[majid]

My main cans are Focal Elears but I am looking for sealed headphones that don't leak. Naturally the Elegias and Stellias are on my radar. At the last (pre-Covid) CanJam London, almost all the stands featured either Stellias or Meze. I searched Head-Fi for Stellia reviews and came upon page upon page of "for sale" threads, and this got me wondering why so many owners of über-premium headphones are ditching theirs.

 

[hodgjy]

Maybe this isn't the case 100% of the time, but whenever I search for a specific headphone here, the majority of the hits are in the FS forum.

If that's not the reason for the Focal sell-off, I would venture a guess many people don't want $3k tied up in closed headphones considering cheaper open ones sound better.

 

[majid]

I can appreciate that. I'd rather spend that on my grail headphones, the Stax Omega II (or perhaps the newer SR-009, I haven't auditioned them), but in this case I have a specific need for closed headphones, and suspect the Elegias wouldn't be much of an improvement if at all over the Elears.

 

[paradoxper]

I will guess through the virtue of Utopia they upgrade.

Also, those god damn cult-hipsters love the everrr-venerable ZMF.

But who knows, really.

 

[Terriero]

I can appreciate that. I'd rather spend that on my grail headphones, the Stax Omega II (or perhaps the newer SR-009, I haven't auditioned them), but in this case I have a specific need for closed headphones, and suspect the Elegias wouldn't be much of an improvement if at all over the Elears.

I recommend you to take a look at "The closed back thread". Right now, there are a lot of different -and good- closed back headphones, with different signatures and for different budgets.

 

[davidfrance]

People travel less these days, so they have more money to spend on things. But if they own something already, maybe they need to sell it before (or after) the upgrade.

 

[Jukka]

For me, I bought the Stellia because my kids were noisy at that time and really wanted a closed back headphone. Now, they are grown up and I can enjoy music without them shouting and yelling all the time, the necessity for a closed back is gone. The headphone itself is amazing, so don't be put off if people are selling it.

 

[Frainen]

I have the Stellia, always plugged to my desktop amp for multi purpose (games, music, video).
I wanted headphones with a good seal and a good sound whatever the situation. Sound wise I have no issue with it, I don't like how the leather is changing color over time but it is another story.
They are very comfortable, I can wear them all day long without issues.
I have seen few bad comments about them, but I don't agree with their reasons.

 

[urs]

Majid,

IF your main goal - beside good sound, of course !! - is minimal leakage, did you consider In-Ear-Monitors ?
For the price of e.g. the STELLIA, you’ll get excellent sound and very good isolation, especially virtually no emissions.

It took me a looong time to come to this conclusion – and I’m still evaluating…

BUT: IEM’s are a fair bit more "fiddly" with selecting the right ear plugs, inserting them into your ears, cabling, etc.

Regards

Urs

BTW: For me, closed phones or IEM are only for such "emergency situations", where sound isolation is a must - otherwise my preference are STAX - VERY noisy, that’s why they are called "Head-Speakers".....
And to find a Closed or IEM with a similar sound quality is a real challenge

 

[DenverW]

I will guess through the virtue of Utopia they upgrade.

Also, those god damn cult-hipsters love the everrr-venerable ZMF.

But who knows, really.

Hi, my name is Denver and I am a god damn cult-hipster.

 

[jonathan c]

Also, those god damn cult-hipsters love the everrr-venerable ZMF.

Like @DenverW, I am one of those ‘cult-hipsters’ and I own one of the best headphones, period. It is the ZMF Auteur. Any questions?

 

[paradoxper]

Hi, Denver, I will pray for you and Jonathan.

TC.

Out.

 

[dynavit]

Hear in EU people bought the ELEGIA and put some CELESTEE pads on it. They swear it sounds better than the Stelia.

 

[Frozen Rat]

I own the Stellia and don't plan on selling them. I also own Utopia. When I put on the Stellia headphones the sound is impressive and immersive and I'm not thinking "this could be better" until I put on the Utopias and they are another level better. But, that's to be expected in closed back versus open back headphones. If you want the best sound and your environment is clean, don't get the Stellia headphones, get Utopia or another TOTL open-backed headphone. If you have noise pollution and want the best sound you can get in that environment (well, one of several "bests" anyway) the Stellia remain one of your very best choices. When I'm out in the world the Stellia actually sound better than the Utopia because there's less noise interference. I've not tried the Elegia or Celestee for comparison, so I cannot say how close or not they come to the Stellia.

 

[majid]

Majid,

IF your main goal - beside good sound, of course !! - is minimal leakage, did you consider In-Ear-Monitors ?

Yes, I have Etymotic ER-4P and more recently a pair of ER-4SR. I mostly use them on the plane, though, and there hasn't been much of that in the last 2 years, go figure.