CELEST RELENTLESS REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<

INTRO:

Kinera Audio has been investing heavily in promoting its sister company, Celest Audio. Celest has been introducing a good number of new products to our community lately. The Celest Relentless is currently the company’s flagship IEM, meaning it is the most expensive IEM and offers a more premium experience.

In context, “Relentless” originates from the Chinese fantasy literature, “Shanhaijing,” Classic of Mountains and Seas. It tells the story of Lass, Yan Di’s youngest daughter, who tragically drowned while swimming in the East China Sea. She was later transformed into the bird known as “Relentless.” Relentless, determined to prevent such a tragedy from happening to others, took it upon herself to protect living beings by retrieving them from the sea. The design of the earphone is based on her tragic and heroic tale from fantasy literature.

Price: $169 USD
Color: Black/Blue
Cable: Modular (Without Mic)

Celest reviews: Gumiho (portuguese); Pandamon, Plutus Beast, Pandamon 2.0, Wyvern Abyss (english)

CELEST LINKS:

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_onPuH5M

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okNumWw

SPECIFICATIONS:

Hybrid:

• (1) 8mm Dynamic Driver (DD) (low to mids)
• (6) Balanced armature (BA) 29689 & 10012 Custom (mids to upper-mids, and highs)

– Effective frequency: 20Hz – 20kHz
– Impedance: 27Ω
– Sensitivity: 105dB/mW
– Modular plug: 3.5mm & 4.4mm balanced (straight design)
– Connectors: 2pin 0.78mm (detachable)
– Cable size: 1.2m
– Cable: Silver-Plated Copper 5N OFC
– Shell: 3D resin
– IEM weight: 5.7g (one side)(without eartips)
– Cable weight: 31.6g (with 3.5mm)
– Cable weight: 33g (with 4.4mm)
– Total weight (packaging, iems, etc): 294.7g
– Packaging size: 18cm [H] x 13.8cm [W] x 5.7cm [D]

UNBOXING:

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Construction: Taste is subjective, right? So, in my opinion, this is one of the best-looking IEMs I’ve ever reviewed. Until then, I thought the Wyvern Abyss was the best-looking from Celest… until the Relentless came along. It’s impressive that the company went from those Gumiho and Pandamon (1.0) designs to these… It’s just like water to wine.

The quality of the IEM matches the quality of the aesthetics, the shells was made of 3D resin by HeyGears, one of the best 3D printing companies. So, we have a pair of excellent quality IEMs here, the resin is very good, very smooth and anatomical. You can see the ducts connecting the drivers to the IEM’s nozzle, a feature we see in more advanced products.

Eartips: Here we have a positive and a negative point. On the one hand, the company included a kit with a large quantity of eartips, but on the other hand, the eartips included – in my opinion – are very generic. It was great that they included eartips with a normal hole, wide bore, and foam eartips, there’s a nice variety here, the problem is that the eartips are always the same, and you don’t feel anything special, they look like eartips that you find on Aliexpress that don’t even have a brand name… I’m here with the Celest Wyvern Qing – review coming soon – the earphones cost less than $30, and I can tell you that the only eartip option that came with the earphones is already better than all the ones that came with the Relentless. So, the question remains: how did the company put better eartips on an entry-level product, and not on its flagship? Maybe because it’s a newer earphone (the Qing) it’s already a sign of this change, let’s believe that’s it.

Another issue about these Relentless eartips is that they have a very thick tube, and when it’s like that, I never get on well… I always prefer thinner eartips, because they provide a more comfortable insertion in my ears. I understand that they put these with thick tube to provide a better “grip” on the earphone nozzle, but on the other hand, they end up being an uncomfortable eartip, at least for me. So, it’s possible that you’ll have to buy eartips for the Relentless (this is quite subjective). I evaluated the earphone with the SpinFit CP100 size M.

Cable: I found the Relentless cable to be of great quality, and the aesthetics are also very nice. It reminded me a lot of the Thieaudio Hype 2 cable, despite the braided style and the different parts. The cable is very malleable, easy to roll up for storage, has no memory (creases), has no microphonics, and also doesn’t tangle easily. It comes with 2-pin connectors, which I currently think is the best type. In my opinion, the earhooks could be smooth, instead of those that follow the cable’s wave… but I didn’t feel any discomfort. The chin slider only works when the IEMs are in your ears, otherwise the piece slips.

Modular system: Here we also have a positive and a negative point. The positive point is that the plugs are actually detachable and come with 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced options, which is always an advantage because you don’t need to buy another cable. On the other hand, the not so positive point is that this modular system chosen by the company isn’t so efficient when it comes to changing the plugs. You can see in the unboxing video or in the photos that there are 4 pins, so you need to be a little patient and careful when fitting the pins into the plug. In addition, there’s a specific position to fit, so you also need to be more careful not to fit the plug in the wrong position. Okay, it’s nothing absurd, but I think there are more efficient modular systems nowadays, such as the Dunu system used in the Titan S2 and the Lyre Mini cable.

Fit and comfort: In terms of fit, the IEM fit really well, with 100% stability. The isolation is excellent. I found the insertion to be average. In terms of comfort, there are two issues: weight and size. First, I think they are comfortable IEMs because they are very light, only 5.7g. They are also comfortable because the shell is very good, with excellent quality. In this regard, the IEM are impeccable. Now, it is worth mentioning that the Relentless isn’t a very small IEM. I have what I consider to be an average-sized ear, and I found that the IEMs filled my ear quite well, so I think they are a little bigger than the average IEMs I have been evaluating. Perhaps for people who have very small ears, the Relentless may be somewhat large, so I would recommend the IEM to people who have average or large-sized ears.

Accessories: As is typical of Celest, it also came with a pendant with the Relentless image, a semi-rigid carrying case with a zipper closure, and a cleaning brush. The case is good and compact, although since it is a flagship IEM, I think it could have come with something more sophisticated, perhaps a case with a magnetic closure.

SOUND ASPECTS:

I understood the sound of the Celest Relentless as being a V-Shape IEM. The IEM has a very “mature” and consistent tuning, there’s nothing unusual about it, it is a well-tuned V-Shape sound. The big difference is that it has great technical features for the price charged, the detailing is very good, usually hybrid IEMs with balanced armatures can present a good level of technical performance. Probably if this IEM had been released by the Kinera brand, it would have cost more, so there was an advantage in them releasing it by Celest. It’s currently the best IEM of the brand that I have ever heard.

There’s not much to comment, we all already know what the V-Shape sound is like: Bass with emphasis, initially recessed mids but with slightly advanced pinna gain, and vital treble. The Relentless is an IEM that is more focused on fun and energetic sound, which already says that it will be able to play a wide range of musical styles, especially those that require an extra dose of bass.

In this price range, we currently have two other very famous IEMs, the Truthear Nova and the Simgot SuperMix 4. There are three different IEMs, among them, the SuperMix 4 is close to the sound that I like the most, although the Relentless and the Nova are also excellent IEMs. I would even go as far as to say that I liked the Relentless more than the Nova (but unfortunately I couldn’t do a side-by-side comparison). The Nova’s pinna gain is actually a bit more accentuated than I like, and I also found the Nova’s treble darker than those of the Relentless.

Bass:

Quantitative: The bass of the Relentless is moderate to high. Despite having bass with good presence, I still don’t think it reaches the basshead level. Obviously, if you like IEMs with bass, the Relentless will be a good choice. The IEM deliver a good amount of sub-bass and mid-bass, so you have these two regions in a linear form. It has sub-bass that, in my opinion, are quite audible, but they don’t get in the way of the presentation. It’s a good amount, but it’s not exaggerated, it doesn’t go overboard. The bass has good extension. You’ll be able to play genres like Metal, Rock, POP, Hip-Hop, EDM, etc. well. I wouldn’t listen to Jazz because I prefer something with less sub-bass (subjective).

Qualitative: Here we have bass that imposes itself, with plenty of mass, strength, substance, impact, texture and physicality. As I said above, the amount isn’t exaggerated, so, in my opinion, it’s within the acceptable range. The bass adds warmth to the presentation, but because it’s a V-Shape IEM (with treble as well), the sound is well balanced, you get the “warm” bass and the “cold” treble. The bass has good definition and good speed. The only thing I noticed is that sometimes it gets too thick, you feel those basses very “meaty”. This is good for certain types of music and instruments, for example, electronic music or bass guitar (electric), you get more texture and vigor. On the other hand, acoustic instruments and acoustic music end up getting too full and heavy, which would perhaps be better if the bass were cleaner, dry (in my opinion).

Midrange:

Quantitative and qualitative: The midrange initially has a slight recess, but the upper-mids region gets a bigger boost again. The initial midrange part suffers a bit of conflict with the bass, since the boost in the bass ends up making this midrange region a bit “dark”, so the sound is warmer and with less detail. But the IEM soon regain their breath and the pinna gain becomes clearer and more transparent, with more detail appearing as well.

I think that, in addition to the tuning (FR), the frequency division in the drives also had a direct relationship with the aforementioned above, because if we analyze the implementation of Relentless, the dynamic driver (DD) was responsible for playing the bass and initial mids, the BAs 29689 were for the mids and upper-mids, and the BAs 10012 were for the high treble. I think it would have been better to have the DD only for the bass, and the BAs for the mids and treble. But I’m just philosophizing, I’m not an audio engineer… now, about the sound, I don’t see this as a demerit, I think it’s just the characteristics of the IEM.

Voices: Very good IEM for both types of voices: male/low or female/high. Since my library has more male/lower voices, I found the Relentless to be a bit better with this type of voice. The bass of the IEM delivers a lot of texture and physicality, which is great for low or baritone voices. However, I listened to some songs with mezzo-soprano and soprano voices, and I thought the IEM sounded good too, they just weren’t “the best IEM” for this type of voice (in my opinion).

Treble:

Quantitative: The Relentless’ treble is moderate to high. The V-Shape proposal always brings slightly more accentuated treble. For me, the quantity is perfect, neither too much nor too little. I don’t like dark IEMs, but I also don’t like IEM with very high treble. I didn’t see any problem with the Relentless’ treble, I believe it’s an IEM that doesn’t cause hearing fatigue. Obviously, because it’s a V-Shape IEM, it will deliver treble above neutral, so it is up to the person to decide, if they are very sensitive to treble. The extension is good.

Qualitative: The Relentless’ treble is very good, it has the treble level of more expensive IEMs (that I have heard). They are trebles that have life and energy. The detail, definition, and airy are great. The IEM didn’t present peaks or coloration. The treble aren’t shrill, aren’t harsh, and there was no sibilance. The sparkle is very good, bringing detail and vitality, without sounding out of the ordinary. Since the Relentless is an IEM in which the high frequencies are divided by more than one balanced armature, it can render more than one high-pitched instrument at the same time very well. Guitar solos and drum cymbals, all playing at the same time with great definition and separation.

Soundstage: Great sense of soundstage. Spatiality is medium to large. This is the advantage of having mids that aren’t so far forward, the V-Shape sound creates the sensation that the instruments are further away from your ear. The sound also tends to be a little warmer, which also generates a feeling of fullness, that is, the sound seems to be bigger, wider.

Imaging: I found the instrumental separation to be excellent. A very positive point of these IEM. The interesting thing is that you can perceive a distinction between the instruments that move in the lower and higher regions… I think that having exclusive drivers to play each frequency provides this factor. Now, it’s true that the mids of these IEM don’t have much articulation in terms of separation… of course, you can hear everything that happens in the mids, but that is because I have heard IEMs where the mids were really cut out.

Driver flex test: I didn’t heard any driver flex sound when inserting the IEMs into my ears.

Amplification: I used the FiiO KA11 dongle connected to my notebook to make this review. The volume was at 25% of the 100% available through Windows. I also tested the Relentless directly from my notebook’s audio cardboard and I found that the sound wasn’t good, so I think that this is an IEM that may need at least a simple dongle to play better. Although the FiiO KA11 is a simple dongle, it’s quite powerful, so it’s already recommended for amplification of the Relentless.

PROS AND CONS:

GRAPHS BY PRACTIPHILE:

Thank you so much for being here!

Follow us on Instagram to get all the news!

We also have a group on Telegram, let’s talk.

• Instagram
• Telegram
• Youtube
• Spotify
• X