Focal Celestee Over-Ear Closed-Back HiFi Headphones

I just got these this morning, so this is very much a first impression...and that first impression is Wow!So far, I've had a chance to check out a few minutes of a PC game, music playing from my laptop at various sample rates, some streaming videos, and some of the Dolby Atmos marketing videos.As a little background, I do work in the audio industry, but don't really consider myself an audiophile. I've been taught what to listen for...but I really don't have the nuanced hearing that true golden ears possess. I also own a set of speakers and a different wireless headphone from this brand...so am a fan of their sound.Having said that, here's my experiences so far.Unboxing was well up to the standard we expect from a premium brand. Fit and finish looks gorgeous, set up was a breeze (just plug it in). The included cable was a bit short.While listening to a few rounds of Civ7 (PC Game) which I normally play through mid-grade 6.5 inch USB speakers. Immediately I heard nuances to the sound effects that I'd never heard before. The whole thing seemed fuller and warmer and with detail that was impressive. A massive improvement over 'decent' bookshelves. Some of this may of course just be that it's headphones not speakers, but I have a couple of other good consumer grade headphones, and they never showed me this much of an improvement.Playing music on the PC was good, but didn't quite have the same wow factor. Sound quality was very good, individual instruments were clear and there was plenty of natural feeling bass for the deeper drums, without the artificial feel of some brands that like to enhance their bass levels.Playing a couple of the Atmos marketing videos (with Atmos for headphones enabled) there was a huge difference in the feel of the soundscape. Regular stereo felt very flat and dull whereas the Atmos elements were clear, had a much wider soundscape, and the audio followed the locations on the screen very well. Felt like listening to a 360x360 sphere of sound rather than having two point sources directing noise to my ears. Really opened up the audio to be much more lifelike.So far the only negatives I can think of are price and shortness of cable in box. I would have liked a USB-C cable as well so I could more easily connect to a modern phone, but that's an easy problem to self-solve.Over the years I've tried several headphones in this mid-high priced segment. Most of them claim to be amazing and deliver all kinds of profound audio. This is the first time that my initial reaction to a set of headphones has been "Wow, listen to that!"

I enjoy these headphones immensely . I listen to smooth jazz ,classic rock , baroque classical music , symphony, old country not pop country . I listen to a lot of Diana Krall , Metallica, Chicago , and it’s wonderful the sound it spews . The packaging is very apple like but better . Most come with a nice case as this one . The cables are of good quality but I would like them to be more pliable not so stiff. The fit and finish is excellent. The pads and headband are soft and in my case I don’t find that they get warm on my skin. I generally wear them for a hour or two and no issues . I have 5 different Focal headphones the Celeste . The Clear . The Elex ,the Stellia , & the Bluetooth Bathys . I love them all . The Clear are my favorite . The Bathys are my favorite for travel . A lot of Focals are being discontinued ,& they have come out with 2 new headphones I know nothing about. I believe these are going to be away too. If you are looking for at mass production beats some sony ,or Bose I would highly recommend recommend these over those other brands . Beats and Bose are to artificially bass boosted . Focals are much more a musical venturing into audiophile headphones. Good luck hope this helps .

I’ve been a musician for awhile now. 36 years of playing professionally. Like a man who becomes a chef because he likes to eat, I chose to be a musician because I like to listen to music. And, as you start that adventure, you quickly realize that the difference between getting a job or not, is in the details. Your attention to details will help you grab that elusive paying gig.There, that was the intro of this review.Now, I’ll give you a secret: 75% of my paycheck comes from my ear. I play what the music requires because I have references. And now comes the Celestee headphones.I have the Shure se846, about the best earphone I’ve ever had. Great details, great dynamics, great textures. But after shoving those plugs in my head for the last 4 years, my ear canal got a little fatigued. So I switched to headphones. I had an excellent pair of Grado SR325e, the very one graded best in class by Consumer report. They are open back, meaning when I’m immersed into some grand tune by Bach or Leonard Cohen, my wife can’t read her book in peace because she hears the nasal version of the Music bleeding outside the cans. So, I needed to get some closed back.I wanted the Focal Stellia. Oh man, my body ached to put my skull into those cognac cushions. But, too expensive.So I went for the Celestee after much research on the internet.When they came, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Wrong, I am not expressing myself correctly. It’s more precise to say that I didn’t think I could hear all and whole of music. Everything is there. The tiniest detail can be followed as easily as an elephant footprint in muddy soil. And, I must say, without turning the volume to an uncomfortable level. At reasonable volume, the sound you thought was a synthesizer is in reality a guitar coupled with an accordion. That bass line you were sure was done by a bass, we’re a bunch of bass drums tuned to make a scale. The bass are not too boomy, not too strong. Again, because everything is so precise, should you decide to follow the bass, you’ll hear them, you’ll feel them without any problem. The middle, meaning almost anything related to the voice are gorgeous, you are in the mouth of those singers, catching their intonations, their screams, their little inflexion, you can almost tell if they brushed their teeth or not. And the highs, from the horns to the flutes, from the violins to the synthesizer, it is there to be enjoyed effortlessly, never brutal, never strident.I put these things on and rediscovered music. I was there when Frank Sinatra took the stage at The Sands. I was in awe when Otto Klemperer conducted the ninth symphony of Beethoven. I was there when Van Halen recorded their first album. I could hear the little accents on the hi hat, I could hear when the cellos led the orchestra, I could hear when Sinatra took a puff from his cigarette. I almost coughed.I understood that I had never heard music before. All I needed was a Pioneer XDP-300r and the Celestee headphone plugged in the balanced 2.5 mm plug. Yes, it’s about $1800.00 worth of equipment. But it would be the equivalent of a hi fi system of around, let’s be conservative, $60,000.Buythe Celestee, my friends! You won’t regret it. Music deserves to be appreciated at such levels of clarity and warmth. After all, that’s only what the artist who did the recordings intended for you to hear.