The new Focal UM212 studio monitors have been developed with feedback from audio professionals at … [+]
French high-end loudspeaker brand Focal has announced the launch of Utopia Main, a new range of studio monitors designed for recording professionals such as record producers, sound engineers, mixers and musicians. Using innovative drivers, high-end design, lots of power and some advanced functionality.
Focal claims that the Utopia Main 112 (UM 112) and Utopia Main 212 (UM 212) are the ultimate monitors from the renowned French acoustic brand rooted in a development project that began in 2017. Focal says the new Utopia Main range marks the most important to the brand’s professional audio division since it was established in 2002.
Backed by more than 40 years of driver design research and 20 years of studio monitor development, every component is designed to disrupt the studio monitor market. The monitors maintain their accuracy even at the highest SPL in the studio environment, providing the type of sound essential for reference recording, mixing and mastering.
M-shaped membrane
The ‘M’ shape concept was a design applied to Focal’s new 5″ drivers with a “W” membrane and the company’s 1.5″ Beryllium tweeter. The M profile increases stiffness through reinforcement and acoustic optimization of its magnet to avoid resonances. Focal says the dynamic range and transparency offered by the 5″ driver is unmatched due to the ‘M’ shape moving in and out in a “perfect piston motion” producing a strong planar waveform that delivers a true center” phantom”.
The ‘M’ shaped driver is a design developed by Focal for its new 5′ midrange drivers.
In addition, the low-roll suspension that integrates Focal’s patented Tuned Mass Damper technology seriously reduces the intermodulation created by the suspension. This produces a high-end midrange that enables Utopia flagship monitors to achieve outstanding results in all genres of music and audio-related tasks with an accurate stereo image.
The tweeter used in the new Utopia Main is a Beryllium combination with an ‘M’ shaped diaphragm that provides excellent transient response without causing listening fatigue. This is an important feature if you are spending hours mastering or mixing a recording. For the first time, TMD technology was integrated into the high frequency driver, reducing THD to 3kHz. The diameter of the voice coil was also increased to 25mm, for improved heat dissipation and reduced thermal compression. Finally, a fully optimized rear acoustic environment with a waveguide and an infinite acoustic load enhances chirp performance.
Focal says flagship monitors require low-end performance that can maintain accuracy, even at the highest sound pressure levels. For this, the Utopia Main range has 13″ long-excursion subwoofers housed in a large enclosure, paired with bass reflex ports (one driver for the UM 112 model and two drivers for the UM 212).
The tweeter used in the new Utopia Main is a Beryllium combination with an ‘M’ shaped diaphragm. … [+]
Combining lightweight moving parts and a soft suspension, the drivers produce excellent articulation and definition. The cabinet design is the result of an in-depth study that led Focal engineers to specify 30 mm thick MDF panels, reinforced with a support network that removes deformation. Quarter-wavelength resonance reduction systems were also implemented.
A unique booster system
Since main monitors are often floor-mounted, they require external electronics for studio use. The patented amplifiers used in the UM 112 and UM 212 are a combination of a class H design with a current mode amplifier for the most natural and transparent amplification possible for a driver.
Most amplifiers control voltage instead of current, but the connection between current and voltage is made through the resistance of the drive unit, which will vary depending on temperature, frequency and the position of the coil inside the magnet. By controlling the current rather than the voltage, one directly controls the force presented to the membrane and eliminates unwanted artifacts. Combined with analog filtering, Focal claims the amplifiers achieve the lowest THD ever measured in an anechoic chamber.
The new Focal Utopia UM 112 monitors are priced at $30,000 / £22,000 / €26,000, while the larger UM … [+]
Behind the Utopia Main project is a team of acoustic and electronic engineers, as well as some of the most renowned audio engineers in the industry. Focal says it wanted to ensure the Utopia Main went from concept to completion using real feedback from real users and professionals in the field.
The project went through complex testing stages in some of the world’s legendary recording studios with producers, mixers and mastering engineers with more than 70 Grammy Award nominations between them. They tested the speakers, provided feedback and contributed to the tuning of the final prototypes before the monitors went into production. Focal hopes that the Utopia Main 112 and 212 will set new industry standards in the professional audio and music sectors.
Price and availability: Focal’s flagship Utopia studio monitors are available now. The UM 112 monitors cost $30,000 / €22,000 / €26,000, while the UM 212 model retails for $50,000 / $38,000 / €46,000.
