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Focal Diva Alta Utopia
Focal has introduced the Diva Alta Utopia, the most advanced model in its family of active wireless loudspeakers developed in partnership with Naim. The French brand is clearly positioning this system very high - not as a luxury network speaker for an elegant living room, but as a fully fledged high-end system intended to replace a traditional stereo set-up made up of loudspeakers, amplifiers, streamer, DAC, cables and the rest of the usual audiophile infrastructure. The difference is that here, everything has been built into large active loudspeakers.
This is not the first product of its kind in the Focal and Naim catalogue. The Diva Utopia and Diva Mezza Utopia have already shown that combining French acoustic engineering with British electronics can result in something more serious than another fashionable all-in-one system. The Diva Alta Utopia goes much further. It is larger, more powerful, more complex and much closer in spirit to Focal's flagship Utopia loudspeakers. The company even mentions inspiration from the Grande Utopia, one of those loudspeakers that, in the high-end world, is not merely a product but almost a symbol of a particular way of thinking about sound.
The scale of the new system leaves little doubt that we are not talking about a device designed to disappear discreetly next to a TV. Each loudspeaker is 148 cm tall, 46 cm wide and 62 cm deep, and weighs 106.5 kg. Focal says the Diva Alta Utopia has been designed for large rooms of up to 120 m², while the press information points to spaces from 50 to 120 m². That immediately changes the perspective. This system is not meant simply to "sound nice" in the background. It is designed to fill a large living room, loft or dedicated listening space, become the sonic centre of the room and look as if it belongs at the very top of the company's range.
The package includes a remote control, decoupling spikes, magnetic spike pads, grilles, a microfibre cloth, a Naim Power-Line mains cable and an 8-metre gold-plated Hi-Res Link cable. These may seem like details, but they say a lot about the whole idea behind the project. The Diva Alta Utopia is meant to be complete from the start - a system that does not require a whole installation to be built around it, yet does not feel simplified for the sake of convenience. Quite the opposite: Focal and Naim are trying to prove that convenience can sit comfortably alongside the ambitions of serious high-end audio.
Each loudspeaker is an active four-way design using seven drive units. The lowest frequencies are handled by four 20.5-cm woofers with "W" cones, working in a push-push configuration. They are joined by a 16.5-cm low-midrange driver with an ultra-rigid "W" cone, a 13-cm midrange driver with a reinforced "W" cone in an "M" profile and TMD suspension, and a 27-mm PRISM tweeter with an "M"-profile inverted dome and IAL2 technology.
Focal quotes a frequency response of 23 Hz - 40 kHz within +/- 3 dB, a low-frequency point of 20 Hz at -6 dB and a maximum sound pressure level of 122 dB for the pair. The numbers are impressive, but the more important point is that every part of the frequency range has its own carefully selected driver and dedicated amplification. The whole system has been designed to combine the scale of large loudspeakers with the precision and control of an active architecture.
One of the most interesting elements is the new PRISM tweeter. Focal presents it as one of its most important innovations in recent years and a major step beyond the beryllium domes that have long been one of the brand's signatures. In this case, the diaphragm is made from a multi-material substrate treated with an advanced microstructuring process. The goal is not technical showmanship for its own sake, but a difficult balance of high rigidity, low mass, controlled damping and freedom of movement. In other words, the treble is intended to be fast, open and highly resolved, but without the nervous edge that can sometimes appear when a manufacturer tries to extract detail at any cost.
The Diva Alta Utopia also uses several other technologies Focal has developed over the years for its most advanced loudspeakers. The "W" cones use a sandwich structure designed to control lightness, stiffness and damping, while the TMD suspension helps stabilise the midrange driver in a critical part of the spectrum. There is also Focus Time Management, a concept associated with the distinctive driver alignment used in Focal's top models.
In the Diva Alta Utopia, that idea has been extended with software correction through the Focal & Naim app. The system takes the listening distance into account and optimises the phase alignment of the drivers. It sounds technical, but the aim is very concrete - a more stable soundstage, better depth and a more coherent musical image. In a large room, these things can be more important than power alone.
Not that power is in short supply. Each loudspeaker is driven by Naim electronics delivering a total of 600 W in class AB. This is divided between four sections: 280 W for the bass, 130 W for the low-midrange, 100 W for the midrange and 90 W for the treble. This is one of the major advantages of an active system of this level. The manufacturer does not have to guess which amplifier the user will choose, which cables will be used or whether the final combination will behave as intended. In the Diva Alta Utopia, the drive units, amplifiers, DAC, DSP, filtering and software are all part of a single design. For some audiophiles, that may still sound close to heresy, but it is hard to ignore the fact that an increasing part of the high-end market is moving in this direction.
In functional terms, the Diva Alta Utopia is designed to act as the centre of a home audio and video system. It supports Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, AirPlay, Google Cast, UPnP, Bluetooth 5.3, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect and Qobuz Connect, while the Focal & Naim app gives access to streaming, internet radio and podcasts. The system plays WAV, FLAC, AIFF and ALAC files up to 24-bit/384 kHz, as well as DSD64 and DSD128. Bluetooth support includes aptX Adaptive, SBC and AAC.
The main loudspeaker is equipped with HDMI eARC with CEC, optical TOSLINK, analogue RCA, USB 2.0 Type A, Ethernet and a Speaker Link connection. HDMI eARC means the loudspeakers can also serve as an extremely luxurious TV sound system, while the analogue input makes it possible to integrate a classic source, such as a turntable with an external phono stage.
The loudspeakers communicate with each other using Ultra Wideband technology, which is intended to provide stable 96 kHz/24-bit signal transmission without compression and with very low latency. Those who want to go further can use the supplied Hi-Res Link cable, which enables a 192 kHz/24-bit connection. It is a sensible solution, because Focal is not pretending that cables no longer matter. Instead, it gives the user a choice - the convenience of wireless configuration or the stability of a wired link for those who prefer to close the subject without compromise.
The Focal & Naim app is not only used for source selection and volume control. The manufacturer has also included acoustic calibration, allowing the system to be adapted to the room and to the user's preferences. ADAPT technology allows the settings to be corrected in a few steps so that the loudspeakers can work more effectively in a specific space. That may be one of the more interesting aspects of the whole project. Even a system this expensive and sophisticated does not play in an ideal vacuum, but in a real interior - with its dimensions, reflections, furniture, glazing and the place where the listener actually sits.
Design is as important here as electronics and acoustics. The Diva Alta Utopia has a striking cabinet, interchangeable side panels made up of four sections, a distinctive illuminated logo slit and details that refer to Focal's flagship models. These include the red and black tweeter grille and the brushed aluminium band surrounding the tweeter, forming a motif the brand calls its "signature watch". It is a small detail, but very Focal - partly technical, partly jewellery-like, and immediately recognisable.
The loudspeakers are available in Grey Felt and Ivory Felt finishes, as well as Black High Gloss, Off White High Gloss and Dune High Gloss. The felt versions use panels made from polyester fibres with OEKO-TEX certification, intended not only to define the visual character of the loudspeakers but also to provide insulating properties that complement the work of the cabinet. The high-gloss versions, meanwhile, are handcrafted at Focal Ebénisterie Bourgogne, which fits the position of a product that sits somewhere between audio system, furniture and technological statement. International pricing is set at €189,999/£165,000/$199,999 for the felt finishes and €199,999/£175,000/$210,000 for the high-gloss versions. Info and photos by Focal.
