Focal Headphones

Unadulterated French Masterclass

I began my love for all of Focal’s high-end headphones upon their release in mid 2016. Since then they have become a staple part of most clients home audio or work solutions as they are incredible in so many ways.

Many people would associate Focal with the speakers that they find in car audio. Especially if you drive a BMW. These speakers were an optional in cars as they were deemed a very high quality upgrade to the original system. With all of their expertise in design and implementation they focused some R&D on a range of headphones.

In 2016 they launched the Elear and the Flagship Utopia headphones. The Utopia soon became the headphone of choice for anyone wanting the best regardless of price. The beryllium rare earth material used in the drive unit offers a truly unique sound that is highly regarded by many, including myself.

I’m a big fan of brands offering a good, better, best solution and it seems that someone at Focal had heard my wishes. In 2017 they released the Clear headphones. The Clear was the baby brother to the Utopia, offering a similar design, stunning sound and incredible comfort. The price of the Clear made it an instant hit for those who couldn’t quite reach the dizzy heights of the Utopia but wanted much of it’s performance.

In my opinion you simply cannot go wrong with any of the high-end Focal headphones. Some are slightly easier to match with hardware than others but once the synergy has been achieved then the results are truly stunning.

I personally regard the Utopia as one of my all time favourite headphones, however for the price and ease of which the Clear can be paired with an amplifier the Clear would follow closely behind.