Constantly striving for sonic excellence, Focal has just announced a new, improved version of their top-of-the-line Utopia headphones. Now referred to as the 2022 Edition, the new phones are an evolution of sonic and aesthetic performance.
Here’s what they’ve told us so far, we’ve got a review pair on the way:
A new voice coil was developed for the new Utopia. Former-less Aluminum (material of previous Utopia voice coil) and copper to improve the reliability – approx. 30% of copper and 70% of aluminum (because aluminum is a lighter material).
Sonic upgrade: Focal changed the driver grill, with the ‘M’ shape grill (Pure Beryllium) that they developed with Clear Mg. The new grill perfectly follows the shape of the dome and driver inside, so it reduces the gap between the driver and the grill. Reducing the gap helps in the linearity of the frequency response, mostly for trebles. The M-shaped drivers and M-shaped grills enable even clearer and more accurate musical reproduction.
Design overhaul, so this more clearly looks like the flagship model of Focal’s headphone family, with its distinctive honeycombstyling. This is NOT just about looking good: the honeycomb design enables a more open sound, with greater driver movement.
Lighter design for greater listening comfort – by using forged, recycled carbon yokes.
Handcrafted in France in Focal’s specialist headphone atelier, which has received significant investment since Focal launched the original Utopia.
These are premiering at CanJam this weekend, where you can see them in the Focal Booth – F3/F4/F7/F8.
And if you need a pair right now, you can purchase them here:
For more info, Focal has a new section of their website all about the new 2022 edition. We certainly can’t wait to hear them and compare to our current reference Utopias. Please click here:
This is more of a long-term review, but in a good way.
After living with the Degritter for some time now and having cleaned a ton of records with it, the out of the box love has grown. At about $3,000, this is the best one going for our money. The reason we say “about $3,000” is because the original price was $3,200, the price of the new soon to be released Mark II version is also $3,200, but there are still a few first gen machines for sale on retailer shelves at a slightly discounted price.
You know I’m not one to throw that B-word around loosely. However, I’ve owned a lot of RCMs over the years. Please notice the use of the word “own.” This journey began in the late 70s with an original Nitty Gritty and started a regimen of vinyl hygiene that’s stayed in place. We went through a few Nitty Gritty’s, a Keith Monks (both on loan and a buy) nearly all of the VPI machines, a ClearAudio RCM, a Loricraft, the Kirmuss, and the Systeme Deck.
The base VPI 16.5 that’s been around since current CEO Mat Weisfeld was only a figment of his father Harry’s imagination is still not a bad way to go for the budget minded record collector. But ultrasonic cleaning is the way to go to get your records super clean. Ten years ago, I might have commented that “you could buy a lot of vinyl for $3,200” but today not as much. Considering what records cost these days – especially if you have a lot of rare items, or an extensive collection of remastered discs, keeping them pristine is the best money you can spend.
If you’ve ever read an article on vinyl in the mainstream press, they love to wax poetic about the classic sound of vinyl, with all the ticks and pops. Forget that – it’s not part of the true vinyl experience and it doesn’t have to be. Especially if you have a Degritter
Hands down the most user-friendly model going
You can take a quick peek at the step by step operation, here at the Degritter website. (https://degritter.com/products/mark-1/). You can also download the well-written manual, which will give you an even better idea of how the Degritter works.
It does its job with distilled water, the ultrasonic process takes care of the rest. If you have really dirty records, they do supply their own cleaning fluid that you can add to the wash tank, which should be changed every 30 records anyway. It’s not the worst idea to save the really dirty ones for a single batch.
Once the water tank is filled, all that needs to be done is load your favorite record, choose the cleaning mode, and push the go button. There are three modes, QUICK – 2 min/15 sec., Medium – 3 min/45 sec and HEAVY, 6 min-45 seconds. As most of my records are either very clean, going beyond medium was never necessary. In the past when using another ultrasonic cleaner, and buying more bargain records prone to filthy surfaces, the VPI 16.5 was used for an initial cleaning, then a pass through the ultrasonic.
A search for some really scummy records at our local used record store put the Degritter’s maximum cleaning ability to the test, and it passed with ease. This leads to the next great thing about the Degritter – it’s the quietest RCM going. While my Degritter is in a separate room where the main turntables in my system reside, behind a closed door, this still is a RCM you could listen to music with while cleaning records and not be annoyed.
It’s ability to perform the cleaning and drying cycle unattended makes cleaning records as painless and unobtrusive as can be. Nothing more boring than sitting above the VPI, scrubbing, and squirting and making a moderate mess. Again, convenience and refinement has a higher price tag. The seasoned record collector will love the ease of operation, and a clean, dry record to drop in a fresh archival sleeve when you’re done. Fantastic.
Odds and ends
The Degritter also allows you to set how high the water/cleaning fluid rises on the record, so that it doesn’t soak the label. They also offer adaptors for 7 and 10-inch records that will let you maintain these records. As I only have a handful of 78s, I did not try to clean them, but will ask the Degritter people if this is possible. Stay tuned.
Finally, this machine really caters to the vinyl enthusiast that is going to clean a LOT of records. Filters and accessories are very inexpensive, and the spare wash tank is a great touch. If you’re going from a big batch of dirty records to not so dirty, or brand new records, you can just pop a new tank in and keep cleaning while you rinse out the first tank.
The lack of sound
Every fluid and vacuum RCM we’ve tried always leaves a tiny bit of residue, even after a second distilled water wash only. It’s not the end of the world as we know it, but if you have a highly resolving system, you might hear a slight bit of swishing noise, almost like a faint hiss from a tape deck with a lot of wow and flutter. The ultrasonic method has none of this.
Even with a brand new record, (which we always suggest you clean anyway) the level of surface noise eliminated by the Degritter is almost like putting a better grade of tubes in your phono preamplifier. That kind of thing.
If you add a Degritter to your vinyl setup, you will never have to reminisce about those “clicks and pops” again. And that’s a wonderful thing. PS: The Degritter was one of our two Product of the Year winners in the accessories category. Highly recommended.
Lansche Audio is pleased to announce High End by Oz, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, as its official distributor for North America.
High End by Oz LLC. is a high-end audio distributor covering North America with some of the finest high-end audio products from around the world. The addition of Lansche Audio to the portfolio further expands our state-of-the-art offering in the North American market.
Lansche Audio was founded in 1990. Its production facility is in Konstanz, Germany. Company co-founder Rudiger Lansche studied electrical engineering. A passionate violinist, he has been involved in the development of loudspeaker systems for over 40 years. He has developed the plasma tweeter (the basis for the Corona ion tweeter) decades ago – this is what lies in the heart of Lansche speaker design.
The launch of Lansche speakers to take place in the upcoming Capital Audio Fest scheduled to take place on 11/11- 11/13 2022 in Rockville, Maryland.
They invite you to experience Lansche Audio speakers through our dealership network in North America.
I’ve been living with a pair of Totem’s Kin Play monitor speakers for almost two years now. Needless to say I love em.
However, a recent dog related accident, had one of them toppling off the (what I thought was unmoveable) filled, Sound Anchors stands and dinging a corner. This had me re-thinking priorities, but as I mentioned, the sound of the Kin Play speakers was fantastic for our bedroom system, allowing streaming music via AirPlay with the built-in DAC, or 2.1 video sound.
Enter the Kin Play Towers. Bigger sound, more bass, and more power! 200 Wpc to be exact. Now I can crank up the sound level even higher when watching F1. Life is good. And, even though they are made in black, the satin white blends into a small space exquisitely.
We will have a full review in issue 114, but there’s no way these are going back to the Great White North. If you need a compact, yet powerful and highly functional pair of powered tower speakers, the Kin Play Towers tick all the boxes.
$2,250/pair at your Totem dealer. Tell them I sent you.
Somehow, Audio Research is remembered too often only for their Reference series of components. (i.e. the most expensive), yet the LS series is still incredibly good, always incorporating the benefits of R&D from the REF series.
Time and current parts/shipping issues have pushed the price of the LS preamplifier to an even $10k, where the REF 6SE is now $17,000. Inflation doesn’t tell the whole story – back in 1989 when the original hybrid FET/Tube LS-1 was launched at $1,679 only pencils out to about $4k in today’s currency, seems at first blush that the LS-28SE might be overpriced.
However, the original LS-1 was a single ended line stage, where the LS-28SE is fully balanced, all of the switched controls on the front panel are now replaced by microprocessor driven controls, and most importantly, the sound is much closer to the REF than ever before. So much so, that comparing the LS-28SE to a friends REF 5 (that retailed for about 12k back in 2009) really reveals where the progress has been made. Where the prior LS-27/SE had a pair of 6H30 tubes, the 28SE has four.
For all but those with the biggest ambitions, the LS-28SE is an end of the road preamplifier. We’ve got a full review in the works, and some comparisons with past ARC preamplifiers to put it in better perspective. Regardless, the legacy is intact with the LS-28SE.
Zu is back with the latest edition of their Dirty Weekend speakers.
If you’re not in the know, these are like a winery releasing a small batch of some of their best stuff, but not for crazy money.
The catch is you have to get them while they are available. Like a pop up store. We’ve got the last version and they are out of this world good. Highly recommended.
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Constantly striving for sonic excellence, Focal has just announced a new, improved version of their top-of-the-line Utopia headphones. Now referred to as the 2022 Edition, the new phones are an evolution of sonic and aesthetic performance.
