I have no issues with it at all for the short duration Iāve listened to them. Sadly I canāt enjoy them right now as Iāve got an ear infection, so I wonāt be able to seriously listen for a good week or so.
Itās going to be speakers for me for the foreseeable future. But that gives me ample time to burn them in a little bit.
Iāll probably write up a review like I did on the Celestee, but give me a couple of weeks.
My Celestee came in today! Theyāre beautiful; Focal really strikes a chord with me and I think they make the best-looking headphones around.
Very initial first thoughts:
I really like them! As basically everyone has mentioned, they have a very tight and intimate soundstage but I donāt know that itās any tighter than the 650/6XX, but understandably that headphone also is too claustrophobic for a lot of people so I get it, lol. Audio is weird/funny to me because in the same way that harsh treble makes my ears bleed, it seems most people are insensitive to that sort of thing, and in this case itās the same way with soundstage: some people just canāt do it but it really doesnāt bother me at all.
Definitely mid-forward like the Elegia but I think itās done better. Elegia had sort of a weird, metallic presentation in some songs that I donāt hear in the Celestee.
Imaging is on point, as @Ahobaka mentioned in their review.
I definitely hear what @Ahobaka is talking about in terms of the treble being curbed or blunted. I donāt mind it at all though. It gives it sort of an unusual sound but nothing I find offensive.
I will keep listening!
Glad you like them and that my review was of some help / accuracy on them.
Iām running into my first real problem/gripe with the Celestee.
The stock pads are plush and comfy, but theyāre shallow. I wore them all night last night and after about 2 hours in, my left ear slowly start pushing up against the inside honeycomb grill that covers the driver. It became not just annoying but legitimately painful; I had to take them off.
Fortunately, Iām a bit of a Dekoni shill and I have multiple pads laying around since I own the Clear Mg, of which I do not have the same earpad comfort issue as the Celestee. I took off the stock pads and replaced them with Dekoniās velour pads for the Clear/Utopia/Elegia/etc. and immediately it was like a breath of fresh air on my ears. Theyāre comfier and added more depth so theyāre not pressed up against the driver. They also change the sound signature and add a little more bass which Iām actually more into anyway, but you shouldnāt have to do that with $990 headphones. In fact, itās downright unacceptable.
This sums up a lot of my gripes for an otherwise technically fantastic headphone. I could get over it with the Elegia, provided you could find it at around $400. You know that something is off when the first things you start going over is what aftermarket cable and pads you need to make a heapdhone work.
Since Iām more of a āI want to wear this all day and have it work for all musicā-kind of guy, when I find issues like these, it really bothers me and speaks heavily against a purchase.
Back in the day when Grado GS1000 just came out, I had been going around trying their cheaper models, even bought two different (SR80 and SR225) ones over the years. But ultimately I ended up selling all of them. My brother owned the GS1000 for a while and I tried them. But I just canāt get over a pair of headphones that either gives you cauliflower ears worse than a world champ wrestler, or makes you wear itchy noodle bowls to make them sound good. That and headbands, cup swivel mounts and cables that makes you wonder how they escaped the war crimes tribunal.
This is why I ultimately go for headphones that can be used all day for everything, itās also why Iāve fallen in love with Sennheiserās HD600 and HD700, not only because of their sound, but their impeccable comfort. Itās also why I still think that Denon and Fostex made the perfect closed-back with the D5000 (or anything in that series for that matter, their 2nd gen iterations werenāt as great in comfort with those weirdly angular pads and sharp headband on the 7100).
Can anyone comment on how the Celestee pairs with something like the IFI hip Dac? Iām buying a pair to wear at my office and looking for a semi portable Dac / amp. Not married to a dongle or small desktop based one. Iāll be using ether my laptop or iPhone as a source.
Some have said that the hip Dac to Elegia paring was not great but havenāt heart feedback on the celestee.
Hip-dac should have excellent synergy (very similar, complimenting sound signatures)!
Do consider our Go Blu as well!
Personally I think itās great and have heard the same on this forum multiple times. Doesnāt mean everybody enjoys it, though the bass boost gives the Elegia that little bit of extra in the low end I prefer.
Iām not sure I need the go blu but Iām curious. Blue tooth has come some way but will the hip Dac sound better plugged directly into a source than the blu?
Doesnāt the hip Dac have better power output?
Which do you think who sound better with the Celestee ?
Yes, the hip-dac is more powerful but the Go Blu will be able to drive the Celestee with no issue.
When considering these two products, Iād personally take your needs in regards to accessibility and how you would be using it over Bluetooth vs wired connection.
They both have quite similar sound signatures, with the Blu leaning to a more ātubeyā sound.
Hi all, has anyone compared a Celestee with a OG clear. I know ones a closed back and ones open but is the Celestee just a closed back version of the clear? is there much sound difference? Cheers.
I have/had the Celestee as well as the Clear Mg (not the OG Clear). Tough to answer because yeah, one is open-back and the other is closed-back. Here is a comparison of how the Celestee sounds amongst the other closed-back offerings from Focal: Focal Celestee Review & Measurements - YouTube
In my opinion theyāre not very similar at all, but it doesnāt make the Celestee ābad.ā Compared to the Clear Mg, I would say the most noticeable trait is the change in soundstage. Many people dislike how the Celestee feels very close, almost claustrophobic. I think it just sounds more āintimateā and not necessarily a bad thing, just different. The Clear (Mg) has a wider soundstage and seriously impressive dynamics.
Great, thanks.
Would the Celestee be okay with a phone (LG V30) or a DAP (Sony NW-ZX300)?
Cool. Just pulled the trigger on some clear pros. They are selling way cheap now the MGs are out. I already own LCD-2Closed and Z1Rs so some open backs will be a nice change.
Ive listened to some celestees on a phone and it was fine. Not cranking like an amp but loud enough. Havenāt tried a DAP.
Just wondering if they would be a decent mobile pair.
Their not foldable but they are well built. So I would say yes.
Gotta nice lineup to listen to today. Will let you know how it turns out.
Quick takeā¦
Clear OG
'+ most technically impressive, hardest slam of the 3, biggest sound stage
'- A bit metallicāy even on tubes, not my favorite pairing with bifrost (much prefer them on Holo Spring), most amp picky
Celestee
'+ good all arounder, loving the isolation and use for an office environment, doesnāt do anything wrong
'- Small sound stage, the least comfortable of the 3 but not bad, doesnāt take much power to drive but also scales the leastā¦ I find it more dac finicky than amp
LCD3F
'+ amazing synergy with Auris+tube, very smooth presentation that makes ATW sound perfect with the reverb, good combination of resolution, punch, and vocals
'- I love em with the tubes but not so much on solid stateā¦ I think on the Mammoth KTE SS amp I prefer focals over the LCD3 and the inverse on Auris.
More to come but the Celestee are legit for office use or a mobile option if youāre not an iem guy. For home listening Iād def go OG Clear or LCD3F over them.
Interested in your thoughts! Hope you enjoy them.
