I didn't watch the review, but your description is enough! Madness!No I have no details.. I just watched some reviews.. looks more like a design and material improvement and maybe this affect the sound? (Drivers are the same as far as I understand) But the price here in german shops is at 5000€(1000€ more than the “old” version)
Here is a pretty detail review from moon-audio:
www.hardwarezone.com.sg
So that article is insuating that Focal have said they've increased the bass, and "linearized" the treble, and potentially improved the spatial qualities of the headphone. Hmm, ok, well it would be interesting to have it measured....I'm not sure how accurate the article is in it's claims of what the differences are compared to the original as the when I skimmed the Focal website I couldn't really see any specific claims (but I might have missed them, I did skim it!).Focal Utopia (2022) review: Is this finally, and irrefutably, the world’s best dynamic headphone?
Has Focal addressed the original Utopia's weaknesses and finally made what is irrefutably the world's best dynamic headphone? #focal #utopia2022 #headfi
www.moon-audio.com
No need to speculate, Head-fi already measured it:So that article is insuating that Focal have said they've increased the bass, and "linearized" the treble, and potentially improved the spatial qualities of the headphone. Hmm, ok, well it would be interesting to have it measured....I'm not sure how accurate the article is in it's claims of what the differences are compared to the original as the when I skimmed the Focal website I couldn't really see any specific claims (but I might have missed them, I did skim it!).
Increasing the bass and "linearizing" the treble would be beneficial though, if they mean removing the peaks & dips in the treble vs Harman Curve when they talk about "linearizing" - given the folllowing current frequency response of the original Focal reviewed in this thread:
Yep, that supports the other review you linked that they've changed the design. Everything there is pointing towards their intention to reduce the treble peaks and increase the bass - sounds like they've tried to get it closer to the Harman Curve whilst removing harsh peaks in the treble. Of course there's no frequency response graphs that have been shown to prove this, but they have insinuated that in their reviews through their interviews with the company. It does seem like it's quite different headphone.....worthy of a review if someone sends it to @amirm-Focal Utopia 2022 Review
The Focal Utopia has long been recognized as one of the greatest headphones of all time, with incredible detail, resolution, and imaging and a tuning that’s on the incisive side of neutral. After creating a standard bearer for flagship headphones you might say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”...bloomaudio.com
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Focal Utopia 2022 Headphone Review
If you know me even a little, you know how much I love the Focal Utopia headphone. I was head over heels shortly after our Focal rep handed it to me back in 2016.
In truth they both look a bit peaky still in the treble albeit with different overall tonalities even though I appreciate that they're not being measured on a GRAS device there. (I don't know what is meant by "Preliminary" as I'm assuming Focal Utopia is the original and Focal Utopia 2022 is the updated version).
I think the 6khz peak we see in a lot of those TOTL headphones is somewhat the cause of the "holographic" spatial effects that are given to them. Overall I think they went the same way of the Clear MG: focal 1-2khz "presence" followed by a general sloping downwards pinna gain with some sparkle from peaks here and there.
I wouldn't be so generous to explain peaky treble as "holographic spatial effects" - in my experience the best soundstage headphones are related to the physical design: angled pads or angled drivers and spacious earcups that ensure your ears don't touch any part of the headphone (or minimise the contact). In my experience I'd say it's better to have a smooth treble and a good soundstage physical headphone design. I'd expect personal HRTF's that would emulate "speakers in a room" to have various peaks & dips in places that are different to the Harman Curve, but I don't really buy random peakiness in various headphone designs as being somehow able to luckily emulate your own HRTF's. That's how I see it.
Based on my distressing experiences on Head-Fi and the general sycophancy towards industry folks over there, I’m not sure how much I would be able to trust any “measurements” being posted over there. Every one of their threads created to “discuss” a specific product seems to be bursting at the seams with effusive praise and sciency claims about its capabilities.
Fair enough, I guess, as I'm not really familiar with Head-Fi, spent probably about 30mins in total on there and don't have an account there. However, even if you think their latest measurements for the new Utopia are unreliable or untrustworthy, I don't really see those measurements as being a positive anyway - the treble is still erratic......so if those measurements have been "doctored" in any way then the result is still shabby, lol!
I already own the 2020 model, so I’m happy to cherry pick any evidence suggesting that these new ones completely suck.
Ha!
some people complain about the 8k peak so they brought it down i guess
I wonder if you ever got to listen to the Utopia? I have the option to buy one for around $2000 in "like new condition". I wonder if it will sound almost exactly like the Focal Clears which I already own...
