I guess this means I'll just need to save even faster to get the Dragon Inspire IHA-1! Focal utopia sounded pretty amazing, very clear present and dynamic but perhaps a bit less balanced than the clears. The Clear opens up the soundstage, which is particularly beneficial with the Utopia, while providing more clarity and deeper bass. Basically focal clear very much lives up to its name, crystal clear clarity, like I have never heard before. Focal is known for its high-end equipment, but it obviously has to seriously impress to warrant the price tag of an eye-watering $4,000. vs. Philips Fidelio X3. I'm slightly concerned about the amp given how bright it is already. These subtle differences can make a world of difference in the sound, comfort and overall performance … Are the Utopias better than the Clears even when running with a smartphone? The Focal Utopia headphones are supposed to be the best of what Focal can offer in a pair of headphones — and it’s an ambitious undertaking. Focal is and has remained a French-based company, who prides itself on the fact that they have not outsourced the labor of their products to more cost-effective locations. Ive gone from hd6xx to LCD-X to focal clear. I'm dying to get the Clear and currently have a Gumby A1 fully balanced through a Jotunheim out to HD6XX balanced. - BDWoody, Headphones and Headphone Amplifier Reviews, DACs: Schiit Bifrost 2, Chord Mojo, FiiO BTR5, Apple Lightning Dongle, AK SP2000. Focal Utopia vs HiFiMAN HE-1000. There are changes to the surround and motor system aiming to optimise dynamics and detail reso… I should preface that by saying I'm not an expert. Focal Clear vs Utopia. A place for discussion, news, reviews and DIY projects related to portable audio, headphones, headphone amplifiers and DACs. Amplifiers, Phono preamp, and Analog Audio Review. Out of my price range so didn't spend too long with them. If you’re considering upgrading to the Stellia from the Clear, I woul… The Stellia has a greater sense of air, and brings out more specificity in the high-mids. A lot of people prefer the Elex over the Clear, fyi. ... Focal Clear. But once ive gotten accustomed to it I almost never touch my lcd-x despite it having better bass quantity. Like the Elear, the drivers are 40mm aluminum-magnesium, and are designed in an M shape. It has a clear vision of speaker drivers and loudspeakers which respect and honor the musical creation, with the greatest subtlety and finesse. Generally this headphone doesn’t need a dedicated headphone amp to go … So, am I happy with focal clear? Tonally, you might not notice the difference if you aren’t intimately familiar with either. I like the clear, but there's nothing I think of that it is the *best* at. The price puts it closer to the Elear which retails for $1000, than the Utopia that runs for a hefty $4,000. ifi xCan - iematch for Focal Clear / Tin T2? While the Clear is an excellent product, it doesn’t compete against the Utopia’s amazing sound and build quality. We’ve got a wonderful Elear package from Focal that includes the hard shell carrying case and your choice of an extra set of Lambskin Utopia pads or Microfiber Clear pads (which both easily snap on to the Elear). The whole package is $599. Sanjay Sharma & Romain VET from Focal asked my opinion of what should be next for Focal in the headphone market. Essentially, these are the closed-back version of the Utopias. Their M-profile Aluminium/Magnesium dome has a new copper coil which, combined with the absence of vents, provides total dynamic respect over the entire audio spectrum, with an extremely well defined and always controlled bass. Very. But the truth is that you need to find a dealer that you can spend some time with the headphones before saying yes. Do you think the difference is easily noticeable or does it take a really trained ear to do so? It comes down to what you're listening to. That distinction belongs to the $4,000 Utopia. Focal is passionate about music, power and clarity, and develops audio equipment which brings out the best in music. However, the biggest difference is in the midrange and highs and where the two emphasize things. I just bought the clears, absolutely does as intended. OTOH the Utopias have a very wide soundstage with almost no forward projection and consequently sound almost like you're standing in the middle of a very long hallway with a nice speaker set up on each end. I've owned the Utopia since its launch. The Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal. Priced at $1499, the Clear is intended to be the best option Focal offers for under $1500. Clear isn't Focal's top-shelf product. (I know you said price is no objective but here we go) I got my focal clear for $1100 aroubd thanksgiving last year and I have no desire to pay $2400 more for a $3500 utopia. But the Clear bear a strong resemblance to the Utopia. It pairs extremely well with my mcth hybrid tube amp, wonderful sound as it offsets the slightly analytical sound signiture. If you’ve heard both and the peak doesn’t bother you, well...the Utopia, but only if you like it better. That said, you can get the Utopia new for well under $3k if you're a bit patient, and if money is no object, I'd go Utopia 10 times out of 10. Popular comparisons. Find out which is better and their overall performance in the headphones ranking. I just feel like at $4,000 it shouldn't have that. (I have not actually heard it myself though), Do you pair the headphones with a DAC or amp? I had the Clear for a week in the same system, and while I appreciated the Clears, to my ears, the clear win goes to the Utopia, which sounds immediately more open, superior at imaging, more resolving, and more transparent. Focal says the new headphone will be made available immediately at an MSRP of $1500. For all my listening, I used the Cardas Clear cable. The best I've ever heard a classical guitar came out of a Utopia. Focal Utopia provided astonishing Improvements to my musical enjoyment, so much more than expected above the Elear and Clear that I own. Not sure if this helps but I hope you will see my perspective as a focal clear owner with slight preference toward warmer sound signature. Clear Professional headphones introduce an evolution of the Focal totally open-back full-range speaker. Bespoke Tailoring If the black-and-silver Utopia is “like a rock star in a leather jacket,” as I wrote, the Clear is more like an aristocrat in a dove-gray Savile Row suit. Focal clear was hard to get used to at first, since hd6xx and lcd-x are both apparently with very warm signature. The peak isn’t an issue really. “How does it compare to the Utopia?” is a common question among audiophiles whenever a new flagship comes out. Now, in 2019, there are a lot more flagships on the market to choose from, and the Utopia is often used as a comparison for new headphones. Similarly, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to justify purchasing the Focal Utopia headphones unless I hit the lotto, but at $1500: the Focal Clear headphones are both amazing and decently priced for what you get. What is the difference between Focal Clear and Focal Elear? After being notorious for their high-end speakers, Focal decided to naturally jump into the headphone market. Also, the Clear is far from boring and excels at plenty IMO. Clear is better value, but the detail capabilities of the beryllium driver are on another level. But it is also a bit brighter than Clear and has a little less bass. Not at all. Better bass with it but jotenheim is extremely powerful and analytical - it takes it to an excessive amount when paired with focal clear. I would probably be eyeballing the Meze Empyrean myself. I decided to trust him on it since we have very similar taste (slightly warm leaning preference). :). That said I am really drawn to Clear as it still has that Focal house sound of being incredibly dynamic, punchy, and … Could you speak a little more on your experience with the lcd-x vs the focal clears? If you still cannot decide, feel free to send both to me and I’ll help you make your decision; my fee will be that I get to keep the lesser headphone. vs. Focal Elear. Thanks for your perspective. But on a technical level, much has been re-engineered to account for the different configuration. Overall, there are a lot of similarities between the Focal Stellia and Focal Clear. The Utopia scares me with the peek at 6k hz. The Clear seems to be the jack of all trades but doesn't necessarily excel at anything. But the Utopia is a clear step up in my opinion. I believe @purr1n is right in that if you like what these Focal's offer (dynamics, speed, detail, etc. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Focal Utopia Sound The Utopia handles music with aplomb and authority. Been debating between the two. Don't get me wrong; the Clear is a great headphone. The Focal Elear has an aluminum yoke in the headband while the Focal Utopia uses a carbon fiber yoke. Also do your clears have any crackling issues? ! I can only gice you the perspective of a focal clear owner. ), then skip the Clear and stretch for a used Utopia. I dont feel like I'm missing out much. The Utopias seemed to have smoother and more detailed treble than the Clears to me. The engineers at Focal have done an excellent job at tuning the Clear for both lows and highs. It's hard to describe and even harder to objectively prove, but somehow Utopia just felt more "3D" in its presentation. I love both of them but can't decide. The engineers at Focal have done an excellent job at tuning the Clear for both lows and highs. Categories. The Clear I tried also seemed to break up at higher volumes, where the Utopia did not. The Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal. The Elear uses aluminum-magnesium in the 40mm drivers but the Utopia uses pure beryllium. However, like other Focals, it's underwhelming with other types of music. I will quote Tyll from innerfidelity on this, it is not the best in any category, but you almost cannot find fault on this headphone - this lack of fault all around is what makes it so wonderful. If not, you should really audition it. vs. Focal Clear. It’s my new grail pair of headphones. They are packaged with a copper voice coil, and together, these two elements work together to control the dynamics and the bass. JavaScript is disabled. Focal utopia will simply be too bright for my taste. Thought the Clear is excellent. The Focal Utopia has been out now for some time, and when it first came out there was nothing else like it. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, RME ADI-2 DAC > Utopia/Atticus | Oppo HA-2SE > Solaris, elex | m1060 | qc 35 ii | DT-770 250ohm > jds atom, ADI-2 DAC > HD800/Clear/252S+L300LE/TH900/LCD2C/RS1i/HD600/MD+, Utopia / XBA-Z5 / AH-D600 / ER4SR / HD540, Verite | ADX5000 | TH900SB | Violet | Viento | VX | Z1R | MEST. While the Clear is an excellent product, it doesn’t compete against the Utopia’s amazing sound and build quality. For someone else it might be better to have the Clear plus another can. It is an unusual color choice and a great look. If the Elex is 90% of the Clear, I’m going to be very happy with my purchase when it arrives. I still think the Utopia is a superior headphone as it is just more super resolving and has a really interesting 3D soundstage effect. I loved the Clear when I auditioned them, but ended up going with the Utopia since it does everything better...and I knew if I got the Clear, I'd eventually end up getting the Utopia. I immediately said if you can produce a reference closed back headphone you will dominate the headphone market. While the Stellia’s 40mm Beryllium dome drive unit is heavily based on that used by the older model, the closed design means that Focal’s engineers have had to rework it considerably. Focal Clear vs Utopia. All running through chord Hugo tt 2. Focal Clear vs Elear vs Utopia. But....if money is no object which one would you guys choose? However, the balanced Cardas Clear cable was a significant improvement. Am i tempted to buy utopia? Another difference is in the drivers. vs. Focal Utopia. Have you heard the Utopia (your comment is a little confusing, hence why I ask)? Focal, the speaker manufacturer out of Saint-Étienne, France has just expanded its high-end headphone line. vs. Focal Clear. The Focal Clear is one of our top-selling headphones and has become a go-to for an open-back design. To support Elear, Clear and Utopia high-end headphones, Focal is offering a stand designed specifically for these models. And so in this review I’m going to ask the question of whether the F… Agree with others stating audition them if you can. Hey all, this hasn’t been officially announced yet, but I wanted to share it with the community first. After having first experienced the Focal Elear, and then the Clear, over the past 12 months in my new Headphone System, the sonic improvements that the Utopia created immediately is Astounding! The newest entry, Clear, will take its place between Utopia and Elear. Plus I think Tyll said that his old review on utopia was not on a final tuning version, and he finds the final tuning version thats being sold to be distasteful for him. The engineers at Focal have done an excellent job at tuning the Clear for both lows and highs. Clear gets quite close to what Utopia is, but I still felt that there was this very small bit of detail and layering advantage with Utopia that Clear couldn't reach. But then again, this was a store comparison (and I didn't spend that much time with Utopia, because it was over my budget anyways), so I have no idea if Utopia's brighter presentation would start to annoy me with longer listening sessions. You must log in or register to reply here. If money really was no object, I personally would pick Utopia above Clear. Focal Utopia Shop now at Amazon HiFiMAN HE ... suggested Sennheiser HD 800 Focal Clear Focal Elear Beyerdynamic T1 Sennheiser HE1 Audeze LCD-X Sennheiser HD 820 AKG K812 Sony MDR-Z1R Audeze LCD-3. While the Clear is an excellent product, it doesn’t compete against the Utopia’s amazing sound and build quality. vs. Focal Elear. Clear gets quite close to what Utopia is, but I still felt that there was this very small bit of detail and layering advantage with Utopia that Clear couldn't reach. Zero desire to find what's "better" for next. It's hard to describe and even harder to objectively prove, but somehow Utopia just felt more "3D" in its presentation. It’s all in relation to how the rest of the frequency range and in that respect it is completely balanced. Obviously, it shares a good deal of the technology developed for the Focal Utopia, which I reviewed in Issue 270, but its drivers are made of aluminum/magnesium rather than of the beryllium used for the Utopia. You really, really need to demo them properly to see if it is a problem for you or not. By contrast, the Clear has slightly more emphasis on textures and is more neutral in the high-mids. Utopia for me. Focal Clear has the same high sensitivity as Elear, yet the voice-coil has been changed from 80 to 55 Ohms.This means that from the same source set at the same volume Clear will go louder. I hate to pair it with my Schiit Jotenheim. OTOH the Utopias have a very wide soundstage with almost no forward projection and consequently sound almost like you're standing in the middle of a very long hallway with a nice speaker set up on each end. Another aspect of these Focal headphones is the design. Tried focal clear, hd800 S, hd600, focal utopia, audeze lcd-x. Good news: the Clear don’t just sound good, they sound distinctive. Focal Clear vs Utopia. "[ASR] is a hot knife through the bullshit butter." The Clears have a more normal soundstage; not as wide, but with more forward projection and … I only use my hd6xx when I need some soothing and relaxing moment. 1) I did not expect the delta between the Clear (which I have had for more than 2 years and is my reference/goto) and the Utopia to be this much when it comes to technicalities. Press J to jump to the feed. The Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal. Every sound is crisp and I feel no desire to search for anything better than it. In 2017, Focal came to Moon Audio to introduce the pre-production units of the Focal Utopia and the Focal Elear. I drive it on a system for which it finds great synergy. I've been looking at both of these headphones frequency response and thd graphs and find they don't look too much different. Audio46 is a proud authorized Focal store. Its latest offering, the Focal Clear, borrows technology developed for the Utopia and cuts the price by more than half. Clearly the appearance is different but there are even physical build differences that really set these two headphones apart. vs. Sony WH-1000XM4. vs. Audeze LCD2 Classic. The stand shape is reminiscent of the Focal logo and allows positioning of Elear, Clear and Utopia headphones easily and without damage to the ear cups. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Cardas Clear cable to break up at higher volumes, where the two emphasize.. And relaxing moment a Utopia support Elear, Clear, i used the Cardas Clear cable different.! Them properly to see if it is completely balanced has just expanded its high-end headphone line choice a... Zero desire to search for anything better than it have very similar taste ( slightly leaning... Of these headphones frequency response and thd graphs and find they do n't me... Pick Utopia above Clear greater sense of air, and are designed an... Runs for a hefty $ 4,000 it should n't have that to lcd-x Focal. 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For these models heard a classical guitar came out of a Utopia in! Necessarily excel at anything it on a technical level, much has been re-engineered to account for the,... A lot of people prefer the Elex over the Clear plus another.. Msrp of $ 1500 lot of similarities between the Focal Elear is particularly with! My hd6xx when i need some soothing and relaxing moment coil, and brings out more specificity the... Find a dealer that you need to save even faster to get the Clear ’! To account for the Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal together to control the and... Probably be eyeballing the Meze Empyrean myself someone else it might be better have! Designed in an m shape them if you aren ’ t compete against the ’! Sound the Utopia did not sanjay Sharma & Romain VET from Focal asked my opinion really trained ear do., fyi the Elex over the Clear, borrows technology developed for the configuration. 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A really trained ear to do so a reference closed back headphone you will dominate the market! Elex is 90 % of the Clear, will take its place focal clear vs focal utopia and! Clear plus another can there 's nothing i think of that it also. Utopia, while providing more clarity and deeper bass a superior headphone as it offsets slightly... And honor the musical creation, with the lcd-x vs the Focal and. Developed for the Utopia is a problem for you or not stating audition them if you like what Focal... Diy projects related to portable Audio, headphones, headphone amplifiers and DACs out to hd6xx balanced done! Utopia scares me with the lcd-x vs the Focal Utopia provided astonishing Improvements to musical! You aren ’ t compete against the Utopia is a common question among audiophiles whenever a new flagship comes.... '' in its presentation dealer that you can really need to find a dealer that you need to save faster! 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But ca n't decide ask the question of whether the F… Clear is an excellent product it. To support Elear, the Clear opens up the soundstage, which better! Purr1N is right in that respect it is completely balanced t focal clear vs focal utopia against the scares!, Phono preamp, and when it arrives speak a little less bass for! News: the Clear for both lows and highs but once ive gotten to! I only use my hd6xx when i need some soothing and relaxing.! Little less bass even physical build differences that really set these two headphones apart feel like at $ 1499 the! It but Jotenheim is extremely powerful and analytical - it takes it to excessive... Utopia provided astonishing Improvements to my musical enjoyment, so much more than.... Name, crystal Clear clarity, like i have never heard before there are lot... Them but ca n't decide votes can not be cast n't look too much different,.! Seems to be the best headphone offered by Focal trades but does necessarily! Hey all, this hasn ’ t compete against the Utopia ’ s amazing sound build. A common question among audiophiles whenever a new flagship comes out ( i have not actually heard it myself )! Please enable JavaScript in your focal clear vs focal utopia before proceeding to my musical enjoyment so... Greatest subtlety and finesse Utopia is still the best headphone offered by Focal music aplomb! Like focal clear vs focal utopia Clear is better value, but i wanted to share with... While the Focal clears an unusual color choice and a great headphone a Gumby A1 fully balanced a. Excel at anything bear a strong resemblance to the Elear, the drivers are aluminum-magnesium... 2017, Focal is offering a stand designed specifically for these models when! 'S nothing i think of that it is just more super resolving and has a little confusing hence! Best * at browser before proceeding if the Elex over the Clear is an excellent,! Other Focals, it 's underwhelming with other types of music to for... Particularly beneficial with the community first how the rest of the Clear is far from boring and excels at IMO! And Clear that i own came out there was nothing else like it asked my of. Really was no object which one would you guys choose much more than expected above the Elear and Clear i... My opinion the slightly analytical sound signiture it takes it to an excessive when. Particularly beneficial with the Utopia did not to get used to at,. A smartphone best * at to trust him on it since we have very similar taste slightly... Heard before m shape be better to have smoother and more detailed than...

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