Focal Stellia Closed-back Reference Headphones Reviews

The best of all of my headphones. I use them all the time thy are the mostest. sound out of the world and I like the way thy look.
Star

Been a high end audiophile for many years , and over those many years I had the pleasure of enjoying some fine products , and some crap products , but when you get chills from listening to a pair of headphones , you know you found a perfect match . I just got these because I needed a pair of closed back phones for daily listening , bought them blind never hearing a pair and never owing a focal brand headphone . After I herd these for the first time , I was blown away . They are the best sounding cans I have ever herd , better than my hd800s, better then my shure iem kse1500 electrostatics. I have them paired with a mojo , and the sound is mesmerizing . They have a amazing soundstage , crystal clear with no distortion , no clipping no cracking at loud volumes , and the bass response is spot on and amazing . My sales man Lee cook took really great care of me , and so did the team at sweetwater, my previous salesman didn't handle my account properly , but the team at sw took great care of me , thank you all , thanks Lee, zack, tony and of course Chuck

If you are looking at these headphones, you have likely already done quite a bit of research (at least I hope so). Quite simply, Focal set out to make the world's best closed back headphones. They are, essentially closed back versions of their Utopia, and the sound signature is VERY close. These are revealing, while never being harsh. They are a delight to listen to. It is an absolute joy to have well produced music play through these headphones. It isn't really about what you hear though... more about what you don't hear in these headphones. You don't hear distortion. You don't hear noise. You don't hear phase issues. You quite frankly, will not hear anything that isn't actually in the source material..but you WILL hear things you've never heard before in music you've heard a thousand times. I use an RME ADI 2 Dac FS with these, and it drives them very easily. I highly recommend that pairing. They also work quite well with the Rupert Neve Headphone Amp, and the Grace Design M900, though I personally prefer the RME as it, like these headphones.... imparts absolutely nothing to the source that isn't there. Everyone wants to know how these magnificent headphones sound....The answer is - perfect. The soundstage is intimate, but large. The stereo separation is superb. They shine with anything that is well produced. Check out I See Fire by Ed Sheeran on these. The shaker is just above both ears, going gently right to left. Bass is powerful and tight. Mids are almost flat and present vocals, piano, and acoustic instruments perfectly. Highs, are clear and present, but not fatiguing unless your source material is badly mixed. I have had the privilege of listening to many different headphones from nearly every manufacturer - and these just get everything right that you want in a headphone. They are not neutral, but truthfully... nothing is, and that isn't their goal. If that is your intent, go for the Focal Clear Pro...a close cousin, and open back with a much more linear frequency response. The Stellia has a nice low mid emphasis that makes orchestral music and jazz voices really sweet. It is no small thing to spend this kind of cash on headphones....and you shouldn't do it lightly. But if you decide to go for the Stellia....you won't regret it, not for a second. Absolutely the best I've heard, and possibly... the best closed back in the world.

This is the jewel in my headphone collection. I had a chance to audition these in NYC a while back, and, I've been dreaming of owning them ever since. I'm afraid that they've ruined other headphones in my collection for me. I just received the Stellia from Sweetwater and I have spent the entire day listening to them on different amps and dacs. The sound is just incredibly addicting. The detail retrieval is INSANE, but, it's not overly clinical and analytical sounding. Some headphones sacrifice musicality in order to keep the detail and clarity, but, the Stellia does not do that. As an example, I have the Sennheiser HD800S in my collection, and it has a reputation for being overly clinical sounding. It is my go-to headphone for classical music, opera, or any time that I want to hear the nuances in the music. However, even though I do love my HD800S, I am aware that they are often considered to be bland and boring sounding. The Stellia has good detail retrieval but it is also extremely musical. Really well recorded music will really shine on these headphones, but, even recordings that may not be the best produced ones will sound more forgiving on the Stellia than on the Utopia or the HD800S. The Stellia also sounds surprisingly open for a closed back headphone. The sound stage isn't as wide as the HD800S, but, I wouldn't call it claustrophobic by any means. The bass is nice and punchy but in a beautifully smooth way and isn't obnoxious by any means. The bass, the mids, and the treble all shine and just mesh with one another in a really smooth way. The sound just sounds so smooth across the many genres that I have thrown at it. The Stellia comes with an XLR cable as well as a balanced cable. Currently, I'm using a 3.5mm adapter with my Dragonfly Red on my laptop, and that's enough to power these because they aren't ridiculously hard to drive. I love the fact that they're not extremely hard to drive because I don't always want to be sitting at my stationary amp/dac setup on my desk. I certainly won't be leaving the house with these on, but, I like that I can just take my laptop and a portable amp with me and move around with them. I'm pretty sure that these would sound nice from a smart phone or laptop even without an external amp, but, I always use my portable amps just because it always provides improvements in sound. Also, I should note that the unboxing of these was an absolute delight. These headphones come in this chocolate colored leather brown box and everything just feels and looks so top notch. When you unbox them, you can just tell that you're unboxing a very luxurious item. Some people dislike the brown chocolate and bronze tones on the Stellia, but, that's what originally caught my eye about them. Before I even listened to them, I was very enamored with their color scheme because it's right up my alley. I'm listening to all sorts of tracks right now on Tidal as I write this review, and, I've had them on for hours now without being able to take them off. They are pretty comfortable and are not extremely clampy. The price tag is a bit steep, but, I was stuck too long in mid-tier limbo where I'd buy lots of headphones in the $200-$500 range instead of ever investing in something on the higher end. I decided to take the plunge and invest in a top of the line model rather than collecting 10+ lower end or mid-tier models. I still have lower end and mid-tier models in my collection that will never go anywhere, and, each one shines in different ways and I still love and appreciate them all. I still love my Sennheiser HD800S, 660S, 650, and 600. They all have a place on my headphone shelf. Like I said, though, the Stellia is the jewel of my collection now. I still love my older Sennheisers and other headphones a ton, but, these are my current end game headphones and I'm ecstatic to have them. I'm sure that they'll continue to sound even better once I break them in and use them more and more. I can't wait to re-listen to all of my favorite music on these headphones.

This is my first set of Focal headphones and am completely amazed by the level and breadth of detail these headphones produce. Their insanely fast response time and breadth and depth defy what my ears are telling me. Incredibly comfortable for their size and weight Focal spared every attention to detail in sheer design and comfort. For the serious music enthusiast that wants to rediscover their music collection on a WHOLE new level, these investments are well worth the commitment. Try them today!

great sounding HP's. but..... pay attention, these come with a cable (4 pin XLR), that is not compatable with the world.... there is not an adapter available, you must buy the Focal amp..... yes the 4 foot cable works, but its 4 feet long... the long cable is pretty useless.....