[jlbrach]

some love the looks some do not.....

 

[AudioDuck]

I purchased my Stellias about a month ago and read this entire thread recently. I've been using the Focal Elears and Elegia for quite a while and hadn't kept up much with some of the newer products available. The Stellias are a game changer. I can't wait to get time in the evenings to listen to them after work. I think I use my headphones the opposite of most people. I actually use Clear OGs at work, as I listen at pretty low volumes and I like to be able to hear someone when they come into my office. I still generally remove my headphones for conversations, but sometimes someone is just telling me they are off to lunch, so it's nice not have to remove them for 2 second conversation.

The Stellias get time on my home system when I can have more focused listening time. I already had a great DAC in the Gumby MB, but with the ability to hear so much more detail, I've also added an RME ADI-2 DAC fs and Chord Qutest. My primary amp is a Violectric V281. As I went through the thread I noticed a number of other people use the same amp, it has a fantastic synergy with the Stellia. I also picked up a Monolith THX AAA 887 Balanced to see what all the fuss is about, and while it's a very "clear" sounding amp it doesn't hold a candle to the V281. The Stellia are very revealing of your upstream equipment.

A few takeaways from reading the entire thread (hopefully I cover the highlights pretty well if you want to save yourself 236 pages of reading):

1) Focal headphones need break-in / burn-in time. I also recently purchased the Clear and Radiance as well and they all definitely need some time to sound their best. It's quite noticeable out of the box. I believe it's mentioned in the manual as well. This goes away pretty quickly with some burn in / listening time.

2) Seal is very important. I wear glasses and notice just by the sound signature if I have forgotten to pull the arms of my glasses up. I place them on top of the cups as some others have mentioned doing in the thread. It's not ideal, so I've ordered some new glasses that I think will work better and hopefully not interfere with the seal. If they work as I expect them to I'll report back to the thread with the specifics. I think we will see varying opions on this topic because of various headshape and glasses and how much they break the seal.

3) I'm a new owner and opinions seem divided on treating the leather or not. I elected to treat mine. I used the Collonil 1909 Supreme Leather Cream (multi-color) mentioned earlier in the thread. Color change was minimal to none. It did seem to "fill in" a bit some areas where the leather seemed to have been a little rougher. I guess I'll know in a year or so how they hold up. I plan to continue to treat them regularly. I had a Corbin leather seat on my Harley, and those left untreated will absolutely dry out and crack over time if not properly cleaned and treated. I also regularly clean and protect my other leather goods, so put me in the camp who thinks properly caring for leather is the way to go. I seriously doubt I will ever sell these headphones though, so resale isn't a big concern for me. If I were buying used I would look for ones that had been treated reguarly with something other than sweat, but I totally respect anyone's opinion to go with "natural" seasoning if they choose to do so.

4) Cables - my factory cables are still in the box. I am currently using a Meze with 4.4 mm termination going to an adapter to XLR balanced. I have an Arctic Signum cable on order with a balanced XLR termination that will be my primary cable. I can't wait to hear it. My Elears sounded awful with the factory cable. I changed it almost immediately to the basic Arctic Cable they used to sell on Ebay, and noticed a huge improvement, so I can't wait to see what the Signum does for the Stellias.

5) The Stellias are very revealing of your upstream equipment. When I read the thread and saw complaints about the sound, the following questions immediately popped into my mind, #1 (burn-in) and #2 (seal) above, and wondering what equipment is being used, primarily the DAC, and Amp (and sometimes cables). If your DAC or Amp aren't up to par you are going to hear it with the Stellias. More forgiving headphones may not have highlighted equipment issues. It could also be a lack of synergy with the particular equipment. I would look at trying different source equipment before writing off the Stellias as the problem if you aren't loving them (most of us are!). It's easy for me to hear the differences between my 3 DACs and while the Stellias still sound great with my other amps, they are best with my Violectric V281. I have a Lyr 3 on the way so I'll look forward to hearing it soon. I have a Lyr 2 now and I didn't realize how bad it was until I got the Stellias. The Lyr 2 sounds pretty good with my HD800, but the Stellias really show the lack of detail retrieval as compared to my solid state amps. Down the road I may look at a higher end tube amp, but being really happy with the V281 I don't feel the need to spend a ton of money tube rolling. With the Lyr 3 tube rolling will consist of only changing a single tube, but I can't speak to the synergy yet since it's in the mail on it's way to me.

6) Opinions of the Dekoni Limited Edition pads on the Stellias are generally not favorable. I purchased them and agree with this assessment, I plan to try them on some of my other Focals though, and might find they work well with something else.

These headphones have me exploring all kinds of new music that I hadn't listed to before, some of which I've picked up from reading this or other threads.

My goto test track for years for any headphones is Steven Wilson's "Luminol" from The Raven That Refused to Sing. There is so much going on in this track and it transitions through a number of variations and instruments. I can get a read on any piece of audio equipment pretty quickly listening to just this track, with the exception of female vocals.

Some others I recommend:

Rebecca Pidgeon's "The Raven" (I guess I have a "Raven" theme going here)
Dave Brubek's - Time Out
Metrik - Ex Machina
Mezzanine - Massive Attack
Sierra Eagleson - "In The Air Tonight" cover as well as some other tracks
Diana Krall - Turn Up The Quiet
Infected Mushroom - I just started listening to this band, so I don't have specific album or track recommendations yet.
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (show's off the "speed" of the Stellias)
Dave Brubeck / The Dave Brubeck Quartet - "Unsquare Dance"
Nils Lofgren - Bass and Drum Intro
Yosi Horikawa - "Bubbles" on the album Wandering - Do yourself a favor and listen to these on the Stellias if you haven't.

I could go on forever because I really haven't found anything that doesn't sound great on the Stellias with the exception of poorly recorded albums, but some of the above were some nice "discoveries" that I've really enjoyed on these headphones.

Thanks to all the contributors on this thread, it's been really helpful as I start my journey with the Stellias!

As a Focal fan and a recent purchaser of a pre-owned Stellia (with about 25 hrs on it it- really a new pair), I second the vast majority of your points above (and the ones I don’t are simply because I haven’t tried them, such as pad rolling).

The Stellia is, indeed, a “game changer”. For me, I’ve been thrilled with how they are the ultimate version of the Focal house sound that I enjoy so much in my Elears, and have many of the qualities of the Radiance with a more even top-to-bottom balance.

I must admit the Radiance pads (Pittard’s leather, for Pete’s sake!) are even more comfortable, but it’s only by a couple of whiskers’ breadths. In my case, I’ve used Colourlock Aniline Leather Cream (did it by the book, so three applications since the leather is new), with great results. This way I don’t need to worry about an uneven patina developing on the headband, as this often happens.

In my case, I’ve found Norne Audio’s TOTL copper cable, the Drausk, to work wonderfully with the Stellia. I’ve no doubt I could coax more details out with a high-gauge pure silver cable, but I’m very happy with the detail levels as-is.

Last but not least, while the Stellias indeed work extremely well with the Violectric electronics (I have a V200), the Focals also LOVE OTL tube amps, such as the Feliks Audio amps. If you find a $500-600 Echo amp, it’s a great companion to a Violectric, producing a more organic, albeit slightly less detailed, sound. Highly recommended.

I really can’t applaud the Stellia enough; I am incredibly thankful to have them in my life, and will use them and maintain them steadfastly for many years to come.

(Oh, and my Radiances, which are in mint condition, are in the classifieds if anyone is looking)

 

[AudioDuck]

As a Focal fan and a recent purchaser of a pre-owned Stellia (with about 25 hrs on it it- really a new pair), I second the vast majority of your points above (and the ones I don’t are simply because I haven’t tried them, such as pad rolling).

The Stellia is, indeed, a “game changer”. For me, I’ve been thrilled with how they are the ultimate version of the Focal house sound that I enjoy so much in my Elears, and have many of the qualities of the Radiance with a more even top-to-bottom balance.

I must admit the Radiance pads (Pittard’s leather, for Pete’s sake!) are even more comfortable, but it’s only by a couple of whiskers’ breadths. In my case, I’ve used Colourlock Aniline Leather Cream (did it by the book, so three applications since the leather is new), with great results. This way I don’t need to worry about an uneven patina developing on the headband, as this often happens.

In my case, I’ve found Norne Audio’s TOTL copper cable, the Drausk, to work wonderfully with the Stellia. I’ve no doubt I could coax more details out with a high-gauge pure silver cable, but I’m very happy with the detail levels as-is.

Last but not least, while the Stellias indeed work extremely well with the Violectric electronics (I have a V200), the Focals also LOVE OTL tube amps, such as the Feliks Audio amps. If you find a $500-600 Echo amp, it’s a great companion to a Violectric, producing a more organic, albeit slightly less detailed, sound. Highly recommended.

I really can’t applaud the Stellia enough; I am incredibly thankful to have them in my life, and will use them and maintain them steadfastly for many years to come.

(Oh, and my Radiances, which are in mint condition, are in the classifieds if anyone is looking)

Funny story- I just realized that @scottcocoabeach was the OP of the great Stellia summary I quoted above AND the new owner of my Radiances (bought for someone he knows).

Thanks, Scott!

 

[scottcocoabeach]

Funny story- I just realized that @scottcocoabeach was the OP of the great Stellia summary I quoted above AND the new owner of my Radiances (bought for someone he knows).

Thanks, Scott!

Yep, and thank you! The Radiance are a great headphone and I would rank them second after the Stellia's in Focal's closed back lineup. I had the Celestee's and returned them due to the narrow sound stage. I think the Radiance get overlooked somewhat due to the co-branding with Bentley, I know at least one other poster in this thread had both the Radiance and Stellia and planned to keep both. I doubt I will travel with my Stellia, but the Radiance will likely come with me when I'm on a trip.

I almost pulled the trigger on a Feliks Echo Mark II last week, but i haven't had a lot of time to research them and I'm also in the "buy once, cry once" camp so I may save for a Euphoria instead, but for now I'm going to see how it goes with the Lyr 3. I don't recall reading about anyone using one in this thread so I'll be interested to see how it works out with the Stellia. Tube rolling consists of changing a single tube with the Lyr 3, and that has a lot of appeal as I don't have a lot of time to spend on researching and rolling tubes right now, so I want to keep things simple. I also need some time to get to know my DACs a little bit better as I recently added the Qutest. I've only had it a couple of days and it's brand new, so I'm still getting used to it.

Personally I love the look of the Stellia. That being said, if they offered them in something like the colorway of the Celestee or Radiance, I might pick them with darker colors given the choice. Anyone that's not picking up the Stellia based on the looks is going to be missing out on what these headphones have to offer. A TOTL headphone in closed back format, with many users on this thread stating they prefer them over the Utopia.

 

[XeNoNF50]

Yep, and thank you! The Radiance are a great headphone and I would rank them second after the Stellia's in Focal's closed back lineup. I had the Celestee's and returned them due to the narrow sound stage. I think the Radiance get overlooked somewhat due to the co-branding with Bentley, I know at least one other poster in this thread had both the Radiance and Stellia and planned to keep both. I doubt I will travel with my Stellia, but the Radiance will likely come with me when I'm on a trip.

I almost pulled the trigger on a Feliks Echo Mark II last week, but i haven't had a lot of time to research them and I'm also in the "buy once, cry once" camp so I may save for a Euphoria instead, but for now I'm going to see how it goes with the Lyr 3. I don't recall reading about anyone using one in this thread so I'll be interested to see how it works out with the Stellia. Tube rolling consists of changing a single tube with the Lyr 3, and that has a lot of appeal as I don't have a lot of time to spend on researching and rolling tubes right now, so I want to keep things simple. I also need some time to get to know my DACs a little bit better as I recently added the Qutest. I've only had it a couple of days and it's brand new, so I'm still getting used to it.

Personally I love the look of the Stellia. That being said, if they offered them in something like the colorway of the Celestee or Radiance, I might pick them with darker colors given the choice. Anyone that's not picking up the Stellia based on the looks is going to be missing out on what these headphones have to offer. A TOTL headphone in closed back format, with many users on this thread stating they prefer them over the Utopia.

I can't say I prefer them over the Utopia but for my lifestyle and for how good they are and for how they are more of an all rounder for all genres if I could only keep one it would have to be the Stellia.

Interesting you say this about the Radiance. In my head I often don't even count it as part of Focal's line up.

 

[noplsestar]

I purchased my Stellias about a month ago and read this entire thread recently. I've been using the Focal Elears and Elegia for quite a while and hadn't kept up much with some of the newer products available. The Stellias are a game changer. I can't wait to get time in the evenings to listen to them after work. I think I use my headphones the opposite of most people. I actually use Clear OGs at work, as I listen at pretty low volumes and I like to be able to hear someone when they come into my office. I still generally remove my headphones for conversations, but sometimes someone is just telling me they are off to lunch, so it's nice not have to remove them for 2 second conversation.

The Stellias get time on my home system when I can have more focused listening time. I already had a great DAC in the Gumby MB, but with the ability to hear so much more detail, I've also added an RME ADI-2 DAC fs and Chord Qutest. My primary amp is a Violectric V281. As I went through the thread I noticed a number of other people use the same amp, it has a fantastic synergy with the Stellia. I also picked up a Monolith THX AAA 887 Balanced to see what all the fuss is about, and while it's a very "clear" sounding amp it doesn't hold a candle to the V281. The Stellia are very revealing of your upstream equipment.

A few takeaways from reading the entire thread (hopefully I cover the highlights pretty well if you want to save yourself 236 pages of reading):

1) Focal headphones need break-in / burn-in time. I also recently purchased the Clear and Radiance as well and they all definitely need some time to sound their best. It's quite noticeable out of the box. I believe it's mentioned in the manual as well. This goes away pretty quickly with some burn in / listening time.

2) Seal is very important. I wear glasses and notice just by the sound signature if I have forgotten to pull the arms of my glasses up. I place them on top of the cups as some others have mentioned doing in the thread. It's not ideal, so I've ordered some new glasses that I think will work better and hopefully not interfere with the seal. If they work as I expect them to I'll report back to the thread with the specifics. I think we will see varying opions on this topic because of various headshape and glasses and how much they break the seal.

3) I'm a new owner and opinions seem divided on treating the leather or not. I elected to treat mine. I used the Collonil 1909 Supreme Leather Cream (multi-color) mentioned earlier in the thread. Color change was minimal to none. It did seem to "fill in" a bit some areas where the leather seemed to have been a little rougher. I guess I'll know in a year or so how they hold up. I plan to continue to treat them regularly. I had a Corbin leather seat on my Harley, and those left untreated will absolutely dry out and crack over time if not properly cleaned and treated. I also regularly clean and protect my other leather goods, so put me in the camp who thinks properly caring for leather is the way to go. I seriously doubt I will ever sell these headphones though, so resale isn't a big concern for me. If I were buying used I would look for ones that had been treated reguarly with something other than sweat, but I totally respect anyone's opinion to go with "natural" seasoning if they choose to do so.

4) Cables - my factory cables are still in the box. I am currently using a Meze with 4.4 mm termination going to an adapter to XLR balanced. I have an Arctic Signum cable on order with a balanced XLR termination that will be my primary cable. I can't wait to hear it. My Elears sounded awful with the factory cable. I changed it almost immediately to the basic Arctic Cable they used to sell on Ebay, and noticed a huge improvement, so I can't wait to see what the Signum does for the Stellias.

5) The Stellias are very revealing of your upstream equipment. When I read the thread and saw complaints about the sound, the following questions immediately popped into my mind, #1 (burn-in) and #2 (seal) above, and wondering what equipment is being used, primarily the DAC, and Amp (and sometimes cables). If your DAC or Amp aren't up to par you are going to hear it with the Stellias. More forgiving headphones may not have highlighted equipment issues. It could also be a lack of synergy with the particular equipment. I would look at trying different source equipment before writing off the Stellias as the problem if you aren't loving them (most of us are!). It's easy for me to hear the differences between my 3 DACs and while the Stellias still sound great with my other amps, they are best with my Violectric V281. I have a Lyr 3 on the way so I'll look forward to hearing it soon. I have a Lyr 2 now and I didn't realize how bad it was until I got the Stellias. The Lyr 2 sounds pretty good with my HD800, but the Stellias really show the lack of detail retrieval as compared to my solid state amps. Down the road I may look at a higher end tube amp, but being really happy with the V281 I don't feel the need to spend a ton of money tube rolling. With the Lyr 3 tube rolling will consist of only changing a single tube, but I can't speak to the synergy yet since it's in the mail on it's way to me.

6) Opinions of the Dekoni Limited Edition pads on the Stellias are generally not favorable. I purchased them and agree with this assessment, I plan to try them on some of my other Focals though, and might find they work well with something else.

These headphones have me exploring all kinds of new music that I hadn't listed to before, some of which I've picked up from reading this or other threads.

My goto test track for years for any headphones is Steven Wilson's "Luminol" from The Raven That Refused to Sing. There is so much going on in this track and it transitions through a number of variations and instruments. I can get a read on any piece of audio equipment pretty quickly listening to just this track, with the exception of female vocals.

Some others I recommend:

Rebecca Pidgeon's "The Raven" (I guess I have a "Raven" theme going here)
Dave Brubek's - Time Out
Metrik - Ex Machina
Mezzanine - Massive Attack
Sierra Eagleson - "In The Air Tonight" cover as well as some other tracks
Diana Krall - Turn Up The Quiet
Infected Mushroom - I just started listening to this band, so I don't have specific album or track recommendations yet.
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (show's off the "speed" of the Stellias)
Dave Brubeck / The Dave Brubeck Quartet - "Unsquare Dance"
Nils Lofgren - Bass and Drum Intro
Yosi Horikawa - "Bubbles" on the album Wandering - Do yourself a favor and listen to these on the Stellias if you haven't.

I could go on forever because I really haven't found anything that doesn't sound great on the Stellias with the exception of poorly recorded albums, but some of the above were some nice "discoveries" that I've really enjoyed on these headphones.

Thanks to all the contributors on this thread, it's been really helpful as I start my journey with the Stellias!

​

Thank you very much for that great summery!

You will be delighted with the Signum from Arctic cables, it’s a wonderful match with the Stellia. Just give them a proper burn in.

Also I would add: For those having problems with the ears not fitting inside the Stellia cups, try swapping the pads from left to right (or rotate them), it worked for me perfectly. Before the swap my left ear sometimes touched the grills, after the left/right swapping it didn’t happen anymore.

Have fun listening to your new headphones

 

[redmonddad]

Question: Has anyone experienced the 3.5mm connection into the ear cup being less than firm?

Why am I asking: All is good with my original cables. These cables have perfect fit and a rubber ridge to create an extra stable connection at the ear cups.

To reduce microphonics and get my desired length I ordered an Arctic Cable. They, of course, cannot use the Focal specific male 3.5mm connectors (they are glued in place). When inserting the Arctic Cable 3.5mm connectors, I notice that the left connection is firm and stable while the right connection wiggles slightly. No problem, until I listen to my headphones. That slight wiggle is audible. It turns into a “clank” as I move my head. So I’ve traded less cable “scraping” microphonics for a plastic “clang”
I’ve reached out to Bloom Audio for their thoughts on a warranty repair without hearing anything back so I thought I’d ask if anyone has experienced this problem.

FWIW, I have used two different AC cables (Ion and Integra) with two different Focal headphones (Elex and Stellia). Solid connections one both headphones using either cable. Note that I had the cables made with their standard Neutrik 3.5mm connectors for the headphone connection rather than the upgraded Oyaide (gold or rhodium plated) connectors.

 

[Catharus]

FWIW, I have used two different AC cables (Ion and Integra) with two different Focal headphones (Elex and Stellia). Solid connections one both headphones using either cable.

Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it.

I have since figured out that the plastic “clank” came from the heat shrink being less than tight on my Arctic Cable and not the slightly wiggly 3.5mm connection. I fixed the cable hitting the inside of the heat shrink by wedging a match stick in there

 

[sparkofinsanity]

I have a Lyr 2 now and I didn't realize how bad it was until I got the Stellias. The Lyr 2 sounds pretty good with my HD800, but the Stellias really show the lack of detail retrieval as compared to my solid state amps.

I had the same revelation plugging in the Elear a few years ago. The grain in the top end was really disappointing, that romantic feeling the glowing warm tubes gives blew out like a candle. Haven’t dared to check it with the Stellias yet.

 

[AudioDuck]

I had the same revelation plugging in the Elear a few years ago. The grain in the top end was really disappointing, that romantic feeling the glowing warm tubes gives blew out like a candle. Haven’t dared to check it with the Stellias yet.

If I may- if you seek some tube romance with Stellia or Elear in that price class, a Feliks Audio Echo (used Mk I) will do nicely.

Fantastic match with the Focals, and budget tube upgrades (I’ve spent about $ 80 on NOS Mullard EC88s) will eke out a little more. Polish wizardry! That said, Violectric matches really well on the SS side, and my V200 reached a new level with good XLR interconnects.

Good luck in the search!

 

[scottcocoabeach]

I had the same revelation plugging in the Elear a few years ago. The grain in the top end was really disappointing, that romantic feeling the glowing warm tubes gives blew out like a candle. Haven’t dared to check it with the Stellias yet.

I'm just a few days in with the Lyr 3, it's a major improvement over the Lyr 2. I wasn't blown away by the factory tube, although it needs more burn in time. I got a Westinghouse tube in, and have probably a little over 24 hours of time running it in, and it sounds fantastic so far - major improvement over the factory tube even before being totally settled in. The Lyr 3 is a complete redesign and it definitely shows. I wish I had an easy way to do a side by side with a Feliks, to hear how they compare, but so far I'm very happy with the Lyr 3. I like the fact that it has a great warranty and is easy to roll tubes with the single tube design.

I also recently picked up the iBasso DX300 and it pairs very well with the Stellia as well.

 

[AudioDuck]

I'm just a few days in with the Lyr 3, it's a major improvement over the Lyr 2. I wasn't blown away by the factory tube, although it needs more burn in time. I got a Westinghouse tube in, and have probably a little over 24 hours of time running it in, and it sounds fantastic so far - major improvement over the factory tube even before being totally settled in. The Lyr 3 is a complete redesign and it definitely shows. I wish I had an easy way to do a side by side with a Feliks, to hear how they compare, but so far I'm very happy with the Lyr 3. I like the fact that it has a great warranty and is easy to roll tubes with the single tube design.

I also recently picked up the iBasso DX300 and it pairs very well with the Stellia as well.

That’s awesome- great to hear, Scott!

As a Gungnir owner and overall Schiit fan, I completely agree with you on the customer support.

While I have no worries about the Feliks quality (it’s built very solidly) and the support from Upscale Audio in CA, I think it’s a great call to stick with the Lyr 3. If it sounds fantastic, you’ve hit the jackpot!

 

[sparkofinsanity]

If I may- if you seek some tube romance with Stellia or Elear in that price class, a Feliks Audio Echo (used Mk I) will do nicely.

I'm not sure what my next excursion will be, still getting to know the Stellias and they sound brilliant out of the balanced Topping stack (and the HD-DAC1) already. Before I bought them I was thinking about getting a Lokius, now I'm fairly sure I don't need to (the Elears needs some EQ to shine though).

I'm just a few days in with the Lyr 3, it's a major improvement over the Lyr 2.

That's good to hear, I'll put it on the list together with the Feliks to investigate in due time.

 

[zolom]

Bedside setup:
- Focal Stellia
Black Dragon cables
- Chord Hugo2
- Topping BC3 (LDAC)
- Audioengine B-Fi (wifi DLNA)
- 3x1 Toslink optical switch

Sublime nightly listening.

 

[AudioDuck]

Bedside setup:
- Focal Stellia
Black Dragon cables
- Chord Hugo2
- Topping BC3 (LDAC)
- Audioengine B-Fi (wifi DLNA)
- 3x1 Toslink optical switch

Sublime nightly listening.

VERY nice. Congratulations- enjoy the music!