[ruthieandjohn]

I just bought the Celestee, to be a mobile adjunct that I can run around town with and wear on the go instead of my Stella.

Of course, I had to compare them. The Celestee is absolutely fabulous as compared to the Stella. If I listen, carefully, I can hear more treble, which probably goes with the beryllium diaphragm, for the Stella. However, without side-by-side comparison, the two are so similar that I think I would confuse them at times.

I am very pleased.

 

[liujun050612]

I just bought the Celestee, to be a mobile adjunct that I can run around town with and wear on the go instead of my Stella.

Of course, I had to compare them. The Celestee is absolutely fabulous as compared to the Stella. If I listen, carefully, I can hear more treble, which probably goes with the beryllium diaphragm, for the Stella. However, without side-by-side comparison, the two are so similar that I think I would confuse them at times.

I am very pleased.

Definitely. I am very pleased with Celestee. As a portable headphone for me, they sound rediculously close to Stellia. I just wish if they are as compact as Bathys, it will be an ultimate perfect portable solution.

 

[davveswe]

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.

How did you end up with the SRH1540 after owning the Radiance/Stellia?

 

[AudioDuck]

How did you end up with the SRH1540 after owning the Radiance/Stellia?

The SRH1540 was my first “serious” closed-back headphone, but was moved to daily desk duty when I got the Elear, then later the Radiance, then the Stellia.

So it’s really the oldest headphone I have.

 

[davveswe]

The SRH1540 was my first “serious” closed-back headphone, but was moved to daily desk duty when I got the Elear, then later the Radiance, then the Stellia.

So it’s really the oldest headphone I have.

I see, how will you compare them to the Focals?

 

[AudioDuck]

I see, how will you compare them to the Focals?

Hmm.

Overall a bit warmer/darker tone. Please keep in mind that I do not own any of the Focals now, so the below is from older comparisons and observations- so take them with a healthy dose of skepticism. All of these headphones are easy to drive, though.

More in detail:
- Elear is open-back, so no contest on soundstage. More “sparkle” and treble detail vs. the SRH1540, but with that comes some risk of poorer recordings or more brightly-mixed recordings (think electronica like Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method, or heavier rock recordings like Tool or Foo Fighters). The SRH1540 has smoother treble and a warmer midrange.
- Radiance is not your average Focal. Due to the Naim/Bentley connection and branding, it is voiced more like Naim gear. Warmer midrange, mid-bass emphasis, and a smoother overall sound while maintaining plenty of Focal rhythm and speed.
- Stellia is one of the great all-around dynamic headphones, and performs well with many musical genres. It is far more detailed than any of the above, and has a very even tonal balance while staying on the warm side of neutral. Scales amazingly with quality gear, and is in some ways a lot like the Verité Closed, though with a much smaller soundstage. (I moved from the Stellia to the VC because of my Woo WA2 tube amp- not a good match with the Stellia, magical with the VC (and my other ZMFs).

I hope that helps. I recommend further review reading, and any auditioning you can do. Though I know that can be very tricky!

 

[WatchWinder]

Hi All,

Quick question, would it be a complete waste of money to buy the Celestee an connect them directly to an IPhone 12? I have no other AV equipment to use them with. I may buy a portable DAC in the future, but for now it would be a direct connection via a 3.5mm adaptor into the phone

Thanks

 

[LaVey1999]

Hi All,

Quick question, would it be a complete waste of money to buy the Celestee an connect them directly to an IPhone 12? I have no other AV equipment to use them with. I may buy a portable DAC in the future, but for now it would be a direct connection via a 3.5mm adaptor into the phone

Thanks

Just for Volume it shouldn’t be a problem, but it's not in the favor of sound quality of the Celestee. It works, yes, on the other hand you can get the most out of your iPhone even with an ~100$ DAC/AMP from FiiO for example. On low powered sources the sound is not so clean and detailed, atleast for me. Maybe it works for you, but if you feel, there's lacking in some instances, a proper DAC/Amp can bring more out of the Celestee.

 

[KPzypher]

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.

 

[kRed]

Managed to snatch a pair for around 500 euros used in pristine condition, got them yesterday and wow… i’m greatly impressed.

Coming from a great HP like the Arya Stealth and having a pretty bad experience with the Elegia, i was moderately worried i would find them ok but not great. Instead I was blown away with the details presented and the tuning.

I don’t mind the intimate stage, as this is not my only HP and to be different than my Arya is a plus. The Bass is amazing, great impact and full bodied with zero bleed (which is something i hate, when the bass gets boomy); the mids are sweet even tho they can get a little shouty with some tracks at high volume, but it is manageable.
The vocals are a little far away but greaty detailed and focused, more so than the Arya (which to me is way more an “instruments headphone” ) while the treble region give good detail and spark without any fatigue.

All in all, i think this is pretty great. The greatest feature it has, to me, is that it makes you feel focused and inside the music without the typical claustrophobic feeling of closed back headphones.

 

[Slim1970]

Picked up a set of these as I was curious about their sound. Upon initial listen, I was ready to send them back as I found the bass lacking and the sound somewhat cold. After letting them break-in for about a week the Celestee's sound has opened up more to my liking. The bass is plentiful and not dominant, dynamics has improved, and the overall sound is very balanced, snappy with excellent clarity.

After trying the Celestee's on all the amps in my collection I can say they do not scale. The Celestee's sound the best driven directly out of my Mojo 2 (600 mW), RME ADI-2 (1.5 watts), and my Dave (1.4 watts). Out of my Burson Soloist 3X GT and Head 2 I couldn't detect any sonic benefit giving them more power out of my full-sized amps.

The transportable Cayin C9 works well with the Celestee's. I like them in class AB tube mode or class A solid state mode. These two amplifier states has the best tonality with the Celestee's. I really like the Celestee's. I'll be using them mostly as my on-the-go headphones.

 

[ericafterdark]

Purchased the Celestee today and couldn't be more happier!

 

[Slim1970]

Purchased the Celestee today and couldn't be more happier!

Nice, give them some time to break in. They do get better sounding after about the 30-40 hour mark.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

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.

Great pic. Cheers!

Purchased the Celestee today and couldn't be more happier!

Glad you love them.

Nice, give them some time to break in. They do get better sounding after about the 30-40 hour mark.

Agree with this here!

 

[ericafterdark]

Nice, give them some time to break in. They do get better sounding after about the 30-40 hour mark.

Thanks! Good to know!