Focal Stellia Review, Measurements, Interview - Head-Fi TV
- Thread starter jude
- Start date
hmmm, I've had it for a couple of months now, so may be 50-60 hours? That's a rough swag. I may be way off. Not a burn-in guy, so I don't clock it when I listen to them.
FenceFurniture
100+ Head-Fier
Yeah ok, so if there is substance to the burn in theory then yours would be well underway. It'd be interesting to know what Focal's attitude to it is.
I lose a lot of bass < 200Hz with glasses on. They're not that thick or anything. Stellia is very sensitive to seal and pad placement.
Here's how I look at it. For example, when tube rolling, if the difference isn't hugely noticeable, its hard for people to pick out subtle differences when you can't quickly do an A/B, as it takes time to power up/down, warm up the tubes, etc. So if our auditory memory is that short, I doubt 100 hours of burn-in can be accurately captured, especially when improvements happen gradually over time. Even if you let it run for 100 hours straight, that's still over 4 days of burn in. I doubt many people can accurately remember how something sounded 4 days ago.
That's just me though. In the end, it's what you believe and whatever makes you happy.
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FenceFurniture
100+ Head-Fier
I have grooves in the sides of my head from years of wearing ear defenders in the shed. EDs can (and should) have quite a head grip. That means the glasses arms are flush with the rest of the side of my head, so no worries.
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Not any issues here with my glasses. Actually the Stellia and Utopia headbands are among the best for glasses that I've found in my travels.
FenceFurniture
100+ Head-Fier
Yeah sure. I don't actually have an opinion one way or another on burning in or cable differences, because I'm too new to those concepts. Pretty much just observing and absorbing atm, and then hopefully applying some logic to the observations so as to make a decision on whether to spend some reasonably decent coin (say USD300-400) on a cable replacement.
The only thing I came to a very firm conclusion about was unbalanced verses balanced with my particular amp. Massive difference.
I will say this though, referring to your 4 day argument: whenever quality goes backwards from your norm it is pretty easily noticed. For example (assuming for a moment that there is substance to the burn-in theory) if I was using a pair of Stellias for perhaps 6-12 months and was totally used to the sound of them, and then put a new pair of Stellias on, then I would expect them to sound inferior. Could be any HPs, not necessarily Stellias. That would certainly shed some real light on the argument.
Could be burn-in difference, could be driver variance. Could sound different, but not necessarily inferior. I don't know. Who knows. I used get in intense argument over things like this. Now, as long as they preface with 'in their opinion' or end with 'YMMV,' i respect that, and let it be.
Same equipment can sound different on any given day depending on environmental factors, your mood, etc etc. So unless it can be measured in a meaningful way, in which case a lot of people seem to be against any scientific approach in this hobby for some reason, people are just going to pick and choose whatever they want to believe in. That's the irony. Also, equipment degrade over time. Just because they sound different, doesn't mean one sound better over the other. So at least for me, unless its a sound I can reliably differentiate regardless of time and setting, it's not a change worth mentioning.
Should probably get back on topic ^^.
In the end, Stellia is a wonderful HP. Just not "MY" ideal HP.
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noplsestar
Headphoneus Supremus
If that matters I strongly disagree with this guy ratings , iems and headphones alike.
As folks ideal sound is so personal I take little notice of opinions other than my own. Good for research but at the end of the day you have to have a demo when investigating totl cans. I only have two pairs - Stellias and Stax 009S both of which tend to favour transparency over warmth. I tried a pair of ZMF‘s but found them too far removed from what I’m used to.
knivek
100+ Head-Fier
Does anyone have any experience with Schiit Mjolnir 2/ Bifrost vs a factory Focal Arche?
Is there any benefit to an all in one unit?
My wife constantly nagging me for the size of the MJ2/bifrost2 stacked on the desk..
Is there any benefit to an all in one unit?
My wife constantly nagging me for the size of the MJ2/bifrost2 stacked on the desk..
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