Focal is an exclusively luxury audiophile brand that’s been producing extravagantly priced monitors since its inception, so the whopping $40,000 price tag on its latest release, the Diva Utopia, shouldn’t push you out of your seat. This is the audio company’s first-ever wireless, connected loudspeaker, and it’s only available at select Focal stores starting this month.
I attended a briefing and listening party (of sorts) of the Diva Utopia on Tuesday night at a private event in New York. I was blown away by its brilliant sound quality and extremely elegant design. I left feeling like I had gone to an ear spa. It was a much-needed treat for my ears after being subjected to overwhelming Manhattan noise all day.
The Diva Utopia is a three-way bass reflex floor-standing speaker. It uses three speakers—bass, midrange, and treble—instead of just the bass and treble speakers found on many similar loudspeakers. The bass reflex bit refers to that vent you usually see on the bottom of a floor-standing loudspeaker. It helps dispel air outside, assisting with a better-sounding low-end.
The standout feature of the Diva Utopia is its UWB (Ultra Wideband) tech. UWB allows a wireless connection between the pair’s left and right speakers, so no cables are running between your setup. Before the listening demo, we assumed that the speaker was yet to be connected to an external amp, but we were pleasantly surprised upon learning that it comes equipped with a built-in speaker, DAC, and amp. All that this monstrosity needs is a simple connection to an AC outlet, which is hard to tell by just looking at it. I’ve heard speakers with UWB often can’t tolerate someone standing between them, which results in distortion.
The briefing was fairly chaotic, with media and PR circling the speakers every now and then, but they didn’t experience a single signal drop. Focal says this is possible via an Intelligent Dynamics Clocking tech that ensures the internal components of the speakers always work in perfect sync.
We all took turns playing our favorite songs on the Utopia via Bluetooth on Tidal. I played Kahani Suno by the Leo Twins and Mr. Sandman by Oppidan, and I felt sad at the thought of these songs never sounding the same again. The low-level detail was intricate enough for me to even make out the decay of an instrument’s reverberation that follows right after it’s played. The treble produced by the M-shaped Beryllium inverted dome tweeter was sharp and crisp and retained its strength even at the highest frequencies in Kahani Suno. The bass on the four 6.5-inch W-shaped woofers was enough to send vibrations throughout the event space with its punchy thump. Every instrument was reproduced with unbelievable accuracy and precision, resulting in a wide, spacious, crystal-clear soundstage. Despite the heavy bass, the vocals reproduced on the 6.5-inch W-shaped midrange driver were able to cut right through it.
The Diva Utopia can be controlled by its dedicated remote, the Focal companion app for iOS and Android, or voice assistance via Google Assistant or Siri. Apart from Bluetooth, it supports AirPlay 2 and Google Cast. It connects to a TV via a regular optical or HDMI eARC input and also supports turntables on an RCA line input. A connectivity feature that stood out to me was the inclusion of a hi-res cable in the box. The speaker supports your standard 24-bit/96kHz audio, but for even better, recording studio-worthy sound, it can go up to 24-bit/192kHz with the hi-res cable.
The speaker looks as stunning as it sounds. It sports an extremely minimal and subtle look with just a backlit Focal logo at its bottom. The overall vibe is contemporary, with polyester fibers lining its walls, which the company claims also helps with insulation and improved sound.
The Diva Utopia is now available for $40,000 a pair at select Focal stores. Check here to see if there’s a store near you selling it.
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