[chaz_flhr]

I was able to home demo the Empyrean recently, which were themselves a demo unit so already had some hours on them. To my ears, they were accomplished, accurate monitors, comfortable, safe and non-fatiguing. But they lacked soul. I just couldn't connect with my music, irrespective of genre. I packed them up and sent them back without any regrets. My source was Auralic's Vega G2.1 but I have also heard them with the dCS Bartok and felt the same. Maybe they benefit from dedicated headphone amps, I don't know. The Stellia, however, has soul in spades; they are detailed, engaging, resolving, insightful and punchy, making listening to music a joyous experience.

The Stellia is magical and difficult to unhear if it's right for you.

 

[Rob49]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried the Stellia’s with the Sony DMP-Z1 player & if so, your thoughts ?

 

[TheOnetoWin]

Hey Guys! Popping in here again. Do any of you fear your Focal Stellia's headband snapping? I haven't seen any instances of this for the Stellias (other than one review on Amazon), but obviously this has been an issue on other Focal models (most notably the cheaper models).

 

[EarFatigue]

Hey Guys! Popping in here again. Do any of you fear your Focal Stellia's headband snapping? I haven't seen any instances of this for the Stellias (other than one review on Amazon), but obviously this has been an issue on other Focal models (most notably the cheaper models).

Not at all. I travel with mine (I don’t wear them while traveling) frequently and don’t have any concerns so far. Mine are 2yrs old.

 

[TheOnetoWin]

Not at all. I travel with mine (I don’t wear them while traveling) frequently and don’t have any concerns so far. Mine are 2yrs old.

Thanks! I appreciate that input. I'm really tempted to see if I can buy one but that's been the biggest thing holding me back from buying one.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Hey Guys! Popping in here again. Do any of you fear your Focal Stellia's headband snapping? I haven't seen any instances of this for the Stellias (other than one review on Amazon), but obviously this has been an issue on other Focal models (most notably the cheaper models).

Not at all.

 

[chaz_flhr]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried the Stellia’s with the Sony DMP-Z1 player & if so, your thoughts ?

I would imagine that they would sound good, they sound great on a dx312 and ifi Gryphon.

 

[AudioDuck]

Shameless plug: I have a Stellia in excellent condition listed in Classifieds now with a spare set of Dekoni Ltd pads (the original pads are in great shape)… I’m also looking to trade for a ZMF Verité Closed (with cash added if it’s a limited edition).

I really like the Stellia and think it’s probably the best closed all-around genre headphone, but the higher-impedance ZMFs are magical with my OTL tube amp.

 

[mainguy]

The Stellia is magical and difficult to unhear if it's right for you.

Pretty much this. No matter what I tried, Diana V2, VC, even Susvara, I kept thinking about Stellia.

6 months with this femme fatale now and I am a bit annoyed, at the fact the whole diminishing returns malarky is a myth. I want to spend less on headphones, and ship them off, but I just can't. They really are that much better than the 1kish closed backs. It's remarkable how they've pulled this much performance from a closed back.

Makes me interested in the upcoming closed back wireless offering from Focal. I wonder if it will inherit some Stellia DNA for on the go.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Pretty much this. No matter what I tried, Diana V2, VC, even Susvara, I kept thinking about Stellia.

6 months with this femme fatale now and I am a bit annoyed, at the fact the whole diminishing returns malarky is a myth. I want to spend less on headphones, and ship them off, but I just can't. They really are that much better than the 1kish closed backs. It's remarkable how they've pulled this much performance from a closed back.

Makes me interested in the upcoming closed back wireless offering from Focal. I wonder if it will inherit some Stellia DNA for on the go.

What I like about the Stellia is it does so many things well and if I want more of something like warmth and bottom end for me personally with the right front end I can have it.
I also have a Radiance as my over ear travel hp while I love it's sound no matter what I do I can't make it into the Stellia but I can make the Stellia similar but better than the Radiance.

 

[TheOnetoWin]

Hey guys! New owner of the Stellia. These may be my new favorite headphones of all time now that I've been able to spend many hours with it. It does just an amazing job striking the perfect balance between resolution and overall enjoyment while still boasting great technical performance. Very impressed with these cans.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Hey guys! New owner of the Stellia. These may be my new favorite headphones of all time now that I've been able to spend many hours with it. It does just an amazing job striking the perfect balance between resolution and overall enjoyment while still boasting great technical performance. Very impressed with these cans.

Try them with different amps and sources you will like them even more.

 

[TheOnetoWin]

Try them with different amps and sources you will like them even more.

Haha, I'm actually not one who's really into the Amp aspect of the hobby, a large part of due to me using an audio interface for my music production.

 

[chaz_flhr]

Haha, I'm actually not one who's really into the Amp aspect of the hobby, a large part of due to me using an audio interface for my music production.

So do you eq to your desired tonality?
I hear you and totally understand things get expensive in this hobby very quickly. I started with a jh16, aeon closed, ifi BL and ican pro. 10 years later I have a woo wa7, a cap moded LP, idsd pro, Gryphon, dx312, Stellia, Radiance and Arya and a much lighter bank account.

 

[gazzington]

Im usinh mine with a hugo 2 as the dac and the woo wa8 as the amp. Sounds awesome