heyyoudvd t1_j234dvo wrote on December 29, 2022 at 8:22 AM

Reply to comment by laserspewpew_ in PSA to Australians: The Focal Celestee is currently $650 AUD (~$440 USD) at Addicted to Audio by Jayden92

I haven’t personally heard them, but I’ve been doing a ton of research on that very question lately.

The impression I’ve gotten from all the reviews I’ve read and YouTube videos I’ve watched (including sound comparisons) seems to come down to this:

The Celestee is more balanced and well-rounded, but the Elegia is more interesting and more exciting.

If you just want one all-purpose headphone, the Celestee is a better bet. But if you already have a headphone collection and want something interesting and exciting to add, the Elegia is a better option. It’s more polarizing, in that some people absolutely love it, while others feel it has some strangeness in the upper bass and mids (which can be fixed via EQ and/or a pad swap).

Basically, the Elegia is a more interesting headphone, whereas the Celestee is a safer option that’s more of a crowdpleaser, but may come across as a bit boring to some.

I should stress that that’s not my personal opinion, as I haven’t heard either, but I’ve done hours and hours of research over the last few days, leading me to place an order for the Elegia earlier today.

laserspewpew_ t1_j237wd6 wrote on December 29, 2022 at 9:10 AM

Thanks! Tbh I think both should be great. I have the Clear’s open backs and they are amazing. So was looking at a closed back and not sure how long these prices will last.

heyyoudvd t1_j238ist wrote on December 29, 2022 at 9:18 AM

I’m curious, when you heard the Elegia, how did you find they compared to the Clear?

Apparently Focal’s original goal with the Elegia was to try to create a closed back Clear, but while people seem to like the Elegia, I get the impression it’s fairly different from the Clear.

laserspewpew_ t1_j23g18c wrote on December 29, 2022 at 11:02 AM

Pardon the pun but the Clear just sounds a lot more clear! Comparing open back to closed it's probably not that much of a surprise. They just reveal more than the Elegia.