[Ilomaenkimi]

I truly believe that you will like (even love..) Stellias, don't worry.
Edit: depending on amp and cable Stellias bass can be almost boomy sometimes. With matching amp and cable bass is very powerful, tight, deep, fast and controlled. Overall the best bass i've heard.

 

[walakalulu]

The Stellias are not bass light. The headamp used determines the quality of sound eg. I started with a Benchmark HGC which has a built in headamp with decent results but a little dry and clinical. Added a Feliks tube amp and now much fuller sounding with no shortage of bass energy. The Stellias scale up depending on the source.

 

[Ichos]

They don't lack in quantity at all.
But the Clear bass is better quality with greater control , more tight without midbass hump.
But the headphone should be viewed as a whole and the Stellia are very good and very enjoyable.
Clears are more reference and less fun with some kind of music.
A Classic music killers though.

 

[paulybatz]

Wow. Waiting to hear what you have to say Earbones.
Also. Anyone a/b with the ZMF stuff???

I’m leaning toward the stellia though.

 

[noplsestar]

Wow. Waiting to hear what you have to say Earbones.
Also. Anyone a/b with the ZMF stuff???

I’m leaning toward the stellia though.

There were some comparisons. Just search this thread for ZMF or verite or VC.

 

[Earbones]

Wow. Waiting to hear what you have to say Earbones.
Also. Anyone a/b with the ZMF stuff???

I’m leaning toward the stellia though.

Mine arrive Friday... I’ll try and give you my early impressions soon after.

Thanks to everybody putting my fears to rest, ha ha... Really hoping these work out.

 

[liujun050612]

I truly believe that you will like (even love..) Stellias, don't worry.
Edit: depending on amp and cable Stellias bass can be almost boomy sometimes. With matching amp and cable bass is very powerful, tight, deep, fast and controlled. Overall the best bass i've heard.

Yes. I am happy to report that this week, after buring about 3 weeks, the stellia sounds just remarkable. I just can't believe that this week, the stellia is just like another pair of headphones compare to first 2 weeks. Definitely needs more burning time to reach its maximum potential. The bass is extremely deep and powerful than clear, the mid range is warm and full of body, the highs are extremely detail but non-fatiguing. The soundstage is as open as clear. That is just unbelievable for a closed back. I am grabbling the stellia everytime this week and can't take them off. I can't listen to clear anymore. This is the experience that I have never heard in the closed back before. Once you are in the sound of focal stellia, you will never go back.

 

[paulybatz]

Wow

 

[MacedonianHero]

I just pulled the trigger on the Stellia as well, and am waiting for them to arrive. But after reading a couple of posts above, I’m now kind of upset, honestly.

Literally no professional reviews I have read have stated that the Stellia has lighter bass than the Clear... In fact, all report the Stellia as having slightly more bass than the Clear.

But two users on this page just stated that the Clear has deeper bass...

I have the Clear and the Elegia, and while I much prefer the Clear (mostly because the Elegia is a little bass-light), I end up listening to the Elegia more because I need the isolation.

Based on the pro reviews I read, I thought the Stellia would be a slight overall improvement on the Clear with slightly more bass, and, of course, the isolation that I needed. That sounded like exactly what I wanted. I find the bass on the Clear just about perfect... A tiny bit more would be fine, maybe even better... but I definitely wouldn’t want any less.

I spent $799 on the Clear (The Source AV was blowing them out). The Stellia just set me back $2699. I’m going to be pretty annoyed if it’s bass-light compared to the Clear... I already have a bass-light Elegia. I don’t need a mega-expensive headphone with the same fault...

Congrats...I have more experience with the Utopia (also amazing headphones and I owned them for 2.5 years). That said, I prefer the Stellia. The Utopia have slightly better transparency and detail extraction, but sound staging, and tonality go to the Stellia, but can't go wrong with either!

 

[MrPanda]

I'm really digging my humble setup of Stellia's, Bifrost 2, and THX789 amp! I haven't tried swapping out the THX amp yet for Asgard 2, but that might be an experiment for the weekend.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I'm really digging my humble setup of Stellia's, Bifrost 2, and THX789 amp! I haven't tried swapping out the THX amp yet for Asgard 2, but that might be an experiment for the weekend.

Not humble. Sensible. After I compared different DACs parallel (switching back and forth real time, same track) I am now convinced that the differences are very minor. It is better to invest in headphones, imho.

 

[Gadget67]

Congrats...I have more experience with the Utopia (also amazing headphones and I owned them for 2.5 years). That said, I prefer the Stellia. The Utopia have slightly better transparency and detail extraction, but sound staging, and tonality go to the Stellia, but can't go wrong with either!

Just curious...since you have ownership experience with both the Utopia and Stellia, would you own both or are they too similar? I find my Utopus’s open design really do require a quiet listening environment but there are many times when I am surrounded by low level ambient noise which is distracting. Any thoughts?

 

[paulybatz]

Just curious...since you have ownership experience with both the Utopia and Stellia, would you own both or are they too similar? I find my Utopus’s open design really do require a quiet listening environment but there are many times when I am surrounded by low level ambient noise which is distracting. Any thoughts?

Great question.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

Just curious...since you have ownership experience with both the Utopia and Stellia, would you own both or are they too similar? I find my Utopus’s open design really do require a quiet listening environment but there are many times when I am surrounded by low level ambient noise which is distracting. Any thoughts?

I posted previously on the comparison between the two. I owned both for a while. But in short: The utopia is more resolving and creates more of this spatial 3d environment. But the stellia is more v-shaped which means better bass and a more forgiving signature for bad recordings (which are most). I like you have low level ambient noise and I settle for the Stellia. As a bonus, they work better with my DAP.

 

[Gadget67]

I posted previously on the comparison between the two. I owned both for a while. But in short: The utopia is more resolving and creates more of this spatial 3d environment. But the stellia is more v-shaped which means better bass and a more forgiving signature for bad recordings (which are most). I like you have low level ambient noise and I settle for the Stellia. As a bonus, they work better with my DAP.

Based on all of the reviews and comments I’ve read, your comments are right on point. I also recognize that the closed back vs open back debate favors open headphones generally for overall accuracy and sound quality (and, yes, sound quality is both elusive and subjective). The Utopias are somewhat harder to drive than the Stellias (80 ohms vs 35 as I recall) and I would use the Stellias with my Sony WM1Z which makes for a very convenient portable option. I guess my real question is, in your subjective opinion, is the Stellia enough of a worthy counterpoint to the Utopia that you would own both. To put it another way, if you could always listen in a more or less optimal environment is the Utopia a clear better choice or not.