Oh, I am on it. But my bar for “quality” seems to be quite different from what other people and most dap manufacturers consider quality.
Just ordered the hiby r6 2020. That and the iBasso dx300 are the only two I could find that meet my on paper specs. The dx160 did, but didn’t work in practice (probably mostly due to dated hardware and OS)
Hello PureMoods, welcome. Besides welcoming you I wanted to say that one of the gentleman in the UK/Europe mentioned Schitt has been out of stock for a while. Maybe check the conditions prior to having us give our input. Unfortunately it won’t come from me, I’ve never owned any Schitt.
I think everyone here the new focal celestee will be what most of us would suggest at this time for closed backs at that range.
Many of us have the instinct to “figure it out” and then work the plan.
Unfortunately with audio you won’t know how you feel or experience a piece of gear until you hear it yourself. People can offer advice and help keep you between the lines but ultimately you do your best and jump in the pool.
It’s pretty rare for someone to end up where they thought they would, based on their initial plan. Like it or not I suspect everyone here has bought gear they ended up not liking, which either ends up in a pile of ‘spare’ gear or is sold to fund future purchases.
But, the first one could be a charm for you.
Edit: I suppose I should add that in pre-covid times if you lived in a place where demo’s were possible it would give a much better chance of first-time success.
You also see people recommend buying used since you take a minimal financial hit if you need to sell the gear.
Out of curiosity, how many people who would currently recommended the Celestee have actually tried them?
I am not saying this because I don’t trust the opinion of those who have, nor am I denying they are a great headphone (or a terrible one) because I haven’t tried them. I just always find it strange that headphones (or other gear) get highly recommended a lot of the time without actually having tried them.
One thing I forgot to ask, @Allize, “What’s your ‘20’”? That’s Citizen’s Band radio talk 
for “Where are you?”. In some parts of the world import duties are very high, so suggesting something from Schiit costs a huge amount, but something from iFi might be much less.
All of our advice should be informed by this.
If you haven’t streamed the movie Smokey and the Bandit you should. Pure Americana in the good sense, as opposed to Deliverance in the dark sense. The young’uns here probably don’t know either of these titles. I’m good at throwing up distractions in a thread…
Yes! While I like the open-backed Clear, I did not like the closed Elegia at all. My ears don’t tolerate many closed dynamic drivers. With Focal’s bias toward brightness on some products, I’d definitely wait for more critical reviews and/or a personal demo.
I’m just going by what Andrew said, I’ve never tried it nor will I for a long time. I am preferring open back headphones. Second, I can’t comment very much on any subject.
But most definitely besides my Elegia, I don’t know any good closed back headphones in those price ranges. I would believe that the celestee is better than the Elegia. So that’s the only thing I can suggest, doesn’t seem like it’s over hyped.
I personally really like the Elegia, and I got for more than half off.
And just like anything else, it comes down to each person’s individual taste and experience, and you don’t want to try my suggestion. I’ve only owned two headphones. Which is why I said I assume at that price range it falls in categorically.
As it does come off as ignorant, the only headphones I know that are closed back are the focals and the new HiFiman. Nor have I ever really looked into closed back headphones. But what can you expect from someone who has only owned headphones for 6 months and got into this 8/9 months ago
Yea I can totally agree with you, I think the thing is a person that reviews has a certain trust factor. I think Andrew probably has a solid reputation.
What else can you go by when a headphone just dropped. @SenyorC
I totally agree, when I went the Source AV recommended by PFallon I tried the lcd-2, 880s and clears and the clear was my favorite.
I wish to EQ the Elegia and again according to Andrew makes the headphones much better
Many of us have gone through a learning cycle where our standards, expectations, and methods change. Until 2020 I placed greater value in charts and data than I do today. After a range of exposure over many years – per different brands, technologies, and retail prices ranging from $10 to $4,000 – I stopped caring about measurements and other’s opinions. Much of hobby audio is personal, as everyone has a slightly different head shape, slightly different hearing, and different listening habits. Some pay close attention to details while others consider excessive details to be distracting.
Run your own race and find a zen posture to ignore price and social chatter.
Of course, all that matters is it sounds good to you. End of Story.
However, when you are new you ask. It’s hard to realize that. Again it’s the situation that certain things are set in stone, like if you want a pc or want to build a PC; I build my own PC’s which is why I mention it. There’s absolute products which are year to date. This is the best period.
I think you can possibly get that with headphones to but it comes with a price and out of reach for the majority of us
When I started I believed audio was the same and I realize that’s wrong. Suggestions are biased, however there’s a general trend that certain items are pleasant for a large consensus therefore people suggest it. Because they have a range of attributes which are getting closer to the TOTL sets. That’s the only chance you get.
In addition synergy is a factor
Can’t recommend something that I haven’t hear or used, in my setup, using my music.
My post wasn’t exactly aimed at you, rather I quoted what you said to put it into perspective.
I find that there are numerous occasions (on many sites and forums) where things get recommended by a majority that haven’t actually experienced said product.
Obviously it is not possible for all of us to try things out, so we have to try and make the most of the resources that we have at our disposal, such as reviews and comments from others.
As an example, let’s say that reviewer X has certain tastes that I don’t share, and he thinks highly of a product that I haven’t heard.
However, many people trust X’s opinion and highly praise a product in forums because they trust his opinion, but do not point out the fact that they are basing their assumptions on X’s opinion, they just say “This is a great thing for this amount”.
In the end, the word starts to spread, people who trust others who trust others, and there are hundreds and hundreds of opinions about how great a product is but it has all stemmed from one opinion.
This is many times what causes hype for a product, not because people are misrepresenting it, but because they are praising something that they really haven’t heard.
Again, this is not directed at you personally @HeadphoneNoob , nor at this forum, it is more my general view of many forums and threads.
I also share your opinion. I give a reviewer the benefit of the doubt, and if I like what I hear/read I try to secure that device and demo that device in my own home using my equipment and my music and of course my own ears. IF it works out, great if not, I look at it this way. We are all different, we are NOT CLONES and we cannot have the same likes, equipment, budget and hearing , taste as the reviewer., and of course that relates to most things, be it audio, cars, photography, guitars etc…I always recommend, DEMO, DEMO … DEMO. Its the only way to truly know.
Tried the Célestee before their release at Focal’s factory. If they were planars I would have bought them immediately. If Elegia sounded to me too much on the bright side (to my ears) instead Célestee are IMO very balanced,
I got your point about new gear.
Yes, that kind of behavior - touting something that one hasn’t heard - gets exposed pretty quickly here. And I had called out @HeadphoneNoob in my earlier post because of where he is today. An example of a fairly new enthusiast that has asked lots of questions, and has internalized that listening to headphones is not like building a gaming PC. Pretty soon, if there were a way, he should change his name to HeadphoneExNoob.
Here where I work, we have different levels based on experience and accomplishment in starting and re-imagining your business model. Each level or two has a coach assigned. The level coaches are people who are about 2 levels ahead of their mentees. They’ve recently been through the process. That’s why “Noobs” should listen to @HeadphoneNoob, and why it’s good for him to articulate that process.
Hi, @pennstac, I am located in the United States.
@HeadphoneNoob Thanks for the advice. Definitely trying out different headphones would help me get more experience.
I live in a house and the living room would be where I will listen to the headphones. There will be some noise pollution, which is the reason I was interested in closed back headphones. I do want to listen to a comfortable volume and as I do not like to listen at very loud volumes.
I am going to be able to schedule an appointment next week at a high end audio shop. Sounds exciting since this will be the first time I will be able to listen to these kinds of headphones. I spoke to somebody over the phone and he mentioned that he has Audeze, Sennheiser (HD820?), and Focal (Utopia/Clear?). I guess they will be able to send me more information in their follow up email. Hopefully this visit helps me find some direction in where I want to go.
I told him that I would want to use my phone as the source. He mentioned that he would also show me DACs since the headphones may have high impedances.
@NickZ Yes, I think this is the case, I will need the opportunity to listen to the headphones. Good to know that it will be quite a journey in most cases for people to find what they want.
I am trying to learn more in the meantime, but I think @ProfFalkin gave some good advice at finding people who you can trust when you read reviews.
Buying used gear sounds like a good idea too. I noticed that there can be some noticeable discounts for this kind of gear.
I’ve renamed him as “TheEnthusiastFormerlyKnownAsHeadphoneNoob”
Thanks. I’ve thought about this a few days and read a number of different threads that touch on this topic, and I think I’m going to get the B2 and Jot 2. A lot of love for both of those in this forum. Will likely just wait for the holidays to upgrade my open back cans from the Audeze el-8. But a couple follow ups–do you recommend that I start with the stock Jot 2 or is a module worth adding at this point? Although I haven’t gotten the Celestee yet since it hasn’t released, it doesn’t appear to come with a balanced cable. What options do I have for getting a balanced cable for those? Would it be worth it? If I know very little about DACs/Amps, I know even less about balanced set ups!
Oh I got you I didn’t feel targeted, and what you say is a 100% accurate and you have a valid point. I was just responding from my perspective maybe made it seem that way.
I mean as of recent Gold Planar is prime example of what you said. However it’s expected especially coming from that reviewer nor do I feel it’s deception. Most people that made reviews mentioned somewhat of the same thing. Again from a reputable source we get an unbiased opinion which is far more rational which I think audiophiles seek.
Also can’t attack someone on deception when your following is purely looking for the best bang for the buck and sub $1000 products which is what that channel is all about. If it’s not just horrible all around I wouldn’t call deception. Also takes a stance like generic is forget all the extra, just pass or fail.
However, when we got a company like Focal vs Gold Planar you get the conception that one of these companies won’t be as much of question. Along with any other company that has a history of quality products.
So far with my experience, and my current financial situation, I did not ask anyone about the Elegia. Those were my first pair of “quality” headphones and I think it’s great. Now a more seasoned vet like yourself or many others would not feel the same.
In fact when I went to source AV the gentleman who was helping me demo told me that he didn’t like the Elegia. He’s just an employee, but he was mentioning he has an extensive amount of headphones.
But the irony was he had recently purchased the 880s which was one he had me demo and how he was really wanting that pair and he loves it. Yet in my opinion the 880s was not my cup of tea. I voiced that to him as well, Clear was my number 1 and the LCD2 next.
Mind you I was using the Qutest and a chord amp.
Just to further reiterate how it comes down to each and every individual. Which is why I felt going with an entry focal can’t be horrible.
So reviews maybe mixed but you shouldn’t solely go by that and exactly what @generic mentioned above it is fully true.
I did the same thing with my HiFiman HE6SE, I was told by a few people on here to steer clear of them as a cost factor and sound/driver quality. In the end I really enjoy them and have had no major issues. Not to say they are amazing or the best headphones, however to me it worked out.
Which has further made this idea that what sounds best to you is all that matters more concrete.
I know my posts are long, but a second thing to consider for many people that are new to audio have no foundation. You guys are all about that by suggesting beginners set ups to me and many others, I totally further at this point understand but it was never explained to me in that sense or I missed it.
A Sundara and Schitt stack and you’re good under these circumstances.
When I was in the process of purchasing my 5 channel setup the AV forums I was in hit me with this ideology. It has probably been the most beneficial piece of info I’ve acquired.
Demos are phenomenal but from my stance I feel that sometimes they can induce a certain extent of bias.
Bose is a great example of this when they have their stores and product displays with modified sound virtually to captivate listeners.
At this point we do realize headphones themselves are probably 90% of the setup.
Nor am I saying you are incorrect and I am fully for demos, just something to consider. A shop that knows what they are doing is going to pair synergistic equipment. They want it to sound the most amazing to coax you to purchase.
I think it’s a good idea to either be aware or ask the pairings to end up with some realistic total costs.
When I went to my demo to experience real headphones that’s the situation I ran into. I didn’t think much of it but they used the Qutest and another chord amp which was nearly 4000+ of equipment. Almost 3 times the cost of the clear or lcd-2.
Just putting it out there as something to be conscious of and consider and yes we know dacs have really come a long way as well as other equipment
Primarily if you are on a budget and aimed at novice users.
In fact the experience was more negative than positive. You got a audio store kind of saying if you want it to sound good you want to have a 5000 dollar budget is a major turn off to the idea of going into the headphone realm
Like it’s only going to sound like this if I use this equipment
Just a comment, not trying to create a debate I’m certain there’s plenty of rebuttal to this opinion