AUGUST 2021 MACWORLD 123mmmm
Focal Radiance
PROS- Clean, smooth,
well-integrated sound. - Highest-quality build
materials. - Super comfortable.
CONS - Slightly overbalanced bass
and treble. - Expensive.
PRICE
$1,290
COMPANY
Focal
and generally very good. My
complaints about overbalanced bass
and treble are minor, and you might
actually prefer the tuning. I noticed it
right away probably because I listen to a
lot of headphones, and it was more
apparent in immediate comparison with
the Stellia, which remains the best
headphone I’ve ever heard.
The Radiance is a fine
headphone, built with high-
quality materials that befit its
Bentley co-branding. As such,
it deserves its relatively high
price tag of $1,299, though
that’s still less than half the
price of the Stellia.
If you value the finer things
in life, and you have the
pocketbook to afford them, the
Focal Radiance is well worth
the investment. It is luxury
personified. ■The cable
connectors include
the distinctive Bentley
diamond motif.co/3dEQhfh. It incorporates many of
the same technologies as
the Radiance, but its driver is
beryllium rather than
aluminum/magnesium, and it’s
tuned differently. It’s also
more than twice the price!
I listened to each track on both
headphones, and from the get-go, the
Stellia presented a more even, neutral
balance from the lowest to highest
frequencies. Also, it was a bit more open
and transparent.
On “That’s All” and “Goddess of the
Hunt,” the bass was more tucked in as it
should be, and on “Sex Shooter,” the kick
drum was not as pronounced and I could
hear the secondary vocals a bit better. The
Stellia still had plenty of bass on “Golpe
De Estado,” but not quite as much as the
Radiance. Likewise, the low
bass on “Pines of the Appian
Way” was still there, but in its
proper place, and the climax
was more open and cleaner.
Also, the Passacaglia sounded
more open, and the bass and
treble were better balanced
with the midrange.
BOTTOM LINE
Overall, the sound of the
Focal Radiance is very
consistent across genres—