Great comparisons. Thanks for your impressions.I wanted to weigh in with the closed backs I have owned or tried.
I currently own the Rognir. Clear crisp sound, great mids with a slighly enhanced bass. Very tight bass. Very good separation and the sound stage and imaging is about as good as you will hear in a closed back. I do believe that it is the best closed back I have ever heard. My sole complaint is that my ears touch the inner part of the pads.
Focal Stellia (owned)….I liked but didn’t love the Stellia. It did everything well…but it never felt special. Good bass. Stage was smallish. It wasn’t near as dynamic as I had hoped. A good headphone but not worth the price tag.
Audio Technica A-WAS (owned)…good for the price. It had some moments. It was average at best on my Ifi Pro ICAN and really good on the Auris Nirvana. It had great mids. It was pretty neutral. Smallish stage. Separation could get a little muddy with rock and songs with a lot of instruments.
Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM (owned)… great bass (definately a bit bass heavy) great soundstage…. Not the most detailed headphone.
Audio Technica A2000X (owned)… bass light, had a metalic reverb is the best I can describe. Not my favorite.
ZMF Verite Closed (auditioned)… good bass, a bit darker sound compared to the Rognir. I really wish I could remember the sound better. It was too long ago and I didnt have enough time to really give a fair impression.
I, too, didn't find the Stellia all that impressive, considering its high price tag. I'd rate the Focal below the AH-D9200, Vérité Closed, MDR-Z1R, and the ATH-AWKT. Hell, I'd even pick the TH900 Mk2 over the Stellia, especially since it plays so well with EDM. With that being said, the Stellia isn't a bad headphone per se, it's just not a very good value proposition, IMO. It's nearly twice the MSRP of the AH-D9200, but the latter handily bests the Stellia in several areas. Ultimately, sound is subjective, and there will be fans of the copper-clad headphone, but I'm (sadly) not a huge one. It's a good addition to round up a closed-back fan's collection, but not at that price, I feel.