Focal has announced a new range of studio monitors, Utopia Main, for producers, sound engineers, mixers and musicians. Utopia Main 112 and the dual-driver Utopia Main 212 mark the company’s entry into the field of soffit-mounting studio monitoring systems.
The ‘M-shape’ concept employed by the monitors includes a new 5-inch midrange with ‘W’ membrane and 1.5-inch Beryllium tweeter. The M-shape claims a strong planar waveform and gives a true ‘phantom’ centre. In addition, its small-roll suspension integrates Focal’s Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) technology, which reduces intermodulation created by the suspension.
The tweeter, with the combination of Beryllium with an M-shaped membrane, claims exceptional transient response without causing listening fatigue. For the first time, the Focal TMD technology is also integrated into the high-frequency driver, halving Total Harmonic Distortion at 3kHz.
The voice coil diameter was also increased to 25mm, for better heat dissipation and reduced thermal compression. A fully optimised rear acoustic environment with a waveguide and an Infinite Acoustic Load (IAL) further enhances the tweeter’s performance.
The Utopia Main range features 13-inch long-excursion subwoofers, housed in a massive enclosure, paired with bass-reflex ports (one driver for the UM 112 model and two drivers for the UM 212 one). Combining very light mobile parts and soft suspension, these drivers deliver excellent articulation and definition.
The cabinet is the result of an in-depth study that led to the use of 30mm-thick MDF panels, reinforced with a bracing network designed to remove any warping. Quarter-wavelength resonance reduction systems were also implemented. Simulations were carried out to figure out how to deliver precise bass while mitigating port noise.
Since main monitors are frequently soffit-mounted, these require external electronics. The amplifiers of the UM 112 and UM 212 use a combination of a class-H design with a current-mode amplification, Combined with analogue filtering, these amplifiers achieve the lowest THD level ever measured in Focal’s anechoic chamber.
This project went through complex testing phases, in studios in Europe and in the US, with producers, mixers, and mastering engineers – collectively boasting more than 70 Grammy-award nominations – that tested the speakers, provided feedback collectively, and contributed to fine-tuning the final sound and features of these monitors. Thanks to them, the Utopia Main 112 and 212 will stand as industry benchmarks in professional audio.
The Utopia Main 112 (UM 112) has a retail price of US$29,999 per pair, and Utopia Main 212 (UM 212) has a retail price of US$49,999 per pair.
More: www.focal.com/catalog/pro-audio/monitoring-speakers/utopia-main
