Focal’s wired over-ear headphones, side by side. Here is the Stellia, Focal’s flagship closed-back, alongside the closed-back Azurys below it and the open-back Utopia, which shares its beryllium driver concept, showing what your money buys at each step.

The Stellia is Focal’s flagship closed-back headphone, conceived as a closed-back version of the Utopia. It uses a 40mm pure beryllium “M”-shaped dome driver, the material Focal uses in its finest tweeters, driven by a formerless copper voice coil and tuned for a sealed, bass-reflex enclosure. The result is an unusually easy load for a flagship: 35 ohms and 106dB/mW, so it plays well from a good portable player as well as from a desktop system. Finished in full-grain leather, it is as much a luxury object as a reference tool. It is not a noise-cancelling travel headphone, and at 435g it is heavier than Focal’s entry models. What it offers is near-Utopia resolution with the privacy and isolation of a closed back.

Brief product overview

A circumaural closed-back headphone with 40mm drivers using a pure beryllium “M”-shaped dome. Beryllium is exceptionally stiff and light, keeping the dome’s break-up far above the audible band; the M profile adds further rigidity. The voice coil is formerless, wound without a supporting tube, to cut moving mass, and the closed cup is tuned as a bass-reflex enclosure, which reduces the excursion the driver needs for a given level. That allows a shorter coil, hence the low 35-ohm impedance and high 106dB/mW sensitivity. Distortion is 0.1% at 100dB, and response extends down to 5Hz. The headband, earcups and pads are covered in full-grain leather, and the weight is evenly spread to avoid pressure points. Each earcup has its own 3.5mm socket. Two cables are supplied: 1.2m with a 3.5mm plug and 3m with a balanced 4-pin XLR, along with a 6.35mm adapter and a hard carrying case.

How it sounds

The Stellia has the resolution and speed of Focal’s beryllium drivers in a closed design, which is rare. Voices are vivid and natural, with remarkable presence. Detail is laid out with ease rather than forced, and dynamics are fast and full, so music has real impact even at modest volume. The bass is deep, tight and well defined, and the overall balance is rich rather than lean. The limits are honest ones. As a closed-back, its soundstage is more intimate than the open-back Utopia’s, which places instruments further outside the head. It isolates well for home and office, but it isn’t a noise-cancelling headphone for travel. And its resolution means it reveals poor recordings and weak sources rather than flattering them.

What we’d partner it with

For portable listening, the Astell&Kern PD10 is a fitting partner. It is a premium Android digital audio player built around four AKM AK4498EX DACs and two AK4191EQ modulators, with the digital and analogue circuits fully separated. Its amplifiers detect the headphone’s impedance and set the gain automatically, and the single-ended and balanced outputs have independent circuits. It streams over Wi-Fi as an AirPlay and Roon Ready device, runs streaming apps, has 256GB of storage plus a microSD slot, a 6-inch display and a 5,770mAh battery giving around 15 hours. Its docking cradle, with balanced XLR line outputs, turns it into a home source as well. The Stellia’s supplied 3.5mm cable connects to the PD10’s 3.5mm output. Two on-list alternatives, stock permitting: the Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000M, a step up in Astell&Kern’s range, and the iFi GO bar Kensei, a pocket USB DAC/amp for those who would rather use a phone.

For listening at home, the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition is a natural match. Naim and Focal are sister companies, and Naim voiced it with Focal headphones. It is a streamer, DAC and Class A headphone amplifier in one, delivering 1.5 watts per channel into 16 ohms. It has 6.35mm and 4.4mm balanced outputs on the front and a 4-pin XLR balanced output on the rear. Streaming covers AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Tidal, Qobuz, Roon Ready, UPnP and internet radio, with optical, coaxial, USB storage and analogue inputs, and it works as a preamplifier too. The Stellia’s supplied XLR cable connects directly to its balanced output. Alternatives, stock permitting, are the HiFi Rose RS451, a streamer, DAC and headphone amplifier with balanced outputs, and the FiiO K15, a more affordable streaming DAC/amp.

On cabling, a 4.4mm balanced cable lets the Stellia use the PD10’s balanced output; AudioQuest and Chord are the cable brands we stock for the system’s digital and network connections.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you don’t need isolation and want the most open, spacious sound with a beryllium driver, the open-back Utopia is the choice. If you want a closed-back Focal for considerably less, the Azurys uses an aluminium/magnesium driver in a lighter, simpler design. And if you mainly listen while travelling and want wireless convenience a

The Stellia’s cables connect to a socket on each earcup; push both plugs fully home. Use the 1.2m 3.5mm cable on the move and the 3m XLR cable at home. Adjust the headband so the earcups sit evenly; the full-grain leather pads soften and conform with use. Because the Stellia is very sensitive, start any source at low volume and turn up gradually. With the Astell&Kern PD10, connect to the 3.5mm output and let its Smart Gain set the amplifier level; a 4.4mm balanced cable, bought separately, opens up its balanced output. With the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition, connect the XLR cable to the 4-pin balanced output on the rear panel and set up streaming through the Naim app. Store the Stellia in its hard case when travelling.