[Trance_Gott]

Battle of the Closed Back Giants:

I now had all closed headphones except the R10. Stellia and 4070 are clearly the locking tips of the closed series!

 

[Andrew DiMarcangelo]

Great review, Theo! Here's an amateurish one I put together a few weeks ago:

 

[teknorob23]

Quick note to anyone like me who was disappointed with the cable that comes with the Stellia. I've been experimenting with various makes of wire in search of replacement cable for my Stellia. i've found Neotech while not cheap in DIY terms outperforms everything else i've tried or had in shop-bought cable. I only use UP-OCC because IMO its the best stuff out there out performing the OFC copper or solid silver cables i've tried. I got carried away and now have an office full of cable of different lengths and mixtures of Neotech UPOCC copper, silver, silver/gold and a big credit card bill, so i'd like to sell everything i dont need. I'm not looking to make money, just recoup the costs of the materials. Depending on the materials i'm looking for £60 for 1.2m 4 (24AWG ) core UPOCC copper. They're all terminated with 6.35mm plugs as thats what i use, but i'd be happy to re-terminate for the cost of the plug to any other connector.

here's some pic's of a couple of different cables, but DM if youre interested and apologies to everyone else for the interruption

 

[AppleheadMay]

A vote here for Forza Audioworks, especially their Noir Hybrid HPC.
I have a couple of them and a bunch of their cheaper series for my less expansive headphones as well.
The prices are reasonable in today's cable market.

https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/category.php?id_category=36

 

[GreenBow]

Ah ... isn’t a proper seal important for every headphone, especially for closed backs?

Actually just saw someone make a review of the Stellia addressing this. Apparently it's why the ear-cup is spring mounted, to make sure it fits.

 

[arielext]

I replaced the stock cable with an 8 core neotech beast crafted by Arctic Cables. They are much better in handling and have way less microphonics. I'm using neotech upocc cables on my headphones that allow it, if not for sound quality then for handling and low microphonics. Highly recommended.

 

[teknorob23]

I replaced the stock cable with an 8 core neotech beast crafted by Arctic Cables. They are much better in handling and have way less microphonics. I'm using neotech upocc cables on my headphones that allow it, if not for sound quality then for handling and low microphonics. Highly recommended.

its awesome stuff isnt it. Which wire did you go with, all 8 one type of metal or a mix. I have found 4 x 24awg copper mixed with 4 x 26awg silver UPOCC, sounds stunning with Stellia. That said 4 core UPOCC Silver/Gold, while quite a bit more expensive for DIY wire, outperform £800-1000 cables i've had and loved from AE and PW audio. Everything sounds good but the depth and separation which it adds to the soundstage while still managing to sound completely natural, is nothing short of astonishing, it really is that good. I did look at the arctic cables ant they seem to be the only company overtly offering Neotech based cables. They look really nicely finished, but still almost double the price of what it costs to make one myself especially with shipping to the UK.

 

[arielext]

its awesome stuff isnt it. Which wire did you go with, all 8 one type of metal or a mix. I have found 4 x 24awg copper mixed with 4 x 26awg silver UPOCC, sounds stunning with Stellia. That said 4 core UPOCC Silver/Gold, while quite a bit more expensive for DIY wire, outperform £800-1000 cables i've had and loved from AE and PW audio. Everything sounds good but the depth and separation which it adds to the soundstage while still managing to sound completely natural, is nothing short of astonishing, it really is that good. I did look at the arctic cables ant they seem to be the only company overtly offering Neotech based cables. They look really nicely finished, but still almost double the price of what it costs to make one myself especially with shipping to the UK.

Pure copper; never had any luck with silver and my ears ...
And with my lack of soldering skills DIY is out of order.

 

[teknorob23]

Pure copper; never had any luck with silver and my ears ...
And with my lack of soldering skills DIY is out of order.

no i hear you on the silver front, i have always found it leans towards the bright and lean side, but UPOCC silver is a completely different sounding animal. It has a lot of the characteristics of good copper, much fuller sounding than normal silver, with really deep bass and natural sounding midrange, just with more precision, separation and detail retrieval. I had couple of my hifi mates, blind test and one of them insisted it was copper.

That said the UPOCC copper has some "silver-ness" about it too, with and airy crispness to the top and lovely layering/ separation throughout the range. Vocals sound stunning and guitars have lovely visceral crunchiness which i havent been able to get from other cable.

Totally understand the reluctance to get involved with solder and wire. I'm a new convert to DIY, its only taken 25 years of buying cables for me to pick up a soldering and give it a go. A really generous headfier in another thread took me under his wing, steered me in the direction of neotech and patiently answered all novice questions. I havent look back since and all my shop bought power, interconnect and HP cables are sold of selling

 

[Fsilva]

Looks like i´ve just joined the club!

 

[domho7]

I find this combo sounds great also

 

[joshuachew]

Are there any focal reps I'm the thread?
Just wanted to ask if the leather can be replaced on the ear ups of the headphone?

 

[teknorob23]

Are there any focal reps I'm the thread?
Just wanted to ask if the leather can be replaced on the ear ups of the headphone?

I had a quote for new ear pads from uk distributor of £170... if that’s any help

 

[joshuachew]

I had a quote for new ear pads from uk distributor of £170... if that’s any help

No I am referring to he leather on the ear cups. The part in the picture of your display picture.

 

[teknorob23]

No I am referring to he leather on the ear cups. The part in the picture of your display picture.

No worries but I doubt they’ll refurbish pads, even if they were faulty I would think they’d just give you the whole pad. I could be wrong, why dont you hit them up on Facebook, they respond pretty quickly to any questions I’ve asked