CELEST PANDAMON: Sonically Balanced Sounding One

Pandamon, Baku or Mo was a mythical creature prevalent in East Asian folklore, especially in Japanese and Chinese tales. It has a chimeric features but some of the illustrations show that it takes the form either of a panda or a bear. In the Japanese tale, Baku was a devourer of nightmares which makes them a good familiar and a guardian while in Chinese mythology, Mo ( also a translation for Giant Panda) consumes iron and copper which give a rigid bone structure while its pelt has a resistance against humidity, wetness and even also works as a protection hide.

This is my second review for Celest Audio as I previously published a review on their Gumiho before. As we already know about the Celest Audio, they are a sister company of Kinera and QOA (Queen of Audio) that makes one of the best looking IEM shells in the audio market with their constant improvement and evolving on their tuning capabilities.

Celest Pandamon like its predecessor has a SPD (Square Planar Driver) on its internal but without the balanced armature driver on which the previous model has. SPD is rather a peculiar transducer as it is square-shaped dynamic driver but it has electromechanic principle similar to a magnetic planar and this is proprietary patented product of Kinera. The SPD of Pandamon was supposedly an improvement over its previous reiteration as Kinera claimed that they diligently do some refinement of its performance for better coherency and better frequency coverage.

The 10mm SPD was implemented on a circular-shaped shell chassis, and it is comprised of composite materials consist of acrylic resin on its cavity base and a familiar type of steel that I usually encounter in the kitchen and other culinary tools that I'm using it (I'm a chef so I have some basic knowledge on the materials of the tools that we use for cooking), The 304 stainless steel which has a decent strength with corrosive resistant properties. The said stainless steel is the material for its outer ring of the faceplate which also acts as a brace for the inner layer which has a stylised Pandamon face and some vent holes with grill meshes which make the Pandamon into a semi-open back design. In general, the faceplate design of this set reminds me of a Beyblade toy which was very popular in the early 2000s that makes it rather a "childish" design choice. Another good thing is that it uses a 2-pin connector which is more of a logical choice in my opinion.

The shells are of smaller dimension that any type of ear sizes will snugly fit on this one. It is also so lightweight that it is very comfortable to wear them into my lug holes without any issues like ear fatigue or soreness. Due to its semi-open back design, expect some external noises coming from outside, so isolation is rather average.

The product presentation of Celest Pandamon is remarkably good on how it was packed in a small box with an illustrative art of a Pandamon at front and some information like introductory statement, specifications and frequency graphs at the rear. Like its sister brand Kinera, it has a quantitative amount of inclusions inside of the box.

Here are the following contents:

● pair of Celest Pandamon IEMs

● a detachable 4-core OFC grey-coloured, braided and twisted stock cable with 3.5mm termination plug.

● 3 pairs of wide-bored eartips.

● 3 pairs of narrow-bored eartips

● IEM faux-leather pouch with magnetic clasp openers.

● Pandamon-designed bookmark pendant.

● Cleaning brush.

● Instruction manual.

As we all know that planars are power-demanding transducers but the SPD of Pandamon is quite different. It can be easily amplified from multimedia devices with  decent power output. It really scales well that as it sounds very dynamic with a good amplitude of volume level. I'm using all my sources from my LG phones, DAPs and DAC/amp dongles and Pandamon passed with flying colours.

The tonality of Pandamon has a balanced-warmish sound on which some experienced individuals especially in the older generation of hi-fi scene might perceive it as an "analogue ish-neutral" or "warm ish-neutral". The overall frequency presentation is rather linear in my ears with some tad of inherent textures on it.

LOWS/BASS:

The bass delivery of Pandamon has a sufficient impact, consistency and well-pinpoint but it has enough depth just to deliver an adequate punch. The sub  bass quality of this one is rather satisfactory. I hear some hint of reverberations and rumble for electronic drum machines, low tone bass guitars and synthesisers from my tracks like synth-pop and classic rock but not the most defined.

Mid bass has an ample texture and warmth to give a substantial note weight on bass guitars, bass drum kicks and bass-baritone vocals. Bass guitars have a sombre and sustaining sound while bass kicks does have this adequate thudding and gloomy sound (try listen to listen on John Bonham's bass kick intro in "When the Levee Breaks" or  Gene Hoglan's fast double-bass on "Death is Certain"). Then on bass-baritone vocals, it sounds sort of milder, a tad smoother and less dense especially Barry White but works well with lyrical ones like Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley.

In general, I can't consider the bass of this one as very tidy as I can hear a tad of bass bleeds and rather it is quite balanced between tightness and punchiness that make this bass quality very compelling to experienced audio enthusiasts but not to adherent bass heads who want a more quantity on their lows

MIDRANGE:

Midrange presentations of this one are definitely not recessed  as I clearly perceived that it has a lushness, textured and spacious even for a midcentric listener like me will even appreciate this one. Both male and female vocals have an ample texture to deliver a euphonic and engaging voice that will be pleasant to hear. Male vocals especially on baritones have a warm, smooth and rich, then a dazzling and agile quality of countertenors and a brassy and ringy sound of a tenor singer. On the side of female vocals, contralto singers has this sufficient dark pitch but sometimes it has a lack of depth (check Tracy Chapman voice on this one) while mezzo-sopranos has this warm, cosy smoothness to exhibit that velvety nature of this type of vocal type (love those vocals from Sharon Den Adele of Within Temptation and Andrea Corr of The Corrs). And last but not the least, the sopranos as they sounds very rangy, silvery and shimmering as I listen to Tarja Turunen, Allison Krauss and Mariah Carey but on coloratura sopranos, it still has clarity but its extension are rather reserve in my liking.

As for instruments, Strings such as guitars of either electric or acoustic types have this buttery sound or lots of overtones especially of some acoustic tracks then a vibrant and calming sound of violin. Brass instruments like trumpet has this rounded and metallic brilliance sound which are good for thematic detail or cadenza passage while trombones have this eruptive and "dramatic" feel. When it comes to woodwinds like flutes and saxophones, flutes have this mellow and graceful sound characteristics while saxs have this lustrous and lively sound on it. And the last ones are the percussions, percussives like toms and snares have an ample hard and resonant sound, Then pianos have this velvety and brilliant sound on them.

I actually like how Pandamon renders the midrange definition but I don't qualify it as a very pristine one in my vocabulary.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble of Pandamon seems to have an emphasis on the upper mids to give a sufficient shimmer then a smoothness along the upper mids to the presence region then a noticeable gradual dip in the brilliance region. But there's a caveat that it has a lack of air and is less energetic. That inherent smoothness will also give a non-sibilant and absence of harshness which is highly recommended to treble sensitives out there.

Cymbals seem to have an ample shimmer to give decent detail and crispness but as I mentioned about the lack of air before, it does affect the sizzle and extension on it that some treble-heads might find inadequate and congested. Hi-hats has a distinctive shortened buzzing sound that depicts the real-life sound on  this in live performance.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

As a semi-open back set, I expect it to have a cavernous soundstage dimension but Pandamon is rather on an average to above average size especially on wideness. It also has an average depth on how I perceived its front and back distance and yet it has a decent height ceiling.

The imaging capability of this set is on typical two-dimensional stereo panning that allows me to determine the locations of instruments and vocals on the left and right channel. Separation of elements has good spacing and gap but layering capability is rather middling as frequency and dynamic layers of specific elements does not have a distinct texture that doesn't give a very cohesive and clean sound on multi-instrumental movie musical scores or orchestras.

Coherency-wise, the driver performs pretty well and it delivers a good envelope sound  along its speed with less distortion of the SPD driver tech.

As for resolution capabilities, It also has a viscosity texture on its macro-dynamics which seems fine to me given that some planars sets also exhibit this trait. Regarding projecting on micro-detailing, its definition is not sharp enough to give a contrasting of nuances and subtleties in most tracks. The tonal colour of Pandamon is natural  with some hint of warmth to give its uniquely organic tonality.

PEER COMPARISONS:

Celest Gumiho

■ The predecessor model of Pandamon. Unlike Pandamon, it has a trapezoid-like shape on its shell chassis and it is not a semi-opened back design. It uses a first generation of SPD along with a balanced armature driver for upper-mids and treble. The stock cable of Gumiho is also different as it has bi-colour and fully-braided 4-core OFC silver plated copper wiring. The number of inclusions are very similar in quantity.

■ As for sound profile, Celeste Gumiho is more of a U-shaped sound signature. It has more pronounced bass and treble and a tad recession on the midrange presentation. Treble is brighter on the Gumiho but in general it seems that they share a similar warmth tonality.

■ Similarly, they have almost the same technical performance but Gumiho has a BA timbre which has a tinny and metallic sound that will skew the overall sound quality.

To sum up my conclusion on Celest Pandamon. Celeste takes a bold step on how they will present their product to the audio enthusiast community as a recognisable audio company that differentiates from its sister companies like Kinera and QOA. Their SPD tech shows its potential and how it will fare in the future given the very short development span from the first generation up to the latest version.

Celest Pandamon is rather a unique IEM with an uncommon tuning within its price range and gives a better alternative with its current contemporaries for its tuning and compelling affordable price.

CELESTE PANDAMON is now available in the KINERA Official Store, Click the non-affiliate link HERE if you are interested.

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: CELEST PANDAMON

IMPEDANCE: 9Ω

SENSITIVITY: 108dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:  20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.25M

PIN TYPE:  2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) SQUARE PLANAR DRIVER

PROS:

△ Quite a uniquely design IEM shell chassis.

△ Sufficient amount of included accessories

△ A balanced-warmish sound signature that will be more pleasing to listen even to a neutral head.

△ Dense and textured midrange for midcentric listeners who loves instrumentals and vocals tracking

△ Smooth and non-offensive tuning.

△ No hint of sibilance and harshness is practically absent on this one.

△ A noticeable improvement of SPD tech as it sounds more fuller across the frequency range.

CONS:

▽ Aesthetic choice on its face plate is rather too "childish" as it really looks like a toy.

▽ Despite of having lush with ample shimmer midrange, Soprano vocals especially coloratura ones are less energetic and gasping on its breath range.

▽ Lack of treble air extension

▽ Certainly not for bass heads as it has lack of slam and tactuality. 

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

P.S.

I am not affiliated to CELEST AUDIO nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KINERA for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.