Focal Stellia

Luxury closed-back reference with high efficiency

One of the best closed-back headphones.

To me, Stellia simply does everything right. It comes as a genuinely luxurious package, including a sturdy travel case. The soft leather gently conforms to your head and isolates very well from the outside world and its noise.

Its tuning combines fun, high detail, and long, non-fatiguing listening sessions—without sounding overly dark. And it’s also very easy to drive.

What the press says

Headphonesty.com

“Could I be happy with only one pair of headphones? It seems that I could.

If all closed-back headphones could sound near as good as the Stellia, I’d give up on my perhaps antiquated belief that I prefer the sound of open-backed headphones… However, they deliver the goods… The Stellia can.”

Headfonics.com

“What we have here is probably the best or one of the best closed-back headphones money could buy… The Focal Stellia is in one word stellar… félicitations pour la fabrication d’un super casque.”

Measurements

Frequency response (example measurement)

What does this mean?

The black line is something you could call the “ideal” curve: a target response derived from research by the Harman group, exploring what kind of headphone tuning tends to be preferred by a broad range of listeners—regardless of age or demographics. This is often referred to as the Harman Target.

From left to right you see sub-bass, bass, mids, and then the curve tilts upward where treble begins. That part of the spectrum is naturally amplified by the shape of the human ear.

This headphone adds a touch of bass for fun, but dips down at 150–200 Hz early enough to stay punchy, not bloated. It comes back up and sits slightly under the Harman curve in the treble region—enough detail to hear everything, without fatigue in long listening sessions. Very well done.

Harman Research: The Perception and Measurement of Headphone Sound Quality – What Do Listeners Prefer?

Technical Specifications