Focal Utopia Focal Stellia Some IEMs by Bose

I own the Stellia and don't plan on selling them. I also own Utopia. When I put on the Stellia headphones the sound is impressive and immersive and I'm not thinking "this could be better" until I put on the Utopias and they are another level better. But, that's to be expected in closed back...

Me too. I got a stinking good deal ($2,000 US) and they came with a nicer than the stock cable. I'm listening to Vieux Farka Touré on them right now. Had them over a year now and never, ever feel like I want to even look at anything else. I have the Stellia too for outside the house, which, when...

I bought the Stellia used off ebay. I wasn't too sad to be replacing the cables, never really liked the stock ones. The Corpse cable is much more pleasing to me.

Because I'm apparently an idiot who isn't paying attention :-)

My Stellia stock cable just went bad earlier this week. Left side went dead. I hunted around and ended up buying a Corpse cable. Not the gravedigger, their standard cable. I got it today and I'm listening to the phones with that cable as I write this. The cable is fantastic. It doesn't tangle...

Focal Utopia. Nothing I've heard before beats it.

I could almost do that, but not ideally. I also need(ed) a pair for when I'm out and about, whenever I'll be able to do that again; places are opening up slowly here in California, but I'm probably not going to go breathing other people's air again until there's a vaccine. However, I also like...

When I took the plunge and bought the Utopias I sold all four of my other headphones and an amplifier to offset the cost. No way I was going to listen to them once I had the Utopias. I'll have these on my head and forget they're there (distracted) and a sound will come from, say, 8 o'clock...

Were they pressing in on the top of your dome? I read where another guy had that issue. They have foam up there but if you have a bit of a crest there on top of your noggin' then apparently that is a possible pressure point.

It was for me. I own both Utopia and Stellia (was going to try both and sell one, but looks like I'm keeping both) and I don't notice much difference. I wear thick-framed Persol glasses and I still get a good seal. The bass is great, love it, and I even get great bass on the Utopia. I bought...

That list is pretty darn subjective. I sure like the Utopia and wouldn't argue with its placement, but there's a whole lot of headphones ahead of the Stellia I don't agree with. And placing the Stellia and Elegia in the exact same placement doesn't make sense. Does his ears work?

Makes sense, given the same company made all three. My problem is that it's a bit over budget for me. Not by a lot but I would at least like to look at slightly less pricey alternatives that might be nearly as good.

Focal Arche is now on my short list. Gotta be a DAC/AMP combo, so that works.

As a new Utopia owner I'm really enjoying the extreme upgrade they provide me, but I'm running them from a Chord Mojo, which has been good enough, while of course not the best; but now the Mojo is acting up: cutting out, acting weird. It appears my five-year-old dac/amp is on the way out, I want...

You're right that they are distinctly different, while at the same time so familiar. Most would say the Utopia sounds better. I'm not going to dispute that, but I am going to say that I feel it's more about sounding different rather than necessarily better——my opinion.

I don't know anything about the older ones being better (we're still talking RS-2e right?). I know that some of the early RS-1Es had weird problems with the drivers not being installed flush, and sounding "wrong." I don't like any of the cushions on their smaller cups. The only ones I was able...

And I'll tell you this: if you put a Rolex next to a Timex designed to look like a Rolex I'd be hard pressed to tell you which is which. I'm not a watch expert. 99.9% of people aren't headphone experts. If you walked up to a random person and asked them to guess how much your Stellia headphones...

Nope, it's the universal rat's @$$. I think that people overestimate how much other people care about what you are doing/wearing in public. If someone notices the Stellia headphones on your head, it's likely going to be a very peripheral thing—they'll think, "those are nice" and then get right...

Usability is great. You can power these things right from your smartphone if you don't have, or forget, your dongle DAC (I use a Dragonfly Red with my Stellia and iPhone). They sound far, far better than any other closed back I've ever heard through my phone and DF DAC. Shoot, I think you could...

Get new ones then. Ebay sellers aren't always sane or realistic.

Red magnets on mine too, bought last week on Ebay.

I'm quite bald so they sit right on the skin of my scalp. I have an egg head though so they conform nicely—no discomfort. I find them to be one of the most comfortable headphones I've worn, excepting the Mr. Speakers Ether Flows, which where like pillows on my head, but didn't sound as stellar.

Most people have stated they prefer the more standard 2.5mm connectors that are on the Stellia opposed to the more esoteric Lemo connectors on the Utopia. There are a lot more cable options for the 3.5mm jack (edited for accuracy) than for the Lemo connectors. Do you want them to be Lemo on the...

That's what happened to me when I read them too -- lol.