Focal Stellia Closed-Back Circum-Aural Over-Ear Headphones (Cognac)

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.

The Best Closed Back Headphone I have ever heard; period.

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.

Very Good!

The best Sound that is available for a Closed Headphone.

Beware of Headphone-Bleed though. You cannot listen on high Volumes, before your sound "bleeds" in the environment and is audible for example in the train or your colleagues at work.

Very impressed. Brand new so looking forward to when they have been run in.

Perfekter Sound für einen geschlossenen Kopfhörer. Braucht aber 50 Stunden Einspielzeit um sein Potential zu entfalten.

Amazing sound quality with amazing comfort

Just received my Stellia headphones yesterday and have only spent a couple of hours with them thus far. Much like my Aria's, I totally love their sound and aesthetic. A marvel to behold and listen to, and haven't yet completed the "burn in" process of 24 hours of high volume/high bass music. But I have already arrived at my conclusion that these headphones are my portal to musical bliss. Looking forward to years of practicing my religion, which is what I often call listening to music. Thank you Focal for allowing me to experience an even higher level of musical appreciation than I have ever done before with headphones.

A lovely ENDGAME product!

IN MY OPINON THE BEST CLOSED BACK HEADPHONE. PERIOD.
SENSATIONAL SOUND WITH GOOD TIGHT BASS AND SUBLIME HIGHS AND MIDS. SOUNDSTAGE AMAZING FOR A CLOSED BACK . BUILD AND AESTHETICS VERY LUXURIOUS & TOP NOTCH.

I never thought music could sound so amazing! Everything else I listen to music on is now a disappointment

Superb sounding headphones.

I absolutely love my new Headphones.
All reviews I saw and read on the internet are true .
These is the best Closed-End headphones ever made.
Thank you.

This is a perfect headphone!

I bit the dollar with these fine headphones. I will have to see if this was worth it. Time will tell. So far they sound very nice. These are extremely revealing and accurate headphones. I definitely need to upgrade the source now. Revealing is a good thing as the original sound of recordings is revealed and the music isn't artificially colored. Definitely need a good source with these beautiful headphones. Hope they stand the test of time. paulg1966

IT IS SO GREAT ON SOUND AND QUALITY.

SO LIGHT AND ALMOST NOT FEEL YOU WERE WEAR IT.

Excellent !!

The Stellia headphones are absolutely the best headphones I have ever owned. The sound is clear and crisp and the build quality is the best I have seen.

I currently own several headphones from Bang & Olufsen and Bowers & Wilkins and earplugs from Jabra. But when I really would like to enjoy music I use the Stellia.

Fantastic with all types of music and just seem to be getting better and better as they get more hours on them. I could not be happier and whilst these cost a lot they are worth every penny to me. Incredible resolution whilst somehow still a warm and easy going listen. Simply awesome job Focal.

These are worth the purchase price. I have several other MFGS of his end headphones, mostly closed back for personal reasons, and travel friendly. I usually carry a dedicated digital audio player /dac combo in the same price range as the Stellia. Have la large library of Flac and DSD files, mostly Classical, Jazz, historic recordings, Musical Shows. Hve had these less than 24 hours, and definitely say I have ZERO regrets. I also own the Eligia. Highlights, excellent appropriate bass, sub-bass, timber, vocal width and texture, natural decay or entire range. Although I have aftermarket cables, the included cabels are excellent, and more than adequate. I won't repeat other reviews; but let me emphasize, I am older and have travelled for over 20 years, and these are excellent. Very natural, very relaxed. Most thrilling highlight so far is Rossano Brazzi singing Some Enchanted Evening in South Pacific; the lower registers of his voice are very difficult to reproduce, the depth, width, timing, decay,layers, ..how exciting best I've heard in 60 years! Bravo Focal, thank you for the ongoing memories! Bayko

impressive

Best built quality, it's French quality. Well done focal.

Outstanding!

Best closed-back headphones I have ever had the pleasure to listen to!

Incredibly detailed headphone. Despite being a closed-back, no back-pressure ; felt like an open-back or at least a closed-back with vented microfiber pads. Out of the box fantastic with pop music and jazz; orchestral and symphonic pieces seemed a bit recessed in the upper-bass/lower-mids. However, after some break-in opened up and sound incredibly full and lush without loosing detail. The soundstage also opened up with some break-in; while not the Stellia's stength, neither do I think it is a weakness. Very easy to drive and while I am enjoying it on a high-end Burson headphone amp, I can also drive it from a mobile amp/dac dongle or directly from the phone.

I felt some trepidation spending this much on a headphone given the principle of diminishing returns. At this level you can pay a lot for just small incremental improvements. However, I no longer have any doubts that this is worth it to me (YMMV).

Great sound, very comfortable for long listening.

The sound from the STELLIA is pretty awesome and fantastic in any genre of music and best especially in Pop, Rock, Vocal sound. these genres are my favorite. sometimes I get highly touched when I use the STELLIA
I strongly recommend this headphone to everyone.

Wow.... I agree with what everyone is saying about these. They are a 5/5. So easy to drive.

great

Excellent sound and build quality

So far FAAAAAAANTASTIC. Money well spent.

Fantastic closed back headphone - 2nd headphone to my Utopia - dynamic and revealing when listening to classical music

Wonderful!

Beautifully built... Luxurious presentation, packaging, even before getting to the look and feel of the actual product, combined with awesome sounding closed backed headphones.

After a 200 hour burn in I found the clarity and dynamics exceptional. Really fantastic soundstage for a closed-back headphone.

The design and materials are second to none. Even the unboxing was an experience.

Bass is heard and not felt, but as all things this is fine by me as its subjective.

I originally had the Focal Clear. One thing that is odd to me is the Clear came with 3 cables:
1 x 1.2m with 3.5mm stereo jack for connection to audiophile portable devices
1 x 3m with 6.35mm stereo jack connector
1 x 3m with XLR 4 pin symmetrical connector

Yet the Stellia on came with One 4ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 1/8" (3.5mm) TRS Jack connector
One 10ft OFC 24 AWG cable with 4-pin XLR connector.

My only suggestion is the Stellia should have the extra cable.

Great headphones! Worth the price.

Sehr guter Kopfhörer. Klanglich überragend und dazu auch noch schön anzusehen. Verarbeitung ist perfekt, Tragekomfort sehr gut, auch bei langer Nutzung nicht störend.

A simply outstanding product with exceptional musicality and extremely comfortable.

Even better than my Focal Clear. More detail, more powerful bass, less power required. Beautiful build and extremely comfortable.

The best closed-back headphone I own. Workmanship is amazing. Attention to detail is second to none.

An absolutely stunning pair of headphones! Incredibly comfortable to wear and the sound quality is phenomenal!

GOOD

Supplementary bass with additional upper-level detail.

Its silkier yet has a systematic detail like no other.

Kibisu P.

Beutiful, headphone, also the sound gets better with time. Breaking its required.

Love the details mids and base.

INCREDIBLE SOUND...
BEST HEADPHONE EVER!

Only one day so far. Wow, I ne never take them off. Great!!!

Überragender Klang und superbe Haptik

The best closed back headphone produced. The sound and build quality cannot be matched.

I first can t believe all the reviews i read all over the net. I changed from beyerdynamic T5p 2nd to Stellia and IT is REALLY like to change from HD1080p to 4K UHD ! AWESOME!

Excellent product. Wonderful sound. Excellent finish. This might actually make me interested in Focal speakers.