These are great, I've had them for almost a year. You can't buy replacement pads for them anymore, but I would highly recommend the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia Pads. They are pricey at $100, but they sound really good. Tonality and frequency response is much more normal, bass is better, isolation is better, but they do lose some of the soundstage from the original pads. Celestee pads apparently are also good replacements, but I don't think you can buy them separately from the headphones yet.
I have watched many of his reviews(and many reviews of many others), more in the background while I am doing other stuff, and IMHO he is enjoyable to listen to (entertaining and fun), and he sometimes points out feature based idiosyncrasies that most other reviews may not catch (both awesomeness and lame). IMHO, reviews of A/V gear in general when it comes to judging quality is all opinion anyway, measurements are just a piece, so watch/read the reviewer you enjoy, given until you have the "whatever" on your ears, with your gear, playing your music, you will only be able to get a general idea of how much you will like a thing. This is probably why there are thousands of brands and designs, different people want/need/like/can afford different things.
There was another reviewer I watched even more of that retired (Tyll from InnerFidelity), and his reviews were great, very scientific and thorough, very well done, and I learned that in some cases things he hated because they weren't "accurate" or whatever I enjoyed as being really fun... scientific reviews aren't everything... or even worth very much when it comes to how people enjoy art, again just IMHO. Best to just try whatever yourself if you can, or buy from a place that allows auditions/returns.
I bought the Elears on the very first time Adorama had a sale on Focal's $549 in 2017.. where at the time Focal discounts were rare, deep discounts even moreso. I still regret not picking up the Utopias for $2300(not like I had the $, but still... organ black markets exist, 4 years later you can't get them that cheap used). I have really enjoyed the Elears and think they were worth that $, even though they are I guess the crappiest of this Focal line(and mine do have the popping issues with certain low frequencies , still on my list to do the warranty thing to get them fixed), so I am really excited to get these. Trying out Stellia and Utopia, and I would also probably jump on a slick deal for Clears or Elexes, or any of the others I guess .
Thanks for the post OP, repped!
I wonder what's up with Zeos reviews and why people kept referencing to him? that dude clearly has no clue (or has his own ideas) about audiophile. His comment is completely random, and is baseless with no measurement. Plus his preferred music genre has nothing in common with most audiophiles but I'm not judging. LOL guys, if you want to watch real reviews, ignore him.
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These are great, I've had them for almost a year. You can't buy replacement pads for them anymore, but I would highly recommend the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia Pads. They are pricey at $100, but they sound really good. Tonality and frequency response is much more normal, bass is better, isolation is better, but they do lose some of the soundstage from the original pads. Celestee pads apparently are also good replacements, but I don't think you can buy them separately from the headphones yet.
I've put about 100 hours on the Stellia limited pads and they look great, the leather seems to be high quality. I tried both and think the Stellia pads sounds better than the regular sheepskin, the inner part is half mesh/cloth and makes them a bit less closed-off and boomy.
Thanks for posting, I just picked up a set. I have wanted a set of Focal's for a while but was not looking to spend a grand. For $400 though, I'm in. I missed the deal when Amazon was clearing them out at the same price earlier and was hoping someone else would get close.
For those who want to know where they sit compared to other Focal headphones. They have been replaced by the new Celeste as their lower price point close back dynamic driver headphones. The well loved Clear's are open backed and have been replaced with the new Clear MG with magnesium dynamic drivers. The old Clears are also on sale for ~$1K and the new ones are $1600 I think. The Stellia is their high end closed back at ~$3K and the Utopias is the top level open back at a little more. So, $400 is a pretty reasonable entry point for them. They have some studio headphones and a few other offerings, but the above is the main line.
Focal's speakers are very nice too but I have never actually gotten myself any.
People in my office have "complained" about the Utopia's leaking a bit too much. Will I hate myself more than I will hate them if I get those for the office?
This is my first high end headphone (bought about six months ago) and I'm really happy with them. Bought a new cable from Arctic Cables, and a DAC and amp and equalizer (to slightly turn up the lows) and it's phenomenal. I like that it's closed back so everyone can't hear what I'm listening to and it doesn't bother anyone. Also, they can be driven really easily so your iPhone would work with them too in a pinch. You can see the prior threads with similar price for the impressions of others
Deal is done, right after I bought it and got confirmation I refreshed the page aaaannnddd... it's back to $900.... crinacle gave these baaaad rating but he also gave the DT1990 bad rating meanwhile Zeos and DMS agreed (as well as "the headphone show") but I just basically sold 2 nice headphones to offset this purchase (and an AMP) glad I pulled the trigger.... I Usually take Crin's advice onw hat is good but don't listen when he says something is not good... but $700-1000 headphones I can flex with because... $400, closed back, super high sensitivity at low ohm... "bass boosted" besides the low rating from Crin these check every box. Thanks for posting this deal OP and sorry I got the last one
Thanks for posting, I just picked up a set. I have wanted a set of Focal's for a while but was not looking to spend a grand. For $400 though, I'm in. I missed the deal when Amazon was clearing them out at the same price earlier and was hoping someone else would get close.
For those who want to know where they sit compared to other Focal headphones. They have been replaced by the new Celeste as their lower price point close back dynamic driver headphones. The well loved Clear's are open backed and have been replaced with the new Clear MG with magnesium dynamic drivers. The old Clears are also on sale for ~$1K and the new ones are $1600 I think. The Stellia is their high end closed back at ~$3K and the Utopias is the top level open back at a little more. So, $400 is a pretty reasonable entry point for them. They have some studio headphones and a few other offerings, but the above is the main line.
Focal's speakers are very nice too but I have never actually gotten myself any.
Problem is the Clear MG's and Pros are worse by almost everyone's measure... Zeos and DMS saying the Elegia >Celestia is also a rarity soooo..... I just want to flex and these don't need a portable AMP as well as close enough to endgame closed backs (I don't need endgame closed backs jfl, I am rarely around others for it and these are TOTL for me) insane price!
Deal is done, right after I bought it and got confirmation I refreshed the page aaaannnddd... it's back to $900.... crinacle gave these baaaad rating but he also gave the DT1990 bad rating meanwhile Zeos and DMS agreed (as well as "the headphone show") but I just basically sold 2 nice headphones to offset this purchase (and an AMP) glad I pulled the trigger.... I Usually take Crin's advice onw hat is good but don't listen when he says something is not good... but $700-1000 headphones I can flex with because... $400, closed back, super high sensitivity at low ohm... "bass boosted" besides the low rating from Crin these check every box. Thanks for posting this deal OP and sorry I got the last one https://static.slickdealscdn.com/ima...ies/tongue.gif
Deal is still on. If you don't use the slickdeal link it will show the regular price. Seems like a slickdeal exclusive.
Deal is still on. If you don't use the slickdeal link it will show the regular price. Seem like a slickdeal exclusive.
I see! That is kind of messed up but kind of cool for slickdeals users so that it doesn't run out! Wish they would do this for GPU's so you could stand a chance... feel bad for anyone who buys them and finds out this was the case later lol
These are great, I've had them for almost a year. You can't buy replacement pads for them anymore, but I would highly recommend the Dekoni Limited Edition Stellia Pads. They are pricey at $100, but they sound really good. Tonality and frequency response is much more normal, bass is better, isolation is better, but they do lose some of the soundstage from the original pads. Celestee pads apparently are also good replacements, but I don't think you can buy them separately from the headphones yet.
Thanks for the tip, I picked up a set of the LTD Stellia pads from Dekoni's website for $60, their last pair I think... nice deal (relatively speaking anyway), I paid the same for the fenestrated elite lambskins for my Elear when those came out. I also picked up a nicer (more flexible, less microphonics, appropriate length) xlr cable for my Elears when I bought them as well... and it looks like they will work with these Elegia too. That is awesome, I love it when manufacturers have standards and you can use your upgrades across headphones (even generations in this case) which makes the TCO a bit lower and that is very nice .
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There was another reviewer I watched even more of that retired (Tyll from InnerFidelity), and his reviews were great, very scientific and thorough, very well done, and I learned that in some cases things he hated because they weren't "accurate" or whatever I enjoyed as being really fun... scientific reviews aren't everything... or even worth very much when it comes to how people enjoy art, again just IMHO. Best to just try whatever yourself if you can, or buy from a place that allows auditions/returns.
I bought the Elears on the very first time Adorama had a sale on Focal's $549 in 2017.. where at the time Focal discounts were rare, deep discounts even moreso. I still regret not picking up the Utopias for $2300(not like I had the $, but still... organ black markets exist, 4 years later you can't get them that cheap used). I have really enjoyed the Elears and think they were worth that $, even though they are I guess the crappiest of this Focal line(and mine do have the popping issues with certain low frequencies
Thanks for the post OP, repped!
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Better than these?
https://dekoniaudio.com/product/d...ar-utopia/
Better than these?
https://dekoniaudio.com/product/d...ar-utopia/ [dekoniaudio.com]
For those who want to know where they sit compared to other Focal headphones. They have been replaced by the new Celeste as their lower price point close back dynamic driver headphones. The well loved Clear's are open backed and have been replaced with the new Clear MG with magnesium dynamic drivers. The old Clears are also on sale for ~$1K and the new ones are $1600 I think. The Stellia is their high end closed back at ~$3K and the Utopias is the top level open back at a little more. So, $400 is a pretty reasonable entry point for them. They have some studio headphones and a few other offerings, but the above is the main line.
Focal's speakers are very nice too but I have never actually gotten myself any.
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For those who want to know where they sit compared to other Focal headphones. They have been replaced by the new Celeste as their lower price point close back dynamic driver headphones. The well loved Clear's are open backed and have been replaced with the new Clear MG with magnesium dynamic drivers. The old Clears are also on sale for ~$1K and the new ones are $1600 I think. The Stellia is their high end closed back at ~$3K and the Utopias is the top level open back at a little more. So, $400 is a pretty reasonable entry point for them. They have some studio headphones and a few other offerings, but the above is the main line.
Focal's speakers are very nice too but I have never actually gotten myself any.
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