[arielext]

I have the Celestee for about a month now and still happy with my purchase. I was casually listening to them using my RME ADI-2 DAC hooked up to the (ancient) Corda HeadFive, which is an entry level amp. I did that since my main amp is the somewhat big, heavy, hot and energy inefficient Audio-gd Master 19.
I came to one song I know inside out and decided to swap amps again. It shocked me how much the difference was in quality, depth and soundstage.
Normally I don't hear that big of a difference between the 2 amps but in this case it was so obvious.

What DAC and amp are people using here? How's the synergy between them?

 

[AudioDuck]

Yup I saw that, its why I mentioned it here.

The only possible way he could think this is if he was drawing from memory.

Honestly the more I try a range of gear, and spend more time on comparisons, the less and less I trust reviewers generally.

I think most people (myself included) by default give trust to a reviewer. But I think its the other way around, they should earn your trust.

Basically how it went for me in the shop was, I really want the Celestee, they look amazing, i was hyped. I tried them for a good 30mins from a really good source, and….There were flaws. Great headphone, but flaws. Not a standout performer. Don’t get me wrong, if they were my only headphone, I’d have a freaking great time. Music sounds great on them. But we’re being critical here. Technically, tuning aside, the P9 (to my ears) are superior. But you may prefer Celestee Sig, many will.

I tried the Stellia and I was expecting a very similar headphone based on tidbits I’d read. Tbh i havent read much about it, more about Celestee, but anyway, I was primed for Celestee 110% or similar. It is nothing like that, the presentation is very different, and it has a wow factor for me. It was irritatingly good, as no way in hell do I have 3k now or for a long time to drop on cans haha.

Anyway, all ears are different. That norwegian chap might differ from me. But if I had to guess, he was going off of memory and didn’t have the two side by side an extended period.

Having had the Stellia and Radiance available for side-by-side comparison for a few hours before selling the Radiance, I find the comment (“so close I had to pinch myself”) puzzling. The Stellia is noticeably different/better than the Radiance and it’s pretty apparent with resolving amplification and source gear/content (I know, not the Celestee, but still…).

Obviously we all hear differently and I have not read the Norwegian review in a while (I remember seeing it a couple of months ago)- but to me it is curious that the reviewer found the two so similar.

After now having spent quite a few hours listening to the Stellia now with a range of 16/44 CD rips and higher-resolution content, I understand better where the Stellia excels versus other closed-backs (including the Radiance):
- The Stellia’s greatest strength is its balance and harmonious representation of the music. The even-handed and organic sound does a better job of putting you right in the performance venue than any other headphone I’ve tried, closed or open. Note that I am not saying the soundstaging alone rivals a high-quality open-back- but the overall live impression is more effective; much of this stems from the timbre and harmony that Stellia is capable of. In addition, good quality recordings have a wider soundstage than is typical for closed-backs as well. The immense detail level of the Stellia helps articulate the recording space, as well.
- The Stellia treats poor recordings quite graciously, good recordings take on a new dimension, and great recordings are simply sublime. While each portion of the FR is rendered exquisitely and the Stellias elicit the beauty of the music, I would not call them soft or euphonic, as electric guitars can crunch and bite, and percussion brings plenty of bounce and snap. There is more presence and realism with the Stellias than other models. I deliberately use that expression because Trevor Goldman of Norne Audio uses that description about his TotL Drausk copper cables, which I use with the Stellias and I find it apt with these headphones as well.
- To counter the possible conclusion of euphonia and “oh, the Stellia just beautifies everything” train of thought even further, I would compare the Stellia with a good solid-state amp (in my case, the Violectric V200- an excellent pairing) to a steel fist in a velvet glove. It will slam you to the wall and pin you to it with Rage Against the Machine or Audioslave, but will nimbly navigate the jazz-fusion stylings of Cinematic Orchestra or Khruangbin a minute later. And you can without hesitation entrust the delicacy of a Damien Rice singer-songwriter recording to the Stellias as well; they will describe every breath and strummed guitar string gently, drawing you in.

As many others, I found myself spending more time with the Stellia than planned, especially with my Bluesound Node 2 and 1,100-plus records in my collection at my fingertips. The power of SSD hard drives and instant loading, I tell you!

Simply put, the Stellia is a rare device that brings us closer to the soul of the music. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to own a pair, especially with COVID-19 and smoking in music venues keeping me from live shows in most instances in the foreseeable future. I cannot recommend them enough if you can find the budget for them and have worthy amplification and source device(s).

Aaaaaand perhaps this post belongs in the Stellia string ; my point was to specify why equating the Stellia with the Celestee seems foolish to me. I apologize for waxing poetic about the mocha-brown miracles.

 

[Malevolent]

I think that the Stellia is at a sufficiently advanced level, with a different take on the Focal house sound, too, that calling it a "110% Celestee" is a bit of a misnomer. I don't think the Celestee does anything better than the Stellia; fittingly so, since the latter stands at the top of Focal's pyramid of exquisite headphones (alongside the open-back Utopia, of course).

Apart from the Elex, I have auditioned every single Focal headphone, and the pair that stands out from the crowd are the Utopia and the Stellia. With that being said, I was never that impressed with the Stellia from the get-go; however, my recent auditions via a different source has painted them in a different hue - a more favorable one, if you will.

Nevertheless, the Celestee remains a good headphone; I certainly prefer it over the Elegia. However, there's a clear price and performance delta between the Celestee and the Stellia. In a heartbeat, I'd grab the copper-clad headphone, without giving it a second thought.

 

[AudioDuck]

I think that the Stellia is at a sufficiently advanced level, with a different take on the Focal house sound, too, that calling it a "110% Celestee" is a bit of a misnomer. I don't think the Celestee does anything better than the Stellia; fittingly so, since the latter stands at the top of Focal's pyramid of exquisite headphones (alongside the open-back Utopia, of course).

Apart from the Elex, I have auditioned every single Focal headphone, and the pair that stands out from the crowd are the Utopia and the Stellia. With that being said, I was never that impressed with the Stellia from the get-go; however, my recent auditions via a different source has painted them in a different hue - a more favorable one, if you will.

Nevertheless, the Celestee remains a good headphone; I certainly prefer it over the Elegia. However, there's a clear price and performance delta between the Celestee and the Stellia. In a heartbeat, I'd grab the copper-clad headphone, without giving it a second thought.

Well put, and in full agreement! I would love to hear the Celestee, and presume I would like it very much, and perhaps find it to be more similar to the Elear, my go-to open-back headphone.

 

[mainguy]

Apart from the Elex, I have auditioned every single Focal headphone, and the pair that stands out from the crowd are the Utopia and the Stellia. With that being said, I was never that impressed with the Stellia from the get-go; however, my recent auditions via a different source has painted them in a different hue - a more favorable one, if you will.

Nevertheless, the Celestee remains a good headphone; I certainly prefer it over the Elegia. However, there's a clear price and performance delta between the Celestee and the Stellia. In a heartbeat, I'd grab the copper-clad headphone, without giving it a second thought.

Interesting, the Stellia are probably the only headphone I've tried that actually took me aback. I thoroughly agree with Audio Duck above. I think given the choice of purchasing either, I'd much rather save for however many months and get a Stellia.

The thing I found with the Celestee is they're at a price where if you dont 100% need a closed back, then its hard to justify them. The Clear to my ears is advanced in a lot of areas compared to the Celestee, and now at the same price almost everywhere new. Indeed, if it's someones first higher end pair, it's hard not to recommend they get some Clears and a cheap closed back for on the go (I mean sub $100) as that pairing would be more versatile.

I think the strongest aspect of these is the build. For £1000 you're getting, in my opinion, the best looking headphone on the market.

 

[Malevolent]

Interesting, the Stellia are probably the only headphone I've tried that actually took me aback. I thoroughly agree with Audio Duck above. I think given the choice of purchasing either, I'd much rather save for however many months and get a Stellia.

The thing I found with the Celestee is they're at a price where if you dont 100% need a closed back, then its hard to justify them. The Clear to my ears is advanced in a lot of areas compared to the Celestee, and now at the same price almost everywhere new. Indeed, if it's someones first higher end pair, it's hard not to recommend they get some Clears and a cheap closed back for on the go (I mean sub $100) as that pairing would be more versatile.

I think the strongest aspect of these is the build. For £1000 you're getting, in my opinion, the best looking headphone on the market.

The Celestee and the Stellia were ostensibly cut from the same piece of cloth. However, the Stellia is a far-advanced version of the Celestee, despite it being the "older" model. If you like the sound of the Celestee, it won't be a stretch to say that you might also enjoy the Stellia.

I wholeheartedly agree - if you're a fan of this particular signature, the Stellia is the way to go, price notwithstanding.

I'm a fan of the Focal house style, so I'm a sucker for their headphones; looks-wise, at least.

 

[arielext]

Celestee is a good headphone for 1k
Stellia is an amazing headphone for 3k
Depending on the wallet one might suit you better then the other. I have had both, for me Celestee is the better deal. A good sounding headphone with little shortcomings for a decent price. I ended up selling my Stellia to fund a different (and open-back) headphone. Stellia is a different journey in which you will experience colour differences during the patina process. Not everyone is keen on that. Celestee uses a different leather that doesn't inherit this effect. The leather is of slight less quality (top-grain vs Stellia's full-grain).

 

[AudioDuck]

I wholeheartedly agree - if you're a fan of this particular signature, the Stellia is the way to go, price notwithstanding.

THIS x 100. I loved the Elear from Day 1, and enjoyed the Radiance greatly (even though it strays pretty far from the Focal house sound). The Stellia takes the Focal house sound to 11 (to use a "This is Spinal Tap" fave reference).

If you enjoy the Elear or Clear, you are very likely to love the Stellia.

 

[Malevolent]

THIS x 100. I loved the Elear from Day 1, and enjoyed the Radiance greatly (even though it strays pretty far from the Focal house sound). The Stellia takes the Focal house sound to 11 (to use a "This is Spinal Tap" fave reference).

If you enjoy the Elear or Clear, you are very likely to love the Stellia.

Now, the only thing is, how do I silence this growing voice inside of me, screaming - "Get a Stellia! You need one! You want one! Buy! Buy!"

Someone help.. please?

 

[AudioDuck]

Now, the only thing is, how do I silence this growing voice inside of me, screaming - "Get a Stellia! You need one! You want one! Buy! Buy!"

Someone help.. please?

Well, there’s an area I’ll be no help in, clearly.

That said, I think if you own the Stellia, there is absolutely no need to own any other Focal closed-backs. That may help with financing. Selling my Radiance got me about 40-45 percent of the way there, at least…

But I needed a “once-in-a-lifetime” type of gift to get me over the threshold and make the purchase, to be fair. I recently hit a milestone birthday and received a very generous monetary gift from a family member. I saw a chance to get to the “ne plus ultra” end game point, and took it.

Given the circumstances, I have no regrets and expect to own and use the Stellia daily until I’m pretty old and gray.

Good luck- I guess my advice is to make the purchase when it makes “cosmic sense”, if you will- and you are the best judge of when that is.

 

[u2u2]

Now, the only thing is, how do I silence this growing voice inside of me, screaming - "Get a Stellia! You need one! You want one! Buy! Buy!"

Someone help.. please?

Five years into owning Elears and a week into Stellias. About 36 hours on the Stellia on two amps using both balanced and unbalanced. My advice, give in, buy them, they are totally worth it. Silence the screams. Only downside I have found is they do reveal flaws in some recordings I had not noticed before. A small price for the gains in every other aspect of listening.

 

[mainguy]

Now, the only thing is, how do I silence this growing voice inside of me, screaming - "Get a Stellia! You need one! You want one! Buy! Buy!"

Someone help.. please?

They’ll probs not go because you know how good it is. Best thing for me to stave them off was to listen to my gear and still realise it sounds really good. The other option, get Focal Elegia’s $600, bottle of whiskey $30, down one quarter of the bottle, wait 10 minutes (kind of like letting a tube amp warm up) and start listening. You’ll find the experience does get you somewhere and is perhaps comparable to Stellia’s. Focal hates this trick.

Five years into owning Elears and a week into Stellias. About 36 hours on the Stellia on two amps using both balanced and unbalanced. My advice, give in, buy them, they are totally worth it. Silence the screams. Only downside I have found is they do reveal flaws in some recordings I had not noticed before. A small price for the gains in every other aspect of listening.

What really blew my mind is the gap between the Stellia & Clear. I was listening to them yesterday side by side from a Hugo, and the jump in enjoyment and performance was, for me at least, really big. The Stellia just sounded special. I imagine it was a similar jump from the Elear, and after always hearing about diminishing returns it wasn’t one I expected. For me at least the jump from a $500 open back > Focal Clear was less than Clear > Stellia, purely from a subjective 'wow' factor.

 

[AudioDuck]

Celestee is a good headphone for 1k
Stellia is an amazing headphone for 3k
Depending on the wallet one might suit you better then the other. I have had both, for me Celestee is the better deal. A good sounding headphone with little shortcomings for a decent price. I ended up selling my Stellia to fund a different (and open-back) headphone. Stellia is a different journey in which you will experience colour differences during the patina process. Not everyone is keen on that. Celestee uses a different leather that doesn't inherit this effect. The leather is of slight less quality (top-grain vs Stellia's full-grain).

Totally understand. Funnily enough, to your point:

A good sounding headphone with little shortcomings for a decent price.

This is how I feel about the Elear, which I see as a bit of a “giant-killer” at its $450-500 pre-owned price.

As open-backed listening situations are fewer and more far between for me, the level of quality and enjoyment the Elear provides at the price point is the sweet spot- while I mostly listen in a noisier environment, so there going all-out made more sense.

 

[Earbones]

I love my Stellia and Clear (original) equally. Different strengths for different moods.

Had the Elegia as well… it was the option when I felt like eschewing IEMs and hauling a full-size headphone with me to the cafe, due to the fact that it provided decent isolation... Certainly better than the Stellia. And the Stellia’s wallet-bite didn’t exactly encourage me to pack it up and take it someplace with greasy coffee cake crumbs and spilt lattes.

I loved the Elegia for it’s terrific mids and wonderful smooth tone… Almost like a closed back HD650. The slightly rolled treble and only okay low extension were not spectacular, but for the price and fantastic overall tonality, it was a great headphone. Then I gave it to a friend who had drooled over it for years.

Now I miss having a more mobile option. Been eyeing the Celestee.

1. How is the Celestee’s isolation? The pro reviews say it does very well due to clamping force, but that seems to fly in the face of what I know to be true about vented “semi-open” cans…

2. How’s the high/mids/bass compared with the Elegia?

3. Is the Radiance worth the extra bread? And if so, is that Bentley labeling on the aluminum laser engraved or painted on?

 

[AudioDuck]

I love my Stellia and Clear (original) equally. Different strengths for different moods.

Had the Elegia as well… it was the option when I felt like eschewing IEMs and hauling a full-size headphone with me to the cafe, due to the fact that it provided decent isolation... Certainly better than the Stellia. And the Stellia’s wallet-bite didn’t exactly encourage me to pack it up and take it someplace with greasy coffee cake crumbs and spilt lattes.

I loved the Elegia for it’s terrific mids and wonderful smooth tone… Almost like a closed back HD650. The slightly rolled treble and only okay low extension were not spectacular, but for the price and fantastic overall tonality, it was a great headphone. Then I gave it to a friend who had drooled over it for years.

Now I miss having a more mobile option. Been eyeing the Celestee.

1. How is the Celestee’s isolation? The pro reviews say it does very well due to clamping force, but that seems to fly in the face of what I know to be true about vented “semi-open” cans…

2. How’s the high/mids/bass compared with the Elegia?

3. Is the Radiance worth the extra bread? And if so, is that Bentley labeling on the aluminum laser engraved or painted on?

Great points and questions- I’ll leave answering to those who have used both models- I can only attest to the Radiance’s qualities. Unfortunately I can’t remember the Bentley labeling’s application other than thinking it looked similar to other Focal high-quality badging. I’d recommend not messing with them.