Source: Press Release, Last Accessed: 2016/06/15

Focal unveiled three new models of headphones equipped with major innovations in acoustic components and mechanical design. Initiated four years ago, this huge project has now given life to Elear and Utopia. This month also sees the inauguration of Focal’s brand-new production line at its site in Saint-Etienne, France which will be entirely dedicated to manufacturing Elear and Utopia headphones.
According to the press release, Utopia and Elear headphones are the result of a rather risky challenge: to offer an audio experience worthy of the brand’s high-fidelity loudspeakers through two new products. The first obvious aspect is the extent of the open design of these two products. When Utopia or Elear are being worn, the sensation is remarkable: there is absolutely no change in perception in terms of room size, the company says. The next step for Focal’s mechanical engineers and designers was to improve the comfort of the headphones. The company focused on designing a headband with a constant bend, regardless of the size of the user’s head size. This spreads the weight of the headphones evenly over the head to avoid the feeling of pressure on the head or ears, which is all too often the case with other products. The yoke developed for these two projects is also very impressive, both in terms of purity of the design and in terms of comfort. Thus, the yoke doesn’t have traditional vertically rotating mechanics, as this has been integrated into the headband. In addition to this, the asymmetry of the attachment points connecting the yoke to the ear-piece improves the distribution of clamping pressure and ensures excellent sealing and great comfort.
The ear-piece also deserves praise for its remarkable aesthetics and its impressive open design. This avoids any mechanical compression of the transducers while preserving exceptionally realistic sound. Equipped with high-density memory foam, the headphones provide perfect sealing and adapt seamlessly to heads of all shapes and sizes.
The challenge to reproduce experiences worthy of the brand’s best loudspeakers through two new headphones has resulted in a major innovation in the world of headphones (patent pending): the very first completely open back full-range driver. This world premiere is the result of four years of collaboration between the R&D and production methods teams. By refusing to accept the compromise of having ports, which would of course allow for numerous tuning possibilities, particularly in the low end, Focal’s priority was to get rid of the distortion typically experienced with this type of open design. The only limit with this concept is the necessity to conceive the headphones from the start around a driver with a perfect frequency response. The only possibility for sound tuning would come down to the choice of materials and their properties, for example the magnet, the voice coil, the surround or, of course, the dome. There was just one watchword: to have the lightest moving assembly possible to be able to reproduce the highest frequencies.
The only means of succeeding with these acoustic challenges was to perfectly master the development and production processes. For this reason, a whole new production line was developed at the Saint-Etienne site, for manufacturing Utopia and Elear.
Utopia headphones are Focal’s flagship product. Particular attention has been paid to the design in terms of types of use, comfort and overall aesthetics. The Pittards leather used for the ear cushions and headband emphasizes the sleek design, the high performance and the comfort of Utopia, and creates a sense of elegance.
Elear are the brand’s audiophile headphones. In essence, they are the same as Utopia headphones when it comes to the driver design and the mechanics. The solid aluminum yoke gives these headphones a remarkably smooth seamless design. The microfiber ear cushions provide the user with maximum comfort, an essential quality for long sessions.

For more information: http://www.focal.com/

More News...