deafenears
500+ Head-Fier
Dekoni's measurements available compares the Stellia Ltd pads against the stock Stellia pads. Wish they had measurements comparing the Stellia Ltd pads with the other Dekoni pads for Focals (@DekoniAudio)
Focal Celestee Review & Measurements
- Thread starter jude
- Start date
Gunz.jones
New Head-Fier
Yes, that would be helpful if they did it for each of the headphones they fit, but it's not a priority I guess. I saw a reddit post that recommended it. I know people are iffy on dekoni, but the 250 price tag for stock stellia pads is a no go for a 990 headphones to me. Having the leather at the ear and stiffer pads vs those mushy pads with the cloth near the ear should bring up the bass like it does. It's not a huge difference, but definitely noticeable
FunkBoy735
New Head-Fier
Hi all, just wondering if someone has owned a Celestee and a OG Clear? Is the Celestee just a closed back version of the Clear? I know ones open and ones closed but do they sound the same or are they different? Is one better than the other?
I owned the clear and demoed the Celestee for a good 30 mins or so. The Clear is a much better headphone imo. Celestee is much more compact and less detailed too. Sound signature is different for sure.
MRHiFiReviews
Formerly MRphotography
Sponsor: The Source AV
A little shootout for ya!
Extorsivo
Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 9, 2016
- Posts
- 68
- Likes
- 50
Hi Guys,
I got a Elegia, respectively i will got one for Christmas from my girlfriend (includet Dekoni Stellia Pads). I tried it allready for couple of hours and i like the sound very well, goosebumps included. But there is something thats disapointed me a little. The punch or kick (not sure whats the difference is). I would say, punch/kick is a little bit stronger with stock pads, but with the Dekoni Stellia Pads is the overall sound signature better, the isolation and comfort get improved to.
I used to hear music whith a Shure SRH940 for the last 7 years. In comperassion to Elegia, the Shure has a cold, lifeless sound and soundstage is a foreign word, ditails and treble are somekind on par (imo).
But, SRH940 has a better punch (or kick). Yeah, the bass quantity is less, but it kicks the crap out of your head...and i love that.
Did someone expierienced same comparasiaion with Celestee, respectively has anyone an SRH940 to compare with? Is the punch on the Celestee as good as on SRH940?
I read already that Celestee has better punch then Elegia, but i would like to know, how is it copared to SRH940.
And is the soundstage of the Celestee as narrow as on the SRH940, or is it bigger?
I'm considering swapping Elegia for Celestee, if the Celestee punch is somewhere near to SRH940 an the soundstage is between Elegia and SHR940.
Can someone help we with that?
Greeting
PS: sorry for my poor english
I got a Elegia, respectively i will got one for Christmas from my girlfriend (includet Dekoni Stellia Pads). I tried it allready for couple of hours and i like the sound very well, goosebumps included. But there is something thats disapointed me a little. The punch or kick (not sure whats the difference is). I would say, punch/kick is a little bit stronger with stock pads, but with the Dekoni Stellia Pads is the overall sound signature better, the isolation and comfort get improved to.
I used to hear music whith a Shure SRH940 for the last 7 years. In comperassion to Elegia, the Shure has a cold, lifeless sound and soundstage is a foreign word, ditails and treble are somekind on par (imo).
But, SRH940 has a better punch (or kick). Yeah, the bass quantity is less, but it kicks the crap out of your head...and i love that.
Did someone expierienced same comparasiaion with Celestee, respectively has anyone an SRH940 to compare with? Is the punch on the Celestee as good as on SRH940?
I read already that Celestee has better punch then Elegia, but i would like to know, how is it copared to SRH940.
And is the soundstage of the Celestee as narrow as on the SRH940, or is it bigger?
I'm considering swapping Elegia for Celestee, if the Celestee punch is somewhere near to SRH940 an the soundstage is between Elegia and SHR940.
Can someone help we with that?
Greeting
PS: sorry for my poor english
SolidSlug
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2007
- Posts
- 53
- Likes
- 19
Is it just me or does the Celestee have a truncated soundstage?
I mean its soundstage extends a bit to the right, the left and the back, but seems to stop at the tip of my nose in front (at best).
For me, it makes it quite odd for any recording of live performances.
Anyone else noticed this?
I mean its soundstage extends a bit to the right, the left and the back, but seems to stop at the tip of my nose in front (at best).
For me, it makes it quite odd for any recording of live performances.
Anyone else noticed this?
Last edited:
guerillaw
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2010
- Posts
- 184
- Likes
- 85
The soundstage is a weakness of this headphone as it is for nearly all sanely priced closed cans. It is part of the trade-off for having a sealed can and rare is the one that can overcome this and provide a wide deep soundstage.
Todd the Vinyl Junkie recently offered up the Focal Celestee ($990) on review tour. Described on the Focal website as “high end closed back headphones,” these cans use an aluminum magnesium moving coil dynamic transducer. On condition of the tour, we are obligated to offer our opinion in a review. We were in no way pressured or threatened or bribed or in any way coerced to say anything one way or another. These thoughts in this review are mine and mine alone.
Before we get into the music, I think it is fair to say a few things about where I am coming from. My experience with high end closed back headphones is minimal. All of my headphones have been open back planers. I’ve been spoiled. I currently own the SendyAudio Aiva (pretty amazing for the price), and the vaunted Audeze LCD-2C (which I adore). Another issue I feel the need to disclose is that I auditioned the Focal Clear, about a year ago, with the intention of buying them. I left the store with the Hifiman Arya instead. I heard the Focal Clear 1 times before that, and both times I didn’t like them. They sounded ham-fisted to me; a ‘construction’ if you will with no coherency or finesse. This is one of the reasons why I was interested in hearing the Celestee. I know Focal is beloved by many audiophile, so I was eager to hear what all the fuss was about.
Much has been made about the aesthetics of the Celestee. I dissent. Tho the metal pattern of holes over leather is really cool, I cannot get excited about the color scheme. Apparently, the colors are supposed to invoke a sense of “the cosmos”: I suppose the bluish color is supposed to invoke the ‘golden hour’ of sunset, where the blue sky is fading to inky black and the veil of stars… Unfortunately the ‘bluish’ color reminded me of art class. Remember in art class how they made you paint with water colors? And the water you were given in a cup soon turned to that ‘mud’ color? That is what the blue on the Celestee reminds me of, and also the case. The case color looks like someone took bunch of colors and mixed them together, and said, “There!” Yuck.
Before I get into my sound impressions, I want to share a summary of professional reviewers on the Celestee, just to orientate ourselves. (I’m not going to review all the published specifications of the headphones, this info can easily be found online). Headphones.com lauded the Celestee’s detail retrieval, as well as its “forward, detailed” presentation, it’s “great imaging clarity and texture,” and it’s “analytic” bass.” The timbre is described (by more than 1 reviewer) as being a bit “off.” The reviewer was also impressed with the Celestee’s “bright, airy tonality.” Moonaudio described the Celestee as “natural and smooth” and; “lively and engaging in a mellow kind of way.” Recognizes “front to back soundstage”. Headphonia.com went on to say that the Celestee has a “lively, dynamic tuning matched with great detail retrieval and is pleasingly well extended at either end of the frequency response.”
These observations pretty much matched with my own initial gushings during the ‘honeymoon period.’ Armed with this knowledge, I forged on with my own critical listening. I tried to draw on a mix of genres to see what the Celestee could do. I used my Shanling M8 DAP out of the 3.5mm standard out with an adapter. I did not have access to a balanced cable.
Sir Duke Stevie Wonder
First impression I get is that of ‘Clarity’; the second impression is ‘Anemic bass’. Good detail. Soundstage sounds more narrow than it should. Excellent depth and layering tho. Bass has good control and detail, It just doesn’t have enough quantity. It’s more than that tho, even if there was more ‘quantity’, the bass still has a lean presentation. Cymbals have great splash and sizzle.
Wishing Well Trent D’Arby
Opening drum hits lack slam. Sound thin and chintzy. Lacks authority. Treble sounds rolled off to me. Mid-forward presentation lacks energy and excitement. Vocals and backing vocals in the mids sound too ‘busy’…too congested.
Dread Internal Bill Laswell
Bass dub…Bass certainly sounds ‘richer’ and the sub-bass hits more pronounced. This actually demonstrates great bass extension relative to the other recordings. Again, the mids sound congested to me. General lack of excitement. The good detail here sounds a bit fussy and contrived.
On the Right Road Jah Wobble
Demonstrates excellent imaging. The excellent imaging and detail, combined with the anemic and over-controlled bass, and the mid forward presentation, makes for a wonky listen which lacks organic coherency.
Tightrope Jah Wobble
Unimpressive drum hits. Lacks texture, sounds ‘glossed-over’…Notes sound flat. The sound sounds ‘contained’ as if it was playing inside a glass jar. Could be what I’m hearing is the claustrophobic soundstage. The layering and depth cannot make up for the lack of width and extension.
Romance in A Rachmaninov
The detail and clarity really brings out the strings of the violin. The piano notes lack overtones and depth. Ultimately the violin sound brittle and lacking richness and microdetails.
Oh, dear. Honestly, I expected more from a pair of cans that cost a grand. The main problem for me, is that there is just not much ‘there’, there, as they say. For me, the ‘analytic’ bass sounds over controlled. The 2C has succulent bass, the Celestee has chintzy bass. Could it be that the Celestee is just too bright? The narrow soundstage and the thin, brittle tonality is the ultimate demise of the Celestee.
In conclusion, I just want to say that I do not think the Celestee is a ‘bad’ headphone. I am giving them 3 out of 4 stars. They are good, they are just not ‘great’. And I think they are over-priced. Also, too, is the issue of my experience with open back planar. To put this in context, I recently participated in a review tour of the $3,800 Rognir, and I hated them. To the point that the tour sponsor and I thought they may have been damaged in transit. The next person in the tour loved them. Go figure. To me, the Rognir sounded worse than the Celestee, at almost 4X’s the price! Perhaps my love of open back planar has ruined my ability to be impartial. I like to treat myself maybe once a month to a nice bottle of wine. I always go for a decent Malbec. Last month, while passing the ‘French’ wine section, my eye caught a highly rated bougelet. I bought that instead, and when I drank it I was disappointed. It was thin and watery…lacked depth and richness. I could say the same thing about the Celestee…yes the Celestee had a few things going for it, but it didn’t put those things together to make them greater than the sum of it’s parts. In this sense, like the wine, the Celestee fails to impress. It sounded ‘good’, it did not sound ‘great’. Honestly, for a cool grand, I think, as audiophiles, we should expect greatness. In this sense, the Celestee failed to deliver.
Before we get into the music, I think it is fair to say a few things about where I am coming from. My experience with high end closed back headphones is minimal. All of my headphones have been open back planers. I’ve been spoiled. I currently own the SendyAudio Aiva (pretty amazing for the price), and the vaunted Audeze LCD-2C (which I adore). Another issue I feel the need to disclose is that I auditioned the Focal Clear, about a year ago, with the intention of buying them. I left the store with the Hifiman Arya instead. I heard the Focal Clear 1 times before that, and both times I didn’t like them. They sounded ham-fisted to me; a ‘construction’ if you will with no coherency or finesse. This is one of the reasons why I was interested in hearing the Celestee. I know Focal is beloved by many audiophile, so I was eager to hear what all the fuss was about.
Much has been made about the aesthetics of the Celestee. I dissent. Tho the metal pattern of holes over leather is really cool, I cannot get excited about the color scheme. Apparently, the colors are supposed to invoke a sense of “the cosmos”: I suppose the bluish color is supposed to invoke the ‘golden hour’ of sunset, where the blue sky is fading to inky black and the veil of stars… Unfortunately the ‘bluish’ color reminded me of art class. Remember in art class how they made you paint with water colors? And the water you were given in a cup soon turned to that ‘mud’ color? That is what the blue on the Celestee reminds me of, and also the case. The case color looks like someone took bunch of colors and mixed them together, and said, “There!” Yuck.
Before I get into my sound impressions, I want to share a summary of professional reviewers on the Celestee, just to orientate ourselves. (I’m not going to review all the published specifications of the headphones, this info can easily be found online). Headphones.com lauded the Celestee’s detail retrieval, as well as its “forward, detailed” presentation, it’s “great imaging clarity and texture,” and it’s “analytic” bass.” The timbre is described (by more than 1 reviewer) as being a bit “off.” The reviewer was also impressed with the Celestee’s “bright, airy tonality.” Moonaudio described the Celestee as “natural and smooth” and; “lively and engaging in a mellow kind of way.” Recognizes “front to back soundstage”. Headphonia.com went on to say that the Celestee has a “lively, dynamic tuning matched with great detail retrieval and is pleasingly well extended at either end of the frequency response.”
These observations pretty much matched with my own initial gushings during the ‘honeymoon period.’ Armed with this knowledge, I forged on with my own critical listening. I tried to draw on a mix of genres to see what the Celestee could do. I used my Shanling M8 DAP out of the 3.5mm standard out with an adapter. I did not have access to a balanced cable.
Sir Duke Stevie Wonder
First impression I get is that of ‘Clarity’; the second impression is ‘Anemic bass’. Good detail. Soundstage sounds more narrow than it should. Excellent depth and layering tho. Bass has good control and detail, It just doesn’t have enough quantity. It’s more than that tho, even if there was more ‘quantity’, the bass still has a lean presentation. Cymbals have great splash and sizzle.
Wishing Well Trent D’Arby
Opening drum hits lack slam. Sound thin and chintzy. Lacks authority. Treble sounds rolled off to me. Mid-forward presentation lacks energy and excitement. Vocals and backing vocals in the mids sound too ‘busy’…too congested.
Dread Internal Bill Laswell
Bass dub…Bass certainly sounds ‘richer’ and the sub-bass hits more pronounced. This actually demonstrates great bass extension relative to the other recordings. Again, the mids sound congested to me. General lack of excitement. The good detail here sounds a bit fussy and contrived.
On the Right Road Jah Wobble
Demonstrates excellent imaging. The excellent imaging and detail, combined with the anemic and over-controlled bass, and the mid forward presentation, makes for a wonky listen which lacks organic coherency.
Tightrope Jah Wobble
Unimpressive drum hits. Lacks texture, sounds ‘glossed-over’…Notes sound flat. The sound sounds ‘contained’ as if it was playing inside a glass jar. Could be what I’m hearing is the claustrophobic soundstage. The layering and depth cannot make up for the lack of width and extension.
Romance in A Rachmaninov
The detail and clarity really brings out the strings of the violin. The piano notes lack overtones and depth. Ultimately the violin sound brittle and lacking richness and microdetails.
Oh, dear. Honestly, I expected more from a pair of cans that cost a grand. The main problem for me, is that there is just not much ‘there’, there, as they say. For me, the ‘analytic’ bass sounds over controlled. The 2C has succulent bass, the Celestee has chintzy bass. Could it be that the Celestee is just too bright? The narrow soundstage and the thin, brittle tonality is the ultimate demise of the Celestee.
In conclusion, I just want to say that I do not think the Celestee is a ‘bad’ headphone. I am giving them 3 out of 4 stars. They are good, they are just not ‘great’. And I think they are over-priced. Also, too, is the issue of my experience with open back planar. To put this in context, I recently participated in a review tour of the $3,800 Rognir, and I hated them. To the point that the tour sponsor and I thought they may have been damaged in transit. The next person in the tour loved them. Go figure. To me, the Rognir sounded worse than the Celestee, at almost 4X’s the price! Perhaps my love of open back planar has ruined my ability to be impartial. I like to treat myself maybe once a month to a nice bottle of wine. I always go for a decent Malbec. Last month, while passing the ‘French’ wine section, my eye caught a highly rated bougelet. I bought that instead, and when I drank it I was disappointed. It was thin and watery…lacked depth and richness. I could say the same thing about the Celestee…yes the Celestee had a few things going for it, but it didn’t put those things together to make them greater than the sum of it’s parts. In this sense, like the wine, the Celestee fails to impress. It sounded ‘good’, it did not sound ‘great’. Honestly, for a cool grand, I think, as audiophiles, we should expect greatness. In this sense, the Celestee failed to deliver.
Extorsivo
Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 9, 2016
- Posts
- 68
- Likes
- 50
So, after some time i would like to share my opinion.
At first moment i was a bit disappointed of elegia.
The focal didn't performed that well in terms of punch/kick at the beginning.
But after 50 h burn-in it was like an different headphone!
The punch was a lot better (even better than on the Shure), bass overall solid and detailed, mids and vocal awesome, the highs detailed without annoying peaks the soundstage was gigantic compared to the SRH940.
Just WOW
Later i ordered an Celestee because i read a lot positive reviews. But, after burn-in of something about 60 h the Celestee didn't opened up as well as the Elegia.
The soundstage was a lot smaller then on Elegia but bigger then on the Shure, bass and punch was good but not that precise like on the Elegia but on par with SRH940, the vocals didn't convince me. The highs on both focal's are similar to my ears and a bit better than on the Shure.
The noise isolation is better on the Celestee. With the dekoni stellia Pads both Focals sound almost equal, Eligia still has better soundstage.
So, overall is Elegia a better headphone IMHO with even better price.
Gotta say as someone who owns the Elegia, my experiences are very different.
The Elgia is noticably flawed in the bass region, i knew this from day 1 but a frequency graph shows the deficiency pretty clearly. Celestee just straight up fixes this issue. Which is, I think we can all agree, a massive issue, just from an objective position. Resolve reccomend's EQing Elegia for good reason. I personally don't want a closed back portable I have to EQ on every device I use it, totally defeats the use case of a convenient CB for me.
Elegia has a bit bigger soundstage. both are small soundstage headphones (like the clear) so I think this is a negligible point, personally. Maybe someone cares. But even a HD800S with its soundstage is probably a worse headphone than a Clear, and a HD820 is worse than an Elegia, which at the end of the day shows how much soundstage matters when FR response is badly off. Which lets face it, the Elegia is.
I liked the Elegia. But it is too flawed as a serious closed back imo. It has great detail, a fun tonality, and a poor FR response. The Celestee has all of its strengths and a very good FR response! Plus the Celestee is much nicer looking.
Big upgrade from Focal imo.
Just got the Celestee and I'm having trouble with spring loaded cups. The problem is that the spring action seems to be to tight. So it presses way to much on my jaws and it doesn't get a proper seal above my ears.
I've previously had the Clears and currently the Elex. And while both have the same spring mechanism, it's nowhere near as tight.
Anyone else experienced the same thing? And do you thing it will loosen over time?
I've previously had the Clears and currently the Elex. And while both have the same spring mechanism, it's nowhere near as tight.
Anyone else experienced the same thing? And do you thing it will loosen over time?
Ive had to return mine because of the same reason. Clamp force has lessened a bit over time but it was still too much. Clear and Radiance are much more comfortable especially for longer listening sessions. So overall it will get better but its not going to be a night and day diffrence.
Users who are viewing this thread
