Focal Arche isn't particularly small either. And if you plan on using the included HP stand that attaches to the main unit, it takes up quite of bit of space (height wise). And depending on where you set it, may block the view. Also, focal runs fairly warm, so if you have a powerful PC/monitor that emits lots of heat, it may not be ideal. Main reason why I removed it from my desktop setup.
Sound wise, if you're into focal HPs, its quite good. It's very flexible on various HPs with the voltage/hybrid amp option plus the gain setting, and dedicated presets for the Focal's HPs is a nice touch.
Just worried about losing quality from the Mj2/bifrost2 setup I have but happy wife happy life... would be USB from my PC to the Arche then balanced out.
Just worried about losing quality from the Mj2/bifrost2 setup I have but happy wife happy life... would be USB from my PC to the Arche then balanced out.
Sound is preferential, but personally, not a big fan of Schiit products that mostly measures poorly, particularly their higher end products. But whichever one sounds best to your ears is the better gear.
Sound is preferential, but personally, not a big fan of Schiit products that mostly measures poorly, particularly their higher end products. But whichever one sounds best to your ears is the better gear.
Not sure what other input to use on it from my PC sadly. If USB is my only option will I suffer or still be in good shape? I can turn up my present setup until my ears hurt..
Not sure what other input to use on it from my PC sadly. If USB is my only option will I suffer or still be in good shape? I can turn up my present setup until my ears hurt..
Hi, just revisited the thread, following up on some points.
Focal Arche = Love it (strong statement, yeah!). It might not be the best ever in terms of technicalities, but it has great synergy with the Stellia and is with the dedicated Stellia setting super smooth and musical. I bought it in it’s own which makes it pricey, as a package the price is very good. I also do like the headphone stand on top, less cable clutter, fits great.
Glasses - Stellia are better than others with it, but the clamp / pads as it still put enough pressures on the frame to feel uncomfortable. I never listen to the Stellia with them. The ONLY headphone which I can wear without discomfort while wearing glasses is the HD800S.
On another note : first dismissed the stock cables coming with the Stellia but I am listening to them right now and they are really good. The sound is smooth, I like the color match and the microphonics bother me less since I stopped tapping the cable to check if they are microphonic . Anybody else changed their mind on stock?
On another note : first dismissed the stock cables coming with the Stellia but I am listening to them right now and they are really good. The sound is smooth, I like the color match and the microphonics bother me less since I stopped tapping the cable to check if they are microphonic . Anybody else changed their mind on stock?
Honestly, the stock cables are fine. For me, the XLR cable is too long; I have a 5’ moon audio cable that I use with my Arche amp. I think the moon audio cable is an “improvement” but I’m not completely sure I can reliably tell them apart in blind testing. My wife thinks I’m nuts and is reluctant to help me by switching cables so I won’t know which one I’m using!
Edit: just saw your earlier post about the Arche; just received mine a few days ago, so still evaluating but for now I’m really pleased. Still needs to burn in (if that’s a real thing..not sure myself) so we will see how it goes.
Oh yes, I do know that from my wife as well. In fact, she once helped me with a blind test, and I always said, change to A, change to B etc. while I had my eyes closed. I found B clearly better. She then told me that she did not bother to change anything and just pretended to do so. Ouch!
Oh yes, I do know that from my wife as well. In fact, she once helped me with a blind test, and I always said, change to A, change to B etc. while I had my eyes closed. I found B clearly better. She then told me that she did not bother to change anything and just pretended to do so. Ouch!
Obviously not showing your post to my wife! She helped me with a USB cable test a while back and kept saying “it’s a data cable...what’s wrong with you!” Oh well...
Yesterday evening, I left my Stellia headphones plugged into my laptop and simply closed the lid to put everything to sleep. This morning, I opened the bedroom window to my apartment and started my laptop to type some notes. I head very faint piano playing which I thought wafted in from my window and thought, wow that person plays piano very well. Later, I discovered my headphones were playing a Martha Argerich track I was listening to the prior evening! Usually, it is totally obvious to me when an open set of headphones are playing in the air. They generally sound nothing like live instruments or even loudspeakers. Also, anyone who ever has played an instrument knows very well how much more dynamic live music is versus recorded music. The fact that my headphones could even create this level of confusion blew me away. Stellias are really nice headphones!
Received my ultra-short adaptors today. Awesome stuff from Sean @ AffinityCables as usual. I have several of his adaptors and am always impressed how small he can make them. I am not a big fan of wire-length based adaptors as I don't know how much the wire affects the sound of the main cable eg mixing a Norne cable with a short length of PlusSound wire adaptors.
Unfortunately my Stellia is still on the way! Might be next week before I get them.. Oh well.
I've had the Stellia about 2 weeks now, running almost constantly from a Chord Hugo TT2. 2 weeks and wow ! I also have Utopia's which I bought a couple of years ago ... but am preferring the Stellia ! Not huge differences but enough for me to prefer the Stellia. I was not expecting to like them more than the Utopia but I am.
I've had the Stellia about 2 weeks now, running almost constantly from a Chord Hugo TT2. 2 weeks and wow ! I also have Utopia's which I bought a couple of years ago ... but am preferring the Stellia ! Not huge differences but enough for me to prefer the Stellia. I was not expecting to like them more than the Utopia but I am.
I have the Utopia too. I absolutely love them. I absolutely love the Stellia too. Couldn't choose which I prefer in all honesty. But if I could only keep one it would be the Stellia - think it suits itself better to my favoured genres of music and I don't like using the Utopia when it is not audibly silent, even open windows on a summer's day with birds in the trees tweeting outside can be off-putting with the Utopia .
Received my ultra-short adaptors today. Awesome stuff from Sean @ AffinityCables as usual. I have several of his adaptors and am always impressed how small he can make them. I am not a big fan of wire-length based adaptors as I don't know how much the wire affects the sound of the main cable eg mixing a Norne cable with a short length of PlusSound wire adaptors.
Unfortunately my Stellia is still on the way! Might be next week before I get them.. Oh well.
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. Anybody else changed their mind on stock?
