Celest CD-2 DAC Dongle (a/k/a USB-C 3.5mm + 4.4mm Adapter) REVIEW – Beat On The Brat With A Baseball Bat
The $25 CD-2 was sent to us for review by Celest Audio – and we thank them for that.
About a year ago I made a half-serious, remarkably stupid promise to my wife that if she gave us smoking I’d give up booze. Now, if you know my wife you’d figure there was less chance of this happening than of Pope Francis appearing on “Dancing with the Stars”. Dammit if she didn’t get hold of some goofy new-age self-help audiobook (which claimed, among other things, that nicotine isn’t really addictive) and actually went cold turkey.
So here I am, very reluctantly sober and desperately trying to fill the void with new audio gear, of which the $25 Celest CD-2 is the newest. Very frankly, I’d never heard of Celest, although appear to be an affiliate or subbrand of Kinera, whose aesthetically pleasing in-ears get some praise in these parts.
The CD-2 do have the most understated packaging and marketing imaginable—the print on the tiny package is neigh-unto-unreadable, and its front label neither identifies the model number nor informs one that this product is in fact a DAC/amp. It’s almost as if they want you to guess what you’re buying. They also utilize the motto “To perpetuate the myth of music”, which is both meaningless and oddly disturbing.
The unit itself is well-built, with solid zinc alloy casing and both balanced and unbalanced outs; it feels durable but you might find it a little heavy for optimal portability. Celest uses the same Conexant CX31993 chip as the wildly popular, <$15 CX-Pro (review here).[1]
However, where the CX-Pro struggles to power more challenging loads, the CD-2, which claims output power of 140mw/16oHm through the 3.5mm out, is quite a lusty beast—moderately efficient phones like the (50 oHm) Koss KSC get really loud at <45% of my phone, while taking on a bigger, tighter low end.
More efficient phones, say the 30 oHm Westone Mach 80 don’t pair as well—high end loses composure and sounds shriller than ideal, while the big-but-normally –controlled low end gets unruly and boomy. I then tried the CD-2 with the much less efficent Senn HD650—where less powerful amps lose bass control and dynamic shifts, the CD-2 didn’t break a sweat, especially through the balanced out.
Such horsepower is the best thing about the CD-2—its tonality is best characterized as bright, raw and vinylish, with considerable low-end depth and quantity, but limited high-end extension. Guitar pop sounds lively even if fine details aren’t well-resolved and performers tend to be placed in the middle of the stage; the CX-Pro, by contrast sounds leaner and less punchy, but also airier, with a wider stage. Metal and heavier fare like Tool however, are well-presented on the CD-2—bassy and visceral—they’re a nice pickup if you favor power over finesse.
Moving up in class to something like the $70 Hidisz S3 (review here) gets you a quieter background and considerably more high-end detail; percussion and piano keys in particular are better reproduced and show quicker transients on the S3, tho the CD-2 actually imparts more low end presence and has a more aggressive drive.
The $47 Audirect Atom 3 (which has a similar form factor to the CD-2) actually shares the bassy, lively character of the CD-2, as well as its narrow soundstage; the warmer Atom has the more accurate, live-sounding timbre, but it’s a close match.
Ultimately the CD-2 isn’t a giant killer; for realistic reproduction you’re best off foregoing a couple of beers and getting a Truhear Shio or the aforesaid Hidisz. However, in terms of power, presence and energy the CD-2 is a step up from the legions of sub-$15 dongles out there; its build quality and 4.4 mm jack are nice bonuses. Good for the price.
Now back to staring at an empty glass….
Disclaimer: this sample was sent to us for review by Celest Audio, who provide the following purchase links:
AliExpresslink: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008487749763.html
Official website link: https://kineraaudio.com/products/celest-cd-2-portable-type-c-to-3-5mm-4-4mm-dac-audio-hifi-earphone-decoder-headphone
Official website: https://kineraaudio.com
[1] For some inexplicable reason, my indifferently-written CX-Pro review is the most-read review article ever on this blog with >26 K views. Which isn’t saying much, but still…
Specifications Celest CD-2
Model: CD-2
Weight: 21g
Dynamic Range: 124dB
Distortion: -95dB
Colors: Gunmetal Gray + Army Green
Headphone Interfaces: 3.5mm + 4.4mm
Dynamic Range: 111dB
Distortion: 20Hz~40kHz
Frequency Response: 140mw@16Ω 60mw@32Ω
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