[xenoVa]

I demoed Elegia once and Elegia was very comfortable. Is Stellia identical to it in terms of comfort?

Does Stellia sound very bad with low quality recordings? (most high-end headphonos do due to their revealing nature)

And does Stellia sound good with digital audio players? (iBasso DX220)

 

[GreenBow]

As a potential buyer I am reading this thread and there are too much complaints such as "only sounds good with certain genres" , "requires a lot of burn in"

Stellia:
is exceptionally comfortable
a good all round headphone
full sounding

You can't fault Stellia on those qualities. I am not biased either, being a new owner of the Stellia. I am in fact seemingly but not, annoyed because I will have to buy an aftermarket cable. The stock cable makes too much cable noise.

 

[up late]

while there are headphones that are lighter in weight, the stellia is one of the most comfortable headphones that i've worn

 

[jonstatt]

while there are headphones that are lighter in weight, the stellia is one of the most comfortable headphones that i've worn

The Denon 9200 gives the Stellia a run for the money in terms of comfort and sound at less than half the price. Sound definition is not quite there but it's closer than you might think.

 

[mixman]

fine, but seeing as you've chosen to criticise the utopia here then i'll respond. i think that there's more to the utopia than just "Double D two trick ponies......Detail and Dynamics". there's also its clarity, imaging and tonal balance, which immediately impressed me at audition and continues in ownership.

headphones don't do soundstage imo. if i want that then i'll listen to loudspeakers. the hd800 and abyss have the most spacious presentations that i've heard from headphones but they also have their shortcomings imo. i found the hd800's sound signature too bright, thin and bass lite, while the abyss was too unwieldy to be a viable option for me. i find the utopia's "headstage" to be recording dependent, and its resolution doesn't sound forced to my ears. i can understand you preferring the stellia to the utopia if you like a warmer presentation with accentuated bass. i can also understand you preferring the empyrean for the same reasons.

I will answer you here. This headphone, the Stellia, is the one I would more likely buy, since, I prefer it's tonal balance to that of the Utopia. It warms up the treble and adds more bass too, even if there is a slight decrease in detail.

 

[GreenBow]

Please, when folk talk about at around 50-100 hours, a veil lifts with the Stellia. Does that mean they become more detailed. Or lighter in tone. Open or spacious.

 

[Admiral Kolchak]

Stellia:
is exceptionally comfortable
a good all round headphone
full sounding

You can't fault Stellia on those qualities. I am not biased either, being a new owner of the Stellia. I am in fact seemingly but not, annoyed because I will have to buy an aftermarket cable. The stock cable makes too much cable noise.

Agree with the above, including that the cable is microphonic and too rigid. Another negative is that both the metal and the leather seem to be quite fragile. The wear in mine is more noticeable than in my XCs or my Oppo PM-1.

 

[Admiral Kolchak]

Please, when folk talk about at around 50-100 hours, a veil lifts with the Stellia. Does that mean they become more detailed. Or lighter in tone. Open or spacious.

In my case I felt that the music was not "full" or "organic" - it just sounded flat. There were details but there was no engagement, no fun. After the burn-in, the detail is still there, but the music has opened up. Hence the veil lifting. The only thing I still don't really like is a tinge of metal (due to the Be drivers). Looking forward to getting my Vérité and seeing how they compare (Vérité drivers are only coated in Be).

 

[Admiral Kolchak]

while there are headphones that are lighter in weight, the stellia is one of the most comfortable headphones that i've worn

In my case I feel that the grip is too light. This is probably due to my narrowish head. Not a big deal (they don't fall or anything), but I would like a more springy headband to get a tighter grip.

 

[up late]

I will answer you here. This headphone, the Stellia, is the one I would more likely buy, since, I prefer it's tonal balance to that of the Utopia. It warms up the treble and adds more bass too, even if there is a slight decrease in detail.

that doesn't surprise me at all. fwiw, i think that the stellia is a lovely headphone and it's my preferred closed-back model.

 

[up late]

In my case I feel that the grip is too light. This is probably due to my narrowish head. Not a big deal (they don't fall or anything), but I would like a more springy headband to get a tighter grip.

i don't like wearing headphones that exert clamping pressure

 

[up late]

The Denon 9200 gives the Stellia a run for the money in terms of comfort and sound at less than half the price. Sound definition is not quite there but it's closer than you might think.

i've not tried the denon

 

[GreenBow]

Agree with the above, including that the cable is microphonic and too rigid. Another negative is that both the metal and the leather seem to be quite fragile. The wear in mine is more noticeable than in my XCs or my Oppo PM-1.

In my case I felt that the music was not "full" or "organic" - it just sounded flat. There were details but there was no engagement, no fun. After the burn-in, the detail is still there, but the music has opened up. Hence the veil lifting. The only thing I still don't really like is a tinge of metal (due to the Be drivers). Looking forward to getting my Vérité and seeing how they compare (Vérité drivers are only coated in Be).

Thank you for you honesty.

I am a little surprised by comment about the driver sounding metallic. I am not disputing you, but I never thought of it that way. All the driver does is move air, and it is the air moving that we hear. Or rather it is the air moving that out ears detect.

Maybe it's possible to hear a little of the acoustics of the driver. In day to day life, we hear a little of how sounds reflect off certain materials. However I never thought about it as more than some materials absorb bass, and some absorb treble. E.g. if hear a car driving past playing deep bass sounds, it's because bass travels through materials. The treble is muted because it does not travel through materials as well.

 

[subguy812]

I really like the 8-wire Artic Cable for the Stellia. The ergonomics are so much better than the stock cable.

 

[GreenBow]

I just realised that buying a cable for the the Stellia or any headphones, is a minefield.

To explain, I just read a few reviews for various cables. Some examples are Cardas Audio Clear, or Chord Company Shawcan.

I was excited about the Shawcan review at first. It mentioned the cable sleeving was designed for no or low cable noise. I was thinking that Chord Company lean slighty bright, which would be OK. Only to find that the reviewer said the cable had a slightly dark harmonics. Whereas the last thing I would want to do is make the Stellia darker. In fact I think I would like to lighten the sound of the Stellia a fraction.

Then another problem struck me. We have no guide as to what the Stellia cable sound signature actually is. Meaning is it the drivers that make the Stellia a bit warm or the cable. Leaving it impossible to judge what cable would be right to brighten the Stellia sound. I assume however that much of the Stellia sound signature is from the headphone and drivers, and not the cable.

Where do you even start? Considering further that we have no guarantee that aftermarket cables will have no cable noise. That's just another aspect that makes choosing hard work.