Over-Ear
Focal Utopia 2022
81Outstanding
$5,000
Full review dataFocal Utopia 2022 vs Meze ARTA: which should you buy?
On aggregated review scores the Focal Utopia 2022 comes out ahead with a HearWiki score of 81. The full breakdown - sub-scores, specs and what reviewers actually said - is below.
Our pick: Focal Utopia 2022 - Outstanding overall at around $4999.
Over-Ear
Meze ARTA
69Good
$6,000
Full review dataScore breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Focal Utopia 2022 leads on 4 of 4 measures.
- Focal Utopia 2022
- Meze ARTA
HearWiki score
81
69
Sound
9.7
8.2
Value
5.8
4.1
Price (USD)
$5,000
$6,000
Generation & platform
The scores rank quality. This is the other question: is the newer one actually newer technology, or the same platform in a new shell?
Same generation
The Meze ARTA is 4 years newer, but it is the same generation of hardware: nothing in the radio, the codecs or the noise cancelling separates them. Nothing separates them on convenience features either, so the choice comes down to tuning and price. For 4 years between them, that is a thin return - treat this as a restyle rather than a new platform.
- Utopia 20222022
- ARTA20264 yr newer
Specifications
Utopia 2022ARTA
- Type
- Over-Ear
- Over-Ear
- Price (USD)
- $5,000
- $6,000
- HearWiki score
- 81
- 69
- Released
- 2022
- 2026
- Availability
- Still sold new
- Sold new
- Driver
- 40 mm dynamic
- 102 mm planar magnetic
- Driver type
- dynamic
- planar
- Driver size
- 40 mm
- 102 mm
- Drivers per side
- 1
- -
- Frequency response
- 5 Hz - 23 kHz
- 3 Hz - 115 kHz
- Impedance
- 80 Ω
- 225 Ω
- Sensitivity
- 104 dB/mW
- 98 dB/mW
- Active noise cancelling
- No
- No
- Weight
- 490 g
- 495 g
- Detachable cable
- Yes
- -
- Connector
- -
- XLR
- Balanced connection
- Yes
- -
What reviewers said
Focal Utopia 2022
The Focal Utopia (2022) is a premium open-back flagship headphone that refines the original's celebrated sound with enhanced clarity, tonal realism, and a luxurious build. It delivers exceptional detail and articulate bass through its 40mm dynamic drivers, making it a top-tier choice for audiophiles despite its high price and open-back nature. The design is an evolutionary upgrade rather than a radical departure, retaining the core 80-ohm impedance and 104dB sensitivity.
- Pro:Exceptional detail and transparency
- Pro:Articulate, well-defined bass
- Pro:Premium, luxurious build quality
- Con:Very expensive at roughly $5,000
- Con:Open-back design leaks sound and offers no isolation
- Con:Included unbalanced cable is relatively short
Meze ARTA
The Meze ARTA is a flagship open-back planar magnetic headphone featuring a large 102mm driver and a warm-neutral, speaker-like sound with an expansive 3D soundstage. It excels with classical, jazz, and acoustic music but demands high-quality desktop amplification due to its high impedance and power requirements. Premium build and accessories complement its ambitious new driver engineering.
- Pro:Large, immersive 3D soundstage
- Pro:Warm-neutral, rich tonality
- Pro:Excellent for classical and acoustic genres
- Con:Requires powerful, serious amplification
- Con:Very high price point
- Con:No noise cancellation or wireless options
Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.
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