Focal Stellia

 

Daniel M. - 15/12/2023 Comfortable, well manufactured and great sound!

 

Terrence james S. - 08/11/2023 So far I am impressed. The box, construction, finish and best of all the sound is superb. My other headphones are some top of the line Stax electrostatic models from the 1970s. The sound of the Stellia is on par with the electrostatics from back then. Very happy with purchase so far. Right now I am using them with a Astell & Kern Kann Max portable player and it is a match made in heaven. The Kann Max has four output levels, and I am happy with the sound and volume of the 2nd, Mid level 4Vrms. Highly recommended.

 

Jack F. - 22/08/2023 The best closed back headphone I have ever heard, full stop.

 

Adam S. - 06/04/2023 This might be the perfect closed-back headphone, as it does almost everything right. First of all, it's supremely comfortable, it's lighter than other Focals closed-backs, it also clamps less and the leather on the headband and the earpads is very soft. Like other Focals closed-backs, it's very easy to drive, it's reasonably portable and also seals good enough. Now the sound. It is very resolving but not overwhelmingly so - it presents the details in a very subtle way and often you need more than one listen to truly appreciate how much resolution it can pull out of the music. Soundstage is average in size, but it's the most 3D-like out of any closed-back I've heard. It can clearly position sounds far in the front/back and up/down. Bass is the star of the show here, it's so good. It punches with a force and slams with a weight. And the sub-bass is unbelievable, it sounds like a planar when it comes to detail and resolution in the sub-bass. Mids are a bit forward and treble is a bit smoothed down. Overall they sound neutral, maybe a little bit warm; although I did find a couple of songs that sound a little bit sharp or sibilant. Timbre is alright, not the most natural sounding headphone, but still very good. It plays well with almost kind of music, however, poorly recorded songs or songs in low quality will not sound good with these as they are very resolving and will show them for what they are. Bottom line is, that this headphone, as far as closed-backs go, is the closest one to perfection. It is not perfect, but it does match most of the boxes for me. I've been on the audiophile journey for the past two years and have been interested in closed-backs mostly. I knew about the Stellia, but I've been avoiding it because I thought it was too expensive and in the meantime I've passed though dozens of other closed-backs. Boy if I only knew how good it is, I would have definitely ditched every other headphone I've collected in that time. So yes, it's expensive, but if you can afford it and you listen to well recorded or in general high quality music, you should definitely give it a shot.

 

David S. - 03/04/2023 The Best Closed Back Headphone I have ever heard; period.

 

Nedjalko M. - 12/03/2023 TOTL closed headphones! Details 10/10, Resolution 10/10, Clarity 10/10, Enjoyment 100/100 :) These headphones deserve a good amp to shine. Woo Audio WA7 is a great pairing. Naim Atom HE as well.