[Deolum]

Has anyone done comparison of the Focal Arche with other Amps? At the moment i run the JDL Labs El Amp for 200 $ which has more than enough power to drive the Stellias and the best measurements. In addition it's the best amp i've heard so far.
Would there be any benefit of ordering a Stellia + Arche bundle over the Stellia alone?
I kinda feel that the arche is more that kind of "if people spend 3k on a headphone we have to offer the right good looking amp for 2k and label it as "audiophile" even though it does exactly what every good sub 1k amp does" kind of stuff.

 

[walakalulu]

The Arche is a “pipe and slippers” kind of amp. Competent and not offensive but not the last word in transparency or detail. But it is musical which is more than can be said of some amps out there.

 

[MrPanda]

The Arche is a “pipe and slippers” kind of amp. Competent and not offensive but not the last word in transparency or detail. But it is musical which is more than can be said of some amps out there.

Great mini-review...

 

[Caruryn]

Honestly,i get more enjoyment out of my Ak SP1000M balanced and Stellia than the Arche,which is probably due to the superior Dac section of the Ak,even though the depth with the Arche is slightly better.In everything else the Ak beats it,be it end to end extension,detail,transparency and vocals,bass quality and tightness,in Stellia mode with the Arche the bass is a bit slow but still good.

However if you find it in bundle with the Arche for around $4000,go for it,it's a good dac/amp for the Stellia.

 

[Deolum]

I have a bundle Arche + Stellia for 3k.
But does the Arche have analogue inputs? Because i have to use my Chord2qute as Dac.

 

[noplsestar]

Any Stellia owners with glasses?
From what i've read i'd really like Stellia but then i've read that Stellia is really sensitive to glasses and fit. Is it really more sensitive than others?
If so can you recommend any closed back that is good with glasses?

I try listening without glasses as I do hear a drop in subbass frequencies. But it’s not that it’s very extrem or so. Just a tiny bit. But enough for me so that I listen without glasses when possible.

 

[Joseph Lin]

Wondering how many of you long term users identify with Crinacle's Headphone Ranking List that doesn't seem to have good things to say about Stellia or Elegia.

I own HD650, M50X, Utopia and Stellia. I laughed after seeing he ranks HD650 A-, M50X C= and Stellia C=. I literally took out all my headphones, gave them a proper (tube) amp and listened to a few songs that I like. I would say, I like the sound of Utopia the best but it is not what I would use everyday because people around me are forced to listen to what I listen to. I enjoy Stellia the most. Very comfortable to wear, very easy to drive and conceals sound leakage very well. To test if Stellia is leaking sound, I place ear cups on my leg and play music with normal volume to simulate ear cups around ears and wrap around face. If you cannot hear anything, it means it seals well. I do not hear anything doing the test. It means if people around you can hear your music, you have a fitting problem. I wear glasses and I have no problem fitting it around my head.

On the other hand, HD650 is like two level less than Stellia, naming the dynamic, tone and transparency way less than Stellia. It sounds like it is working very hard to match Stellia but fall short of it. I would say HD650 is only half level higher than M50X. I dumped M50X to my son for his everyday driver for commute and for his computer gaming. HD650 is sitting aside collecting dusts on its headphone stand.

This is just my personal experience and personal rank, does not necessarily reflect the true potential of these headphones.

 

[Deolum]

Wait crincale has a headphone ranking list? Time to check that out. His IEM list in pretty much on point.

 

[KPzypher]

I own HD650, M50X, Utopia and Stellia. I laughed after seeing he ranks HD650 A-, M50X C= and Stellia C=. I literally took out all my headphones, gave them a proper (tube) amp and listened to a few songs that I like. I would say, I like the sound of Utopia the best but it is not what I would use everyday because people around me are forced to listen to what I listen to. I enjoy Stellia the most. Very comfortable to wear, very easy to drive and conceals sound leakage very well. To test if Stellia is leaking sound, I place ear cups on my leg and play music with normal volume to simulate ear cups around ears and wrap around face. If you cannot hear anything, it means it seals well. I do not hear anything doing the test. It means if people around you can hear your music, you have a fitting problem. I wear glasses and I have no problem fitting it around my head.

On the other hand, HD650 is like two level less than Stellia, naming the dynamic, tone and transparency way less than Stellia. It sounds like it is working very hard to match Stellia but fall short of it. I would say HD650 is only half level higher than M50X. I dumped M50X to my son for his everyday driver for commute and for his computer gaming. HD650 is sitting aside collecting dusts on its headphone stand.

This is just my personal experience and personal rank, does not necessarily reflect the true potential of these headphones.

Thanks for that last sentence. I respect your experience and wish everyone would preface or end with that same notion of 'YMMV,IMO, etc.' This hobby would be so much better if everyone respected the opinions of others and fully understand the weight of subjectivism with regard to 'ideal sound.'

Although I disagree with Crinacle's ranking, which I believe is silly and nothing more than pure entertainment, I don't think he's being dishonest. If that's what he hears, than I can respect that.

With that being said, for me, I currently enjoy the HD650 far more than the Stellia. Stellia for some reason does not click with me. I think the sound is unnatural and grainy, particularly in the HFs. I get more emotions out of the HD650 than the Stellia, which is far more important than technicality when it comes to enjoying the 'music.' For me, at least sometimes, technicality has little bearing on 'enjoyable sound.' Of course YMMV.

I'm sure Crinacle's assessment will not sit well with most people in this thread, especially if they own a pair. But i'm a bit surprised the Stellia didn't rank higher, as judging from his list, he seems to value transparency and detail retrieval.

Do I own a pair of Stellia? Yes. Do I think Stellia is an awesome HP? In design, build quality, comfort, imaging, absolutely. Overall sound, not so much. But hey, that's just my personal experience.

 

[XeNoNF50]

Any Stellia owners with glasses?
From what i've read i'd really like Stellia but then i've read that Stellia is really sensitive to glasses and fit. Is it really more sensitive than others?
If so can you recommend any closed back that is good with glasses?

I wear glasses. When A/B I notice a slight drop in subbass. Not enough to stop me from wearing glasses. Perhaps because I think it is slightly too bassy for me (coming from Utopia).

 

[FenceFurniture]

I have a bundle Arche + Stellia for 3k.
But does the Arche have analogue inputs? Because i have to use my Chord2qute as Dac.

That's a snap up price!

Here's the back of the Arche.

 

[FenceFurniture]

Wait crincale has a headphone ranking list? Time to check that out. His IEM list in pretty much on point.

From the howls of disagreement, maybe his HP list is a little off point? If so, there may be a reason for that, as he is generally getting brand new or near new HPs to assess, as near as I can tell. I point that out with reference to the following....



Am I right in thinking that there is somewhat spirited debate about the virtues of burning in a pair of HPs? (similar to the cables debate?
I ask that in reference to this:

Case in point is someone I know just took delivery of a pair of Clears and reckons they are absolute rubbish by comparison to his 10 year old Shure SE530 Ear Buds - so much so that he wants to return the Clears. Reckons they should priced at a coupla hundred bucks. I'm wondering if they are faulty (they were B stock). It just doesn't sound right to me that a highly regarded HP (Clear) could be that bad, or that someone (Crinacle) could find the Stellias to be C grade when almost everyone on here thinks they're fabbo (and many have the Utopias as well to compare them with....which Crinacle rates as #1)

So the upshot of the Clears debacle described above is that he rang the store who advised him to burn them in for 24 hours before making a decision to return them. Up to that point they probably had 1-2 hours on them. He ran them overnight for about 10 hours and said they were then about on par with his Shure SE530 Ear buds. After another session of burning in, he now thinks hey are quite superior to the Shures. So they have gone from Clears are crap by comparison to the Shures to exactly the other way around but only after about 16 hours or so running. The biggest difference was in the mids and highs apparently.

So gives me cause to think that, at least with some HPs, the argument about burning in improving the cans does indeed have some legs.



My overall point in this post is:
Crinacle's assessment of HPs has received quite a bit of criticism on here - almost to the point of derision - with some wildly varying results. It seems to me that even a Demo pair of cans may not have enough hours on them to loosen them up properly. I would have thought that if a manufacturer knows that their cans need burning in then they should be doing the first part of that in the factory for at least (say) 8 hours, because otherwise they run a very large risk of people trying them in the store and thinking they are overpriced rubbish. Two hundred hours burning in - five working weeks, or 8 full days non-stop - is a lot of time and I seriously doubt that a pair of demo cans would get that exposure.

 

[KPzypher]

My overall point in this post is:
Crinacle's assessment of HPs has received quite a bit of criticism on here - almost to the point of derision - with some wildly varying results. It seems to me that even a Demo pair of cans may not have enough hours on them to loosen them up properly. I would have thought that if a manufacturer knows that their cans need burning in then they should be doing the first part of that in the factory for at least (say) 8 hours, because otherwise they run a very large risk of people trying them in the store and thinking they are overpriced rubbish. Two hundred hours burning in - five working weeks, or 8 full days non-stop - is a lot of time and I seriously doubt that a pair of demo cans would get that exposure.

Not that I agree with the list, but I think if people can get "expensive, therefore must sound better" out of their heads, his list may make lot more sense.
Not sure it has anything to do with burn-ins. I think lots of people attribute getting used to the sound to 'burn-ins.'

 

[FenceFurniture]

Not sure it has anything to do with burn-ins. I think lots of people attribute getting used to the sound to 'burn-ins.'

I see your point there, but to be clear about the Clears - he ran them overnight for 8 -10 hours straight without listening to them until the next morning. Then did his usual comparison the the Shure Ear buds. Then the next night he did the same, so in other words he wasn't getting used to the sound along the way. He was noticing significantly large and "stepped" improvements after each session of burning in.

Furthermore, Crinacle's rating of the Stellias at C= is completely at odds with the wise people in this thread, whom I doubt are necessarily given to being Fanboiz. Not just "not so good" but virtually "rubbish". That is exactly what Old Mate was saying about his Clears. There seems to be a common link there.

 

[KPzypher]

I see your point there, but to be clear about the Clears - he ran them overnight for 8 -10 hours straight without listening to them until the next morning. Then did his usual comparison the the Shure Ear buds. Then the next night he did the same, so in other words he wasn't getting used to the sound along the way. He was noticing significantly large and "stepped" improvements after each session of burning in.

Furthermore, Crinacle's rating of the Stellias at C= is completely at odds with the wise people in this thread, whom I doubt are necessarily given to being Fanboiz. Not just "not so good" but virtually "rubbish". That is exactly what Old Mate was saying about his Clears. There seems to be a common link there.

I understand. Not trying to dispute your point.

I don't find Stellia "rubbish" but I don't find them amazing either (not yet at least). I still go back and forth on verdict on equipment i've owned for years, so things can change. But I guess he's not the only one not completely in love with the Stellia. That just shows we hear things different.

I always read reviews with a giant grain of salt, particularly the ones that make a living from reviewing audio equipment. I mostly view them to get the specs and for general idea. I find them extremely biased.