Hey, this is Drew Baird from Moon Audio and I'm really excited today to talk
about the new closed-back design from Focal, the Stellia. When Focal
came to visit us a few years ago to introduce us to the Elear and the Utopia
they'd asked me one question. At the end of our meeting, they said after we've
come out with these two benchmark products, what do you think would be next
for us? I said, it's been a long time since we've had a true reference caliber
closed-back design. The last one that I can remember that was really
state-of-the-art was the Sony MDR-R10. That was back in the '90s.
There are some good closed back headphones out there - the Fostex TH- 900,
the Sony MDR-Z1R - but there just really isn't a true reference-caliber closed
back headphone out there. So I said if they could come out with a unique and
really incredible closed back design they would rule the marketplace. Well, if
we remember, I guess it's about six months ago they came out with the Elesia
which was essentially a play off of the Clear, that I was told by Focal. It
would have the same dynamics, same resolution, same punchy bottom end. It's a
very level, flat-sounding headphone from top to bottom, but it really didn't give
me what I was hoping for in a Focal with a closed back design. Well little
did I know that they were still working on what I had asked for, and that's the
Stellia. Is it a Utopia? No. Is it a closed back Utopia? Yes.
So let's talk about the design aspects of the two headphones. Both utilize a beryllium
driver. There are some slight differences. It's the same W sandwich design, it's a
little bit of a stiffer surround on the closed back design to deal with the
forces going on in a closed back enclosure. This is basically an infinite
baffle design, when we're talking about speaker design, in that it's open air on
both sides. The grill here relieves the pressure from the back side of the driver,
the grill here releases the pressure from the front side of the driver.
There's no impedance on the driver from air on front to back. A little bit
different on a closed back design. So there is a vent or a port. Where you see
the flame design here there's a little grill. Essentially this relieves the back
wave pressure of the driver. This is a true closed back design, there is a
slight bit of leakage because of the port
but it's very small and it's not the same way a port on a speaker is used. A port
on a speaker will add to the bottom frequency range of a speaker, where in
this case everything is handled on the inside of the cup.
They've created a pyramid scheme on the inside to deal with reflections and
refractions of the back wave of the drivers reflecting off the inside of the
cups, and essentially what this has done to the sound in comparison to the Utopia,
the Utopia, I would say, has a much deeper soundstage where in the Stellia the
soundstage is a little higher front to back, top to bottom, but not as wide.
Still sort of sound around your ear versus the deeper depth of the Utopia.
The sound signature of the two headphones is quite similar to my ears.
Obviously the difference in spatial parameters of the sound around your head
is a little bit different, but I would say the top end and the bottom end are
very close. In comparing the Stellia to the Elegia, the Elegia was a lot flatter
sounding in my opinion. The Elegia on the top end and the bottom end are a little
more v-shaped, if you will. A little more exciting on the top end a little more
bottom-end oomph over the Elegia. I would have expected there be a lot more base
from the Elegia, but honestly, I feel the bass of the Clear is a little bit
stronger. I prefer the Clear over the Elegia, but I prefer the Stellia over the
Clear. I would say the Clear, the Elegia, the Elear, and even the Massdrop Elex
are a bit on the warmer side. Because of the beryllium, I find that both these
headphones are a little more forward sounding - I would not say bright, but they
are a little more forward sounding. The Utopia maybe a little more bass than
the Stellia, not by a longshot. But what this gives you is the ability to take
your Utopia on the go. It's a closed back Utopia. I still prefer this, Utopia is still
my top of the line, but I really, really enjoy Stellia as an on-the-go headphone and
I can see myself taking it a lot of places I wouldn't take Utopia. So the Stellia
connection system shares the same connectors that are used on the Elegia,
the Clear, and the Elear, so if you've got cables for those headphones
they're going to be able to be reused with Stellia. The Utopia connectors
are one-off. Honestly, I'm a little bit disappointed. I would have enjoyed to
have seen the Utopia connectors on the Stellia since it's supposed to be
basically the top of the heap in the Utopia line. They also didn't use the
carbon fiber yolks. They're using the same style of yokes that are used on the
Elegia, Elear, and Clear. They've been anodized. The leather is
probably one of the most supple leathers I've ever felt, almost as soft as the
Ultrasone Edition Series. Some of the lambskin leather on those are the
softest I've ever felt. I really enjoy the comfort of these. You'll also notice
on the cups this is a stainless steel grill that is encapsulated over the same
leather material that's used on the band. Very sexy. I know I've seen some folks
online that either hate or love the looks. Obviously it's a personal
preference, I think this is one of the best-looking headphones in a long time.
I love the Utopia, but black's a little too boring for me. I really, really enjoy
the looks of the Stellia. The Stellia is a little more efficient and easier to
drive than the Utopia. Any of your devices can drive this. I haven't had a
whole lot of problems with devices driving the Utopias, but obviously we're
talking about driving to peak performance. These are a lot easier to
drive to peak performance, and using these with your phone or Chord Mojo, or
an Astell&Kern digital audio player - not a problem. Very easy to drive.
So let's talk about Moon Audio cables and what I recommend. Because it's a
beryllium driver, I want a tad smoother sound on the top
end and I still want to add a little bit fuller bottom end weight to the
headphone. I want more bass, so Black Dragon version 2 or Black Dragon Premium,
just like the Utopia, are my recommendations whereas on the Elear, the
Clear, and the Elegia I'll always recommend the Silver Dragon because of
their warmth. It adds more detail, more clarity, and more top-end. So hopefully
you enjoyed this quick video on the new Stellia headphone. Please go to our
website, moon-audio.com and go to the blog section. I've gone into a lot more
depth and detail about the new Stellia headphone and how much I really like it.