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

Great comparo..thanks bud!

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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?

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.

Can you do a detailed Utopia 2022 review?

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.

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

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.

4k videos,man!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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

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

Stelia is interesting…

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

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

HE6 se v2 vs Focal Clear OG pls

How do they compared to the Elegia and the Elex?

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

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

Save me some money