I made my mind, mostly after watching your review at YT, so since i mostly listen to Death Metal/Tech Death i think the Hedd´s will not disappoint me
Don’t be afraid to boost the bass below 80hz by a few dB (like 2…) if you feel the genres you enjoy could use it.
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I´m not really a basshead, and I prefer neutrality over bass quantity
I am a (very much) satisfied owner of Stellia…the only thing annoying me is the fact that the delicate leather of the arch gets stains so easily from the inevitably greasy hair…
i’m not one of these who puts a piece of tissue between my head and the headphones…
any of you was successful in solving this issue permanently or in cleaning up the stains?
thanks
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Hello and welcome @cismax. Although Focal headphones are very aesthetically pleasing to both ear and eye Focal as a company don’t always have the easiest of materials to keep clean. I suppose it’s just a part of owning Focal gear we have to factor in. Though as a Clear owner it is frustrating just how easy it is to dirty both the pads and headband. I have started using a homemade cover for the headband and bought sheep warped hygiene covers for ear pads. I look a real berk wearing them but it keeps them clean. I do this on all my overears now.
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Thank you for your comment and your welcome.
I wanted to avoid this, but if it’s the only way I’ll try…
I read here and there about several “homemade” solutions to clean up, but I’m afraid to make things worse…
In alternative, the pads can be replaced (I guess), and for the headband I will wait that becomes 100% darker and that’s it…
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Hi and welcome. That’s exactly what I‘m gonna do. Nothing. Listen to them until everything gets dark brown. I will like it that way even more. The pads got very dark brown and that’s great too 
Stellia vs. VC is the go-to comparison, but what’s everyone’s opinion on how well they’d complement each other? My open pairs are an LCD4 and an HD800. Even with stuff like tech death metal, sometimes I crave the clarity of the HD800. The VC is a great closed match to the LCD4, almost tempting me to say it makes it redundant - considering prices involved. When I’m in the LCD4 mood, the VC has just a touch of brightness somewhere that stops me cranking the guitar volume as high as I would. But when I’m in the HD800 mood, it can sound ever so slightly muffled. Would the Stellia be better at times like those?
The alternative I’m looking at is trying out some higher-end iems, most likely the tia trio or u12t - I only just recently discovered how well they can compete with the other stuff. My wager is iem options would probably offer a bigger contrast with the VC. Confusing reading about the u12t though - some say it’s warm and slow, some say it pierces them like the HD800 does.
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This could possibly be remedied with pad swapping.
ZMF pads are kind of the ‘go-to’ for pad rolling, even for non ZMF headphones.
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I listen to a lot of tech death, brutal, old school death (you name it) and also other genres with the Stellia´s, and i don´t find them muffled at all…
Cannot compare them with any of the ones you own, and i came from the Elegias.
Btw i´m seling my Stellias, in case that anyone is interested
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I am finally ready to get the Stellia, however now I am wondering if I should just grab the Utopia or LCD4 on the used market for the same price. 
I think buying used on a piece of equipment this expensive is risky.
Stellia is different than Utopia in a lot of ways. I enjoy the Stellia more than Utopia, though the latter had better detail and sound stage.
The lcd-4 is one of the few non-zmf headphones I wish I could try
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Everyones in love with the ZMF stuff huh? In the reviews, I heard the best part about them is the tonality and the decay? I almost got a pair once, Zack was super nice and offered to toss in an extra cable for me at the time.
So I am excited to announce I got the Stellia’s new!!! However, I am not happy with them yet. They are bit bright and the tonality isn’t what I expected.
However, my Elegia and Clears needed about 50-100 hours of use before they sounded good. I will never forget the Elegia to me sounded like shit, then one day it just sounded amazing, I loved that headphone.
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Stellia definitely get better over time. I never reached that point with Elegia.
What are you pairing Stellia with?
So far, I found it sounds great on my ADI2’s amp and my THX amp using the ADI2 as the DAC. Also, I found it pairs well with my little Geshelli labs 2.5 AMP using my Schiit GUNGNIR MB dac.
I also have the GUNGNIR paired with the MJOLNIR 2 AMP. However it does not sound clean enough for the Stellia IMO. Maybe it’s the type of tubes I have, I am not sure yet.
I also tried it on Monoprice Liquid Platinum (great amp), I also didn’t care for the Stellia on that amp. It sounded fine but not as good as my THX amp. The Monoprice LP amp sounded amazing with the HifiMan Anada for some reason.
My DAP, the M15 pro sounded great too. The Stellia can tell when a source is super clean and when its not, IMO.
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I think if you had different amps and DACs you’d have a different experience with Stellia. Several of those combos are fairly clinical sounding from what I’ve heard.
Well the THX amp is very clinical for sure.
However the Mjonir is very clean but tubey sounding, that amp makes my HD600’s sound great. It actually makes the 600, 650’s, and the 660’s all sound great. It even makes my LCD2c and LCDX’s sound good too.
What amp would you recommend, which do you use?
I personally think it just needs a bit of burn in, I tried them this AM after they were playing music all night and they sounded better. Maybe my brain just needs to adapt to the sound signature?
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Give it the burn in. Think you’re right.
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The one thing I don’t hear is the metallic sound every claims to hear with this type of driver.
It sounds very natural to me, but then again I have never heard a ZMF headphone which people claim are the most natural-sounding.
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FedEx showed up today with a package from Vintage King Audio. They had a heavily discounted Focal Stellia. The deal was too hard to pass up now that I have sold off my Focal Elex. Also, I want a solid pair of Closed-back headphones for when I go to the office.
The out of box experience was fantastic, very nicely done Focal.
I started to listen to them tonight, first single-ended on with Focal Cable on SPL Phonitor x, now spent the majority of the time with an XLR Cable. Note you will not need much volume to get this headphone to open up.
First, I have to say this is a fun but not laid back headphone if you are looking for a little more bass with a kick in your music this, your friend. Also, with great detail in mids and treble. For me, I might just roll the bass frequency down a little for certain tracks.
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Emmylou Harris, “May This Be Love.” The kick drum strikes your left ear with a strong thump. Then Emmylou vocal layer in gracefully.
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Gary Clark Jr “Bright Lights” again kick is panned hard left thumping with authority. Gary bright vocal step in, tracking you rich Fuzz laden Guitar solos with great detail.
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But where would be without Stevie Ray Vaughn, it time for “Cold Shot.” sorry, I am now getting lost in the detail of Stevie and drummer. “Tin Pan Alley” is just surreal on this headphone. Loving Stevie’s
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“Couldn’t Stand The Weather” album on Qobuz.
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It just must listen to “Tin Pan Alley” on this headphone. The incredible detail in both Basslines and Stevie guitar hand plucking the notes then rolling into his vibrato.
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Neil Young “Heart of Gold” has great detail in Neil’s strumming and string buzz of his acoustic. Loving his Harmonica solos with the Stellia.
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Grateful Dead “Truckin” you going hear every instrument separated with extreme detail. Dual Guitars electric in the right, and acoustic in the left. Matrix mode on SPL sweetens up this song.
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Cat Power “Fortunate Son”
Opening with cello and kick drum holding time, stepping off to her sultry vocal with the piano and cello bring it home. -
The Cult “Brother Wolf; & Sister Moon”
Love listen to Billy Duffy rhythms and lead on his Gretch -
Edie(Ciao Baby): Billy rich finger picking come forward here.
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The Cars, “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friends Girl” both songs will hit you with the kick drum. But also great detail in the Guitar.
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Frankie Goes the Hollywood “War” Frankie opening vocals with extreme reverb rendered brilliantly, then into rich percussion, time to just settle back hear all the new details.
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Did a test at 20 Hz@10 dB and 18kHz@10 dB, it has zero issue-resolving these signals.
They are super-efficient, take the crown from HIfiman Ananda. I have to try them on my iPad. It is not going to push your amp hard. Most track I am just above 9 Oclock on the Phonitor x.
If this is this good, I am left with I need to hear the Utopia now.
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