I've been enjoying the hell out of my $1,600 HiFiman Arya headphones. Out of curiosity, I purchased the $3,000 Focal Stellia with a return policy.
I went back and forth for one month with these headphones. Honestly, I had to coach myself to not fall head over heels for the Stellia because of their build quality and aesthetic and reputation. To me, they are gorgeous. Aesthetically they are way more beautiful than my bland and boring Arya. The build quality also easily beats out the Arya. So going into this shootout, I had a subconscious bias towards preferring the Stellia. I WANTED them to win. I wanted something just to look at while I wasn't listening to music just so I can gush over this gorgeous headphone.
However, at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. I much preferred the Aryas sonics to the Stellia. I also much preferred the comfort of the Arya.
I returned the Stellia. Not because of the price. Price was irrelevant to me. I wanted something that sounded good and I enjoyed wearing.