightweight, yet sturdy carbon. (In a refreshing touch, this time around Focal uses recycled carbon.) Other striking design updates include a deep black chrome ring replacing silver on the original, and a splash of red beneath the outward facing driver grille.  

High-grade drivers with beryllium under the hood

Like the drivers inside the original Utopia headphones, this update features domes made of pure beryllium. Focal drivers are known for their fast attack, and it's hard to find a material that's as light and rigid as beryllium. It can start and stop quickly to deliver lifelike, textured dynamics — perhaps the first sound characteristic you notice when slipping on these special 'phones.

Focal redesigned the inward-facing grille to match the shape of the drivers for better-controlled airflow.

Focal formed the beryllium foil into their now-famous, patent-pending "M"-shaped diaphragm domes. This special design gives the drivers a more fluid movement, which greatly reduces distortion and phase problems. You get incredible sound that spreads across a wide frequency range.

Top-notch sound dampening

Beryllium also has strong damping characteristics, which cuts down on reverberation and sound colorization that can especially muddy the midrange. I found that vocals, guitars, and other sounds in that area were very distinct and well-defined. 

New voice coils for extended highs 

Focal updated the voice coils for a few reasons, including more detailed and accurate highs. It's hard for me to believe you could get any more resolving than the original Utopias — if so, it was certainly beyond what I can hear at those upper frequencies. But that might be the point.

With stiff drivers like the ones in the Utopia, Focal stays mindful of the frequencies beyond human hearing. These new voice coils help ensure there is no distortion that can cause harshness in those upper frequencies. Focal builds the coils out of copper and aluminum to keep them durable and reliable over time.  

Amp pairing: works well with others

For headphones this large, the Utopias are pretty efficient — you can pair them with a portable music player. But they sound even better when driven by a separate headphone amp, and I had great results with the super-portable iFi Go Bar. I was impressed at how well that pocket-sized DAC/amp drove these over-sized headphones. 

Listening impressions with the Focal-Naim-Qobuz "French connection"

But while the Utopias gel nicely with several different headphone amps, they make a special, simpatico match with the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition. Naim is a partner company of Focal, so they know what their drivers need in terms of power and damping factor. And together, these two high-end pieces were like in-sync dance partners, complementing and enhancing each other's strengths.

The Utopia headphones and Naim Uniti Atom HE make the ultimate modern high-end listening rig.

I used the balanced cable to connect these headphones to the Unit Atom HE. From there, I streamed lossless CD-quality and high-res tracks on Qobuz — as vibrant album art splashed across the glass front panel. And this high-powered amp/headphone pairing complemented the visual with a stunningly realistic sonic experience.     

Large, yet focused sound

The Utopia's soundstage stretches outside of the head, but it's not nearly as expansive as some other open-back headphone models. It remains focused and tonally linear, with deep bass impact — but also has plenty of depth and room to breathe. Listening to Joe Henderson's jazz standard "Blue Bossa" in 24-bit/192 Hz on Qobuz, the instruments seemed to spread out in front of me.

Piano sat dead center, while brisk percussion established the pace slightly to my right. Almost in the background, the standup bass thumped with punch and reserve. On that foundation, the horns flew in from either side. The high-end listening rig delivered these complexities with nuance and grace. 

Striking soft-to-loud (and back) moments

I switched gears to Guy Clark's outlaw ballad "Desperado Waiting for a Train" — found in CD quality on a playlist Focal made on Qobuz. It's a song that volleys back and forth from a trance-like feel to something fiercer and more urgent. The Focal and Naim combo handled the two extremes effortlessly — as unruffled as a high-horsepower engine when you hit the accelerator or ease off.

Clark's vocals ride on the sleepy strum of an acoustic guitar before the drums and backup vocals kick in and build up to the hook. Through these headphones, the blend had just the right amount of separation and cohesion between all the savory ingredients. 

Fashionable and functional 

Focal premium headphones are always as pleasant to wear as they are easy on the eyes. This is by design. Focal uses the same shape, frame, and general make-up for all of their high-end models. A few years back we studied headphone comfort and asked Crutchfield employees to test the fit and feel of more than 50 models. Focal dominated the list of "Audiophile headphones." 

The Utopias are large and heavy-duty for sure, but the weight is nicely distributed. Focal lined the thick ear pads and headband with soft, breathable lambskin leather. And the large, sturdy earcups are held together by smooth-sliding aluminum headphone yokes that helps keep the fit secure, yet relaxed.