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Focal Celestee (New Closed-Back Headphone)
Dec 16, 2022 at 3:05 AM Post #618 of 634
KPzypher said:
Anyone else prefer the Elegia over Celestee?
These are quite different than what I had in mind.
The bass isn't tight and clean like other Focals and borderline 'boomy' IMO. I def. feel that bump in the 100hz region and sounds somewhat congested through the mids. Parts of treble seem slightly muted as well, overall giving slightly 'dark' tone with narrow staging. Not what I was expecting. I usually don't care for artificially widened soundstage and don't mind intimate sounding HPs, but these sound quite narrow. As with all Focal HPs I've experienced/owned, detail and resolution is good but I don't think it's any better than the Elegia. Similar to other Focal HPs, build quality is exceptional with good comfort (for me).

Bottom line, I def. wouldn't pay MSRP, especially considering 'new' Elegias are still available for quite an affordable price.
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I don't consider myself a basshead and I don't like boomy headphone, my reference is the HiFiMan Arya SE which I don't think can be even considered to have a boomy bass by any means, so... the Celestee doesn't have a boomy bass to me, at all.

I agree on most of the other comments: it has a congested mids presentation and the treble is a little muted. The stage is narrow. But I don't get any boomyness, in fact I think it has a very clean and controlled bass (@Resolve video on the Headphone Show goes a bit deeper in the bass tuning, with the scoop on the mid bass if I'm not mistaken).

All in all, I think the Celestee has it's strengths in the imaging, which is very good and very precise, a nice tight and slapping bass, a generally agreeable inoffensive presentation, and a decent timbre. It's pretty good without EQ and I'm sure it can get better with EQ.

The Elegia is just bad without EQ, at least for modern genre. To me they are in a different league without EQ.
 
Dec 16, 2022 at 3:40 AM Post #619 of 634
kRed said:
I don't consider myself a basshead and I don't like boomy headphone, my reference is the HiFiMan Arya SE which I don't think can be even considered to have a boomy bass by any means, so... the Celestee doesn't have a boomy bass to me, at all.

I agree on most of the other comments: it has a congested mids presentation and the treble is a little muted. The stage is narrow. But I don't get any boomyness, in fact I think it has a very clean and controlled bass (@Resolve video on the Headphone Show goes a bit deeper in the bass tuning, with the scoop on the mid bass if I'm not mistaken).

All in all, I think the Celestee has it's strengths in the imaging, which is very good and very precise, a nice tight and slapping bass, a generally agreeable inoffensive presentation, and a decent timbre. It's pretty good without EQ and I'm sure it can get better with EQ.

The Elegia is just bad without EQ, at least for modern genre. To me they are in a different league without EQ.
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The Celestee's sound improves a lot with a silver cable. A silver cable would help clean up that midrange congestion you're hearing. As well as offer a bit more clarity in the treble region. I'm using a Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable and it has made the Celestee's even more enjoyable.

I agree that the bass is not boomy on the Clelestee's. I thought the bass was lacking altogether until the headphones started opening up over time. With the Silver Dragon cable, the bass is tight and the overall sound is more dynamic with much better clarity. It's definitely worth a shot to try a better cable. The stock cable is not that great.
 
Dec 16, 2022 at 5:08 AM Post #620 of 634
Slim1970 said:
The Celestee's sound improves a lot with a silver cable. A silver cable would help clean up that midrange congestion you're hearing. As well as offer a bit more clarity in the treble region. I'm using a Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable and it has made the Celestee's even more enjoyable.

I agree that the bass is not boomy on the Clelestee's. I thought the bass was lacking altogether until the headphones started opening up over time. With the Silver Dragon cable, the bass is tight and the overall sound is more dynamic with much better clarity. It's definitely worth a shot to try a better cable. The stock cable is not that great.
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May I ask you a question, since it seems like you have some experience with cables: do you think modular cable are inherently worse than normal cable?

I have a modular hand crafted cable for my Arya, with a mini XLR connector for the headphone side to the termination side (which terminates in full 4pin XLR). Got it from CXNNECTED on Etsy, it feels great, but I always wonder if the further interconnection could be detrimental to the sound.
Thanks to @WaveTheory amazing videos on the cable matters subject I know cables does make a difference, at least in the resistence sphere.

P.S. If I get a chance with a silver cable at good price I'll give it a try
 
Dec 16, 2022 at 3:34 PM Post #621 of 634
kRed said:
May I ask you a question, since it seems like you have some experience with cables: do you think modular cable are inherently worse than normal cable?

I have a modular hand crafted cable for my Arya, with a mini XLR connector for the headphone side to the termination side (which terminates in full 4pin XLR). Got it from CXNNECTED on Etsy, it feels great, but I always wonder if the further interconnection could be detrimental to the sound.
Thanks to @WaveTheory amazing videos on the cable matters subject I know cables does make a difference, at least in the resistence sphere.

P.S. If I get a chance with a silver cable at good price I'll give it a try
Click to expand...
No, not really. It’s more about the cable properties, gauge size and build make up where I hear changes to the tuning. Some cables don’t effect the tuning at all. I get them for better ergonomics over stock.
 
Feb 22, 2023 at 3:39 AM Post #622 of 634
Hey,

I have a little question regarding build quality. I owned my Celestee for about a year when something in the left earcup started to rattle (with or without music playing). I got the whole headphone replaced and now after a week something in both earcups is rattling.

Did anyone of you experienced the same thing or did I got two Monday products?
Thanks for the help!
 
Feb 22, 2023 at 6:03 AM Post #623 of 634
Bendeguz said:
Hey,

I have a little question regarding build quality. I owned my Celestee for about a year when something in the left earcup started to rattle (with or without music playing). I got the whole headphone replaced and now after a week something in both earcups is rattling.

Did anyone of you experienced the same thing or did I got two Monday products?
Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
I‘ve had no rattle but a complete defective driver after 7 months.
 
Jul 9, 2023 at 3:48 PM Post #626 of 634
Ben86 said:
Celestee has a big discount now (sale for 595€ at idealo.fr). Is it going to be discontinued same as Radiance??? Is there any new closed back models coming up?
Click to expand...
Maybe, but I think the Celestee went under the radar. Not enough sales is my guess.

Here in germany you can still buy the Elegia new for 500€, despite the discontinuation like 2 years ago.
 
Last edited:
Jul 17, 2023 at 4:52 AM Post #630 of 634
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