The Focal Celestee’s comfortable fit, sturdy build, premium aesthetic, and reasonably balanced sound make them good for at-home casual listening. But the bulky build and lack of ANC and controls make them unsuitable for travel, while the high price doesn’t justify the average sound profile.
First released in early 2021, the Focal Celestee is a top-end flagship-grade closed-back over-the-ear wired headset that the brand claims sports a warm and smooth sound profile for music enthusiasts’ and audiophile users’ delight.
Just like the best headphones in its range, it comes with a premium water-resistant hard case for easy carrying. But, even though it has a closed-back design that blocks some noise, unlike some of the highest-ranked over-the-ear headphones, it does not support active noise canceling to block out all unwanted ambient noise.
These headphones feature thick and plush faux leather ear pads for comfort. But unfortunately, it does not have wireless connectivity options like Bluetooth out of the box.
If you need a wireless Bluetooth over-the-ear headset that does have active noise canceling, the Drop THX Panda would be a better pick for you, which you can learn more about in our Drop THX Panda review.
What Is Not on the Box
What the brand doesn’t always tell you…
our Verdict
Despite its heavy weight (0.95 lbs), the Focal Celestee is well-padded and comfortable. They are passable at blocking ambient chatter, but no ANC means they don’t block the low rumble of heavy traffic, making them poor for travel.
The build quality is exceptional, with a mostly metal body that’s premium and sturdy and soft yet durable leather padding with microfiber lined earcups.
The headphones have incredibly neutral mids that make vocals and lead instruments clear, and the bass accuracy is great but somewhat underemphasized across the range, especially low-bass, so the audio lacks thump.
Treble accuracy, however, is mediocre and not bright. The headphones have no controls, and sound leaks at high volumes, but connectivity is seamless with an L/R 1/8″ TRS cable (includes a 1/4″ adapter).
First released in early 2021, the Focal Celestee is a top-end flagship-grade closed-back over-the-ear wired headset that the brand claims sports a warm and smooth…
First released in early 2021, the Focal Celestee is a top-end flagship-grade closed-back over-the-ear wired headset that the brand claims sports a warm and smooth sound profile for music enthusiasts’ and audiophile users’ delight.
Just like the best headphones in its range, it comes with a premium water-resistant hard case for easy carrying. But, even though it has a closed-back design that blocks some noise, unlike some of the highest-ranked over-the-ear headphones, it does not support active noise canceling to block out all unwanted ambient noise.
These headphones feature thick and plush faux leather ear pads for comfort. But unfortunately, it does not have wireless connectivity options like Bluetooth out of the box.
If you need a wireless Bluetooth over-the-ear headset that does have active noise canceling, the Drop THX Panda would be a better pick for you, which you can learn more about in our Drop THX Panda review.
As both the Focal Celestee and the Focal Stellia are premium closed-back audiophile-grade headsets, both of them perform very similarly when it comes to the…
As both the Focal Celestee and the Focal Stellia are premium closed-back audiophile-grade headsets, both of them perform very similarly when it comes to the soundstage. However, the Focal Stellia does come with better beryllium drivers that reproduce audio more accurately when pitted against the Focal Celestee’s dynamic sound transducers, which are made of a unique magnesium and aluminum alloy. The Focal Stellia also has more accurate bass and treble ranges. The Celestee comes with a smaller case that might be easier to carry around.
Thanks to its open-back design, the HiFiMan Sundara headset features a much wider stereo soundstage than the Focal Celestee headphones, which helps deliver excellent instrument…
Thanks to its open-back design, the HiFiMan Sundara headset features a much wider stereo soundstage than the Focal Celestee headphones, which helps deliver excellent instrument separation that music enthusiasts may prefer. The HiFiMan Sundara also comes with planar magnetic audio drivers that are capable of reproducing more accurate depths and bass compared to the Focal Celestee’s dynamic sound transducers. On the other hand, the Focal Celestee headphones have a significantly better overall build quality compared to the HiFiMan Sundara.
Even though both the Focal Celestee headset and the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO feature a similar closed-back enclosure, the Beyerdynamic model comes out ahead when…
Even though both the Focal Celestee headset and the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO feature a similar closed-back enclosure, the Beyerdynamic model comes out ahead when it comes to the passive stereo soundstage performance. The Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO headset also sports a much more neutral, balanced, and nuanced sound profile compared to the Focal Celestee, which helps it reproduce more natural and accurate sounding true-to-life audio. However, the Focal Celestee does have a better and more premium overall build quality compared to the DT 770.
Both the new Focal Celestee and the older Focal Elegia headsets feature a similar-looking closed-back design. As a result, both perform nearly identically in most…
Both the new Focal Celestee and the older Focal Elegia headsets feature a similar-looking closed-back design. As a result, both perform nearly identically in most regards. However, the newer Focal Celestee headset does have a slightly wider perceived stereo soundstage compared to the older Focal Elegia model. And the Focal Celestee is slightly lighter than the Focal Elegia (0.95 lbs compared to the older Elegia’s 1 lb), which makes them somewhat more comfortable for long listening sessions. Then again, the Elegia can produce more low bass than the Celestee.
