DTgill
Headphoneus Supremus
Thank you!You are very welcome here, my friend
The Closed-Back Headphone Thread (Plus Comparisons & Reviews)
- Thread starter Malevolent
- Start date
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- audio-technica
DTgill
Headphoneus Supremus
LOL, I thought I was posting in the 'What headphones are you listening to thread.' I wasn't sure that this was the proper place.
I wouldn't go for either of them. I have recently owned both and they were both a snore for me. The Beyer DT700 Pro X is better than both to my ears by a lot. I am not saying that the DT700 is the best for you to get. I also have the TH900 MKI (Whiplash cable and Auteur Suede pads) and they are fantastic but it really depends on what kind of music you listen to. I am very curious to hear the new Hifiman R9 - getting close to pulling the trigger.
Just come join the ES-R10 gang instead. Best purchase decision ever.
Terriero
Headphoneus Supremus
I'm still waiting for Malevolent impressions about those headphones (if he wants to try them)... But, he, like me, is MIA...
I plan to buy them, even before the Z1Rs I also want to purchase. I like very much reading you and the other guys talking about them in it's thread.
3 weeks in with the Stellia, the latest in a long line of closed backs (most recently Elegia, Celestee & P9), thought I'd share some impressions of this femme fatale of a headphone, that has extracted thousands of dollars from many a head fier with its siren song.
In a word, wow.
When I was five years old I found an old walkman in my grandmar's loft, some Sony on ears, and proceeded to listen to it when we went out into London that afternoon. It was magic, I still remember the exact places we went, something about having music on the go was mind blowing for me as a child, boring walks became intense and memorable. It's what draws me to closed backs now, the ability to have amazing sound on the go is extraordinary.
And that's why I chose Stellia. Plugging these into a Hugo, and strolling around the park, or the block, is a mind bending experience. Try listening to some Daft Punk while watching a sunset over the city skyline, or Air on a crisp morning. It's magic.
Comparisons
Previously I made these same walks with the Bowers & Wilkins P9, or Campfire Solaris, or Focal Celestee, the last of which I've just sold to make room in the coop. The difference is vast, the Stellia demand your attention and wow you. Especially with vocals. I find it quite remarkable how much of an upgrade they are over my outgoing Celestee (and previously Elegia). The signature is very different too, it sounds less metallic and more natural than my other focals, for lack of a better term.
A surprising contrast with the celestee is the improved comfort, too. The Stellia clamp more, but they are far more stable on my head, making for a much better portable experience. A surprising difference given the Celestee is a newer model.
If you have a Celestee, or an Elegia, these are the big upgrade. The huge upgrade. The detail is just incredible, and the timbre is so much better than those other two focals. It still doesn't match the P9 in timbre, but it makes up for it with technical brilliance.
Even compared to my Clear these reach new heights, amazing for a closed back. To put it bluntly, I think they're better than Clear full stop, irregardless of the closed nature these provide a much more detailed, enjoyable sound to me. It feels much fuller in the mid range, and has less 'edge' which I found a little distracting on the clear
Sources
Which is impressive engineering. I've been using them with Mojo 2 and Hugo, I much prefer Hugo with them for what it's worth. I've also tried them with the ifi go blu and it's excellent. Even straight out of my laptop or a dongle they sound good, much like Celestee.
In a word, wow.
When I was five years old I found an old walkman in my grandmar's loft, some Sony on ears, and proceeded to listen to it when we went out into London that afternoon. It was magic, I still remember the exact places we went, something about having music on the go was mind blowing for me as a child, boring walks became intense and memorable. It's what draws me to closed backs now, the ability to have amazing sound on the go is extraordinary.
And that's why I chose Stellia. Plugging these into a Hugo, and strolling around the park, or the block, is a mind bending experience. Try listening to some Daft Punk while watching a sunset over the city skyline, or Air on a crisp morning. It's magic.
Comparisons
Previously I made these same walks with the Bowers & Wilkins P9, or Campfire Solaris, or Focal Celestee, the last of which I've just sold to make room in the coop. The difference is vast, the Stellia demand your attention and wow you. Especially with vocals. I find it quite remarkable how much of an upgrade they are over my outgoing Celestee (and previously Elegia). The signature is very different too, it sounds less metallic and more natural than my other focals, for lack of a better term.
A surprising contrast with the celestee is the improved comfort, too. The Stellia clamp more, but they are far more stable on my head, making for a much better portable experience. A surprising difference given the Celestee is a newer model.
If you have a Celestee, or an Elegia, these are the big upgrade. The huge upgrade. The detail is just incredible, and the timbre is so much better than those other two focals. It still doesn't match the P9 in timbre, but it makes up for it with technical brilliance.
Even compared to my Clear these reach new heights, amazing for a closed back. To put it bluntly, I think they're better than Clear full stop, irregardless of the closed nature these provide a much more detailed, enjoyable sound to me. It feels much fuller in the mid range, and has less 'edge' which I found a little distracting on the clear
Sources
Which is impressive engineering. I've been using them with Mojo 2 and Hugo, I much prefer Hugo with them for what it's worth. I've also tried them with the ifi go blu and it's excellent. Even straight out of my laptop or a dongle they sound good, much like Celestee.
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KaiFi
500+ Head-Fier
I really want to hear the Stellia some day. I like the Celestee, but I can imagine some ways it could be better. I figure the Stellia improves on it in every way.
silversurfer616
1000+ Head-Fier
Stellia is really good. Some days I preferred it to Utopia. Why did I sell them?
There are times I miss the Stellia as well.
AudioDuck
Headphoneus Supremus
While I have not heard the Celestee, I had the Radiance, which I really liked, and had an unexpected opportunity to upgrade to the Stellia.
I understand the Celestee is more neutral than the Radiance- and the Stellia, while not razor-neutral per se, is likely similar in tonal balance to the Celestee.
When I went from the Radiance to Stellia, there was just more of most things- resolution, dynamics, soundstage (albeit limited ofc) and bass depth (Radiance has a mid-bass “hump” and added mid-range warmth- great rock/pop/rap headphone!).
These days my trade off when I switch from Stellia to the ZMF Auteur (open design), the latter seems almost veiled at first*. So while Stellia isn’t a “detail monster” (see: Audeze LCD-XC), it is very resolving. I could see that being too much with a very neutral or detailed solid-state amp. But with a warmer-toned solid-state amp or hybrid…
*But that’s not why I have the Auteur.
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deafenears
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah, haven't seen any new posts from @Malevolent for a while. Maybe he finally managed to get a hold of a pair of Stellia's and busy listening to them... that or his wife banned him from posting lol.
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Haha, sorry folks, life has taken a hold on me, and I've just been rather busy (and lazy) to get onto the forums.
How's everyone doing? Believe it or not, I miss the banter, so yeah, let's hope I don't get too lazy to click on "Head-Fi Forums" on my browser the next day.
On the topic of headphones... I have decided to skip the Stellia in favor of the Atrium Closed. It's an open secret (by now) that a closed version of ZMF"s newest flagship would be hot on the heels of its open-back sibling.
What about the rest of you guys?
Late reply here, but they are fundamentally different in both sound and performance.
If you like the sound of one, you'd probably steer away from the other. That's how distinct they are on the sound spectrum, IMO.
What are you looking for - if you don't mind my asking - from a tonality perspective?
plakat
Headphoneus Supremus
One can live without head-fi (or so I've heard...)Haha, sorry folks, life has taken a hold on me, and I've just been rather busy (and lazy) to get onto the forums.
How's everyone doing? Believe it or not, I miss the banter, so yeah, let's hope I don't get too lazy to click on "Head-Fi Forums" on my browser the next day.
On the topic of headphones... I have decided to skip the Stellia in favor of the Atrium Closed. It's an open secret (by now) that a closed version of ZMF"s newest flagship would be hot on the heels of its open-back sibling.
What about the rest of you guys?
My personal quest resulted in 4 (four) matte black M-100 sets, 2 second hand but pristine, 2 new in box, in addition to my two sets in white. Mission accomplished and very happy with that, they should last me for quite some time to come. Selling my DT700, my SRH840A, even thinking about parting with my D9200.
Otherwise waiting for what Austrian Audio is about to announce at Pro Light and Sound fair / Musikmesse tomorrow (just hearing stories it might be a new headphone in a less civil price range, although it could be an open model, but might as well be just microphones...) which I might have to get in case its a closed back model (but in that case the Hi-X60 will have to go).
Oh, and did I mention how happy I'm with my M-100 collection recently? I even kept two with their default pads and actually use them this way. What a nice trip down memory lane
Putting several hours of listening time on them every single day, using one with original pads for on-the-go and one with XL pads while at home.Users who are viewing this thread
