Allez les Bleus!

As Focal beefs up its closed-back headphone offering Ed Selley works out if blue really is the warmest colour

- Ed Selley

DETAILS

PRODUCT Focal Celestee

ORIGIN France

TYPE Closed-back, over-ear headphone

WEIGHT 430g

FEATURES

40mm aluminium/ magnesium dynamic driver

1.2m detachable cable

Frequency response: 5Hz-23kHz

DISTRIBUTOR Naim Audio

TELEPHONE [phone]

WEBSITE focal.com

Of the manufacturers that piled into the headphone sector roughly a decade ago, Focal looks to have been the biggest winner. It now successfully straddles a selection of differing price points, including the seriously high end and one of the more unusual facets of this range is the overlapping choice of both closed and open-back models.

The Celestee replaces the Elegia (HFC 447) and is designed to offer the same ability to work effectively as a home headphone while being practical in a portable context too. Its significant size notwithstanding, the Elegia was commendably effective at both roles, so the Celestee certainly has plenty to live up to.

Perhaps because of this, many of its fundamentals are similar to its predecessor. It’s built around a pair of 40mm drivers made from aluminium and magnesium and uses the M-shaped cross-section that Focal says produces the highest level of stiffness for the minimum amount of mass. The company quotes a frequency response of 5Hz-23kHz, which might not secure Hi-Res certification (Focal has never seemed terribly interested in such things), but more than covers off a normal adult’s hearing.