Got Focal Stellia today. I bought an open box pair. Obviously been used and sound burned in. In one of life's minor ironies I paid more for the Stellia than the Utopia. Slight discoloration on the headband (I don't care).
I compared them to the Utopia. I'll let you know which I'm keeping at the end.
Stellia are lighter, but it's the same as calling a feather lighter than a cotton ball, no one was complaining about the cotton ball to begin with.
The Stellia pads are more comfortable. They look the same, except for those perforations, but for some damned reason the Stellia pads just feel better. Love those Stellia pads. I want a pillow made out of the same stuff please.
Why are people complaining about the cable again? Microphonics? Too stiff? The cable is fine. Short though, but that's about the only issue. Better than too long. OK, I'm not dissing anyone, just saying I don't have issues. I mean I have issues, but not with the cable.
I compared for an hour, but that was enough to gain impressions I feel comfortable stating as my actual feelings.
Bass: The Utopia is firm, lovely, and with a roundness to the bass notes like no other headphone. It sits in the mix where it belongs and doesn't get up from its seat and stomp on anyone else's feet.
Bass: The Stellia is more, but it's like a balloon, as it grows the details get stretched out and less legible. There's more surface area. All the detail remains, it's spread out over a larger surface.
There's a smidge more detail with the Utopia, but what you get in compensation with the Stellia is more, and more "snap" and "slam." I like that on some songs, on others it's never there to begin with. The Stellia doesn't have too much, and the Utopia doesn't have too little. One is Rocky Road and the other is Dulce De Leche.
Mids: Both are really, really good. It's the mids where I have the most difficultly telling a difference. If you put a gun to my head and told me to contrast something I'd kick you in the kneecaps, and then I'd say the Stellia feels a bit more "present" and "forward," but only just. If you stripped away the treble and bass and had me listen to them blind, I'd be choosing at random. Give me a week or two and I'll be able to tell them apart though. Maybe. Probably. We'll see.
Treble: I've read a lot of reviews that say the treble is smoother and more laid back on the Stellia. Not hearing that myself. It's different, for sure, but I'm having a tough time figuring out how to translate what my brain is hearing into English words that convey the experience. Here's what I can say with confidence: The detail is there in both and I feel it's the same and yet not. It depends on the song(s). I hear more detail on the Stellia with Pink Floyd, but I hear more on the Utopia with female vocals, as an example. What is more consistent is this sense of space and air around instruments and voices on the Utopia where with the Stellia they feel flatter. It's like the Stellia is a room with walls within twenty feet, whereas the Utopia you're out in the open sitting amidst the daisies.
On the Utopia a plucked guitar string has feeling, texture. You feel like it's being plucked right in front of you and you can feel the resistance of the fingers in the note. On the Stellia it's still very well defined, but it doesn't have that same amazing texture you get with the Utopia. Put another way: on cheaper headphones the texture is a piece of 20lb copy paper. On the Stellia it's 100 grit sand paper. On the Utopia it's 80 grit (you feel the grit, but you feel the grooves between the grit even more), and with a little something extra that the open back design lends the music.
For home listening the Utopia is up there with what, maybe five or six others?
For mobile listening I'm going to say the Stellia may be out in the lead all by itself.
The Utopia is not better than the Stellia. That's too much like calling a horse better than a burro. You have to qualify the remark:
For listening at home on your rig, the Utopia is king between the two.
For listening on a plane or Starbucks, you're going to enjoy the Stellia more.
Summary:
Bass: quantity and impact (Stellia) verses musicality (Utopia)
Mids: draw
Treble: Utopia comes out on top most of the time
I don't usually talk about staging but here goes. They're headphones not speakers. They're on your head, the stage is always going to be intimate. I'll be honest and say I cannot tell the difference between these two.
I'm keeping both. I bought them used and got both for less than Utopia costs new. I've had great luck over the years buying headphones used. I've never bought a new pair in my life.
