Focal Stellia

Focal's top-of-the-line closed-back Stellia headphones (pictured with the Focal Arche headphone amp/DAC in Crutchfield's video studio). How proud is Focal of their latest, berryllium-driven masterpiece, the Stellia closed-back headphones? Three weeks before their official release, Nicolas Debard, head of Focal's high-end headphone division, traveled to Crutchfield's campus in Central Virginia from his company's North American headquarters in Montreal, Canada. He wanted to personally hand us a sample. Nicolas is responsible for the sound tuning for some of the finest headphones in the world, including the Focal Utopia , Clear , Elegia , and of course the Stellia. He gave me an inside look at the creation of these headphones while he was here. (You can watch our video interview in the photo carousel above.) Focal's main challenge was delivering a sound and experience similar to their top-of-the-line — but very open-air — Utopia headphones, within the more intimate closed-back design. The Stellia's closed-bac...