Headphone Product of the Year
Focal Stellia headphones ($2990; reviewed by Herb Reichert, October 2020, Vol.43 No.10 Review)
RAAL-Requisite SR1a headphones ($3200; reviewed by Herb Reichert, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Abyss Ab-1266 Phi Tc headphones ($4999–$7995; reviewed by Herb Reichert, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt D/A processor/headphone amplifier ($299.95; reviewed by John Atkinson, December 2019, Vol.42 No.12 Review)
Grado GS3000e headphones ($1799; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2019, Vol.42 No.12 Review)
ZMF Vérité Closed headphones ($2495; reviewed by Herb Reichert, April 2020, Vol.43 No.4 Review) These two headphones have nothing in common except their similar price, their overall excellence, and their popularity among Stereophile voters. (The Focal got one more vote; the RAAL-requisite got one extra first-place vote—hence, a tie.) The Stellia features 1.5" (40mm), M-shaped, electrodynamic beryllium-dome drivers, which, Herb said, delivered "a very high level of relaxed and refined sound, with no beryllium metallicness." It didn't hurt that Herb, for reasons he could not explain, was "feeling extra-good about closed-back headphones." Auditioned with the HoloAudio May Level-3 DAC—our digital source component winner—and the Feliks Audio Euforia headphone amp, the Focal Stellia's closed backs "produced vital, exciting sound," Herb wrote.
The RAAL-requisite SR1a "earfield monitors" are not conventional headphones. They sit away from your ears—don't plan on using them on noisy airplanes; there's zero isolation—tilted back to produce an image of a soundstage in front of you. In this respect, they're practically opposite to closed-back 'phones like the Focal Stellia (although, inside its earcups, the Stellia, too, has angled drivers). Sound is produced by what is claimed to be the world's first full-range pure-ribbon transducer, which has extremely low input impedance, specified as 0.018 ohms; the designer recommends a 100Wpc amplifier—for headphones! "With their extreme purity and resolution, the SR1a's deposited Vladimir Horowitz, his piano, and the room he was playing in right there, in the space in front of me," Herb wrote. "Not inside my skull."
"In my view: The RAAL-Requisite SR1a's are both revelatory and revolutionary."
About the Vote
The Stellia appeared on one more final ballot; the RAAL-requisite otherwise scored slightly higher, to bring the vote to a tie. Also doing well: the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt and the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC headphones.
RAAL-Requisite SR1a headphones ($3200; reviewed by Herb Reichert, January 2020, Vol.43 No.1 Review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)Abyss Ab-1266 Phi Tc headphones ($4999–$7995; reviewed by Herb Reichert, July 2020, Vol.43 No.7 Review)
AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt D/A processor/headphone amplifier ($299.95; reviewed by John Atkinson, December 2019, Vol.42 No.12 Review)
Grado GS3000e headphones ($1799; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2019, Vol.42 No.12 Review)
ZMF Vérité Closed headphones ($2495; reviewed by Herb Reichert, April 2020, Vol.43 No.4 Review) These two headphones have nothing in common except their similar price, their overall excellence, and their popularity among Stereophile voters. (The Focal got one more vote; the RAAL-requisite got one extra first-place vote—hence, a tie.) The Stellia features 1.5" (40mm), M-shaped, electrodynamic beryllium-dome drivers, which, Herb said, delivered "a very high level of relaxed and refined sound, with no beryllium metallicness." It didn't hurt that Herb, for reasons he could not explain, was "feeling extra-good about closed-back headphones." Auditioned with the HoloAudio May Level-3 DAC—our digital source component winner—and the Feliks Audio Euforia headphone amp, the Focal Stellia's closed backs "produced vital, exciting sound," Herb wrote.
The RAAL-requisite SR1a "earfield monitors" are not conventional headphones. They sit away from your ears—don't plan on using them on noisy airplanes; there's zero isolation—tilted back to produce an image of a soundstage in front of you. In this respect, they're practically opposite to closed-back 'phones like the Focal Stellia (although, inside its earcups, the Stellia, too, has angled drivers). Sound is produced by what is claimed to be the world's first full-range pure-ribbon transducer, which has extremely low input impedance, specified as 0.018 ohms; the designer recommends a 100Wpc amplifier—for headphones! "With their extreme purity and resolution, the SR1a's deposited Vladimir Horowitz, his piano, and the room he was playing in right there, in the space in front of me," Herb wrote. "Not inside my skull."
"In my view: The RAAL-Requisite SR1a's are both revelatory and revolutionary."
About the VoteThe Stellia appeared on one more final ballot; the RAAL-requisite otherwise scored slightly higher, to bring the vote to a tie. Also doing well: the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt and the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC headphones.
