How Do $3000 Headphones Sound? | Focal Stellia Review
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Read the full written review of the Focal Stellia headphones on DailyHifi.
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This is a review of the Focal Stellia Headphones. "How do $3000 headphones sound?"
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Utopia owner here. Yes- Very expensive. However, I think it is better to buy a great headphone and enjoy it for ten years than buying a none-great sounding one every two years. From this perspective, it makes sense as long as one sticks with it. Oh and yes, as you said, that type of headphones is not for airports but for people like me who can’t have speakers for various reasons.
There you go! That's why I try to make sure to not be so quick to judge. I have to try to look at it from different perspectives. For you, it sounds like the perfect choice.
I want to try utopia so bad
I didn't think you would give a fair review - but you certainly did!! Kudoos to you!!
Thanks for that!
Excellent review Joe. I think this is the first ever headphone review I sat thru. You made it very engaging. Loved the camera work and the joke with Ron and Techno dad. A+.
Thanks Thomas!
The Stellia's made all my Headphones from Sennheiser's to Hifiman sound like muddy crap .
I can't afford them but oh my how I want them
That's how I felt too! It's relative though. When I first heard them, I thought they were bright AF!
The stellia itself is pretty muddy tho
Is it really that much of a difference?
I'm not sure who you're asking, but I'll chime in. The best way I can describe the difference is like the difference between a guitar and a violin. They might be able to play the same notes, but the violin has a smoother sound. The Focal's are kind of like that violin. Never gritty sounding. Of course the difference is not that stark, but hopefully it gives you an idea what the differences are.
@Lana yeah my mistake, these are tonally wack thanks to the backwave dispersion not being all that effective in focals design, and run real lean in the low end. But they certainly aren't muddy. I was thinking of the empyrean sound for some fuck all reason, not the stellia.
Nice, honest review. Focals tend to have a peak in the highs around 6khz, and if you lower that a bit with EQ you get rid of some of the fatiguing quality. In general, they tend to be extremely linear up until 1-2khz or so, but past that the response gets more uneven. The beryllium driver ones are more even and more coherent sounding than the aluminum-magnesium ones though.
I totally get not wanting to take them outside or throw them around. I have Utopias and I don't even use them for casual listening, preferring to put wear and tear on other headphones instead. But for immersive listening and getting lost in music there's nothing else... well aside from Stax. But that's another story!
They're worth it, but they do have some flaws, are very expensive, and are definitely aimed at a very specific audience.
Yea extremely rare knob heads who run around outside with 3k cans lol I know I certainly would but I don't like bluetooth anyway
Cinematography on point! It’s funny that these were a little bright because Focal tweets for car audio always had to be crossed over pretty high and can be somewhat hard to tame, but when you do 👌🏼👌🏼
Thanks bossman! Did they use beryllium too?
Joe N Tell on the higher end components
I have them. Never looked back :) Recently took them on a vacation to Antigua. They are portable and sound great paired with an IFI IDSD Micro Black Label
My Stellia is incoming in a week. This review is what I need! Very informative and the way you delivered everything is super entertaining hahaha. Thank you!
Congrats!!!
And how is it?
Yup thats me. Haha . Owned the Focal Clears but now kinda need the Stellias cuz its closed back so the missus wont complain about sound leakage! Thanks for your thoughts bruv!
Your camera work and sound are excellent. Thanks.
I try. 🙏
I don’t have the Stella. But I just got the Radiance. I am told it is very close. And maybe a bit bigger on bass, which was what I wanted. So this is the difference between this type and a lower cost headphone. In good recordings, with a good amp (so the headphone has breathing room) there is so much detail I would sometimes look around for the sound in my environment. So realistic that it reveals details (breathing, rosin sounds, performer sounds) that you didn’t know existed in that recording. Hidden instruments that you couldn’t otherwise hear. Sometimes a soft counterpoint in a classical piece that was buried on lesser cans that cannot resolve the competing sounds. Really quite amazing. It’s like in photography, the difference in sharpness between a $300 lens of a type and a $3,000 version of the same type. Do you need that? Maybe, but the costlier lens will resolve details that would be blurred by the cheaper lens. Same idea. And...Built like a tank.
Too be honest any good headphone will work as long as it costs £1000 and is better than airpods max suppose anything is better than those even the beyerdynamic copper is better than the freaking things
I’ve heard the $4,000 Focal Utopia’s, Stelia’s and aluminum Clears. The Utopia’s are incredible sounding, they aren’t harsh but I’m unsure as to how I like the sound signature. They don’t seem to have the diversity I’m used to with my Sennheiser’s and although I heard the Focal Kanta, Sopra and Utopia speakers ($60k).
Their speakers are unparalleled as far as my preference, but I’d have to demo the headphones again to know how I feel about them.
They’re way more open on the upper end, but remove some of the lower midrange sweetness that I expect.
for a reviewer, you sound real. subbed.
I own Elegia so to me, Stellia is the ultimate upgrade but the cost - 3 grand - it's just too much.
Hey, that's a huge compliment. Thank you. That's really the hardest thing for me to be while talking to a camera.
same. I really enjoy the Elegia's with EQ and properly powered, but no way the Stellia's sound 3x as good...right?? lol
Great review man, these babies are for the filthy rich but as stated they are quite splendid.
I love the bright sound of Focal, I own the KRX2 components for my car about 6-7 years now and they still sound crisp as the day I bought them.
Get them on finance probably cost like £300 a month to officially own it kronos audio does it simple can buy these for £300 deposit
I got some ex demo for 1800 👌 I'm a normal person who loves music more than cars 😅👍
I demoed expensive headphones like Utopia and Empyrean. But my vintage Stax still sound very good. And for deep detailed dynamic bass...I use my Denon ah d7200.
You pay for the luxurious buildquality and unboxing with these Focals.
Heard good things about those Empyreans. I wasn't really a headphone guy, but I get the appeal.
Bunnyslippers I returned it in the first week. Not worth that price. Found a second pair of the Denon D7000 brand new in the box for $650!!
@@joentell
Some old farts on the hifi show swear by speakers and would never use headphones. They cannot hear above 11k.
On the show I was very dissapointed with the MR speakers Aeon open and closed. They're priced to high. They're 300 400 euro headphones. They are a big step below the Ethers and below other headphones at the same price.
Jay Bizz I love my empy, but each to their own.
Great job with the presentation, not a phones guy so the only ting that kept my interest was the way you did it. I love your low key humor it’s why I keep coming back! I’ve finally got my systems done till I can find a processor to match my speakers and amps 9.4.4 layout and my dedicated 2ch Maggie LRS system. Age has it’s privileges.
Ohhh LRS! Comments like yours is why I keep making videos. I appreciate the support!
Active noise canceling is for pretty crappy consumer grade headphones and you can't get the same dynamic range of sound or performance. They do have open back ones too called the Utopia.
Stellia is actually good. Just expensive.
Part of me was hoping I would hate them so I could say what a rip-off they were. They were actually very good though. It's just out of my comfort zone price wise.
for for $4,000 they better be better than actually good.
Way above my budget. I'd be willing to spend $1,299 - 1,500 for it little brother though.
@@RojasTKD7 actually 3000
@@gbarrows04 yeah, typo... Sorry.
Sentiment still stands though.
I am a beryllium fan through and through - and I was thrilled to hear your comparison about the ease in which beryllium produces detail. I wonder if it’s the extra detail (short as f**k transient response due to super low mass and rigidity etc.) we are hearing that gives the illusion of brilliance? Awesome review as always mate 😊
Come on Joe, next up the Meze Empyrean also 3000 dollars. Those Focals look beautiful. Good review. Way to add your boys to the review, Techno Dad and Ron.
😂😂😂 you caught that huh. You're a bad influence Sid Vicious! 😂
The tag says “full-grain leather”
It’s just in french
I use my cheap old Phillips SHP9500 with EQ applied (aggressive on bass, because it's an open-back design).😂
I enjoyed those SHP9500's. I gave mine away before they got more expensive. I regret it now.
Beautiful shots of a beautiful headphones my friend 👍. I would love to have Stellia, I'm owner of Focal Clear's but they are nothing compared to Stellia luxurious build and beryllium drivers 💎
To be honest I think 3k is too much for it. Logically it should cost about 2k after Clear MG. And Focals have problems with quality and customer service. For 3k I would buy Verite Closed, which is phenomenal, or at least Meze Liric for 2k. Which is also great HP and 50% cheaper than Stellia
Interesting you think the Stellia sounds bright or has some boosted treble as the frequency graphs show that is not the case. I own it and it's definitely not a bright headphone. If anything, it's a touch warmer than neutral. Amazing headphone.
It's tough to say what's what when it comes to the frequency response of headphones. It's always relative. I don't know that there's a definition of flat for headphones. I know there are lots of target curves. Maybe you can inform me.
They sound like a really really good used 1800$ headphones 😂.
My headphone end game ended after I ran out of space ...☹️. Pretty happy with used HE1K and LCD-4. I would love to buy new end game cans but I need to buy a house first.
I have the focal Celestees with a ifi Hip-Dac 2 portable USB DAC w/lightening converter, is it worth the upgrade?
Sound wise.,
Is the "sound" of this $3000 headphone any better and worth the price vs the likes of let say Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro?
I haven't reviewed that particular headphone. Whether it's worth it is dependent on the person and how much they value the extra detail and other aspects of the Focals. For someone who doesn't care much about audio quality, it wouldn't be worth it. For someone who cares a lot and had the money to spend, it might be worth it to them. For me, I wouldn't feel comfortable spending $3000 on ANY headphones, but that's just me.
Ummmmmmmmmmmm “unfortunately these headphones are not active noise canceling” made my heart sink and kinda hurt my soul. Thank goodness they aren’t!!! This is for critical listening in a quite room with lossless audio. Of course you can just throw a BT adapter on and jam out (I think that’s what people say) to ummmm Spotify or something……but these can be SOOOOOO much more and that difference is what makes them worth $2,999.00. No hate great review just my heart hurt on that one😔
What's to say that noise cancelling wouldn't improve the listening experience when listening in a noisy environment. NC on every product I've tried it on has an option to turn it off.
Many thanks for great review. Is it Focal Stellia one of the best headphones to listen deep house music with Astell&Kern Alpha player? Or you can suggest something else? Thanks in advance
You should have paired these with a better DAC and amp - would have changed the treble and other things you didn’t love. The Schitt is, well... you know... at the high end.
Headphones sound better on a dac anyway swap out the cable and listen I want these most expensive closed back headphones I don't think there's anything higher than this than open back headphones
Keep it up man I love your channel
Excellent review, very informative.
Found them used at 1200$ and still hesitating to get them. I'm satisfied with my hd800.
I dunno if I'll ever grasp the concept of paying this much money for headphones that are specific to stationary listening sessions. Married guys who have headphones on a lot can look to get a verbal lashing from their wives. And these are a bit impractical for mobile listening. Just my 2 cents.
😂 "verbal lashing"
I have to agree. For that money you can get a ludicrous 2.1 setup that will blow away any pair of cans, and since you can’t really take these on the go you aren’t losing much in the way of practicality.
RYTHMIC RIOT what do you mean by “specific to stationary listening sessions”
Another reason not to get married. You can’t have good things. 😆
Lol nothing wrong with liking audio once you go from Bluetooth back to wired is the reason why ile avoid phones that ditch the USB C port meaning you can add a portable dac amp system to realy drive these headphones
Headphones don't scale well above 1K$ at all, you're never gonna hear anything 2 or 3 times better, just a bit cleaner or wider. its exactly like paying 3k$ for a phone...you still just have a phone
I think that applies to many things HiFi. Diminishing returns. But maybe some people are rich enough and are willing to pay for the slight differences. I'm not there yet.😉
You should try and get a pair of LSA HP1 headphones... A poor mans top-tier end game headphone coming in at $1400
The box is not leather. I own these headphones and know. I'm actually pleased that they are not leather. I think that it is ridiculous that an animal should give up it's life for a non practical reason. (and no, I'm not a vegetarian). I bought these because they were the only quality portable headphones with low impedance and high sensitivity.
Sir that t-shirt 🤠
All Focal headphones are world class got my Stellia's for less then 2k only heard one make thats better Stax SR009!
Nice review.
Thank you!
BEats - just kidding. I lol'd.
I notice you have the Nura's lying around there. Would love to get your thoughts on those!
I'm sure I'd love the sound of these Stellia, having gotten used to my Sony MDR-CD900ST studio monitors which are extremely detailed and bright, but the Sonys cost less than $200 (!). I like the use of leather everywhere and not that faux-leather crap that flakes after a year or two. I just don't think I'll be paying $3k for a pair of home-use headphones!
Made me laugh a few times and great review!
I own both stellia and utopia, if you have the means for it just go buy them!
Wow. That's a lot!
How do you think they would be for gaming
@@chrisr2047 Beyerdynamic T1 or T1 gen 2 are probably some of the best headphones for gaming, their imaging is superb. I was using my HD800 for gaming for the past year or two and went back to the T1s and they are definitely better for competitive gaming.
@@chrisr2047 just got the stellias and as expected they aren't as good as open back for competitive gaming. If you aren't playing competitively they sound great.
I was demoing the utopias in store as I was deciding between those and the stellias and found the utopias to be very detailed but for me personally also really harsh. Going off my experience with it I would imagine getting shot at in games etc would sound harsh.
Active noise cancelling on high end audiophile headphones, heresy!
I can't spend 4K on headphones, but I'd be willing to spend $1,200 to $1,500 on one of it siblings.
Hi, do I have the focal clear and worth upgrading to stellia?
Wait...who hears themselves breathing while using headphones? I've never experienced that in my whole life with all the headphones I've ever used or owned.
If you like to hit the gym you'll hear heavy breathing after your songs stop playing in between a switch of them
Plug your ears with your fingers. Do you not hear your breathing or heartbeat? If you don't there's a big issue. 😉
@@joentell exactly bro ongod this nigga dead btw I'm black
The question is: Should you sell a kidney for this?
I have to try these somehow. Could they really sound 10x better than $300 headphones? Or is the difference only really noticeable by people in the music industry? I like to buy cool stuff, but for $3000 these would need to bring my ears into another dimension. And you have to buy other equipment to go with it
3k plus a £900 fucking portable dac amp ifi diablo the most expensive dac amp you can buy right now
You should try to get hold of the cheaper headphones they make and see how you like them.
My buddy Channa aka Techno Dad some. I'm not sure which ones.
@@joentell oh right. Ive never been replied to by a youtuber by the way keep up the great videos.
@@Jordonater I always try to when I can.
Hello everyone! Please help me. 2 months ago I bought Denon 7200 and astell&kern kann alpha. Mostly I listening deep house music. I expected from this combination something much better and because I didn't like the bass quality in music I will give that denon to my young brother as a present. So the question is, what are the best top headphones to listen mostly deep house music? I plan listen music on my astell&kern kann alpha. Guy from the shop highly advised Focal Stelia. Is this combination is really good or I need to buy something else? Thanks in advance for any support
Hifiman Arya
Yea I’ll skip the review when you cared more for anc on a head fi set... I have some focal sand Sony xm3 way different categories
And I thought my K712's were overkill. 🤣
Lol beats 🤣⚰️
LOL
Loved the cuts to the smart and dumb examples, had me cracking up! 🤣😉👍
Nothing but love for them guys though...
This could last 20 years...$3,000 by 20 years...is $1,500 for 10 years...which is $150 for 1 year...and is about $14 per month.....ya you can't afford?
Please review Meze Liric 😉
Great video, and I must say you are hilarious! There's a job in either stand up or sitcoms whenever you decide to do so.
Oh man! Thanks. I'm just trying to have a little fun. A lot of audio reviewers are more serious and I wanted to change it up a bit. Thanks again.
@@joentell We thank you, keep doing your thing!
Your so lucky you got to try them
Delicious b-roll.
👊😎
You lost me at the Square Basketball comment..WTF..
Hope to see a review for the Nuraphones
Not really planning on it. A friend let me borrow his for about a week just to see what it was like.
@@joentell No worries. They just announced their subscription service, making it super accessible for everyone. I'm gonna try them out, was hoping I could hear your opinions too.
Can u recommend an amp for these?
6:41 HAHAHAHAHA VERY NICE
Great the most expensive sitting outside cans lol 😆 if you want great quality sound out and about it will cost you 3k and a and a dac amp diablo ifi and a phone with a USB C port to use the dac amp with this
Can you review the iloud mtm's!
How to contact you for review cooperation?
can you review the wharfedale 11.0 in europe they are quite cheap
Cost prohibitive? Add up the cost of all that crap on your desk.
If that friend is you... lol "liked"
Meze Empyrean next! :)
Audio and video top notch. Respect your honesty. Too expensive for my taste.
Thanks! 🙏
Sometimes wonder why these guys dont waste so much effort on the fancy packaging... the box is typically shelved away.
Savings on costs can make the cans more reasonable.
Unpacking experience etc are overrated
I don't think it's a waste for the people who plan on buying it regardless. I like a nice unboxing experience on luxury items which this is. Don't you enjoy unboxing a new phone?
@@joentell it's a temporary feeling.
But if it helps cut costs of cans, then would be fine with even a simple packaging.
Spend the money on end product and technology, not peripherals.
I get where you're coming from too.
What are those shades???
Persols
3000$ for headphones, thats insane !
First guess:
They sound pretty much like $500 Sennheiser headphones with slightly more bass and less treble. 😆
Focal is not a value brand from what I've heard: 3 times the cost and half the sound quality.
After hearing the review:
A focal with lacking bass and bright highs, sounds like Sennheiser. They take a while to get into the extra highs (details) but Sennheiser are the king of headphones IMO. Sennheiser have the sound of natural highs, opposed to forced highs (highs that are noticably separated from the flow of the sound in it's entirety).
Final thoughts:
Interestingly though, having the elac ub5 connected to Yamaha rxa880 I prefer their sound to the Sennheiser hd600. Switching back and forth, the senns sounds too bright, the elacs too muffled, butttttt the elacs have a fantastic soundstage and delicious mids, and the mids can rip out and touch you, surprisingly, since elacs aren't known for dynamism.
As for the focal $3000 headphones: out of my price range and I wouldn't expect focals to be a good bargain anything, at least, not here in America. I prefer American brands if at all possible.
European and Japanese headphones are much better in sound quality and qc. this reminds of something... oh yeah the car industry also lol.
You know when you over paid when the box is more interesting. I'm gonna watch somthing else.
Ok later! 😉
Fk active noise cancellation
Not a fan? I love my Sony WH1000XM3's. I was actually going to post an IG story comparing ANC on/off on my last airplane flight.
@@joentell i'll check it out man.. just not a fan of another thing to charge XD. dude i feel like your shop is 5 miles from me. do yall neeed a IT guy? lol.. im over in pasadena.
I just broke my iMac Retina. Logic board. 😢. I need something I can use an eGPU with for editing.
I feel the same way, but only because in cancelling out external noise, they seem to amp up my very-mild-and-usually-unnoticeable tinnitus.
@@joentell I own those Sony's too and they are OK for what I use them for outside, but totally crap versus a set of Focal headphones.
I own the older Focal Spirit One Classics headphones, they cost about the same as the Sony's, lack NC and wireless, but offer a far better sound at the same price point. I also own a pair of Focal Kanta Nr.3's floorstanding speakers from Focal with a Beryllium tweeter and I can tell you, they're bright, crisp, detailed, however we describe it, but not in a bad way at all. Compared to the AL/Mg dome tweeters from Focal, the beryllium ones are far more easy listening. So if you think the beryllium ones are bright, try listening to the speakers or headphones with Mg/Al tweeters from Focal. :)
Berillum fk yea.
Swag on the beats joke
👊😎
my next headphone will be 4-driver KotionEach.Y2 for 20 usd..
Good reviews on those?
Hi, sir. I couldn't find any review. Maybe you can do a good audio analysis on this one.
The full name is KotionEach Yotms Y2 Gaming Headphone(因卓Y2 in Chinese). it's about 25US$ for an audiojack version and 35$ for a USB version.
The main feature is the 4 drivers - one 50mm for bass and one 25mm full range on each ear.
this brand is new, budget-oriented and gone very popular on Taobao... I bought their last gen headphone G7000 which has a 50mm full range speaker and a vibrator for bass. the old G7000 can reach low at 35hz and sounds better than my 8-inch subwoofer. so I think the new gen may have new improvements. That's why when i enjoyed watching this $3000 headphone review which is wonderful, that affordable piece came to my mind.
schiit ?!!!!
...and it‘s toxic.
LOL
$3000 and not even Noise Canceling?!? Sad sad
Beats = Bose
= crap
Sounds like a ripoff.
I wish it were that easy.
@@joentell Nah, it's that easy.
@@Stikibits What is your method of judging that? Maybe it's true for you but not for someone else. You're allowed to say that, but I have to be more considerate because I have a larger audience. There might be someone out there who sneezes and $3000 comes out.
@@joentell The price, fella. It's a ripoff.
@@Stikibits The price by itself doesn't say anything. Yes, it's way more expensive compared to other headphones. But you have to have at least tried them before saying whether the price to performance is good or not.
Is a $200k sports car a rip-off? Probably not if it's what you want and if you can afford it. I want it but I can't afford it. It doesn't make it a rip-off.
No headphone is worth 3k!
I don't care how good they sound either, the best sounding headphones in the universe aren't worth even 2k imo
Ha ha ! wait long long people buy for you .