hifiblueprint

Focal Utopia (2022), 30 headphones from 17 makers

The engineering behind high-fidelity audio

Build your listening roomBrowse the catalogScroll to take it apart

Every headphone in the catalog is drawn from its published materials.

See all 30

The blueprint

Five sheets cover everything between the recording and your ears: the transducer, the electronics that drive it, the room and the car you listen in, and the history collectors follow.
  1. 01TransducersFlagship headphones, in-ear monitors and wireless, read through their materials and engineering.41 entries
  2. 02Signal chainValve and solid-state amplifiers, energizers, DACs and clean power, matched to what your headphone needs.31 components
  3. 03SpacesStands, seating, acoustic treatment and furniture for a room built around listening.22 objects
  4. 04MobilityThe audio systems engineered into flagship cars, and the headsets owner-pilots fly with.20 cars, 6 headsets
  5. 05ArchiveLineages of the great headphone lines, bespoke makers, and a private sales desk.34 archived models

The houses

74 makers, carmakers and audio houses, from Focal and Stax to Burmester and Naim. Every one is indexed from its own published data.

The material library

A flagship headphone is mostly a choice of materials. Start from the one you care about and see who builds with it.
What each material does

01Transducers

Every model is built from its maker’s published materials and specifications. Hover one to pull it apart.
All 30 headphones

02Will it drive it?

Sensitivity and impedance decide what an amplifier has to deliver. The synergy calculator works it out for every headphone here and lists the amplifiers that clear it.

Worked example

HIFIMAN Susvara at 110 dB peaks

Rated at 83 dB/mW into 60 ohms, it is the least sensitive planar in the catalog.

Open the calculator
Power
501mW
Voltage
5.48V rms
Current
91.4mA

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Design spotlights