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#28 overall · open-back wired · counts updated Oct 2026
Focal Utopia (2022)
Ranked #28 of 31: 15 people recommend it and 16 say they own it. Most repeated praise: Top-of-the-line resolution and detail. Most repeated complaint: Small soundstage for the price.
Recommended to detail-first listeners with a big budget and a good amp.
- People who recommend it
- 15
- Say they own it
- 16
- Mentions
- 181
- Posts read
- 1,598
Price when checked (Sep 2026): $4999. Only 3 distinct people recommended it in the threads read. The money-no-object tier was very fragmented: Stax electrostatics (5 mentions across SR-009S, SR-007, SR-X9000), ZMF Verite/Atrium (4 across models), Meze Elite (2), Hifiman Susvara (1 owner) and Audeze LCD-X (2 owners, 2 detractors) all came up.
What owners love
3- Top-of-the-line resolution and detail
- Drums and dynamics that people describe as feeling right
- Intimate, precise imaging
The complaints
3- Small soundstage for the price
- Bass quantity leaves some wanting
- Five thousand dollars
Where owners disagree
Recommenders themselves note it trades soundstage for intimacy, so it is not the universal choice.
The 14 sources
Every thread and video these notes come from.
Owner = the person says they use it. Recommendation = passed on without saying so. Dates are when the thread or video was posted.
- For those that have found their end game, what is it?Head-Fi · Jan 2024 · owner
- In search of END GAME headphones (for me).Head-Fi · Mar 2023 · recommendation
- Do EXPENSIVE Speakers SOUND BETTER? Focal Diablo Utopia Speaker Review (Andrew Robinson)YouTube · Jul 2021 · owner
- World's Best Headphone The Focal Utopia (InnerFidelity)YouTube · Aug 2016 · owner
- The Clear is STILL the best Focal Headphone! Focal Clear Review! (Joshua Valour)YouTube · May 2023 · owner
- the GIANT headphone tier list (end of 2023) (The Headphone Show)YouTube · Dec 2023 · recommendation
- Did I just make a $3,000 mistake? Or the best decision ever..... (Bitwit)YouTube · Jan 2022 · owner
- What is the first song you’d listen to on a pair of Focal Utopias? #carterpcs #tech #focal (CarterPCs)YouTube · Jul 2023 · recommendation
- Focal Utopia. Los mejores auriculares del mundo. Review (Audio46 en Español)YouTube · Nov 2016 · recommendation
- Focal Elex Review - Next step up from HiFiMAN Sundara? (The Headphone Show)YouTube · Oct 2020 · recommendation
- HEADPHONE TIER LIST (Joshua Valour)YouTube · Nov 2020 · owner
- Focal Elegia _(Z Reviews)_ Best Focal Yet (Z Reviews)YouTube · Mar 2021 · recommendation
- Focal Elear & Elegia (Casque) - Le Grand Déballage #24 (Son-Vidéo.com)YouTube · May 2020 · recommendation
- WORLD's MOST EXPENSIVE HEADPHONES | SENNHEISER HE-1 Review (Joshua Valour)YouTube · Nov 2020 · recommendation
Recommended for
Compared with
The headphones people weigh against this one most often, counted from comments that name both.