Celeste, a new brand from Kinera, has just launched its latest pair of earphones and it’s a doozy. The Celeste Plutus Beast is indeed a beast when it comes to its design, offering a mix of bone conduction, balanced armature, and square planar drivers. At only $89 courtesy of HiFiGo, this new set is more than a little unique.
The Plutus Beast takes its name from a mythical creature in Chinese folklore. According to HiFiGo, the Plutus Beast represents wealth and prosperity, and that definitely carries through the in the look of these earphones. Small in size, each features a hand-painted shell in blue or yellow. Both look fantastic and carry through Celeste and Kinera’s pedigree for crafting beautiful shells.
The acoustic design is even more interesting. Bone conduction drivers work differently than others as they resonate with the bones in your head, sending vibrations into your inner ear in a manner completely different from traditional headphones. Because of this haptic form of transmission, the BC driver in the Plutus Beast covers the lows, while a balanced armature and miniature square planar cover the mids and highs. The sound is described as balanced with fast bass, smooth treble response, and an impressive soundstage.
A tribrid at this price is surprising. Typically, triple driver arrays extend into the hundreds of dollars. That it also uses a bone conduction driver and completely lacks a dynamic driver is also very interesting! Celeste is clearly challenging what we should expect under $100, and it’s great to see.
As it stands, the Celeste Plutus Beast looks like it might be an especially high-value option for gaming and music alike. We’ll be revisiting this set with a full review as soon as our sample arrives and we’re able to hear it for ourselves. Stay tuned for that! In the meantime, find out more over at HiFiGo in the announcement post and product page. The Plutus Beast is available now.
