HeadphoneOverreview
Focal’s best-sealed closed-back — and a 12 kHz peak that some ears never find.
Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.
The short version
A closed-back dynamic tuned warm and bass-forward, close to the Harman target below 4 kHz. Sources agree most on its speaker-like dynamics, then on its unusually strong passive isolation, the comfort of its Pittards leather pads, a deep bass shelf and a natural midrange with a shallow 4–5 kHz dip. Every measurement rig also shows a narrow peak around 11–13 kHz, and listeners split on it: a majority hear the treble as smooth and fatigue-free, a large minority as metallic. They also split on build — premium materials against creaks, a short stiff cable and a run of driver failures — and on value now that it trades used. Easy to drive at 35 Ω.
The 2020 Focal for Bentley Radiance — a limited edition that has since sold through and now trades used. A second batch followed in 2022. Not the closed-back Elegia it succeeded (same 40 mm aluminium/magnesium “M”-dome, very different tuning), the Celestee, the beryllium Stellia, or the later Azurys, Hadenys and Bathys.
In 2020 Focal handed its closed-back platform to a car company. The Focal for Bentley Radiance came out of a group relationship — Focal and Naim share a parent, and Naim has built Bentley’s in-car systems since 2008 — and it wears the association openly: black leather over copper, a diamond lattice borrowed from Bentley’s seat quilting, winged badges on the yokes. Underneath sat the 40 mm aluminium/magnesium “M”-dome from the discontinued Elegia, retuned warmer and bassier, at $1,290.
It was sold as a limited edition, came back for a second batch in 2022, and has since sold through; today it is a used-market headphone. Its reviewers broadly agree it hits hard, seals out the room and wears well. They divide on its treble — the smoothest Focal ever made to one group, a sharp 12 kHz spike to the other — and, now that it is out of production, on whether it is still worth the money.
The reviewer consensus
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
The most agreed-on thing about it: a physical, speaker-like punch that reviewers describe as felt as much as heard. The one recurring qualifier is that Focal’s own open-backs hit a little harder.
“Hands-down the greatest characteristic of the Radiance is its dynamic ability.”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“But it doesn’t quite have the same gusto as the other Focal headphones I’ve heard.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Exceptional for a closed-back by nearly every account — better than the Stellia and HD 820 by one, the best a measurement-minded reviewer had met by another. The lone dissenter heard it as barely closed, which fits the one thing everyone agrees the Radiance needs: a proper seal.
“the Radiance’s passive noise isolation capability is truly remarkable, perhaps even the best I’ve ever encountered”
unheardlab
“The sound is very open for a closed back, and I’d consider it more of a semi closed back. Isolation isn’t great.”
433521, Head-Fi member review
Resolve (Headphones.com) describes the Radiance as fully closed — it vents, just not through the logo port the Elegia uses — and easier to seal than the Elegia. Pads change it most: on unheardlab’s rig Focal Clear pads cut 11–19 dB below 300 Hz, and on Elrics’ AliExpress leather pads cost about 5 dB at 200 Hz.
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
The soft Pittards leather pads draw some of the strongest praise in the set. The caveats are real but narrower: 435 g is not light, leather runs warm, and the spring-loaded cups press unevenly on some heads — a few owners report a hard clamp out of the box or cups that won’t sit flush.
“All in all, the Radiance’s pads are undoubtedly among the best I’ve ever worn.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com
“the ear cups are held to their yokes with a curiously forceful springs that prevent them from sitting flush to on the sides of my head”
dsnyder, The HEADPHONE Community
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Natural, even and rarely shouty to most, with a shallow dip in the upper mids that softens female vocals a little. A minority hear them as thin, or occasionally edgy on the loudest passages.
“The Radiance’s mid-range is just about spot-on in terms of both linearity and instrument/vocal presentation.”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“Having said that, I personally did not find the Radiance to my liking due to the thinness in its mids and its unnatural timbre.”
sennfan83261, Head-Fi (TTVJ loaner tour)
Every rig shows a notch around 4–5 kHz: against each rig’s own HD 600 it sits 5–10 dB lower at 4 kHz, and AutoEq’s fits for oratory1990, Crinacle and Super* Review all add 3.7–6.4 dB back near 4.2 kHz. Below 3 kHz oratory1990’s trace stays within about 1 dB of the Harman 2018 target.
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Everyone agrees on the fact — a deep shelf with more heft than mid-bass punch, and far more sub-bass than an open Focal. They differ on the dose: generous to most, slightly too much around 70–150 Hz for a few, and one reviewer who has heard several units says it varies from pair to pair.
“a generous bass shelf under 100hz, which gives the sub bass region a very good level of presence that, although a little boosted for my preference, never felt overbearing or intrusive”
Chrono, Headphones.com
“It is definitely bass-boosted, with very good extension but slightly too much impact around 70–110 Hz, followed by a small dip around 150–200 Hz.”
Over-ear mania
“Some units of this were exceptional, other units had unhinged levels of bass and were way too boomy for me.”
Resolve’s Headphone Ranking List, Headphones.com
Every rig agrees on the shape: against each rig’s own HD 600 the Radiance carries 11–16 dB more at 20 Hz and 2.5–7 dB more at 100 Hz, and AutoEq’s fits for oratory1990, Crinacle and Super* Review each start with a 4–4.7 dB cut centred at 95–118 Hz — the hump owners describe. Against the Harman 2018 target, oratory1990’s trace is within about 1 dB below 50 Hz and +2.6 dB at 100 Hz. Resolve found the extension survives pad swaps and glasses far better than the Elegia’s, though Fc-Construct notes glasses still cost some sub-bass.
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Warm and Harman-like is the consensus — Crinacle files it under “Harman neutral” and several reviewers call it the best-tuned closed Focal. The dissent hears the same curve as lean, sharp or W-shaped once the upper treble is in play.
“A closed back headphone with a surprisingly high adherence to the Harman target.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com
“A fun W-shaped signature that ultimately tilts too far lean and sharp to call it balanced.”
listener’s Headphone Ranking List, Headphones.com
Against Harman 2018, oratory1990’s trace is within about 1 dB from 20 Hz to 3 kHz apart from +2.6 dB at 100 Hz, then 3.5–5.8 dB short at 4–5 kHz, 4–8 dB short at 9–11 kHz and 3.6 dB over at 13 kHz — a near-target curve with a dip and a spike up top. Focal’s own launch framing, relayed by TechHive, was more bass and a bit more treble than the Elegia.
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Good but not class-leading, and judged almost entirely relative to price. Closed-back comparisons flatter it; open-back and same-price comparisons (the Stellia, LCD-XC, Clear) mostly do not.
“For a closed-back headphone it is remarkably resolving, and I think its internal resolution almost matches that of the open-back Clear.”
Chrono, Headphones.com
“Probably the best of the closed-back Focals. Some tuning refinements over the Stellia, though technically limited.”
Crinacle, headphone ranking list (grade B)
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Intimate, and rated almost exactly neutral on balance: about HD 600 width is the reference several reviewers reach for. Whether that reads as small or as generous depends on whether the comparison is open-backs or other closed-backs.
“The soundstage is small, “intimate” if you want to be polite. Think HD600 size except without any openness at all.”
Fc-Construct, Headphones.com
“it’s a more expansive soundstage than most closed-back headphones I’ve tried”
Napier Lopez, The Next Web
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Mostly praised: placement inside the small stage reads as precise and three-dimensional to the majority, good enough for gaming. A minority finds it unremarkable or a little fuzzy at the centre.
“superb for gaming due to their ability to pin-point individual sounds in a 3D ‘environment’”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“imaging is also not particularly impressive. Vocalists are presented front and centre, although the image can be a tad fuzzy”
unheardlab
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Sources split. The larger camp hears no peaks and no sibilance, and calls it the most treble-friendly Focal; the other hears a narrow spike around 12–13 kHz that turns cymbals metallic, and reaches for EQ. The split loosely tracks time — most 2020–21 listeners heard it smooth, most from 2022 on heard the peak.
The peak is on every graph, but its height is not. Against each rig’s own HD 600, all seven rigs with raw data sit 1.6–5.8 dB higher at 13 kHz; at 12 kHz four sit 10–14 dB higher and three only 2–4 dB. oratory1990’s GRAS shows the mildest version (+3.6 dB over Harman at 13 kHz, after a 4–8 dB shortfall at 9–11 kHz). Below about 8 kHz the treble reads even on every rig. On Earphones Archive’s B&K 5128 the five seatings agree within about 1 dB below 7 kHz but spread 3.5–7.7 dB from 8 to 16 kHz.
vs. listeners — Both camps are describing one curve from opposite ends — even to 8 kHz, then a narrow spike that moves with how the headphone sits (Resolve: the Radiance “does show a significant frequency response variation depending on the positioning”) and lands only on music with energy up there. Units may differ too: Resolve’s 2022 production unit measured differently in the treble from his 2020 pre-production sample, owners report uneven pad thickness on some pairs, and he has heard pairs vary in bass. Where it falls on your ears is close to a coin flip, and both readings can be honest.
“there is simply a complete absence of harshness and strident-ness”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“be mindful of the additional sheen that the Radiance brings, which is much more prominent than that found on the other Focal headphones, such as the Clear or the Celestee”
unheardlab
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Most reviewers writing at $1,290 new called it a standout among high-end closed-backs. The dissent — mostly later, and judging a discontinued headphone with scarce $150 pads, patchy second-hand support and used prices around $600 — thinks it was always priced above what it delivers.
It is used-only now: Headphones.com lists it as sold through in North America, and Amazon carries only a marketplace offer far above launch price. Used listings tracked by RADAR have a median of about $589–$625 over the last year.
“Focal has managed to create what I honestly believe is the price-to-performance champion in the high-end closed-back headphone category.”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“In terms of value, the Radiance might seem slightly overpriced at its original MSRP of $1299 USD.”
unheardlab
Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average
Sources split on what living with it is like. The larger camp praises aluminium, full-grain leather and a creak-free fit; the other reports a short, stiff cable, creaking headbands and cups, and a run of driver failures and channel imbalances — mostly fixed under warranty, but a harder ask on a used pair.
Across the 1,767-post Head-Fi thread, three owners report a dead driver and one a bass channel imbalance; others report uneven pads or creaking, mostly repaired under warranty. A Focal representative put the pad-thickness variance at under 2 % of units, by one owner’s account. Among Headphones.com’s 43 buyer reviews are two creaking headbands, a clicking cup and two driver faults.
“The Radiance is devoid of creaks and groans that can befall some high-end headphones”
Matty Graham, Headfonia
“The stock cable is as bad as it is on any other Focal headphone. It’s thick, stiff, and generally unmanageable.”
WaveTheory, Head-Fi member review
The hardware
Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from dam.focal-naim.com.
Follow the evidence
Read with context
A read of where the reviews land as of October 2026. Most of them were written in 2020–22 against a $1,290 new price, and the Radiance is a used-market buy now — so the value verdicts read kinder than today’s prices warrant.
The treble above 10 kHz is where ears differ most. How the Radiance sits on your head, whether you wear glasses, your own hearing and possibly the individual pair all move that region — and different test rigs read it differently too.
It seals tightly, and the bass depends on that seal. A pair that doesn’t fit your head — or worn, mismatched or aftermarket pads — will sound thinner and isolate less than the reviews describe.
Owner star ratings come mostly from people who chose to buy it, and the largest set is the store that sold it, so treat them as colour rather than proof.
It was a limited run, long out of production. Condition, pad wear and remaining warranty vary a lot from pair to pair, warranty rarely transfers to a second owner, and genuine replacement pads are expensive and getting scarce.