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The popularity of the audiophile-tier FOCAL headphones such as the Elear and the Elex ($700 live at Massdrop), the Clear, and upcoming Clear Professional, have sparked some renewed interest in their first wave of consumer-tier priced headphones.
One of those is the Focal Spirit Professional closed-back over-ears and they are currently on sale for $199 with free shipping at Musicians’ Friend and Music 123 via NewEgg and Guitar Center and various through Amazon
If you want to dazzle everyone at the next audio meet-up, you can’t go wrong with the Focal Utopia by Tournaire headphones, open-back, over-ear, open-wallet, with 18K gold, mounted with 6.5 carats of diamonds for the one “low” price of $100,000 🙂 These are a special order, so there is some wait involved. Anyone who bought lots of shares of Apple or Google or Facebook the day they went public, you have earned this 😉
Down goes Elear! Earlier in the morning when I was deal-fishing at Amazon the FOCAL ELEAR went for $750, but as of the time of writing, two fulfilled by Amazon sellers (Audio Advisor and Audio Fanatic) have dropped to $699 with free Prime shipping. You can also see the big picture with the detailed listing. I don’t know if those two “fulfilled by Amazon” sellers are authorized FOCAL dealers.
The price now matches the FOCAL ELEX at Massdrop which also go for $700. Their “drop” is ending in about one day and change. Unlike the “fulfilled by Amazon” which ships in about two days, the Elex at Massdrop will ship in late April 2018. Patience is definitely a virtue.
They are back on at members-only Massdrop, this time with a late April 2018 shipping estimate! It is the new condition FOCAL ELEX Open Over-Ears going for their new low price of $700 with free shipping (they had started at $800).
This particular drop is running for the next 15 days (from blog-posting date). The listing says 250 units are available however, Massdrop did not reset the counter up top, so we have no way of knowing how many are left from this particular drop. All sales are final as usual, but since it is a product build in co-operation with FOCAL, you do get a two year warranty like other FOCAL headphones.
Before FOCAL generated a lot of interested with their audiophile line of headphones, their first foray into headphones were closed-back consumer-tier headphones. IF you are curious about those early days, one of those early headphones, the new condition Focal Spirit One S Closed Over-Ears are on sale at various sellers for $79 to $80 with free shipping fulfilled by Amazon and also the audioLAB eBay store and also by Electronics EXPO thru Walmart and thru NewEgg…
NAMM trade shows typically do not bring out as many new headphones as does CES in Vegas, but that is not to say that there are no new headphones at NAMM either!
Following on the launch of the CLEAR, Focal is back with a “Professional” version of their open-back over-ear FOCAL CLEAR headphones. Some Melisandre red can be found on the interior of the new headphone and a starting price of $1699. Pre-orders are accepted at reputable and authorized dealers such as Adorama.com and B&H Photo. An exact release date is not yet available.
We have just added this new top tier headphone to our on-going Headphone Tracker which has been refilled/reloaded with all the new things that came out at CES 2018 [check our our round-up for a summary of sorts].
The FOCAL Listen Wireless (bluetooth) closed-back over-ears go for $300 in new condition at some of the recognizable dealers, but if you want to save some, then to Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) we go, where AWD actual has them in “Used – Like New” (damaged original packaging) for $224. There you will also find two “fulfilled by Amazon” sellers (Audio Advisor, Wired for Less) offering them for $249 in new condition.
This is the first time I’ve seen this headphone available as used at Amazon Warehouse Deals. Marketplace seller “Wired for less” (100%, 1345 ratings) offers it in “Used – Like New” open-box condition for $1400 with free shipping instead of the $1500 price in new condition. This ships directly from the marketplace seller and it is not Prime eligible.
While the lauded Focal CLEAR remains in-stock for its starting price of $1500, its cousin model, the newer ELEX is having a $100 off discount!
For the next two days and change, Massdrop is offering it for $700 instead of $800. The sale price is guaranteed until the end of this drop in two days and change.
If you had previously purchased it at $800, fear NOT! Existing participating in the drop will also pay $700, not $800. You don’t have to cancel and rebuy. Their email does not say exactly how this will be adjusted but if you had previously committed at $800, you’ll probably see an email or an adjustment. The payment will be collected after the drop, so your credit card will probably be charged for $700 instead of $800.
This is estimated to ship mid-February 2018, and comes with a 2-year warranty since it is a FOCAL-Massdrop co-operation.
This new price puts it in ELEAR territory.
If the Innerfidelity review of the FOCAL CLEAR got you to reconsider these headphones as they are having around ride on the hype train, we have good news for you, they are in-stock for their opening price of $1500 at seven different recognizable audio dealers through Amazon, five of which are Prime eligible.
The popularity of the FOCAL headphones at the audiophile tier, especially after the Innerfidelity glowing review of the CLEAR is having a bit of a “tide lifts all boats” effect on their previous models. Massdrop went back to the older FOCAL headphones, and is now offering, fully unlocked, the new condition FOCAL Spirit Classic Closed-Back Over-Ears for $180 with free US shipping.
The offer runs for the next three days and change as of blog-posting time, and will ship from Massdrop in early February 2018. All sales final. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.
Speaking of the older FOCAL closed-back headphones, their consumer tier closed-back over-ear FOCAL Spirit One S currently goes for $79 and fulfilled by Amazon (Prime shipping).
UPDATE 12/19/17 at 4:30pm ET: 239 units sold…
UPDATE 12/18/17 at 10pm ET: 220 units sold, out of the 1000 available as of this re-check…
UPDATE: the offer is now LIVE! 161 units out of the 1000 got sold as of 10:48am ET. The shipment estimate is April 30, 2018…
Massdrop is now offering their Massdrop x Focal Elex Headphones for $800 with free shipping. One thousand units will be available and serialized. The first 500 buyers will get a serial number under 550. This is based on the Elear and to a lesser extend the Clear.
The offer went live on Monday 12/18/17 at 9am eastern time.
Since it is a Massdrop-FOCAL co-operation, it comes with a 2-year manufacturer warranty. They ship April 30 in 2018, so patience is a 4.5 month virtue in this case 🙂 We are buying before Christmas and getting them after Easter. It may feel like 33 years but it’s only 4.5 months!
Monday 9am eastern is when the all new Massdrop FOCAL ELEX headphones will go live on the Massdrop website for $800.
In the meantime, for less than 1/10th of that price, and delivery in about two business days (if a Prime member) you can get the older new condition closed-back over-ear FOCAL Spirit One S for $70 with free shipping, sold by AudioLAB with the orders fulfilled by Amazon.
Get ready for a Monday 9am eastern Massdrop madness! Starting at that time will be the premiere drop of a brand new audiophile open-back headphone, the Massdrop x Focal Elex Headphones with a price of $800. One thousand units will be available and serialized. The first 500 buyers will get a serial number under 550. This is based on the Elear and to a lesser extend the Clear.
Since it is a Massdrop-FOCAL co-operation, it comes with a 2-year manufacturer warranty. The shipping details will be revealed over there when the offer goes live on Monday 12/18/17 at 9am eastern (6am pacific time).
Here’s a 4 minute Massdrop video touting their FOCAL partnership and such…
UPDATE 12/6/17 at 10:31am ET: wow I jinxed them 🙂 The listings by AudioLAB sold out, but remaining is the listing on eBay by another seller Gear4Less (100%, Tennessee) for $79 [WAS $69] with free shipping.
Price updated here on 11/9/17 AM…
Before FOCAL generated a lot of buzz with their ELEAR/Utopia audiophile headphones, they released a few consumer price tier headphones. One of them is the closed-back over-ear Focal Spirit One S and its price has been steadily dropping.
These sold out: it is now going for $70 with free shipping by AudioLAB which offers it fulfilled by Amazon (free 2-day Prime shipping) and also through their eBay store.
UPDATE 12/9/17 at 11:20am ET: the price now is $689 for all listings…
UPDATE 12/7/17 at 9:26am ET: now we are up to four separate listings, the price range remains the same…
UPDATE 12/6/17 at 11:33am ET: now we are down to two listings instead of three…
With the new CLEAR headphones coming in between the ELEAR and the UTOPIA, we have movement on the ELEAR pricing front. These came out at $1000. At the moment there are three open-box listings of these at Adorama with prices ranging from $669 to $689 depending on condition. Shipping is extra and starts around $14 (YMMV slightly based on zipcode).
PS: if you don’t see any headphones at the linked page, it means all three listings have sold out.
Never Fear, Focal Clear is Here! As of the time of writing, there are four units of the new FOCAL CLEAR open-back over-ear headphone at its starting price of $1500 by seller Audio Advice sold through Amazon. This ships directly from Audio Advice (real world B&M A/V stores), but if you are a Prime member, as part of a lesser-known Prime benefit, you still get Prime-like delivery speed for free. You can tell this by paying attention to the listing details:
Or if you can purchase it directly from Audio Advice with free 2-day shipping with FedEx Ground or Express.
The price war on one of the earlier (pre Elear/Utopia hype) Focal headphones continues! The new condition closed-back over-ear Focal Spirit One S prices dropped further down since our previous post about it ten days ago:
+ for $74 by marketplace seller with the order fulfilled by Amazon (free 2-day shipping for Prime members)
+ for $80 by the audioLAB eBay store (free shipping)
+ for $85 by Electronics EXPO thru Walmart
+ for $88 by Electronics EXPO through NewEgg
UPDATE 11/16/17: the prices have dropped since the original post…
We have a bit of a price war on one of the earlier (pre Elear/Utopia hype) Focal headphones. The closed-back over-ear Focal Spirit One S is on sale in new condition for $89 by AudioLAB fulfilled by Amazon (free 2-day shipping for Prime members) and also for the same price by the audioLAB eBay store (free shipping, but obviously not Prime shipping).
The other option is for $90 with free shipping, this one offered by Electronics Expo, either through NewEgg (until next Saturday) or thru Walmart. Either way, it ships directly from Electronics Expo.
The new condition FOCAL Utopia goes for $4000, but if you are comfortable with open-box headphones, coupon code OCTOBER17 drops it to $2300 in open-box condition at Adorama for a limited time.
This sets up a 3-way decision now as you have the new FOCAL CLEAR that just came out at RMAF 2017 for $1500, and the open-box ELEAR going for $550.
So you have $550 VS $1500 vs $2300, replacing the previous $1000 vs $4000. Definitely closer-to-Earth pricing, especially for the ELEAR.
PS: if you are not sure how to test the coupon code, follow the steps in our open-box ELEAR post. I dont’ want to repeat them everywhere 🙂
During the RMAF 2017 festivities, up high in the Rockies, FOCAL showed their new CLEAR (yes, that’s the name) audiophile headphone that sits between the ELEAR and the UTOPIA and is priced at $1500. There are a couple of videos on it posted the last few hours on The YouTube.
If the CLEAR price is not …cleared by your Spouse/CFO but you still want FOCAL audiophile headphones, there is an alternative. The FOCAL Elear are available in open-box condition for $550 with coupon code OCTOBER17 at Adorama.com. The price before you enter the coupon code is $999.
If you are not familiar with how their website works, step by step instructions after the break…
While the FOCAL four-figures audiophiles are wondering and wandering about the miracles of wonders of the new FOCAL CLEAR that is allegedly going to be priced somewhere between the ELEAR ($1000) and the UTOPIA ($4000) according to the HeadFi CanJam RMAF 2017 Preview Show [YouTube embedded below, the Focal Clear is the first headphone teased], we have a discount on the Focal Spark bluetooth earphones.
Both colors are available in open-box condition by authorized dealer HiDef Lifestyle, offering them for $75 with free shipping (instead of their $100 new condition authorized dealer price) through Amazon Warehouse Deals. This link shows the lowest price by color. Click on “See all offers for this product” next to the color’s name to see the expanded listings per color.
They average 3.4 out of 5 based on a lucky 13 customer reviews at Amazon.
One of the earlier FOCAL headphone models is currently on sale on eBay, it is the new condition FOCAL Spirit ONE S closed-back over-ear headphones going for $100 [WAS $80] with free shipping by eBay seller Gear4Less (100%, Memphis (TN)), with a limit of five pairs per customer.
Per the eBay listing, this is factory sealed, with original accessories included such as a semi-hard case, a cloth pouch, and adapters.
These came out before the Elear/Utopia duo, the early days of FOCAL’s forage into headphoolia 🙂
Price updated in this blog-post on 9/28/17 AM…
The new condition FOCAL Sphear in-ears go for $90 at authorized dealers, but if you are willing to go “The Way of The Used”, you can get them in “Used – Very Good” Open-Box condition by real-world A/V retailer “HiDEF Lifecycle” through Amazon Warehouse Deals. This ships directly from HiDef, so it is not Prime eligible.
The earphones average 3.9 out of 5 based on 138 customer reviews.
As of a late 9/19/17 re-check, these sold out again…
As of 9/17/17 re-check, the $199 option is no longer available…
The new condition FOCAL Listen closed-back over-ear headphones are on sale for $199 with free shipping by authorized dealer “Gramophone” with the orders fulfilled by Amazon. As of the time of writing, there are two units available from this seller at this price. The other sellers go for $249. These are the wired model, they average 4.7 out of 5 based on 14 customer reviews.
The wireless (bluetooth) model goes for $300 in new condition, but as of the time of writing, they are available in “Used – Very Good” condition for $234~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual.
The Focal Spark bluetooth earphones go for $99 in new condition at authorized dealers, but if you want to get your Focal fix for less, they are available in open-box condition (“Used – Like New”) with all conditions and inspected by the seller, authorized dealer “Listen UP” of Colorado, selling it thru Amazon. This ships directly from LISTEN UP and it is not Prime eligible.
As of a 9/11/17 re-check, all the used options are sold out at Amazon…
This limited time sale ended…
Hide your wallets! Or call your Spouse aka CFO to authorize this purchase! The new condition FOCAL ELEAR open-back over-ear headphones are on sale, in new condition, for a limited time for $699 with free shipping at Adorama.com. They are an authorized dealer, they come with the 2-year Focal warranty.
This limited time sale ended…
Hide your wallet or call your Spouse CFO to get pre-authorization for this! The Focal Elear headphones are now available as a bundle at Adorama! For $1150 with free shipping you can get the new condition Focal Elear with the Astell & Kern AK 100 II together!
The Elear go for $1000 on their own while the AK 100 II has a regular price of $900, but it is currently on sale for $539 at select dealers. This is a limited time offer!
So in other words, you can see this offer as buy the Focal Elear and add the AK 100 II for $150 more. You can always sell or trade or gift the Astell which is a DAP, DAC and amp.
Adorama is an authorized dealer of both. This is a limited time offer!
The FOCAL Utopia flagship headphone goes for $4000 in new condition at authorized dealers. For a limited time, authorized dealer Adorama.com is it in a bundle with a FREE iFi and Astell and Kern for the same price of $4000 with free shipping.
The two free items are:
The ifi PRO head-amp currently goes for $1700 but occasionally goes on sale for $1300. The AK 100 II is currently on sale at authorized dealers for $539 with a $900 regular price.
So these are definitely not throwaway freebies 🙂 But if you don’t want them, you can always trade them or sell them or gift them to friends and families and such. They could end up subsidizing a chunk of the Utopia purchase price 🙂
This is a limited time offer!
PS: if you were 49.95% vs 49.95% on whether to get this bundle, this may help tilt the scales: they are also including a Pig Hog 1/4″ TRS Female to 3.5mm (1/8″) Male Stereo Adapter for free 🙂
We have a new arrival! The Focal Sphear S in-ears that were previously announced, focal’s follow-up to the “Sphear” are now in-stock and shipping for $129 by multiple authorized dealers as follows:
+ OneCall.com (aka Huppin’s)
+ authorized eBay sellers: HiDef Lifestyle and Redfli (Indiana)
Focal is now riding high(er) in the headphone world thanks to the hype train generated by the Elear and Utopia duo. Their entry into headphones had been a rather timid approach at the $300-ish price range, but their second wave went high (Utopia, Elear) and low (affordable models) in terms of pricing.
UPDATE: Last Call! This daily FOCAL giveaway promotion ends on Sunday July 23!
Reputable online dealer OneCall, which is also the B&M A/V dealer Huppin’s in the city of Spokane (Washington) [yes, Gonzaga, Go ZAGS!] is an authorized FOCAL dealer and until July 23rd in 2017, they are running a daily giveaway of FOCAL headphones.
The prizes are either the FOCAL Listen over-ears (wired or bluetooth) and the Spark earphones (wired or bluetooth). One person will win a pair every day. It is not clear which one of the four models you’ll win on that particular date or whether you have a choice. You can register for this promotion every day.
The promotion is administered by Gleam, and requires a login using email or Facebook or Amazon or Instagram. The page shows the total number of entries, so you can look at those and decide whether you want to take a shot at them. You can enter every day until the promotion ends.
To make it easier to find this, I am adding a link to this in the Sidebar of the blog.
Just like it happened when V-Moda went bluetooth with the Crossfade over-ears, the release of a new bluetooth headphone is causing the previous wired-only model to drop in price. In this case, the release of the brand new Focal Listen Wireless has pushed down the used prices of the wired Focal Listen over-ears.
You can get it in “Used – Like New” condition (open box condition) from authorized dealer “IQ Entertainment” through Amazon Warehouse Deals (AWD) for $179 with free shipping. They ship directly from IQ Entertainment, which is a B&M A/V store in the great state of Virginia. The IQ listing says this comes with a full warranty as they are an authorized dealer.
AWD’s own listing is $207~ in “Used – Like New” condition. AWD’s actual (Amazon’s own inventory) makes no promises of any manufacturer warranty, but they offer a 30-day return policy.
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