I have the XDSD and dig it with Focal too!
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I think you will enjoy the Celestee, but it is a different beast from the Planars you enjoy… But, I do think you would like them.
I found the Celestee to be everything I wanted the Elegia to be… and I prefered them over the LCD-XC… though the XC does slam more and would take to EQ more… so keep that in mind… both have decent isolation but, as stated by others nothing is perfect ha!
Celestee is also very easy to drive and can be driven off almost anything optimally… as a heads up 
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A listening session is in the works for the Celestee and The LCD-XC.
And I’m also going to get a home loan for the Atticus.
Thx for your feedback.
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I listened to the Celestee this morning using an iPad/iPhone on an Audioquest Dragonfly Red.
The listening session was quite pleasing ! I’m not really a specialist but I think overall they are quite well balanced. I would like a bit more bass maybe.
As some have mentioned, the soundstage is not very wide.
I tried different genres like pop, movie soundtracks, hard rock, jazz, classics (no symphony though). Overall a lot of accoustic tracks which the Celestee renders quite well TBH.
Again I feel like the Celestee does a lot of things quite well.
Using an analogy, at school, the Celestee would be a very good pupil but not a genius. Obviously according to my taste. As I mentioned before, when I listened to the Sundaras a few weeks back, I smiled several times at how good they are. This didn’t happened with the Celestees.
Another thing is I could get the Elegias for the equivalent of 400£ in France and although I prefer the Celestee by a large margin, are they worth more than double the price if the Elegias ???
Also in terms of comfort, I think there is not much difference with the Elegias. And that’s a bit of an issue for me as I do apparently have big ears and I feel there are probably headphones out there which can fit those ears more comfortably.
Next step is to get the Atticus on loan, hopefully next week!
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I have not heard a Celestee but when I bought an Elegia a few weeks ago and compared it to my Stellia and ZMF Verite, I found the Elegia severely lacking in bass in comparison, and for my taste. I tried to give it to my son as an upgrade to his 6XX and he gave it back to me for the same reason, and he doesn’t normally turn down something free.
Other than the relative lack of bass (for my taste), the Elegias we very impressive at imaging and detail retrieval, so I can understand why they had a following. Everyone has different taste, but if you like the Celestee and you are looking into ZMFs, I’m guessing that the Elegia’s won’t work for you if you value warmth in headphones.
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Yeah my interrogation was more towards the Celestee than the Elegia which I tried and sent back.
At 1000£ for the Celestee, I wouldn’t mind pay 1100£ for the Atticus if I like those. But it’s still a question mark at the moment…
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I have now owned my Celestees for roughly 6 months, paired with a Hip Dac (because portability).
I’m currently researching getting a DMP such as the Sony zx507 or maybe an Astell&Kern Kann Alpha. I’m tired of the hassle of putting it all together (cables, dac, smartphone) and just want something easy. Like a nice DMP that will provide the same experiwnce.
Would they pair nicely with my celestee? I’m currently eyeing the sony over the kann alpha, because astell&kern doesn’t have any resellers where I live, but sony obv does.
Any input would be much appreciated!! 
My Celestees pair fantastically with the Astell & Kern SR25 and the SE180. You’ll be happy with either - the Celestees are easy to drive.
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I actually pulled the trigger on a Fiio M11 Plus ltd an hour ago. Really excited about taking it for a spin
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Ok, so where can I find a new cable for my Celestee? I want to use the balanced 4,4mm output on my Fiio m11+ and those cables are darn near impossible to get in Norway.
I’ve tried searching for 1x4,4mm balanced 2x3,5mm cables put nothing shows up that looks reliable.
If anyone have a clear idea of what I need, please drop a link to the product and/or online shop.
edit Do focal themselves sell these kind of cables??
Focal doesn’t sell 4.4mm cables.
However, Corpse Cables, Periapt Cables, Hart Audio Cables all make balanced options for Focal headphones. Would recommend all three of them.
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I’ll add Arctic Cables to the list.
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So I’ve owned the Celestee for a bit and while I love them I’ve been thinking of swapping them to the Radiance. Back when I was ordering the Celestee I had a tough time deciding between it and the Radiance and chose the Celestee for being the newer model and slightly lower price. Fast forward a few months and I’m craving a bit more on the low end and the clamp on the Celestee can be a bit fatiguing. I’m wondering if the switch is worth it and if I’ll see much difference or if I should end up sticking with the Celestee?
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This is only my two cents, so take it for what it is.
If you really (I mean really) don’t like the Celestée then do what you prospected in your post.
But (yes, there’s gonna be a but) try to look at it in another way.
You took the Celestée.
It was less expensive, it was a newer model and so on.
The important thing is: it was your choice.
No matter why you choosed it it was your choice and it is what you have to respect.
No matter what headphone or whatever thing you get you have to respect yourself and your choices.
This is the path for happiness.
The other way is a stairway to hell and frustration.
I apologize if my job overcome me and if what I wrote may sound indelicate.
I hope you get what I mean and you will be happy.
Enjoy.
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I hear you but on the other hand it’s an expensive item that I’m going to keeping for a long time and I want to make the right decision and the price difference isn’t significant for me. I’d be interested in hearing the opinion of those who have worn and listened to both headphones and whether or not there is a comfort/low end difference between the two pairs.
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You’ll always be thinking “whatif” about the Radiance. The Radiance is also a limited run so may not be available in the not too distant future. Maybe you can find a place that has it available for demo? Or someone close in your area to try it out?
Otherwise, I’d say to go forth and do the swap. If it’s not what you like, you can always swap back and squash that “whatif” itch.
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I wonder why crinacle had such an adverse reaction to the Celestee.
I’m contacting you on multiple platforms
How did you end up liking the Celestee → hip dac pairing? Did you swap stock cables and go balanced input to hip or just unbalanced? Does the Hip have enough juice to push the bass & control to sufficient levels?
As I understand how the GO Blu works, it’s meant to function as a Bluetooth-connected DAC, which does limit the resolution, even under the best iterations of Bluetooth. I think you still have the ability to connect via the Apple CCK dongle, but that defeats some of what you’re trying to accomplish.
I had the HipDac before I switched to a dedicated DAP, and I was really impressed with it. It drove headphones effectively, the sound was beautiful, the unit was trim and attractive, and (if you care) it has MQA decoding/rendering built in. If I had to choose, I’d go with the HipDac, but might give the GOBlu a shot if I could indeed hard-wire a connection to it to get the best sound quality.
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