Focal Stellia Review, Measurements, Interview - Head-Fi TV
Nov 10, 2023 at 8:59 PM Post #4,382 of 4,566
To add - Focal Utopia was built for tubes. It sounds best on a tube amp. LCD-5 works best with tubes, but solid state isn't bad either.

Stellia was made for solid state. End of story. Tubes sound terrible with Stellia, and they simply don't work. Not to mention high sensitivity, meaning the tubes buzz and hum through the Stellia. Don't do it.
Wow I didn't even know about the tubes buzz and hum. Well I would have to pair the tube amp with my Arya organic or HD 800s then. Thanks.
 
Nov 11, 2023 at 9:53 PM Post #4,383 of 4,566
Hey All!

Peter Verbeek (creator of P.E.A.C.E.) is going to include, amongst a few other headphone EQs I've made, the Focal Stellia EQ I've just improved before he releases it along side the newest update to PEACE which comes out very soon!

It is attached for you to try/preview if you like!

Blessings,
-J

PS - Refer to below post for instructions on how to import it properly into PEACE and which filters to adjust in to tailor the EQ easily to your liking.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foc...nts-interview-head-fi-tv.899912/post-17758718
 

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Nov 11, 2023 at 10:37 PM Post #4,384 of 4,566
... Stellia was made for solid state. ... Tubes sound terrible with Stellia, ....
I disagree. I don't own a tube amp. I use a FiiO K9 Pro (ESS). I went to a head-fi area meet up and was able to run my Stellia with a DNA amp and some other tube amp. These were probably $4K to $5K amps. They sounded really good. Not sure what DAC was being used. Compared the K9, they had a little more widening of the soundstage, airiness.

One thing is true, the Stellia are very easy to drive. It's possible, they reveal more distortion and "bad" stuff. Tubes are not know for low distortion.
 
Nov 12, 2023 at 8:17 AM Post #4,386 of 4,566
I disagree. I don't own a tube amp. I use a FiiO K9 Pro (ESS). I went to a head-fi area meet up and was able to run my Stellia with a DNA amp and some other tube amp. These were probably $4K to $5K amps. They sounded really good. Not sure what DAC was being used. Compared the K9, they had a little more widening of the soundstage, airiness.

One thing is true, the Stellia are very easy to drive. It's possible, they reveal more distortion and "bad" stuff. Tubes are not know for low distortion.

That's true. My upgraded HA-6A rivals my Ferrum stack for technicalities. But it has a tiny amount of distortion, barely audible with Utopia or LCD-5. With Stellia it's VERY audible.

I think Stellia sounds organic and smooth on SS - then, my tubes add even more. So it starts to blur a lot. While sharper sounding hp's like Utopia and LCD-5 benefit from the tubes.

A flagship, ultra clean tube amp would sound great with Stellia. It might still need an impedance adapter cable, for background hum, and for the impedance curve (so it doesn't boost the bass region).
 
Nov 12, 2023 at 10:58 PM Post #4,387 of 4,566
Another person at the meet up listen the Stellia on the K9 and the DNA or other tube amp. We had the same impression about the differences between the amps.

I can see how the Utopia may sound "better" with tubes. I listened to other open back headphones with those expensive tubes amps and they had some really nice sound and openness.
 
Dec 19, 2023 at 2:03 AM Post #4,394 of 4,566
My favorite cable for the Stellia is the Danacable Lazuli Utra or the Lazuli Rhapsody. They are the same cable ble the new Rhapsody is now braided. It’s a Copper & Silver Hypid cable. It takes the Stellia to new heights.

But when paired with my Lazuli Nirvana on my main system it’s mesmerizing. They scale up so well.
Succumbed to the Stellia Black Friday deal. Added CP Yang pads and the Danceable Lazuli Ultralite. Both bring out the best of these headphones.

I drive them with a Chord Mojo 2 + Poly. I play straight off the SD card using MPDluxe (unlike DLNA, MPD doesn't do a network round-trip on the Poly)

Truly an enjoyable mobile setup that comes awfully close to my DAVE / M Scaler / Utopia desktop rig.
 
Dec 19, 2023 at 5:38 AM Post #4,395 of 4,566
Succumbed to the Stellia Black Friday deal. Added CP Yang pads and the Danceable Lazuli Ultralite. Both bring out the best of these headphones.

I drive them with a Chord Mojo 2 + Poly. I play straight off the SD card using MPDluxe (unlike DLNA, MPD doesn't do a network round-trip on the Poly)

Truly an enjoyable mobile setup that comes awfully close to my DAVE / M Scaler / Utopia desktop rig.
I use the same setup sometimes and I agree with you. The Stellia’s out of the Mojo 2/Poly sounds phenomenaL.
 

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