Focal Utopia High-Fidelity Over-Ear Open-Back Headphones (2022)

Amazing detail and addictive sound that is so real it makes you feel you've upgraded your ears. I'm hearing sounds in songs I've never heard before. It makes everything else feel like a step down.

I love my Naim Uniti Atom HE + Focal Utopia (2022) almost as much as my children. They enable you to experience music at an entirely new depth, with world-class dynamics and exceptional resolution and soundstage.

Amazing sounding headphone but the build quality of the headband is not good for such a flagship headphone. It's okay when it's brand new but creaks very badly with age.

You will not be sorry.

Pros: Definitely premium, eye-catching, maybe with the right amplifiers they would sound great.. The emphasis here is clarity: you'll hear things you never heard before in your music. They're powerful, capable, top-of-the-line headphones. This is the pinnacle of what headphones can do right now. Cons: They're heavy, I often can't seem to get an adjustment that where they feel level and stable, they're extremely expensive, they're open-back, the there's something so harsh and piercing about the mid highs and treble that I suspected that they were damaged. If you're looking for "musical" headphones with thumping bass, good noise isolation, headphones that will greatly increase your enjoyment of music, these aren't it. These are more about absolute clarity. I made the mistake of equating audiophile with musical enjoyment and now I'm out $5k. I kind of knew it had a focus on clarity to the exclusion of other factors but I didn't truly appreciate what that meant. I don't like the look of these either. It's sort of an industrial, futuristic, alienware type vibe. I'll keep trying them from time to time and tweaking settings on my equipment. Possibly with the right amplifier they're as amazing as people say. Everyone says they're very source-revealing. I wish I had gone with Meze, Diana, or Focal's own Stellia, Azurys, or Bathys.

I have the 2020 model , I have to say this is the finest headphone I have EVER listened to. BUT keep in mind the purchase of this headphone NEEDS a high quality DAC, and a really good Amp. If you can't afford the premium equipment to this headphone buy a cheaper unit. When you pair this headphone with a good amp/Dac and push up the impedance you are rewarded with sonic magic .