FOCAL HEADPHONE OWNERS UNITE!
CALL FOR FOCAL HEADPHONE DSP PRESETS ON ROON!
Hello Focal headphone owners! This post is a call to action to urge you to urge Focal to create DSP headphone presets for Roon. As you all probably know, Audeze has done this already and it’s time for Focal to catch up.
How great can DSP presets boost the headphone listening experience? Check out this article from Audiophile Style/Chris Connaker on how custom DSP presets took RAAL ‘phones to an incredible new level: Taking the RAAL-requisite SR1a Headphones To Another Level - Reviews - Audiophile Style
I contacted Focal Customer Service/USA asking them to create Presets for Roon a while back and got a fairly quick response, as follows:
Thank you for your gracious comments about our Utopia Headphones, and thank you for your input regarding Presets.
We listen to all our customers requests and recommendations, and we forwarded them to the Engineers and Product Specialists. Although we get quite a large number of recommendations, I can assure you that they do look through all of them, and try and implement as many and as best they can.
I have forwarded your request / recommendation to them as well.
Please let me know if I can help with anything else.
Thank You
Jimmy R.
Customer Service
I’m hoping if enough of us urge Focal to create the presets they will happily (?) oblige us! To that end, below is a link to Focal Customer Service/USA (those outside USA please go to Focal website for proper contact info).
I also included (below) my email to Focal (yes, I sucked up to them a bit, but we want to encourage them to act so let’s be nice!). Feel free to cut and paste, crib, copy, and borrow from my email for your email to Focal! Also, as you’ll see I mention Utopias specifically, but we want to encourage ‘em to create Presets for the entire headphone line! Apologies to owners of other models as this was shortsighted of me.
That said, thank you for your help and participation in this mission! Let’s get Focal to take our headphone listening to the next level with Presets for Roon! Email Focal today!
Focal Customer Service (USA): info@focal-america.com
My email to Focal:
I’m a Focal Utopia headphone owner and love these headphones. Absolute masterpiece! I recently added a music server to my system and started using Roon. As you likely know, Roon offers DSP EQ and crossfeed. I noticed Audeze has provided Roon custom presets for their ‘phones. I contacted Roon to ask if there was a Focal custom preset I wasn’t seeing. They replied that there isn’t one, yet they’d be very enthusiastic to work with Focal and include presets should y’all provide ‘em.
I know your Focal Arche amp included EQ presets for your various headphones. I was immediately interested in hearing how these settings would boost the already mind-blowing sound of your Utopia ‘phones. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to audition your amp, much less purchase one. Now I understand the amp has been discontinued? Regardless, the point is the custom presets were a strong selling point. Now this feature can be resurrected and included in Roon. It’s a win/win and I urge you to pursue this opportunity! (By the way, I’m in no way affiliated with Roon; I’m just a Focal Utopia headphone fan.)
As you’re doubtless aware, DSP is fast gaining not only acceptance in the audiophile community, but seen as something desirable. A recent article on the computer audiophile website Audiophile Style gushes about the benefits of headphone DSP and custom curves created for RAAL SR1s (Taking the RAAL-requisite SR1a Headphones To Another Level - Reviews - Audiophile Style).
That said, I am hoping you would be willing to work with Roon and provide them custom DSP settings for your headphones. It’d be a great selling point, your extant customers would greatly appreciate it and it just might help sway new customers looking at headphones to purchase Focals. And again Roon has expressed enthusiastic interest.
Thanks for your attention to this matter and thanks for making the astounding Utopia headphones!
Cheers,
