French high-end speaker-manufacturer Focal entered the realm of high-end headphones with the launch of the Utopia in 2016. The Utopia soon gained the reputation of being one of the world’s finest headphones. Focal followed up and introduced the Elear later the same year. The original Clear came in 2017 (often referred to as the Clear OG). The Elex, a collaboration with Drop, is an Elear with different pads (probably the same as the Clear OG pads), launched in 2018.
The Clear MG was introduced in 2021. In 2022, Focal launched a new version of the Utopia. The changes were minor enough for Focal to not change the name but it has become known as the Focal Utopia 2022. It had a slightly redesigned interior and exterior to adjust airflow and reflections and some minor changes done to the material of the voice coil in the driver to increase reliability. The driver and the Beryllium diaphragm is the same, so are the specifications.
In this comparative review, I have used the original Utopia.
FOCAL UTOPIA SPECIFICATIONS
- Type Circum-aural open-back headphones
- Impedance 80 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 104dB SPL / 1mW @ 1kHz
- THD: <0,2% @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL
- Frequency response: 5Hz – 50kHz
- Loudspeaker: 40mm pure Beryllium ‘M’ shape dome
- Weight: 490g
- Cable connection to headphones: 2-pin LEMO
- Cables: 1 x 4ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 1/8″ (3.5mm) TRS Jack connector, 1 x 10ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 4-pin XLR connector, 1 x Jack adapter, 1/8″ (3.5mm) female – 1/4″ (6.35mm) male
- Storage box
FOCAL CLEAR SPECIFICATIONS
- Impedance: 55 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 104dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1kHz
- THD: 0.25% @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL
- Frequency response: 5Hz – 28kHz
- Speaker driver: 1 ⅝” (40mm) ‘M’-shaped magnesium dome
- Cable connector on headphones: Standard 3.5 mm
- Cables supplied:
- 1.2m mini-jack cable with ¼”/6.35mm) jack adapter
- 1 x 3m 4-pin XLR cable
- 1 jack adapter, 3.5mm female – ¼”/6.35mm) male
- Carrying case provided: 250x240x120mm
- Weight: 450g / 0.99lbs
- Included in the box: 2 cables, one short cable that terminates in a 3.5mm connection and one long that ends in a 4-pin XLR termination. A 1/4″ adapter is also included. Nice carrying case.
COMPARISONS
The primary amplifier used for this comparison was the Bryston BHA-1. The source/DAC was the RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
Hellhound by Cassandra Wilson
This is a great blue guitar and female vocals track. The Clear MG is very crisp and clear. The steel guitar is sharp and jumps out of the mix.
The Utopia sounds quite similar. It’s slightly cleaner, and the vocals are more intense sounding. It’s a matter of preference, but personally,I prefer the Clear MG vocals.
Escape Route by Boris Blank
Boris from Yello delivers energetic electronica. The bass is powerful with the MG, presenting a very dynamic sound. The Utopia is similar, but cleaner, tighter but also a bit sharper and thinner sounding.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia becomes less sharp in the treble and a bit more powerful in the bass.
Terminal 7 by Tomasz Stanko
A fabulous jazz track, known from the Homeland TV series. The MG is very dynamic and snappy with the percussion, the trumpet is gentle and sublime.
The Utopia is even more dynamic and snappy, but again at the cost of tonal fullness, sounding snappier but thinner.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia becomes a bit fuller sounding and has a more present bass.
Fading Sorrow by Marcin Wasilewski Trio
Another great jazz track. There’s a great sense of space, a very holographic presentation with great micro and macro dynamics with the Utopia.
The MG isn’t far away but has a bit different tonality. It’s fuller sounding, warmer and lusher, it’s smoother yet retaining most of the precision.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia becomes less sharp, and a bit more powerful in the bass.
Rios by Campo Libre
Snappy and punchy from the Utopia. The MG is quite similar, just a bit fuller and lusher.
Assume Form by James Blake
The Utopia is basically a sharpened MG. It’s a bit cleaner all over and the vocals are more intense. The MG has a lusher and smoother midrange and the intense bass is stronger.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia is still cleaner, but the bass gets fuller and more dynamic.
Fly Forward – J. Higdon by Hilary Hahn
Great violin concert. A superb presentation from the Utopia, extremely precise with great micro and macro dynamics. It’s quite forward-sounding.
The Clear MG is a bit leaner. The spatial qualities are also very good here. The tuning is somewhat more laid back, especially in the mids. The strings sound more mellow and less aggressive.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads the Utopia sounds slightly warmer with a little less intense treble, albeit at the cost of some slight loss of airiness.
Mahler’s Symphony no 2 – II by Paavo Järvi
Both headphones have great dynamics and bass, rendering the kettledrums as they deserve. The Utopia has superb imaging and layering. The soundstage isn’t enormous, but it’s extremely well defined.
The Clear MG is not far behind. The presentation is quite similar except for the tuning which is a bit more mellow and a bit fuller bass. The details are not as hyper-focused even though they are still there.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia gives extra punch to those kettledrums.
The Fall by Ministry
This rather noisy piece of music reveals the differences in tuning more than many other tracks. The Utopia is noticeably brighter and in this case, it is a bit thin sounding and less enjoyable compared to the smoother and darker MG.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads the Utopia is tuned more to my liking, with more powerful bass and slightly less treble brightness.
Don’t Panic by Coldplay
Again the presentation in terms of dynamics and sound stage are quite similar. The Utopia is a little bit cleaner but the most important difference is as always the tuning. The MG has more bass and the mid-range has more emphasis on the lower mids than the Utopia. This makes the Utopia sound brighter and somewhat more energetic. I enjoy both.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the Utopia is less bright with more bass. The midrange isn’t much affected.
All For Us by Labyrinth
The Utopia is tighter and brighter, with better micro and macro dynamics and better detail. The MG isn’t that far behind but mellower, a bit dark and lush. More bass. Both are very good.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads the Utopia is slightly warmer sounding and the bass hits harder.
WRAPPING IT UP
It is quite clear that some differences are consistent across the tracks I have listened to and I will try to summarize them in the following.
The sound stage is quite similar. It is not huge in width and height but it is very pinpointed and with a very good sense of depth. The Utopia is even more precise in the imaging than the Clear MG and creates an even more holographic image. Whether this is significant enough to really notice depends on the track. With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads on the Utopia, the stage becomes a little smaller, though.
Both these headphones are very dynamic but the Utopia is again a bit better at both micro and macro dynamics. The Clear MG isn’t far behind, though. Adding the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads to the Utopia, the bottom end gets even a tad more dynamic and present, but the top end gets a little bit tuned down.
The sound signature is not miles apart but it is a significant difference. The Clear MG has more bass and low mids, the Utopia has more upper mids and treble. This makes Utopia sound generally brighter and thinner while the Clear MG is slightly darker, bassier and lusher.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads on the Utopia, the Utopia becomes a little bassier, punchier and generally warmer sounding.
In terms of detail-retrieval, they are both very, very good and even though the Utopia is a step up, you come very close with the Clear MG.
Treble: The Utopia has more treble energy and better definition. Personally, however, I find it a bit bright and I like the treble timbre better on the Clear MG.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads on the Utopia, the treble becomes a little more polite, but at the cost of some airiness and sense of height.
Mids: The mid-range is, as mentioned, brighter with the Utopia, and also more energetic. I think it also has a bit more detail. The timbre is more of a toss-up. I like both: Sometimes I prefer the mellow (Audeze-like) tonality of the Clear MG, sometimes the more energetic presence of the Utopia. It depends on the song.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads on the Utopia the mids feel a bit warmer, but they’re still very similar to the mids with the original pads.
Bass: The Clear MG has more bass quantity. However, the Utopia has at least as good bass quality, so which you prefer is more of a toss-up. Personally I like the tuning of the MG better.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads on the Utopia the bass generally becomes a bit fuller and there is more impact.
ABOUT PADS
I have already commented on my observations with regards to swapping pads along in the text but I want to elaborate a bit.
There is no doubt: Pads matter. On some headphones more than others. In my experience with Focal headphones, 3rd party pads can do quite a lot of good to the sound – at least according to my own preferences.
The main reason it can have so much impact on Focal headphones is that Focal has opted for 50% mesh inside every ear pad. This makes the sound more airy but it also reduces bass presence and dynamics.
With the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the sound signature of the Utopia becomes significantly warmer and closer to the Clear MG in bass quantity and reduced treble quantity. With these pads on the Utopia, I tend to always prefer the Utopia over the Clear MG, because it has a cleaner sound and with the non original pads, the tonal warmth that I seek.
That being said, the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads also sound great on the Clear MG – but there is no coming around that the Utopia is the technically superior performer.
The only downside with the pads is that the sound stage is noticeably more intimate and with the Dekoni pads on the Utopia, I feel the tables turn – the Clear MG (with stock pads) becomes the headphone with the bigger, airier sound-stage.
CONCLUSION
The Focal Utopia and Clear MG are two magnificent headphones with a lot in common.
Both are very dynamic, but especially in terms of micro dynamics, the Utopia is better.
They both have a very precise sound stage. It’s not huge, but very pinpointed. The Utopia is even more precise with regards to the imaging than the Clear MG.
In terms of detail retrieval, they are both strong but the Utopia is a step or two up when it comes to fine detail and subtle nuances.
The most immediate difference is the tuning. It is not a night and day difference, they still share the Focal house sound, but they are definitely tuned differently. The Utopia is brighter, with more energy in the upper mids and treble. The Clear MG has a bit stronger bass and a bit mellow mids.
Even though the Utopia is technically superior it is not by a huge margin and it is absolutely possible for listeners to prefer the Clear MG for its tuning.
However, the Utopias are responsive to pad swapping, and equipping them with my Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, the sound becomes warmer, with stronger bass and less treble energy. This brings them closer to the tuning of the Clear MG without losing the technical superiority, and I personally really like what I hear.
In short the Clear MG will give you a lot of what the Utopia has to offer, at a significantly lower cost. That being said, the Utopia does take you that extra bit closer to perfection.
You can check out the Focal Clear on Amazon here and the Utopia here.
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