AddictedToAudio getting experimental in their quest to clear out their Focal Headphones.
Focal Celestee - $599
Focal Bathys - $649
Focal Elegia - $329
Total: $1577
This deal: $1388
All of them are closed-back. Gotta catch em all.
Focal Headphone Trio Bundle $1388 Delivered @ Addicted To Audio
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i cant even afford a cable from these geezers!!
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/64-audio-silver-prem…Why so expensive
because you aren't addicted to spend money. :)
Definitely not $900 for a cable addicted 😅
I have the Bathys. Id honestly say that's all you need!
That’s the thing, the three of them are more similar than they are different - doesn’t make any sense to own three. Would have been better if you had an open + closed pair at a discount.
Although I suspect we’ll see further discounts across Focal at A2A soon, they are clearing out stock and can’t seem to move it at currency prices.
They jacked the price back up on the Focal Utopia and Radiance. They still haven't come back down.
Utopia and Radiance are already sold out!
^
HODLThey'll go a little further, but everything else already sold through, including the Radiance which was priced only $100 more than the Celestee.
I suspect the market for closed backs was saturated, with everyone left either looking at the Maxwell, or waiting for hi-res bluetooth offerings.
Does the Maxwell not support hi-res bluetooth? Tried them on at A2A a few weeks ago, was very impressed - preferred them to Focal's entire closed back line up, but I've always loved Audeze's house sound and been partial to planars.
@poppingtags: LC3Plus, but that's not supported on anything other than Android 14 with compatible hardware AFAIK, if that. Maybe Windows?
Comes with a dongle in the mean time.
Audeze's tonal balance in closed backs has been solid for a long time, and they've worked hard on nailing tonal balance in their new products for the last 2 years.
@poppingtags: I cancelled my Bathys order and got the Maxwell instead. The Maxwell is amazing for its price point.
I agree on the open and closed bundle. I have the eligia and elear and don't see a need for a third set that has similar sound.
Bathys are the only focal headphones I would buy. The other ones kinda have bad turning
This or the mortgage … ??
🤔HODL for another A2A price drop
thank you bought 10 (30)
sounds like you need more if you have eleventyfour ears
Anyone have recommendations for a suitable amp/dac that would get the most out of the higher end Focal? (specifically Utopia)
The Qudelix 5K… it's a great portable DAC. great EQ features. i use it for my Radiances and Blessing 2 IEM's.
Thank you! Any recommendation for a desktop solution?
If you're after single unit desktop DAC/AMP, I highly recommend to look at Burson line-up. I am using my Focal Stellia with Burson Conductor 3X Performance in balanced XLR setup and it is extremely dynamic. The Conductor 3XP isn't fully balanced (only the output stage) so if you want fully balanced then Reference 3X Performance. Another one is Questyle. If these options are too expensive, then have a look at the iFi Audio Zen Stack. BTW I haven't explore tube amps yet so can't comment on that.
If you're after portable DAC, I've heard great things on the Questyle M15 and Qudelix 5K. The latter is popular due to the very flexible software stack. However you may encounter power issues on iOS device. If that is your concern, stick with Dragonfly products. Also I doubt you will be able to drive the full potential of the Utopia out of portable setups. It is not the voltage or impedance that is the issue, it is current/power limited.
If you don't mind a transportable DAC/AMP, then take a look at either Fiio Q7 or iFi Diablo or even the Signature series. I have the Q7 and it's sound characteristic is very close to my Burson but Burson is definitely more transparent. If you're only bounded to listening at the desk or at home, just get a desktop DAC/AMP.
Awesome. Thanks!
Only at my desk, yeah. I'll look at the Conductor 3XP, any more and we're kind of going into the "way too expensive" territory.
Yeah this hobby can definitely get pricey.
BTW Burson regularly does promo on its website so look out for ex-demos or even periodic sales. The Conductor 3-series comes with V6 Vivid op-amps so you don't need to bother with other op-amps unless you plan to roll / mix-match.I can see Burson is offering the Conductor 3X Reference (higher end than Conductor 3XP) for $1750 shipped (its cheaper than buying 3XP new). It is an ex-demo but you should still get the same warranty and all. Not sure what is the condition for an ex-demo but you should be able to ask them over email.
If you only want a new unit, Burson also has a storefront on Ebay. Meaning you can make an offer. Thats how I got my 3XP for below retail price.
Do check out other brands that matches your needs and pairing. All the best!
What's your budget?
You could look at the all in one Toppings units.
For a stack, consider the Topping A70/D70 Pro stack, it's very very good.For a more budget option you could go with A30 Pro + a DAC like the SMSL VMV D1SE. I have a very similar stack (same DAC,+ A90 amp) and am very very happy with it's performance powering a Audeze LCD X.
Saw this but for all 3; you'd want a bit more discount than $150. I get that they're already cheap but still.
So what is the main problem with the Celestees anyway? Everyone loves the Radiance but has a strong distaste toward the Celestee? Does it have issues that cannot be corrected by EQ or what?
They all have problems that can't be fixed with eq. But that's probably the closest to the Harman target. Elegia has the most problems but that's cheap so no one cares. Celestees fixes some but not enough for the price
Yeah, Radiance were the pick of the three for me soundwise - although it also had the most garish design. Preferred the Maxwell's to Focal's entire closed back lineup, including the Stellias.
From what I read and heard, all the Focals have a bit of a mid hump that tends to make vocals a little honky at certain frequencies. That appears to be Focal's house sound though. The Celestee is good but lacks bass that most people would want (hence people tend to reference Harman target). The Radiance is more 'consumer friendly' of all the Focal headphones (and has 'more bass'). It is also black which makes it more maintenance friendly. I had the Celestee for 2 weeks and the Blue colour is very very nice. But I am overly concerned it will age with use.
None of these headphones will be better than Focal Clear OG in terms of natural sound and timbre (IMHO). But we're dealing with a very subjective topic where people listen and interpret sound differently. However you can always reference to the majority feedback as a starting point. Hence the reference to Harman target.
I would highly encourage any buyers to test them out first
i really like the clear mgs but they sold out pretty quick. celestee is alright too.
tbh coming from $50 chi-fi iems like kz zs10 pro x and moondrop chus
I'm kinda disappointed by the elegiasThis has been another revelation for me - IEMs tend to perform better than closed back headphones at any given price point, at least to my ears.
Yeah I agree too, I currently use the budget truthear Hola's. I'm not only worried about the difference between iem and closed back headphones but budget IEMs value proposition is so strong the even getting another IEM upgrade will be a down grade in price to performance ratio.
The Hola's with some EQ are unbelievable!!
I am with you on this. To me the IEM seems to have better tonality than a headphone. But when you land on a headphone that does it right, it will blow IEM out of the water.
I'd agree with open back headphones, but closed back headphones are so difficult to get right and always comes with some sort of compromise - where as IEMs just keep getting better and better. For example I tried the Monarch Mk2 and 3 a few weeks ago and they just sounded so much better than even many high end open back headphones, it presented micro details that headphones struggle to deliver. I'd take the Monarchs over any closed back headphone, at any price - and even most open backs for that matter.
@poppingtags: Oh yes, closed back headphone is very difficult to tune right. Surprisingly the 'cheaper' closed back consumer grade headphones sound better because of the use of DSPs to actively correct imperfections. It is one reason why the Maxwell sound 'better' despite costing only a fraction.
IEMs sound better but not all of them can reproduce the soundstage although it is not as important of a criteria when you're on a portable setup. Also the ergonomics are very different though.
Loudspeakers are even better again
Any recommendations for aftermarket cables that arent too expensive? The 3.5mm stock cable that came with the Clears kind of suck
The Clear cable is awful. I spent more than I probably should have on 6 foot audiophileninja replacement that I've been very happy with.
Try Cardas Audio Parsec cables: https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/cardas-parsec-headph…
I had a pair terminated at 3.5mm and XLR for the Focals. They are not too expensive but will lack 'quality of life' features from more expensive pairs.
Thank you! @displacedaussie @happydragon @Davesday
I want the bathys if anyone wants the others and share the saving. In Melbourne :)
Just pay 650 for the Bathys it's totally worth it!
Yeah that's the current plan! Thought I might go have a listen this week first just because I can
Out of curiosity, why are they so keen to clear the Focal stuff, they just moving on from selling Focal?
Probably due to all the warranty claims hitting them and then Focal not honoring it, a bunch of repairs need to be done at A2A because Focal will not back their premium product
Can you elaborate further. Why wouldn't focal back up the warranty?
I bought Focal Utopia for car, 3-way active drivers. When the shipment was delivered I brought it back home from the dealer, when I opened the box one of the Midbass driver was broken. Its magnet fell down when I lifted it from the box. It took me a whole year to get a replacement driver, had to go all the way upto their head office. I told myself, I am never going to buy any focal stuff again.
Basically they kept blaming me. So, I think that's what they normally do when you ask for warranty.
@sqheaven: A couple of months back I had the Clear MG's in my cart, the day before I pulled the trigger they sold out.
I guess it was for the best by the sounds of things.
I on the other hand had a reasonable experience with aftermarket support from Focal's local distributor in Australia. Many years ago I bought a new pair of Clear OG Professional from A2A's firesale. Received my order within 2 days but there was a small imperfection to the headphone cup. There was a bit of glue residue stuck in between the mesh grill and it was impossible to remove. It looked like glue but also looks like something melted and got stuck in there. It was small and can be consider superficial. I decided to email Focal Australia which was redirected to Busisoft (presumably their local distributor).
A friendly person responded and asked for more pictures. Provided that and within the same business day he approved for a replacement and contacted my local A2A shop to do a swap.
There was a thread in a previous A2A bargain post and another one on Headfi that speculated Busisoft (and as a result A2A) had lost its rights to sell (and distribute) Focal products. Not sure who fired who but other resellers such as Minidisc still sells Focal headphones (at full price). According to the rumour A2A had to clear its inventory and incoming shipment of Focal and Naim products.
Vervent Audio has since named a new Australian distributor
https://www.stereonet.com/au/news/exclusive-focal-and-naim-a….
Would not recommend buying from A2A unless you're not expecting to claim warranty from them, or having to go through consumer affairs to get them to honour the warranty. They're warranty department has gone downhill. Unless it's an obvious DOA they will claim that there is nothing wrong with the product and charge you to send it back to you had to go through consumer affairs to get a refund almost took two months.
Deal desperately looking for 6-eared people…