[Crinnotes] Focal Celestee Quick Review: Closed-off - In-Ear ...

Let me be clear (heh) that while I respect these two headphones, I don't actually love-love them enough to have either of them in my own ... Posts Reviews Cliffnotes Unboxings Rankings IEMs&Earphones Headphones TheGradingSystem Collabs Hoodies FiiOxcrinacleFHE“Eclipse” SeeAudioxcrinacleYume:Midnight MoondropxcrinacleBlessing2:Dusk FearlessxcrinacleDawn Buyer’sGuide IEMs GamingHeadphones TrueWireless ImportantArticles HowtoReadGraphs TheIEFEvaluationSystem MyMusicalTastes Thoughtson:Burn-in Thoughtson:Power GraphDatabase IEMs&Earphones Headphones GRAS43AG-7 EARS+711(Legacy) RawMeasurementsDatabase GraphComparisonTools IEMs&Earphones Free Premium Headphones Free Premium Menu Posts Reviews Cliffnotes Unboxings Rankings IEMs&Earphones Headphones TheGradingSystem Collabs Hoodies FiiOxcrinacleFHE“Eclipse” SeeAudioxcrinacleYume:Midnight MoondropxcrinacleBlessing2:Dusk FearlessxcrinacleDawn Buyer’sGuide IEMs GamingHeadphones TrueWireless ImportantArticles HowtoReadGraphs TheIEFEvaluationSystem MyMusicalTastes Thoughtson:Burn-in Thoughtson:Power GraphDatabase IEMs&Earphones Headphones GRAS43AG-7 EARS+711(Legacy) RawMeasurementsDatabase GraphComparisonTools IEMs&Earphones Free Premium Headphones Free Premium [Crinnotes]FocalCelesteeQuickReview:Closed-off crinacle March4,2021 29Comments Cliffnotes In-EarFidelityissupportedbythefollowing: Supportthosewhosupportus!Advertisingenquiries Introduction Welcometo“Crinnotes“,aserieswhereIpushoutrapidfireopinionsofsomeoftheheadphonesI’veheardbutcan’tbebotheredtofullyreview.ThusIwon’tgettooin-depth, norwillIbetooformalandtechnical.Lessanalysis,more…from-the-heart ifyouwill.Likewithmanyotherbrands,Ihavealove-haterelationshipwithFocal.MostofmyloveforFocalarebasicallycarriedbyjusttwomodels:theflagshipUtopiawhichisalmostuniversallyrespectedasoneofthebestheadphonesoftheworld,andtheClearwhichiswidelyregardedastheUtopia’sbudgetalternative.Letmebeclear(heh)thatwhileI respectthesetwoheadphones,Idon’tactually love-lovethemenoughtohaveeitheroftheminmyownpersonalcollection.Bothexcellentheadphones…butnotforme.Thenwehavethehateside,andthat’sfuelledmostlybyFocal’snumerousattemptsatagoodclosed-backheadphone.AlsotheElear,whichisamonstrosityonitsown,butmostlytheformer.TheElegia:manyofwhomwouldconsidertobeoneoftheworsthigh-endclosed-backsconceivedinrecenttimes;andtheStellia,thepseudo-flagshipthat(inmyopinion)failedtoliveuptothehighstandardssetbytheUtopia.InrecenttimesFocalhaschurnedouttwomoreclosed-backmodels:thelimitededition“Radiance”builtfortheBentleyautomotivebrand,andmorerecentlythe“Celestee”,whichseemstobeFocal’sstandard-editionproduction“budgetclosed-back”nowthattheElegiafinallygoesEOL.Iwon’tbegoingintotheRadianceduetoitslimitedproductionrunandlackoflong-terminterest,buttheCelesteedoesseemtobeFocal’sattempttoclosethegapbetweentheiropen-backandclosed-backlineups.Havetheysucceeded?That’swhatIEFisheretoanswer.Productpage:https://www.focal.com/en/headphones-0/headphones/for-home/celesteeMSRP:$990Drivertype:Dynamic Notsurehowtoreadgraphs? ClickhereIdon’tliketheCelestee.Surprisingly,thefirstthingthatreally offendsmeabouttheCelesteeisn’titstonality,butratheritsimagingability.It’sbad.Imean,I’velearnttoexpectmediocreimagingoutofyouraverageclosed-backheadphone,buttheCelesteeisprobablyoneofthemostcongestedandnarrow-soundingheadphonesI’veheard,onparwiththekindofpresentationyougetwithoneofthoseSonystudiomonitoringheadphones(MDR-V6,7506etc.).Yeah,the“between-the-eyes”effectrearsitsuglyheadintheCelestee.Thereisvirtuallynosenseofspaceanditjustfallsapartwithanykindofliverecording.Thisallisfurtherexacerbatedbyitspuzzlinglackofdynamism,sothewholesoundspacesoundsextremelyflat(notinthetonalway)andlackingproperdepth.Ifthereis anyredeemingqualitytotheCelestee’stechnicalperformance,it’sthatit’satleastdecentlyresolving.Alittlemushyinthetransients,butdecent.Fineforsomethingthatcosts$50,butcallingita“problem”forwhatisbasicallyakilobuckheadphoneisonehellofanunderstatement.Butthetuningisreallygood,right?Youask,hopestillshininginyoureyes. Youtalkedabouttechnicalitiesfirstsoyoucanpraiseitstonalityafter, right? Yeah,uh,no.TheCelesteewouldnotbemyfirstpickfortuningeither.It’snot bad,butit’sveryclearlystillleaningtowardsthat“Focalclosed-backhousesound”thatIdon’tlikeforvariousreasonsthatI’llexplainbelow. Yep,thehousesound. Tonalityisnotsimplyaadditionoffrequencies,norcanitberepresentedasasingularstandard-deviationvalueagainstsomearbitrarytargetcurve.IntheCelesteecase(ormoreaccurately,inallofFocal’sclosed-back’scases)thetonalproblemisacombinationofthinned-outmids,unevenupperharmonics,peakyuppertreble,perhapsevenanoddly-tunedbassemphasisdependingonmodel.TheproblemwiththeCelestee,muchlikeI’vementionedinmyreviewofacertainGL2000,isthatthereneverisapointwhereIcouldsaythatIwas100%satisfiedwithitstonality.Thereisalwayssomethingwrongsomething,whetheritbeingthewayitrendersbrassinstruments,orthewayitfudgesupasimpleviolin,ormaybeevenhowitscrewswithbothmaleandfemalevocalsindifferentways. AswithmanyofmyotherreviewsIhavetoreiteratethatthisdoesnotmeanthattheheadphoneisquestioniscompletelyandutterly terrible,butratherhasthingsthatpreventmefromsingingitspraises.Look,perhapsI’mbeingtooharshontheCelesteeandeveryotherFocalclosed-backpurelyonthebasisontonality,andthereverywellmaybepeopleouttherewheretheywouldhittheirpreferencesexactly.ButevenwiththeconsiderationofEQinplay…Ijustdon’tseetheallureintheCelesteefromatechnicalstandpointeither.Thekilobuckpricetagasksformore,andtheCelesteejustain’tgivingit. OverallGrade: C ToneGrade:B-,Technicalgrade:C AllawardedgradesareinreferencetotheHeadphoneRankingList. SupportmeonPatreontogetaccesstotentativeranks,theexclusive“Clubhouse”Discordserverand/oraccesstothePremiumGraphComparisonTool!Withcurrenteffortstomeasuremoreheadphones,thoseintheexclusivePatreonDiscordservergettoseethosemeasurementsfirstbeforeanybodyelse.Myusualthankstoallmycurrentsupportersandshoutoutstomybigmoneyboys:Inoue“McMadface”ManHoDenisAlexanderTiffany“Desertscrub”Alesaikoyoshitatsuurata PrevPreviousSennheiserIE300Review:Consumer-y NextGraphDatabaseUpdate(08/03/21)Next 29thoughtson“[Crinnotes]FocalCelesteeQuickReview:Closed-off” Whoa,forthecostIreallyexpectedbettersound.Iwaskindofinterested.I’mgladIfoundthisreview. Reply Wouldrecommendlookingatreviewsbeyondthisone.Mostreviewershadapositiveimpressionofthem;thisisthefirstI’veseenthat’sbeensocompletelynegative.I’vebeenusingtheCelesteeasmydailydriverforthelastweek,andI’mperfectlyhappywiththem. Reply Crinacleismostlytrueinhisreviewasheisnotsponsoredinanywaytokeepreviewasfairaspossible. TheHD820isagreatexample.Top“reviewer”andYouTubesaythatheadphoneisgreatbaseonitpricepoint. Butthosewhoknowaboutmusicknowthatheadphoneisdownrighttrash. AtfirstIdidn’tbelieveasIalsoseemostlypositivereview.ButwhenItriedis,itreallysucks. Soalwaystrustyourearsandtryitoutyourselfinpersonratherthenreview. Reply PerhabsCrinacleisnotsponsored,butCrinacle’searsandtastsarenotuniversal.Likeanyotherreviews,allofthismustbetakenwithapinceofsalt. Theonlyjudgeiswhatyouhearandhowyoufellit. Reply Anhonestreviewdoesn’tmeanauniversally“correct”impression. Reply IhavetheElegiaandhatethem!Nosoundstage,heavy,strongclampforce,muddysound.Justhateit.AsreferenceIloveSennheisersoundsignatureandhaveaWooAudioWA7ampandaLehmannaudiolinearamp Reply TheElegiaisnotbadifyoureplaceitsearpadswithBrainwavzSheepskinpads.Thenitsuddenlyhasasoundstageandbassisfaster&tighter.UseDSPtotuneitssoundsignaturetoyourliking.TheElegiaisdecentclosed-backheadphone,imo. Reply EQtheElegiawithoratory1990’sprofile–letsyouironoutthemuffledsound(idkwhatfocalwasthinking)andtheysoundprettygood. Reply ThisisarguablyoneoftheworstreviewsI’veeverreadaboutanAudioProduct.I’veneveractuallyseensomeonecomplainsomuchaboutsomethingwithoutactuallysayingwhy.Ridiculous. Reply Hequiteexplicitlysayswhyhedoesn’tlikethem?Forgetyourreadingglasses?Poorsoundstaging,lackofdynamics,decentresolution,imprecisetransients,wonkyfrequencyresponse–allatapricewheresuchshortcomingsareunacceptable. Reply I’veneverseenanyonecomplainsomuchaboutareviewwithoutactuallyreadingit.Ridiculous. Reply TalkaboutTL;DR.HowmuchmoreclearcouldCrinbe? >>>IntheCelesteecase(ormoreaccurately,inallofFocal’sclosed-back’scases)thetonalproblemisacombinationofthinned-outmids,unevenupperharmonics,peakyuppertreble,perhapsevenanoddly-tunedbassemphasisdependingonmodel. TheproblemwiththeCelestee,muchlikeI’vementionedinmyreviewofacertainGL2000,isthatthereneverisapointwhereIcouldsaythatIwas100%satisfiedwithitstonality.Thereisalwayssomethingwrongsomething,whetheritbeingthewayitrendersbrassinstruments,orthewayitfudgesupasimpleviolin,ormaybeevenhowitscrewswithbothmaleandfemalevocalsindifferentways.AswithmanyofmyotherreviewsIhavetoreiteratethatthisdoesnotmeanthattheheadphoneisquestioniscompletelyandutterlyterrible,butratherhasthingsthatpreventmefromsingingitspraises.<<< SureseemslikearecentpurchaseroftheCelesteehastheirknickersinaknotoveraless-than-jizzingreviewofhisnewtoy. Reply it’sok,justacceptthattheysucktolistento,atleastthey’renicetolookat,sothepurchasewasn’tatotalloss Reply IgottheHifimanAnandaandtheFocalRadiancewithinamonthofeachother.IlikethembothbutreachfortheRadiancefarmore,Ipreferitstonality,whichiswarm.IpreferhowtheyrenderJazz(greatforpiano)andelectronicmusic.Plentyofsound-stageandimagingforme,ifthemusicservesitup.TheAnandasdohaveclearerhighsbutI’malwaysaddingalotofbaseviaEQ.I’lladmit,Idon’tlikerecordedlivemusicexceptinveryrarecases(givemeastudioplease),socan’tcomment. PerhapstheRadianceisverydifferenttotheCelesteebutitsmorelikelymypreferencesareverydifferentinthiscasetothereviewer.wouldnotbethefirsttime. Reply I’vehadtheCelesteeforaweekandhavebeenusingthemasmydailydriver.Idisagreewiththereviewer’stakeonthem.Theyareclosedbackheadphones,andthesedon’tmagicallyworkaroundtypicalclosedbackheadphoneissues,butIdon’tthinktheyarenearlyasbadasdescribed.ItriedtheElegiaanddidn’tlikethematall.TheCelesteeisverydifferentandbetterineveryconceivableway.I’mcompletelysuremyearsarenowherenearaswelltrained,buttheseheadphonessoundjustfinetome.Mostotherreviewsseemtosuggestthesame–thisisthefirstI’veseenthat’ssowhollynegative.Soundstageisdefinitelytheirweakpoint,butIwouldexpectthatfromaclosed-backheadphone. Reply Thereviewwasperfunctoryineverysenseandthat’sashame.WhatamIsupposedtodowith“thisdoesnotmeanthattheheadphoneisquestioniscompletelyandutterlyterrible,butratherhasthingsthatpreventmefromsingingitspraises”. EarlyonIreallylikedCrin’srankingsandpointofview.However,IdiscoveredIdon’tagreewithhischoicestoomuchofthetime,don’thearwhathehears.I’mthinkingearshapeandtheDSPbetweenourearshere.Heacknowledgesthisasmostreviewersdo.Ibidthissiteadieu. Reply ThanksCrin.Thesedays,justtoomanycompaniesdeceptivelyhighballinglukewarmcansandIEMsfor“highpricemusthavehighqualitysound”. Yourreviewcertainlyrevealsthosedeceptivehighballers.Keepitgoing.Betheoneknowswhatsreallygoodandbadregardlessofthedeceptivevaluetag,theprice. Reply Toallofyouangrilycomplainingaboutthisreview,hereyougo: “-Yes,thisistheopinionofonepersonontheinternet.PleasedonotgettoooffendedifyourfavouriteIEMisn’tgradedashighlyasyou’dlike.(viceversaapplies) –Thislistismeanttobeusedasareferencepoint.Ihighlyrecommendagainstblind-buyingandsuggesttohavealistentotheIEMsyourself.Byallmeans,usethistoshortlistwhatyoushouldtryinthefuturebutdon’ttakeitasgospel.” Reply thesearen’tIEMs? Reply Applythesametoheadphone Reply SointheendAirpodsMaxarewaybetterthantheFocalCelesteebothintonalityandeveninthetechnicalitiesathalfthecostevenhavingBTandNC.Interesting. Reply Whoeversaidthathahahahajustno. Reply Fromwhereinthehellinthatreviewdidyouextrapolatethat? Reply IauditionedforCelesteefewweeksbackinalocalshopinID.Spent10minuteslookingatitsverybeautifulbuild,paint,case,andfinish.Ithenspentanother30minutestoconvincemyselftobuythis.ButIcan’t. AtthesametimebothLCD-XandAuteurwasonsale.Afterlisteningtothreeofthem.Myheartwasracingtodecideformyselfisitgoingtobeheavypairofwoodsorheavypairmetals?Celesteewasnolongeraconsiderationinmyhead. NowIamsittinginmydesklisteningthroughmypurchaseandrealizingitisalwaysthewisestthingtotrustyourownear. Reply whichonedidyouget? Reply Yougetwhat’sbestforyoubutIhopeyourealizeyou’recomparingOpen-backwithClosed-backs+low-impedancevshigh-impedance. Celesteeistryingtoaccomplishaverydifferentgoalandinacompletelydifferentcategory(Closed-backlowimpedancedynamic)thanLCD-XandAuteur. Crin’sreviewofCelesteeisveryagainstthegrainofothertrustworthyheadphonereviewers.Butitishisopinionandheevenstatedhegenerallyisn’tabigfanofFocal’ssoundsnortheirphilosophywithclosed-backs. IpersonallythinkCelesteeisagreatoptionforclosed-backs.There’shonestlynotthatmuchbetterthataredynamicandlowimpedanceandyoujustreallyhavetoaskwhat$1kmeanstoyou.. Reply Stelliaisbetter.Atmorethantwicetheprice,however. JustheardtheCelestee;anditsoundslikeitspricewouldindicate.It’snotbetterandnotworsethananumberofotherheadphonesinitspricerange.IhadheardUtopiafirst,andthatwassomething.But,ithadbetterbe,for$4000. IhaveLCD-X2021,andI’mveryhappywithitsperformanceatthe$1200pricepoint.It’sadarkheadphone,evenwitheq,butitshardtobeatforimpact.Kickdrumsandsynthsreallyslam(asyouwouldexpectwith106mmdrivers).EDMandclassicrockisreallyitsforte:femalevocalsandstringarrangements,notsomuch. Reply Forme,theFocalRadianceisprobablythebesttunedheadphoneoutthere,closedoropen.Iwouldn’tsupposetheCelesteehasbeentunedthatmuchdifferently? IleantowardstheHamantuning,sopreferencesreallycountheavilyhere.Alsohowmuchyoubelieveinsoundstageonheadphones.Ipersonallydon’tcaremuchabout“headstage”,onlyspeakersproducerealsoundstageperiod. Reply Ihavetosay,thisistheclosestreviewouttheretowhatI’mhearingoutthere.Thestagingissosmall,narrow,andhardontheearthatI’vechecked5timesnowthatthechannelsaren’treversedoroutofpolarityorsomething.It’slikealltheinstrumentsareminiatures&overlappedrightinthecenter,an‘orchastrainaphonebooth’togiveananalogy. Reviewsontheseseemtodependonwhetherornotoneissensitivetowhateverthisstagingthingis;forreferenceI’veheardthissameflawintheAudio-TechnicaAD900&MrSpeakersAeonFlowOpen. WhatIdisagreeonisthedynamics.*Thesehaveastrongkick&bitewhichwouldbeeasytoloveweretheabovenottrue.Itgivesenergytoaggressivevocalsthatmostphonesdon’t&theseheadphonesplayclean/grain-freeenoughthatit’shardtojudgeyourifyou’relisteningtooloud.I’vejumpedafewtimesnowtounexpectedsnares(jumpsnaresifyouwill..) *IthinkIgetCrin’slackofdynamicshoweverastheylackthesamepunchforthebass/low-mids.It’sapresenceregionpartytrick. Reply LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Comment*Name Email Website Δ Firstimpressions DUNUDK-4001:FirstImpressionsandMeasurements Initialimpressions,shotsandmeasurementsofDUNU’snewestflagship. ReadMore» February19,2019 14Comments Cliffnotes [Crinnotes]CampfireMammothandHolocene:ElectricBoogaloo SomequickanddirtyimpressionsonCampfireAudio’ssecondroundreleasesfor2021:theMammothandtheHolocene. 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