Focal Stellia closed back alternatives?
May 22, 2020 at 6:25 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14
jamington2004

jamington2004

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Hi am considering getting some Focal Stellia to see what a good closed back offers that my Solaris IEM / Hugo 2 combo doesn’t.

Even at circa £1800 I feel like I would paying a lot for the packaging / unnecessary leather details / fancy cables etc!

So any other closed back options to consider up to that kind of value, that will be at a similar / hopefully even higher quality to my Solaris?

Re-sale value is important so probably used is best, as I can’t really afford this hobby and tend to change my mind like the wind :)
 
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May 22, 2020 at 6:52 AM Post #2 of 14
This might not be a popular opinion, but the Stellia is probably the best all-round closed-back I've ever heard.

It sits right in the pleasant, neutral, inoffensive middle-ground of not doing anything spectacularly in order to not sacrifice in other areas.
That sounds bad, but really it's not.

For example, Denon AH-D92000 has a touch more bass texture but has less soundstage. A common trade-off.
Or Sennheiser HD-820 has superior details and staging but suffers greatly in bass volume and head-position changing the sound too much.
Or Audeze LCD-XD... what it gains in isolation is totally loses in soundstage and tonal accuracy.
Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 is ALMOST there, but has a touch of wonkiness in the midrange. Most people wouldn't notice after 5 minutes of listening. That would be my 2nd choice.

Stellia basically has no flaws at the expense of being a totally solid all-round 9/10.
I don't think I've heard another closed-back that does this.
 
May 22, 2020 at 7:23 AM Post #3 of 14
Great reply thanks :)
I secretly want convincing - and good to be convinced by real world experience rather than fancy marketing which normally is all that takes with me!!!

will def look up the pioneer though thanks!
 
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May 22, 2020 at 7:54 AM Post #4 of 14
May 22, 2020 at 8:29 AM Post #5 of 14
Brilliant thanks :)
IEM wise I am thinking of looking for something slightly flatter / less foreward than the Solaris maybe (U12T?) - but maybe the same foreward sound with headphones wouldn’t be quite as fatiguing?
Then again it’s that sound that I am mostly in love with too - only grates a bit on some styles / recordings so may just stick with the Solaris anyway :)
 
May 22, 2020 at 1:50 PM Post #9 of 14
At this point in time the two best closed backs around are the ZMF Verite closed and the Focal Stellia. You cant go wrong with either really.
I own the Verite closed and had the Stellia here on loan so I did multiple a/b.
The VC sounds more natural vs. Stellia. The Stellia has a metallic flavor to the sound. Its not a glaring issue,but when going back and forth its def noticeable.
The VC has better staging,though Stellia is quite good in that department.
The Stellia is less amp dependant. You can drive it with a potato. The VC isnt hard to drive and since you already have the Hugo either one will work.
Both are pretty brutal on bad recordings.
The Stellia is faster than the VC but not by much.
The VC looks amazing. The Stellia....(no comment)
ZMF has the best customer service in the industry,bar none.
 
Nov 9, 2021 at 6:06 PM Post #11 of 14
GREQ said:
This might not be a popular opinion, but the Stellia is probably the best all-round closed-back I've ever heard.

It sits right in the pleasant, neutral, inoffensive middle-ground of not doing anything spectacularly in order to not sacrifice in other areas.
That sounds bad, but really it's not.

For example, Denon AH-D92000 has a touch more bass texture but has less soundstage. A common trade-off.
Or Sennheiser HD-820 has superior details and staging but suffers greatly in bass volume and head-position changing the sound too much.
Or Audeze LCD-XD... what it gains in isolation is totally loses in soundstage and tonal accuracy.
Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 is ALMOST there, but has a touch of wonkiness in the midrange. Most people wouldn't notice after 5 minutes of listening. That would be my 2nd choice.

Stellia basically has no flaws at the expense of being a totally solid all-round 9/10.
I don't think I've heard another closed-back that does this.
Click to expand...
I listened to the Stellia for the first time last weekend, and this review NAILS it. The Stellia was easily the best closed-back headphone I've heard. It did everything well. I was trying to think of what organs I could sell to afford the $3K price tag as I left the store. :)
 
Nov 9, 2021 at 6:36 PM Post #12 of 14
I've owned the stellia, utopia, and solaris. I actually preferred the stellia sound over the utopia but the utopia had better technical ability. I thought the solaris sounded really nice but had to return them because they were too big for my ears. I actually preferred listening to the solaris over the stellia when I had both but it was probably just the newness factor of the solaris. I am receiving the 64audio u12t tomorrow and can let you know what I think of them vs what I recall from the solaris. Overall I can definitely recommend the stellia, I really enjoyed their sound.

Edit: just realized this was a big necro before mine sorry
 
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Nov 10, 2021 at 5:02 PM Post #13 of 14
Like others said, the Verite close would be a great alternative to the Stellia.

Another option is the Elegia w/ Dekoni Stellia LTD pads. I actually found myself enjoying my Elegia w/ the dekoni pads almost as much as the Stellia, so much so that I actually sold my Stellia and bought another Elegia incase my current one breaks.
 
Nov 10, 2021 at 5:37 PM Post #14 of 14
Vc and stellia are both fantastic. Advantage stellia has that its easy to power and I personally find it more comfortable
 
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