When Focal approached ULTRASONE before entering the headphone market and expressed interest in acquiring us, it was clear that something special was about to happen. The French manufacturer of high-end audio equipment first examined the most innovative headphone technologies of the time.
From this starting point, after some early products that were rather moderate, Focal discovered the high-end headphone segment and gradually raised the bar for its own products. Focal transferred its expertise from the high-end loudspeaker market into headphones and developed and produced its drivers in-house—something that is not common in the industry. Focal drivers, such as the beryllium drivers used in their flagship models, originated from the tweeter technology used in their loudspeakers.
Focal also uses premium materials not only for the drivers but for the headphone construction itself. Leather, aluminum, and even carbon fiber are used to create an appealing and luxurious design.
These differences have contributed to Focal now being recognized in the audio industry as a manufacturer of high-quality headphones distinguished by both performance and build quality.
However, the designs of the products have often been somewhat similar to one another, which sometimes makes the price differences between models harder to explain.
Among the most widely recognized associations with Focal are undoubtedly beryllium and the Focal Utopia.
My opinion on this:
Focal has invested a great deal of effort in the design of its products. The packaging and accessories in particular set new standards in the headphone world and come close to our legendary Edition 7 Limited—the pioneer of the luxury headphone segment introduced in 2004.
There is no doubt that Focal has enriched the market. But like many companies, they have also followed certain trends and occasionally implemented rather unconventional ideas primarily for marketing purposes. The use of beryllium as a diaphragm coating, for example, is significantly more expensive than titanium, yet in headphones it improves the driver characteristics far less than it does in loudspeakers.
We continually experiment with many materials for our drivers—from beryllium and natural fibers to ceramics and glass diaphragms. However, we only use such exotic materials if they truly serve the main purpose: improving the sound.
So far, even the best planar magnetic drivers have not managed to convince our acoustic specialists in the high-end segment.
If that ever happens, we will certainly adopt it. Until then, we remain committed to dynamic drivers and to our GTC concept as the ideal solution—a compound combining gold and titanium, applied in different areas of the diaphragm where it makes the most acoustic sense.
You should listen to it yourself. 🎧
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