The goal from the get-go, Boutonet says, was to create the very best sound possible, entirely without compromise—which is what landed the speaker in Focal’s high-end Utopia range. Engineers were given free rein to do what they needed to ensure the speakers sounded as good as they possibly could. “The target was not to make the most compact speaker. The focus was completely on the sound,” adds Boutonet.
The former is certainly clear. The Focal Utopia Diva loom large in the Parisian listening room where I encounter them, with each speaker measuring 47 x 16 x 22 inches and weighing 141 pounds, or 64 kilograms. They make quite the statement, sitting on a chunky aluminium base and adopting the familiar backwards lean of the Utopia range that makes their footprint all the larger.
While there’s something distinctly space age about them, there’s a softness to them, too—quite literally. The panelling that wraps around each speaker, which is both floating and removable for future customization, is made from a light-gray felt material. At the front, the panels come together but don’t meet, leaving a space down the middle that accommodates Focal’s backlit logo and gives you a peek of the molded polymer cabinet underneath.
Naim Check
The Utopia Diva bring together the acoustic expertise of the team at Focal with the electronic know-how of its sister brand Naim, for the first time ever. Each speaker features a 1-inch beryllium tweeter, a 6.5-inch midbass driver, and four side-mounted 6.5-inch woofers, with a sizable 400 watts of Naim Class AB amplification on the inside. That’s per speaker, remember, meaning this setup is capable of 800 watts of power.
Getting the Utopia Diva up and running is as simple as with any other wireless speaker. Simply plug each speaker into power, fire up Naim’s excellent control app (there’s also a remote included, but the app will be more straightforward for most), and stream directly to them via Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, or Spotify Connect—plus there’s Bluetooth 5.3 onboard with aptX Adaptive support.
The Utopia Diva are also UPnP compatible, meaning you can stream from connected NAS drives and computers, and access internet radio. They’re even capable of multiroom—whether that be with other Naim products via the Naim app, or via the built-in capabilities of AirPlay 2 or Chromecast. Sonos, eat your heart out.