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tncardude t1_je4z295 wrote

My favorite is the Focal Stellia, love the sound and the looks too

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DwarfsRBest t1_je5fc7a wrote

I love my Stellias. Heard them at a show a couple years ago, along with several other high ends, and knew those were the ones I wanted to save up for.

More often than anything else, they carry me off to that special place where I get lost in the music and forget to listen to the gear.

And, yeah, they're gorgeous to look at as well. Bonus

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tncardude t1_je5g433 wrote

Especially the bass! Just something about it

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Toronto-Will t1_je74wst wrote

I will chime in to say the Focal Elegia, because I love them, and I bet I would like the Stellia even more (if I was willing to pay that much for a closed back). I'm more of a fan of open backs, but the Elegia gets really close to the technical performance of an open back, without the weird bass boominess and muffled sound that tends to plague closed backs.

I've also owned and daily driven the HD 569 and a Bose Soundlink (wireless). Night and day difference with the Elegia how much better quality the sound is, it even compares well to Clear MG (not *as* good, but bloody close). I really hoped to save money on a closed back in getting the 569, because I didn't have very high expectations for an outdoor, walking around closed back. I honestly just wanted to keep my ears warm in the cold. But the 569 absolutely drained the life out of music, and I never took the Elegia off my wishlist. And I don't regret it, it's just a delight to listen to.

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TokyoRedTwist t1_je7dll5 wrote

I love my Elegia. Demo’d them alongside the usual closed-back suspects in a similar price range and just fell in love with them - realised I was grinning listening to my demo tracks.

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[deleted] t1_je7i80o wrote

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Toronto-Will t1_je7r6fc wrote

I definitely use EQ. I can’t imagine finding something fatiguing if you EQ out the frequencies that give you trouble (and I’m sensitive to this as well, though more with Beyer stock tuning than Focal stock tuning).

I’ve seen all the people saying “when not if” on the headband breaking, but I’ll deal with it “when” it happens. I also have the Clear MG and no issue with it at all, nor is it as obvious to me as it seems to be to other people that it’s at imminent risk of breaking. Everything can break if you use it, I’m happy to have something that sounds and looks good and not live in fear about it.

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[deleted] t1_je8a07b wrote

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Toronto-Will t1_je8dkpl wrote

I don't know why you're being defensive, no one is giving you a hard time for having an opinion. But thinking that the headband will break (even though it hasn't) is not an "experience", and I didn't understand your point about the headphones being fatiguing after EQ.

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commandermik t1_je5pdjc wrote

I thought it had too much of a bass boost when I heard it. Went home and checked FR - yup, it’s boosted to hell at 100 Hz with possible dips in the sub-bass. I was not a fan of the signature. But it looks the business 👌

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