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Focal Celestee Review (Headphone)

ethanchiu10

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Umm...then what are we doing here? What's the point of being so strict about saying one measurement is better than the other, and shoot down people that don't agree with the results. Only to say measurements only tell 2/3rd of the story, and we have to subjectively decide what is good or not. If that's the case perhaps this site is a few decades of research too early, and we should wait until we have all the complexities scientifically solved before bothering with this.
 

Helicopter

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Umm...then what are we doing here? What's the point of being so strict about saying one measurement is better than the other, and shoot down people that don't agree with the results. Only to say measurements only tell 2/3rd of the story, and we have to subjectively decide what is good or not. If that's the case perhaps this site is a few decades of research too early, and we should wait until we have all the complexities scientifically solved before bothering with this.

I replied to you over here.
 

Wesen

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Hi, I got a question....
I just got my Celestee. It was quite ok deal. After listening for couple of hours and being happy with it I went https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php ...
There is this secition "Quality" and here I found the "bug".

My setup: Chord Mojo connected to my PC, Win10. Chord Driver installed.

If I set the volume on the Mojo to "light-blue" or 59 klicks (out of 100) then the right can starts to crack. I can listen to this but it is quite loud and not my normal listening volume.
I recorded it with my mobile (recording is attached).
The test starts with low frequencies and there you clearly hear the issue. It does not happen to the left can, so I assueme this is a quality issue.
If I reduce the volume the issue disapears.

In my opinion it is a difect, since left speaker does produce the bass correctly.
What do you think? Should I return the headphone?

thx.
 

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respice finem

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Strange... I've had a (different) distortion on one side of a Sennheiser HD 600 years ago, the culprit was a hair that got stuck and was touching the membrane. Maybe it's worth to check before returning the HP.
The other maybe worthwhile test would be to connect the headphone to another amp. Stuff happens...
 

Zensō

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Hi, I got a question....
I just got my Celestee. It was quite ok deal. After listening for couple of hours and being happy with it I went https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php ...
There is this secition "Quality" and here I found the "bug".

My setup: Chord Mojo connected to my PC, Win10. Chord Driver installed.

If I set the volume on the Mojo to "light-blue" or 59 klicks (out of 100) then the right can starts to crack. I can listen to this but it is quite loud and not my normal listening volume.
I recorded it with my mobile (recording is attached).
The test starts with low frequencies and there you clearly hear the issue. It does not happen to the left can, so I assueme this is a quality issue.
If I reduce the volume the issue disapears.

In my opinion it is a difect, since left speaker does produce the bass correctly.
What do you think? Should I return the headphone?

thx.
It’s common knowledge that Focal drivers on various models clip at extremely high volumes or when EQ’d with an unusually large bass boost. If it’s not happening at normal listening volumes it’s likely not an issue and most likely wouldn’t be considered a defect by Focal (they’ve made public statements addressing this). I’ve owned a number of Focal headphones and though I‘ve been able to trigger the clipping at extreme volumes, in my case it’s never been a problem in normal use.
 

respice finem

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...but then why only one channel and not both? Or maybe the other channel would clip at a bit higher volume?
 

Zensō

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...but then why only one channel and not both? Or maybe the other channel would clip a bit higher?
Slight variance in drivers, one channel in the source music has more bass than the other, amp output slightly higher in one channel, etc., etc…
 

Wesen

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... and
I got Audeze Sine and could not reproduce this issue on Mojo. I plugged both headphones exclusively, one after another...
 

Wesen

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Your headphones may be defective, but most likely not. Have you heard the clipping at anywhere near normal listening levels (say below 90db)? Cranking any headphone to max volume may produce clipping.
I am not aware of any clipping at normal volume but the level was not at maximum during the test either.
 

Zensō

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I am not aware of any clipping at normal volume but the level was not at maximum during the test either.
I guess all I’m saying is that if you return the headphones the replacement set may do the same. If it’s not an issue in real world use it may be a lot of hassle for no real benefit. Of course, if the idea bothers you, then perhaps it would be better to avoid Focal headphones altogether.
 

respice finem

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Probably the only way to find out would be to re-test with another headphone amp, with enough power to at least match the Chord.
 

Wesen

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I guess all I’m saying is that if you return the headphones the replacement set may do the same. If it’s not an issue in real world use it ...
I was wondering my self... and you are probably right.
 

Fabdub

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haha I think these tests just make us crazy ... I just tested and hear a little difference on right cup too but doesn't sound as bad as what you had ... with normal music with same level of sound (which is higher than what I'd normally use unless I wanted to become deaf) nothing sounds weird or bad.
 
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