Did I just make a $3,000 mistake?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 січ 2022
- Sponsor - Use code BW20 for 30% OFF! Get the best deals on software keys!
-Windows 10 Pro: bit.ly/btWin10Pro
-Office 2021: bit.ly/Bitwit2021
Resolve's Focal Stellia Review: • Focal Stellia Review -...
:+:+:STORE - BITWIT.TECH:+:+:
Our merch is extremely not awful:
:+:+:FOLLOW ME:+:+:
Twitch (I stream 3x/week): / wrkhrs3
WRKHRS3 Discord Invite Link: / discord
Instagram (Behind-the-scenes content): @bitwitkyle
Twitter (Personal updates, etc.): / bitwitkyle
MUSIC CREDITS
Epidemic Sound - www.epidemicsound.com - Наука та технологія
First thing I thought of was that this colour would be perfect for a full noctua themed build
true
That is exactly what I was thinking. I thought Noctua made headphones for a sec.
Being perfect for an ugly ass build aint worth
@@ihateeveryone8161 Damn that's a contro thing to say
@@ihateeveryone8161 noctua builds look good man
As a audiophile I'm gonna say the stellia is one of the best 3000 dollar headphones there are.
I’m both a tech enthusiast and an audiophile. It’s interesting when my communities collide. I always love hearing about people’s audiophile journeys. My first hifi purchase was a pair of $2300 Klipsch Heresy III’s and a discount Cambridge Audio CXA81 integrated amp. All that was $3000 and I couldn’t be happier with where it’s taken me.
Cambridge make some seriously amazing amps.
Same I’m more of HP type of guy myself, but 2020 was when I started and was joyride for me, started with a Focal Elex in March, ended the year with a $5k setup and by mid 2021 I had a $9k setup. I was really sold on the ZMFs the Amps&Sound stuff.
@@ATK. I also started in 2020. All my gear combined is around $6000 and only interested in more lol
@@grumpyratt2163 I'm very happy with it
I had the Cambridge Soundworks DTT 5.1 set paired with my old Windows XP PC that had the SoundBlaster Live! Platinum soundcard. Every game I played was pure directional audio bliss (though I wish I had kept the old Aureal Vortex card as those were deemed better). It lasted me to the SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic when I needed to downsize (it's still in my living room) to a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 bought back in 2014. I still use those despite having an upper midrange gaming headset from Logitech. Nothing compares to the sound quality of large speaker sets and I NEVER pair it with motherboard audio.
This video really made me smile, it always makes me happy to see people enjoying good audio. It's why I got into reviewing audio products. An seeing you find something that works for you and makes you happy.
@10:55 this is the truest thing ever. When I first dipped into high end headphones I was listening to all kind of music. Especially jazz and classical. There are times where you can hear the pedal on the piano being pressed or the rubbing on the guitar string. I know there will always be people that can’t comprehend spending that much on headphones. But like any hobby those people exist everywhere anyway.
Yeah just like the mech keyboard hobby I never thought I was spend 1000+ on a keyboard but here I am
While I agree that investing (correctly) substantially more than most average consumers can help in unlocking a world of audio that is hard to explain the pleasure of listening to without actually hearing it for yourself, less of that matters if you are not listening to good quality audio files. You do not need to spend $3000 to experience good audio, in fact you can spend a small fraction of this for a beginner audiophile to get 90%+ of what they might experience with these $3000 headphones.
Great video! Pretty much explained and captured the experience of getting into Hifi Audio. Although I would have recommended a Verite Closed as opposed to the Stellia, or better yet, still get a Verite Closed to get a different presentation (In my opinion better), You’ll end appreciating both and what they each excel at better.
Really curious about the Rognir as well
Hey Kyle just wanna let you know that you can use your FiiO M11 Plus as a DAC for your PC when you connect it with a USB cable. You said you connect your Stellias into the rear IO but also showed connecting to your audio interface. So not sure how your setup works exactly, but just wanted to let you know that your DAP has a feature like that!
Clear, not stellias
Audiophile = sucker who will get ripped off
@@Chris-hw4mq it’s a hobby, I’m sure you have hobbies that you spend relatively high amounts on. You don’t need to buy £3000 headphones, there are headphones below £100 that still sound amazing, sound is mostly preference. These are luxury items, you’re paying for materials and design rather than sound necessarily
@@Chris-hw4mq man finds out what a hobby is for the first time in his life.
@@Chris-hw4mq baby wanna bottle?
really really loved this video! as someone with decent headphones, but curious about the next level... I'd never even considered some of the benefits you mention, like listening outside your usual genres. thanks kyle!
"The Stellia embodies a breathtaking aesthetic at first glance... And second glance... And third glance" Well it is French after all 😂
I highly recommend an amp and dac with those or any headphones for that matter. You will be even more impressed with them with the right power. You don't need to spend a ton either. The Schiit stack or the JDS Atom stack are a great way to start
Considering the flagship tier nature of the Stellia's, I'd recommend a more "upscale" starting point than the good but undeniably entry level Schiit stack/ JDS Atom. Good headphones scale decently well with higher end gear.
@@EverettSheu Nah, schiit modius magnius stack is more than enough. No reason to go for a A90/D90 or higher for a single closed back collection.
@@TBCool I'd prefer the asgard or jotunheim personally over the magnius. They are a bit warmer, which Focals tend to benefit from. I'd say the Stellia could probably benefit from even higher end equipment, but it's definitely a point of diminishing returns.
As for the A90/D90, I'd literally rather use anything other than Topping. The A90 in particular might be the worst thing anybody could buy for their headphone setup. Cold, shrill and lifeless. Sure it has detail, but everything is flat and dead sounding. There is no pleasure to be found with that amp.
@@EverettSheu I was just speaking from a price to performance perspective (400 vs 1,400). There's tons of options all subject to tastes and opinions.
I have the Asgard and I really like it. It has quite a bit of power for the price point.
So thrilled you touched on this. After i got the Focal Radiance. I felt like the headphone was the final instrument in the musical process.
And i was doing music injustice by listening on crap equipment.
You definitely missed an opportunity to cut in a scene from back to the future 2 when marty uses Van Halen to wake his father.
Nice to see you like them! Usually, the audiophile community recommends you to progress more slowly, since jumping from 200 to 3000 can be too much, and sometimes the sound signature may not be to your liking.
Also, FFS Kyle, clean or change that filthy pad on the DT880. That thing is the same brown that of the Stelia.
They are great and my end game headphone. My headphones have to be closed back as I would only wear them when I'm worried about distubing my Oh. Any other time speakers ;-) but they are so good...
Great video. I agree with so many others here that high end audiophile equipment is such a natural extension of being a PC/Tech enthusiast.
When I jump up from the run of the mill earbuds to the Master & Dynamic MH40, I was just amazed at how much more audio had to offer than what I was allowing myself to experience. And I know that the MH40s pale in comparison to the Stellia. One day, perhaps.
Nice job, Kyle.
The way you describe the experience listening using these, is how my experience was with my first pair of ($350) audiophile headphones. They are not in the same class but the feeling was similar. THEN I got a pair of actual studio monitors, the new model of which would be $1400 today (I got the 1987 model used for about $200 no regrets!), and a $2200 restored/modded Dynaco ST-70 tube amp to go with. The day the amp came in from restoration was like no other. I had already been experiencing the amp and speakers previous to that, but getting the updated driver board installed opened it up in a way I could never have imagined, lowering distortion another 30db and increasing fidelity significantly over the old, obsolete driver design, which was designed using cheap available tubes for the time, tubes which are now expensive and not worth maintaining if you daily drive such an amp. I'm driving all that using a Schiit Jotunheim II, which is my first audiophile DAC, but i'm sure if I wanted to spend absolutely excessive amounts of money, I could get something better, but I really don't have an itch to do so at all. I don't feel like I'm missing a lot at this point
Dang where did those guns come from all of a sudden 😳 7:00
In my early 20s I was buying all kinds of high end earbuds for use on my high end MP3 players (not iPods but rather South Korean and Japanese brands that had the higher end Wolfson DACs). No regrets in doing so as I've gotten to experience the best of Shure, Etymotic and Ultimate Ears (before the Logitech buyout) for extremely portable entertainment and found that brands like Bose were highly overrated for what they were.
As for my PC, I've been using Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 as a way of downsizing from my Cambridge Soundworks DTT 5.1 speaker set when space started becoming an issue (same room, more junk like guitars and amps).
For more budget minded people I highly recommend Hifiman Sundaras at $350, they punch way above their weight. Then next tier of headphones will run you around $700
Second this. Sundara's are fantastic.
Thirded! Running Sundaras with oratory's eq profile and they sound fantastic.
@@henhouseharry6193 I'll also vouch for Dekoni Hybrid pads on Sundaras when the stock pads inevitably fall apart after about a year. The price is quite steep at $70 but I can tell these will last much longer. And they sound just as good as stock pads.
@@deshan79 Heard good things about the dekoni pads so will definitely go that route in the future. Just wish the pads on the Sundaras were easier to change!
@@henhouseharry6193 Yes they were a pain to figure out...once you get it down it's not too bad. I used a credit card to assist clicking the clips in, figured this out on another youtube video tutorial by "the headphone experience" channel.
Fantastic Video Kyle! Really nice to see a mainstream youtuber discuss audio beyond "average consumer" products. Very informative video, and makes me excited to one day try higher end audio equipment. I got a good taste when the Denon AH-D5200s went on sale last year and picked up those, but im really excited to go even higher eventually.
I have enjoyed the content on this channel for a long time, but this is one of the best. clear, interesting, informative, and fun.
Thanks for watching,
Hit me up ☝️☝️
My audiophile itch was cured when I realized there was no perfect system because source material engineering can be so different. Also you quickly get to a point that the room itself is holding you back.
Your very heartbeat can change how you hear things.
Yeah, I've been a mix engineer for about 15 years at this point and dedicated audiophiles are probably the most annoying group I've ever encountered.
Like... Sure, you can brag that your converters go up to 192KHz or beyond, but the mics that myself and everyone else are using in our studios typically cap out at 20KHz. And I don't know about anybody else, but the final masters I put out are always 44.1KHz/16-bit.
So any playback system running 96/192 at 24bit is literally a waste of money.
@@mgmg116 Yeah, but the people you're talking about are the same that will spend HUGE money on speaker cables, audiophile routers, etc. - in short they are VERY easily sold on all this bullshit. I'm sure these sound great but the comparison between 360p and 4K was BEYOND ABSURD as no, they are NOWHERE NEAR that different.
Plus most people don't know what they are listening to anyway - I've been a musician for 35 years so maybe I can tell some differences with my ear but 99% will not.
Why is a room holding people back while wearing headphones and iems
@@mgmg116 mmmmhhhnah, i don't think so. I own a mid tier audiophile setup ( hifiman sundara / soncoz dac / smsl thx amp for my headphone setup) and i can definitely tell the difference between a good mixing job and a bad one or mp3 vs uncompressed format, even if i have tinnitus and my earing isn't that great ... there's a bunch of artists who i really like their music but their mixing is terrible. Like Cosmo Sheldrake for example, even in high res files his music still sound like it was heavily compressed. Or Metallica's death and magnetic... that's just a horrible joke lol on the other hand you have daft punk who cares about the year of manufacturing of their mics and stuff (Gorgio by moroder, RAM), yeah that's too much for nothing but the mixing work is perfect.
Yeah not everyone cares about sound quality and hifi gear, but why alienate those who care instead of taking their criticism and putting a bit more work in what you do ? Everyone else might not really notice right away those starkly details, tight bass or presence and separation in instruments but they'll definitely hear it.
I didn't think i was an audiophile either. Then i got the Focal Radiance. Now i listen to Jazz, Movie Soundtracks, Sigur Ros. I feel like a teenager again listening to music in hours long stretches.
Edit: My bank denied the charge at first because: Who spends that much on headphones.
"Who spends that much on headphones."
You would be surprised.
Focal Radiance is on my shortlist. I haven’t had a chance to hear them personality. Are you happy with them? I’d love to get the Stellia but I can’t drop three grand on anything right now.
@J Carl Johnson Hours long sessions still. It's like a brain massage. The Radiance are a very warm sound that people usually use tube amps to reach.
Happy New Year Kyle 🥳
As someone who's fallen really deep into the audio rabbit hole, what an unexpected but fun video to see (: Hope your Stellia brings you many years of happy listening!
Sure, most people won't buy these, but I love the old style formulated reviews man. Keep it up!
Getting into the audiophile hobby really is a rabbithole . You think "I'll buy only one pain of cans" and end up with 2 headphones and multiple IEMs. RIP my wallet. Well at least Tool sounds amazing so I can't complain too much
Pain of Cans.. How accurate with what those do to your wallet.
so my best friend owns at least 100 iems(that fills up a night stand drawer plus some in a computer drawer) he owns at least 10k dollars worth of headphones, probably about 10 dacs including a higher end bulb dac with a drawer full of different bulbs. when i was over there last year i listened to a dac/headphone combo that he said was worth the range of 5k+ with some deep house and i almost creamed my pants and completely ruined a song for me because it was too good due to the amount of layers the track had and sounded so perfectly clean.
i would dive into that world but i dont got that kind of money
TOOOL
@@imwithyou38 You can get good sound quality with a good pair of chifi IEMs. Won't break the bank too
@@pratikghosh1064 i actually prefer headphones for everyday use, and yea ill eventually get a pretty decent pair of iems. i currently have a Sennheiser momentum 2's which my best friend sold them to me for 100 dollars plus some usb dac my audiofile friend found that was like 30 bucks and it was better than my previous one i used that was around 45-50 bucks
Great vid! And regarding high end items: We are living vicariously through you! So keep these coming!
Loved the Italian Job reference!! Thanks for the time and effort you took in making this video!
It's so funny to see regular people react in the comments to the price of audiophile flagship headphones.
Most of them can't afford this stuff, have never heard hifi with lossless before, and are just plain ignorant, lol.
@@evolicious it isn't ignorant to think that 3k is ridiculous for headphones, it's just a difference in preference.
People like you and me may understand spending lots on audio gear, and then think spending thousands on designer clothes is stupid.
It's all about perspective
@@evolicious losless? so far he only tried spotify… would at least expect him to try apple music instead…
These aren’t even Focal’s flagships, the Utopia is their $4500 flagship
@@AceRanger20 ur saying he didn’t even spend enough ?😱
I feel like the 500-1500 dollar mark is where law of diminishing returns come into play for high end headphones, but focal's lineup almost never seemingly disappoints, with the exception of the elear perhaps. I do own a pair of Hifiman Anandas, and those absolutely blew my 58X's out of the water. Can't imagine what the Stellia's sound like considering they're the most highly regarded closed back on the market so far.
@@spewp wow, a 6 K headphone out performes 3k, and 1500 dollar headphones. Who would have thought?
@@spewp Im sure it does.
@Jacob 1: price brackets indicate weather or not products are trying to compete at the same level.
2: comparing headphones with measurements alone is stupid, you can't judge a headphone untill you've actually listened to it. OTL tube amps measure awefully but Manny sound amazing.
@@saniwada there is no such thing as measure badly but sound good, this comes from manufacturers lying in their specifications. Especially when it comes to amps, rarely the given watts or distortion levels are accurate. Heres a news for you, most amps can't do full 16bit music reproduction, which means their dynamic range is less than 96db full power.
@@dagnisnierlins188 whatever you say
Sometimes i sleep to music, and when he says it’s terrifying to wake up to metal music he means it once i woke up to heavy metal screaming “The devil has you in his grasps, your dead!” Which was quite scary
I love your non PC content. I bought the backpack you reviewed years ago. Now this review caught my attention because my current head phone are Beyerdanamic DT 880 600Ohms.
A really well done ad 👏🏽
I love seeing audio gear reviews from guys that aren't traditional audio guys.
I can only take so many sell out reviews from zeos and josh valour for so long.
the fact theres no affiliate link in the description is tops.
"sellout" pretty sure z has bashed crap he was given for free and has an affiliate link.
Having an affiliate link has nothing to do with being a sell out lol
@@ethanfaiello2373 the term 'sellout' has lost all meaning lol. Just because you like something it doesn't mean your persuading people to buy it.
"Traditional audio guys" aren't even audio guys. Audiophiles are by and large full of it.
The only real "audio guys" are audio engineers.
@@mgmg116 you keep telling that audiophiles are full of it, but I think you're just bad at your job lol.
the last comment, "A review sample would have been nice tho" XD
This is like an unbox therapy video.. Introduces a lot of newbies to a hobby
Hey! There are some really impressive headphones/amp/dac combos that go for under 300 that can also really impress (that are also more accessible than a 3K pair of headphones). Like the Fostex T20RP MK3's (lightly modded with new pads and a headband) with a ifi Zen Dac. I highly recommend doing some research and checking out the lower priced areas cause whooo boy, it's packin some heat.
He's not going to buy a bunch of cans. He is happy where he is.
@@Tallnerdyguy Pretty sure the recommendation is for everyone, not just Kyle.
@@MACDRU421 i absolutely do. Thats why i say. If he's happy STOP.
@@blondiejoe everyone, once they are happy, STOP. I have wasted thousands looking for happiness in headphones. When i found what made me happy, i didn't keep buying them
+1 for the iFi Zen DAC, I’ve got the V2 and I love it. It’s an amazing Amp/DAC combo, especially for the price
BITWIT, you're one of my favourite youtubers and content creators, however I've recently noticed that your videos seem to be less natural and more like you are reading a script, not in your more interactive videos like pc builds, but more the review type videos. I am not trying to say your content is bad in any way, but I feel that you are very tense and just need to relax a little, continue being a great youtuber. Also, please bring a bitwit or nitwit videos sometime soon.
Great audio equipment can really change how you feel about music as a whole, or even about certain songs or artists. As a former Magnolia expert one album I strongly suggest you check out with your Stellia cans is John Mayer's Live In LA album. Specifically Daughters, Neon, and Waiting on the World to Change. The sound staging as a whole is truly stellar and can really highlight differences between different audio equipment. Close your eyes while listening to really bring home the sound staging effect. 3 others songs I loved to demo in our audio room for the dynamic range/vocals are: Always With Me, Always With You - Joe Satriani, Latin Simone - Gorillaz, Sing Along - Blue Man Group. The Gorillaz & BMG songs are great as they have stronger base present along with some fantastic vocals so they really showcase pedestrian and exceptional components. Since leaving Mag, I've found Krewella's Human + Disturbed rendition Live on Conan's of Sound of Silence is very good as well. David Draiman's voice is truly exceptional, particularly in this performance as he was a little sick and so his voice is a few octaves deeper and a little scratchier than usual which really brings out a lot from the performance.
a review sample is a nicer way of saying gimme one fo free, hahahahhaaha
They’re good stuff. You’re in a price point that doesn’t really have a right answer. A lot of this price point is based on taste. Personally I would’ve stuck with the focal clear for the sake of value per dollar and picked up a couple more 600-1000 dollar headphones. I have a pair and I can definitely say the sound stage is good, but only good for a closed back and trying different headphones would be good for letting you see what’s possible. Don’t limit yourself, experience everything you can. You’ll also need to start Dac, amp, and pre amp pairing.
Before you get too deep into audiophilia you should get yourself a pair of kph30is/kph40 utilies, hd660s, sundaras, and stax because those are really the base line imo. A good class D amp and a good class A need to find their way into your home.
Seeing as he has only owned one other set of cans in 10 years, probably not going down the midfi hell hole
IMO using a headphone stand like the wooden one shown may effect clamping force and especially the shape of the pads over time. Especially the pads of the Beyerdynamics really looked compressed and being like that over a long period of time wont be good for the pads. Cant tell for the Focals however as their resting position is far more open. Just a heads up.
3:21 wooden one is the same he using for most B rolls probably not main storage
Thank you for sharing your experience. Music can be even more enjoyable when it's well reproduced and trying for yourself is the only real way to understand. It can be a rabbit hole but hey, the joy of music is priceless
You had me at Halo Infinite Intro lol
I just have the sennheiser 560 headphones. Pretty damn good for 200 dollars. Good highs without that cheap booming bass
560S are about as a perfect all arounder for 200 dollars as you can get. Good set of cans for sure.
Is this the BEST Stellia review or what?! I have watched just about every Focal Stellia review out there and this one was not only funny but it was REAL. No math, no graphs, no fancy words. Just WOW!!! ~ these are GOOD!!!!
Sounds kinda like my DT1770 Pro.. the sound is just awesome, yet i had the same "issue" with noticing bad mixes that were great on cheaper headphones.. in the end i managed to get some nice EQ setting that fixed the problem with lower quality music.
What platform would you use to stream your music? Do you think a platform like amazon music HD would get something out of these headphones? .
I definitely think you can get a similar experience for less money.
But definitely not a bad pair
Example?
@@GeraltOfRivia69 I have an HD58x, I'm not an audiophile but I think with a good amp you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference
@@AnthonySalierno I have hd599, run those directly from the motherboard of my PC. Also not an audiophile myself. Do I need a external Dac or not
Yea, no, you couldn't be more wrong.
@@GeraltOfRivia69 Yes, you need a DAC and AMP to run high end cans.
To me, this is something I would need to demo in person before blindly spending that kind of money and hoping they’ll sound good.
For that kind of money as well, I’d probably be happier putting towards upgrading my car’s sound system or home theater.
Most people don't start out buying a $2000+ headphone. Usually they start with something between $250 to $500 and work their way up from there.
not only that but also much cheaper headphones but hi fi anyway = cause you may find it is stupendous sound as it probably is but the same with a 300 dollar headphone... so must try it as well...
“Another unforeseen PERK of my new CANS”
I see what ya did there
Headphones can be a cheaper way to get into HiFi compared to bookshelf or towers, although limited to one person at a time. Great to find out you like them.
I've owned most of the popular mid-fi headphones. I then tried Koss Porta Pro, KSC75 and KPH30i. Ended up selling all my mid-fi and now I'm only rocking Porta Pro's and KPH30i.
Most people don't realize how good Koss can be. Hell they invented stereo headphones.
Ports Pros are amazing for what they are and their price. My audiophile friend loves his, and they’re so cheap that he’s gonna mod them to have removable cables and able to use Bluetooth adapters if he wanted
you definitely need to try EQ... i was the same way--i was happy with mine as is--but trust me when i say that **every** headphone can benefit from it, and something with a somewhat wonky frequency response especially. the gains are potentially massive.
I should be finally dipping into that. Had been holding off but I hear people having great results EQ'ing Sundara's.
@@EverythingisFireenjoy! Sundara can take a bass shelf with ease
Hey can you help me out a bit? I got a ryzen 7 5800x for christmas, but my bios wont support it, ive looked up how im supposed to update the bios for my board but every one fails, i also need help picking out a good gpu to match it (i have a 1030 right now) and i know its gonna bottleneck so much, im only 14 and trying 0 specs are: a320m-k motherboard, 600w psu, 16gb of ram, 256gb ssd 1rb hdd, gt 1030, ryzen 3 3100 (i just have that one in so i can play games) and a cooler master 240mm aio. Thanks in advance!
Dude, I'm happy for you! I started my headphone journey about three years ago when I bought I pair of Senn/Drop HD58X and a iFi Zen Dac. A few months ago I got my Stellias, an R2R ladder DAC, and a Class A Amp. It's a wild ride; enjoy.
Also, please get an Amp and a DAC. Running Stellias straight into your PC is like dropping a Prius engine in a Ferrari. 😅
I find diminishing gains to hit a lot more aggressively for headphones than speakers. Once you're in the $300-$500 range, you're getting subjectively what I would call ~90%+ of the performance of $1000-$5000 cans. For that reason, I find the 360P vs. 4K analogy here very hyperbolic. It's more like the difference b/w 1440P upscaled to 4K vs. 4K on a 32" monitor. Is the difference there? Yes. Is it very obvious? No. Take for example, the Stellia vs. a pair of headphones like the Hifiman Sundara. Are they better? Yes. But only marginally so. It's also worth noting that differences in quality of headphones when you haven't tried many is just a function of you finding the right sound signature. Even at the $1000+ range, there will be headphones one despises because the sound signature isn't for them.
For speakers, you have to spend more to deal with room treatment, digital room eq, dual subs to smooth out bass at multiple sitting positions, etc. And unless you literally purpose-build a room for the best acoustics, there is a ceiling/ limit in quality that you can't exceed due to the room acoustics. Which in a typical room makes spending more than a few thousand on speakers the equivalent of lighting $ on fire.
if you could make this into a bumper sticker.......
TBF, you will have to spend at least $200 or so for a decent AMP and DAC to make that Sundara sound good. Then there is the issue of will you get a good pair of Hifimans out of the box or will you need to engage Customer Support for an RMA? I own three Hifiman headphones and consider myself lucky that all were good out of the box.
Another thing you are not telling is that Hifiman punches above its weight class. The sub $600 Hifimans are some of the best headphones for the price. Though you do need to pair most of them with a decent amp. The HE6se V2 is the best sounding but you definitely need a powerful amp, and correspondingly one of the most expensive at $550 (do not pay the $1800, search you can find the Adorama link for the lower price).
My point is that you are using a bit of a misleading comparison. Even at that, the Sundara is like a well mastered DVD compared to a Bluray.
I agree. Going from a pair of $15 wireless buds to even a two decade old MDR7506 is like the jump from 360p to HD. Going from good $300 something headphones like the MDR-1AM2 to the Stellias would be more like 1440p to 4k on a 32". Heck, there's probably a bigger difference in sound quality using the same Stellias in different configurations (i.e. Integrated amp vs DAP) than between phones. And the Stellias to Utopias is more like streaming the same 4K DV movie over Disney+ vs Hulu. There's quite a rapid exponential curve of diminishing returns over that $150-300 mark.
"Which in a typical room makes spending more than a few thousand on speakers the equivalent of lighting $ on fire."
I can't even imaging spending a single thousand in the first place, let alone a few.
@@mjc0961 Pretty easy if you setting up a theater system.
The cans are only half the kit. You still need a high-end DAC and AMP, along with a Tidal subscription for the lossless audio. Otherwise you are wasting money connecting headphones to connections that can't drive them.
That shot of the behringer interface is so cringe.
@@nickr3526 yea big yikes using that shit DAC-AMP on cans that need serious hardware to drive them.
hence “regular consumer” lmao
Tidal? Nah, stay away from that if you want lossless. All of the Master quality tracks are not lossless.
@@AceRanger20 bruh… i aint spending 20/per album to some wav album. it might not be lossless but the shit is definitely NOT spotify. get a grip of the convo here lol…
Big W. What Amp/Dac Combo would you recommend to run with a HiFi set of headphones? Also my name is Kyle too c: Great video and plenty descriptive as always!
Congrats! It’s such a big jump from your Beyerdynamic.
I was waiting for the moment Lyle would pop in and tell us we're being trolled. That these cans really cost $30 and were made by one of his "cousins".
I mean, that's probably true.
His French cousin maybe. 🤣
Parents when they have a baby
Did I just make a $3,000 mistake?
cost before it’s even born
I put focal speakers in my car last year and damn they are worth the money
I own the Utopia and just like you Kyle, I can attest that it is one of the expensive choices I have not regretted for even a minute. And I also remember how the headphones made me switch from just passively having music in the background to actively listening to it and giving it my full attention.
it requires money to make money this is the best secret I have ever heard we don't make money we make multiple money
Crypto is the new gold
Bloody script spam bots
I lost €1200 carelessly trading on a platform then I was referred to shelton morrison he helped me recover the loss and made an extra profit of €5,600
Really y'all know him?, I even thought I'm the only one he has helped walk through the fears and falls of trading.
Kyle, you said something really profound that I have been saying for a long time now. As a lover of all kinds of music from soul to bluegrass and from hip hop to country, I am also a audiophile. I have witnessed how hi-fi can change change a person's interest in music. Rock is a good example of what happens when the majority of people listening to music no longer listen on hi-fi devices. No disrespect, but today's electronic driven music sounds good on two soup cans connected by a string. Rock, Country, Jazz, and other instrument driven music lose their luster when played through non hi-fi devices. I truly believe this is how we get to the place we are now where rock and many other forms of instrument driven music have taken a back seat to music made in a bedroom on a laptop. Even country music has moved away from being instrument driven and now doesn't really sound that much different that top 40. It is truly amazing to watch someone listen to a country or jazz or rock album for the first time on hi-fi equipment. The first time they hear the little nuances that they never heard before they are hooked and it is amazing to watch their listening interest change and also they usually start looking for new stereos and headphones. I truly hope that many more people look into hi-fi audio. Hint: Some of the best sounding stereos and speakers were made 30 plus years ago and can be bought cheap. It's funny what music was popular then too.. Coincidence? Check you local thrift stores. Lots of surprises can be found there.
This was me. I started out with a Fiio M7 Dap now im running a Marantz 2275 with a Nakamichi 681zx powering my At-WP900 headphones, even cassette can sound really good ngl. I also have a Marantz 4400, as for my music taste. It changed a bit im more open, before i was pure classic rock now i love string instruments,
Oh shit... Kyle has taken the Red Pill! now let's see how deep the rabbit hole goes!
It’s cool just to see how the other half lives , everyone like to be jealous even if they don’t admit it
When you spend $3000 on headphones but still listen to compressed MP3 files at 256kbps on Spotify 😂
Joking aside, you should compare some tracks from Spotify and then from a WAV file of the same track in those things, you'll get even more out of them! It does mean buying music BUT for those special albums/tracks, it is definitely worth it
or just apple music/ tidal instead of dropping 20/album…
Tidal qobuz
Glad we were able to help you pay for these $3k headphones by watching a video about them, with no intent of ever buying them 😀.
You had me right up to the country music confession. I must now turn my haughty nose up and turn away. ;-)
Seriously though, your first real exposure to high quality audio is like losing your virginity. Welcome to HiFi. Even if you never buy another piece of high fidelity equipment, you will forever be a fan.
Leather lasts a lot longer than the plastic and composites used in most headsets less than $300. Given that cables often die - the connection to the headset being pulled/damaged - having plugs reduce the chance of damage. There are reasons to buy quality, quality in the form of a reliable Lexus of headsets vs a exotic vehicle which needs constant maintenance to keep it performing at it's best. From your description your head set sounds like the top of the line Lexus?
Not a mistake.
Just a 3,000 dollar tax write-off. 😉
I've been a DJ and musician for over 20 years and I still don't fully understand the appeal, but I want to.
I've never experienced audio transparency like standing in a multi-million dollar studio in front of $200,000 Genelec monitors -- an experience I admit not everyone gets to enjoy in their lifetime and I was lucky to have lived by age 18 -- but I also can name a handful of Grammy-winning albums that were made on whole computers that cost less than those headphones, so I know that there's more to experiencing music than fidelity.
I'm not here to rain on the audiophile parade ... just the opposite. I genuinely want to understand the chase, and I worry that my position and experiences as a music professional have "ruined" the magic of it for me.
@@k4hvdq9tj92 I think you're missing the point, and I kinda hate that you used my comment to do it.
@@DJSwitchPDX yeah but he's got the spirit of chasing that high hehe
Great review sir. Although I would encourage everyone else to see if you can find a way to sample some good gear before you buy some really expensive gear. You may find that you are perfectly happy with gear that costs significantly less than you were planning on spending.
Perfect timing. I'm where you were at ....and wondering if it was worth it and how they did with gaming .....thanks man !!
I think the mistake was made when you spent $3000 on headphones.
You have no clue what you are talking about :)
@@evolicious u have no sense of monetary value
if your $3000 mistake was purchasing headphones, then yes. Yes you did.
"*angry audiophile noises*"
You must not like hifi sound then. Enjoy your beats, kiddo.
@@evolicious Well, there was an attempt at acting tough. But that went away when you tried to demean someone by calling them kiddo. I would never buy beats either bud. But since you know so much, ill let you be the expert on beats.
I get it. I have been hankering for some Klipsch home theatre speakers. Had previous experience with near 30 year old speakers from Klipsch that were far and above any other TV/Movie watching experience. Worth the leap.
30 year old Klipsch speakers are leaps and bounds better than modern Klipsch... They need correction right out of the box.
great video! i've only gone as far as an HD6xx, DT990 pro, and the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk (WOW!).. but eventually, i'd like to get something like this. For now, the Blessing 2 Dusk has me pretty dang satisified!
Why would you spend $3000 on a pair of headphones ? Maybe California legalizing weed wasn't the best idea.
No one should pay so much for headphones
You couldn't be more wrong.
@@evolicious Why?
@@gz9361 because listening to hifi music on a hifi setup is a profound experience. If you’re into music in the first place that is. It’s of more value than high end pcs/monitors, running a game at double the fps at max settings is nice but has never made me cry like hifi audio has. And it goes without saying that it’s massively more value than spending money on worthless high fashion and jewellery which offers nothing other than a way to show off, maybe a tailor made designer suit has some merit but not much else. Super cars would be a relatively good comparison, like the difference between driving a fiat 500 and a Ferrari 458. But obviously that’s 100’s of thousands of dollars. A few thousand for an audio setup is measly compared to that. Going on a holiday with family and friends and investments are the only 2 things that come to mind that I’d rather spend a few grand on haha!
I love to see more people getting into high grade audio like this these days. In my opinion, even a 350$ pair of sundaras would destroy the beyer 880s, but they are still good budget headphones sitting nicely alongside Sennheiser's 600 series and ye old akg 700's. I've been curious about the focal lineup for a long time but never had the chance to try a pair. Either way, its cool to hear your opinion and I'm happy to see you enjoy them, and to those who are asking whether 3,000 is worth it for a pair of headphones, It depends on who you ask. If you are serious about it and have the money to drop, sure, but diminishing returns are a real problem in audio. Even if you only have a 1,200$ setup or less, just be happy knowing that what you have is still awesome, and just enjoy the music :)
Hey Kyle what is that thick phone you are using in the video?
Ohh your feeling by the sound makes me remember my first Sennheiser earphones in comparison with cheap earphones
Man I would love to try those just once. Good audio equipment is one of the most underrated pleasures in life.
This is why I love sound so much every pair of headphones I have I get to enjoy the song or the track differently every time it’s such an amazing Hobby great video
The Tech-Tuber Hifi crowd is growing. Nice!
Oh thats nothing kyle...my parents made a 18yr long mistake
I love how this is formatted like an essay
I just got into hifi, so definitely appreciate this content!
what amp/dac are you using on these headphones?
I just received my Audeze LCD-5. I'm new to the audiophile world (other headphone is the Focal Elegia) and yes... it scales very well. The $4,500 LCD-5 felt like a mistake until I received them and started to listen to what set them apart from my $1,000 Elegia. Fvck me sideways on a lunchbox, Hi-Fi is super wet, can't get enough of it. More please :)
Do you still eat that huel stuff? Would you still recommend it if you do? Cool headset too. I like the comparison you made to screen resolution lol
Try to pair it with a SoundblasterX G6 dac when gaming, you will love the combination.
Those Focals are very nice if you have the disposable income, as a Tech & Audiophile Enthusiast of 40+ years, I have Audio Equipment dating from 1981-Present Day; my home headphones are the HifiMan Sundara planar open-back, Hart Cables, DAC is the SMSL SU-9 to two Amps: 1) Drop Cavalli Liquid Carbon X in balanced config. & 2) Xduoo MT-602 Hybrid Tube Amp for single-ended applications. For mobile listening & change of pace listening I use 2 IEM's, the Mangird Tea & Shuoer Tape Hybrids. Sundara ($349), Hart Cables ($100), Mangird Tea ($250), Shuoer Tape ($91), SMSL SU-9 ($440), Cavalli Liquid Carbon X ($160) & MT-602 ($99) = $1489 for everything or 1/2 a Focal Stellia Too Rich for me). I'm very happy being a Pragmatic Audiophile.
This was a fabulous review, even with those cans being out of my current price range.
I'm a poor audiphile. I tried an awful lot of headphones and i settled on Sennheiser 660s they sounded similar or better than much more expensive ones.
I got into headphones as soon as I started building my own computers not long ago (2015). I ended up going deep into the rabbit hole of amps, dacs, and headphones since covid started. Glad I did and had a chance to hear some of the best, but ultimately found one open back planar, open back dynamic and one semi closed back dynamic that I liked the best for the best prices. Love having a nice pair of headphones for pc gaming and entertainment purposes.
First video ever watch about audio stuff. Really liked it, going to check the UA-camr you recommend.