Flagship Focal Headphones Compared! Utopia vs Clear vs Stellia vs Celestee

[@aceofspades6667]

I agree with your takes on focal. I currently own the clear og and Celestee. The radiance would be next on my list. I have had the Utopia and Stellia in house but moved both along as I liked their lower priced point products. I find warmer gear and things like an r2r nos Dac help the minimize the metallic timbre. The hd800s and og clears are my go to headphones with the 1266 Phi tc and others sitting on the bench most of the time.

[@colors6692]

I own the four of them😎

[@aceofspades6667]

@@colors6692 I will buy a used Utopia once the new model comes out. Prices are gonna start heading toward $1500 used

[@emilebrabant5018]

If you had to choose between celestee or clear MG, which one would you buy ? I haven't the budget for both of them ...

[@aceofspades6667]

@@emilebrabant5018 I can’t speak for the mg I own and have only heard the Og. The clears are def a step up in performance over Celestee. But I use the Celestee more for office work and commuting. The benefits of a closed back for me outweigh the sound quality improvement of being open. So I would say it depends upon your use case. Also consider buying used as there are bargains to be had.

[@mikeg2491]

I have a Utopia but recently got a Radiance. It’s probably 90% of the detail but 150% more fun because not only is the bass tuned higher, it doesn’t crackle or rattle in the sub-bass at medium to high volumes like my Utopia. To me that is the biggest buzzkill to an almost perfect HP. I’m probably going to sell the Utopia now since I get the same focal house sound with added warmth for less money.

[@revelationsoundstudio]

Focal now has the updated Utopia headphones where they improved the driver so you should not have quality issues and they reduced the peak high end. Sounds like they did a nice subtle upgrade. It's suppose to sound pretty similar still with the old one. I like the bass and mids better on the Clear MG than the Clears. Both are excellent but not sure if the original are sill available. I'm quite happy with my Clear MG's

[@dasninjastix]

Had the Elegia, had the Stellia, currently have the Radiance. I keep trying to fall in love with Focal but she doesn't seem to want to reciprocate. How very French. I thought the Stellia was more balanced with the Dekoni LTD pads (not sure if they're still available). They injected some air in the top-end that spaced out the stage and thinned the upper-mids a bit. Ultimately my issue with the Stellia was that it shredded any poorly recorded music I had. I'm not going to compromise my library for a headphone, it has to work with me and with the Stellia I was just acutely aware of any grain, hiss, hum, scratch, pop, what have you in the mix. The Elegia was a honk-fest. I know some people swear by it but I'm concerned about the hearing of those individuals. If I want to be shouted at I'll piss off my wife. No amount of pad rolling could save that headphone for me. The Radiance is okay. It can really convey the texture of a voice and it doesn't ever seem to get honky/shouty. But it's got that "hallway" sound that all closed Focals seem to have. I think they need to sort out their venting or dampening or both. Once you hear it it's hard to un-hear; probably worst on music you know the best where it just sounds a bit boxed in, a bit narrow, with a faint echo or unwanted reverb (dissonant). Appreciate the content. Was very curious how the Celestee compares to the others and this has given me a pretty idea I think. Also agree with FR not being the end all/be all. I know the folks who measure (mostly) go to lengths to advise prospective buyers that FR isn't indicative of how a headphone may actually sound.. but then they emphasize the criticality of knowing the FR regardless. As a rabid pad swapper with multiple sources I can choose from I just see it as over-analyzing and a big waste of time. FR is never going to beat a friendly return policy. Good luck to you and your channel mate!

[@chungang7037]

I agree, the only thing I would say about the Celestee is I think it is more forgiving on my poorly recorded music, and the drivers are more robust and do not clip for hard rock and my daft punk and house music. Weirdly, they also work will for my folk and other genres where there are only a few instruments on stage, especially acoustic instruments, the slight warmth in the tonality helps here to fill out those instruments making them sound a bit more lifelike then other headphones that aim for complete neutrality. It is things like this make it hard to trust anything the FR crowd who live and die by those graphs say, and until they figure out how to measure those elements of a headphone's performance I take them with a boatload of salt.

[@robovirtuoso1354]

Really funny how Focal making cymbals sound "metallic" is such a bad thing for some people. Good thing you pointed that out. I mean I'd rather a metallic cymbal sound than plasticky.

[@tiffanyflanagan1892]

I’m about to buy the Stellia because I need a high-end closed back. I can’t wait until next month. I have the Clear MG Pro and my Partner has the OG Clears. I prefer the MG, the midrange and bass are amazing. I like the OG’s, but they sound thinner and brighter, and don’t slam as hard. It’s kinda cool to be able to switch back and forth.

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

Makes sense

[@falcodarkzz]

let me know what you think! I find clear vs stellia interesting. I owned both but ultimately shipped Clear off.

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

@@falcodarkzz The Stellia's superior to the Clear in many ways. Technically for sure. Although tonal preferences can be quite subjective.

[@falcodarkzz]

@@amplifyaudioreviews Yeah I find them an interesting one to compare as I agree, the tonal balance is quite different. I asked Resolve which he'd take and he said Clear!

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

@@falcodarkzz I can see that.

[@ysubman]

Have you heard of a planar headphone from china called nan-6 which is a replica of the hifiman he-6? hope to see your review on this headphone, especially the new revision nan-7 is out last month

[@davidcoons89]

Great comparo..thanks bud!

[@cassiecat7038]

Just bought the og Utopia it’s arriving today; price was reduced. Excited to hear it, though concerned about the warranty and driver failure issues.

[@DJR5280]

What do you think of them?

[@cassiecat7038]

@@DJR5280 Very happy they amaze me all the time; and not fatiguing at all.

[@RX-rd4sc]

i got to know.that the clears has driver clipping issues at high volume in bassy music, did you experienced so far any issue??? and please review audeze mobius

[@chungang7037]

I absolutely love the Celestee, and I expected to not like them. I got them on sale for 500$, and expected to be selling them. Nope, they are going in my permanent collection. The same as you said, I am all about tonality rather than "performance" with my headphones, because performance and resolving ability does not equate enjoyment of music for me.

[@thor_86]

Hey, I'm new to this and not interested in owning several headphones, but want to get ONE great sounding headphone that I can use for all genres without worries. Would you recommend stellia for this, or should I pay the extra for utopia? As of a few days ago there is even a new utopia, but maybe you didn't listen to it yet. Hope to hear from you, great videos on this channel

[@Historyisnotwas]

Very well done video! I can only afford the Elegia. Would the Elegia be good for large scale orchestral ( classical) listening and classic Bepob jazz?

[@jazzpianoman01]

Focal Utopia drivers failing like that causes alarm bells to ring w me; at 4000 dollars I don’t think I would take that chance and it shouldn’t keep happening In a headphone costing that amount of money

[@jazzpianoman01]

My headphone collections includes the original HD800 which to my ears are superb apart from a very bright peak. I also have the HD600 and Beyerdynamic DT770 pro but to spend 4 thousand on a Utopia I would have to listen critically for many hours, maybe even preferring other cheaper alternatives.

[@mtocful]

Can you do a detailed Utopia 2022 review?

[@johnvalatos4073]

Great review as always. For someone new to Focal headphones which of the four is the one to start with? Oh and what are you listening to lately? Cheers.

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

Celestee among all the Focals!

[@nickdual]

4k videos,man!

[@andreac7a]

You should check the sound of your microphone. It has many "humps". Dude you run a channel on hi-fi audio...

[@benluu8323]

This is awesome. I got the Celestee but I’m unsure if I should have gotten the radiance. The Celestee sound a little closed in, not very open, which I am concerned about. Will they open up after a while?

[@KiNGMe21]

Nope

[@musicxxa6678]

HE6 se v2 vs Focal Clear OG pls

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

HE6 SE V2 review coming up

[@wesleyleigh4063]

i had the one that went for $550 and it was bad, really bad.

[@musicxxa6678]

@@wesleyleigh4063 What was bad about it ? everyone love it so far even against $2k headphones except the build ofc

[@DJR5280]

The question I have is the Utopia worth the price difference of the Clear OG?

[@pianistor555]

When you mentioned the Utopia driver failure, does it extend to all other Focal headphones? I live in Latin America, so warranty is pretty much non existent for me, I planned to get a Clear or Celestee so in case it breaks at least I don't feel as much pain. Also I wanted to know if there too much of a difference in sound between the Clear and Utopia, I heard some people genuinely like the Clear more.

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

I can see some people liking the Clear more the Utopia is a bit more intense. But I prefer the Utopia. The driver failures do not apply to all Focals however, mostly the Utopia. I am considering selling my Celeste sometime in the future just to make my collection smaller and more manageable. Let me know if you are ever interested...

[@urbenkam]

Hi i got the clears. Do you think these require burnin?

[@goldwerger]

Have you ever heard the Radiance? If yes, curious how you see this in the line up or in general..

[@amplifyaudioreviews]

Yup. Owned it briefly. Prett good headphone. A bit wider sounding than the Celeste but more midbassy and dark in the treble. I think I have a comparison vid of the Radiance in relation to the Focal Clear somewhere on my channel.

[@goldwerger]

@@amplifyaudioreviews cool thanks!

[@ericbratkiw6909]

I am looking at the utopia vs stellia mostly for gaming do you have recommendations… great video

[@crate718]

I would never get headphones that the drivers fail. Too bad

[@HobbyTalk]

Stelia is interesting…

[@kyron42]

How do they compared to the Elegia and the Elex?

[@Dovndyr13]

Personally i prefer openback, but Elex has been known for driver failure ... I dont know the Elex, I only have the Elear (Elex should be similar to Elear, especially the pads should be different (the pads are similar to the Clear)) I own the Elear, Elegia, Celestee and Clear og To my ears Elegia are at last place. They are the least vivid and airy. They are good allrounders, but do not do anything superb. After intensive use mine didn't have a driver failure To my ears Elear are a tiny bit better, since they are more airy. Els they are pretty close to the Elegia. Often I use them to listen to a song first time. My set had a driver failure Celestee are less airy than the Elear. So if you only have one hp i would go after openback, except if ou live in a noisy enviroment. They are superior in many ways compared to the Elegia in tuning, Andrew from the headphone show also thinks so. The bass is great and punchy, maybe the most punchy off all 4.. Absolutley my favorite hp of these 4 to a song like wind of change by the scorpions But overall the Clear is the best. Listening to the soundtrack of the movie Dune gav me goosebumps. they are the most airy and give a relative correct sound representation compared to the others. So if you can find the money, I would go for the clear compared to Elegia/Elear/Elex

[@kyron42]

@@Dovndyr13 thanks. Do you ever use EQ? I think I'll end up with an Aria stealth but also want a dynamic driver headphone and probably closed-back without breaking the bank. Do you think Elegia with EQ would be good?

[@jasonbhatnagar7134]

I have the Elegia (with Dekoni stellia pads - not the same as the regular dekoni sheepskin pads! - and run it balanced off my Sony ZX-507 with AutoEQ from Wavelet) and I've heard the Celestee. The Elegia sounds much bigger than the Celestee, which sounds very claustrophobic. Other than that, they almost sound the same. The Elegia was created to be like a Clear OG closed-back according to Focal

[@Dovndyr13]

@@kyron42 No, i Don't use EQ. As far as i know you still would need leather pads, like from Dekoni to get the reflection of the bass up. I bought my Celestee when it was on sale. So the price between a new elegia + pads or Celestee on sale isn't that big. Haven't listened to the Arya, but have the Ananda. If you would have the Arya + Clear og i doubt you would use the celestee much

[@Dovndyr13]

@@jasonbhatnagar7134 still to my ears the Elegia is much closer to the Elear. But yes the soundstage is small

[@knives24kb]

To say that clear og has better bass than Arya is a joke.

[@Rogerraybemsleyjr]

Save me some money