Airy and soothing midrange
Fast and exciting without sounding fatiguing.

No feedback design is great for sound but bad for speaker short situation.

I have been a big fan of integrateds for the last two years and always appreciate listening to different models and see how they stack up. I actually knew about the Celeste a while back but never really gave it any serious listen. I kept focusing on the Audio Refinement Complete from the clever ads and hypes and eventually bought one. The Complete lasted in my home for about 2 months. It costed about $800 and it sounded like $800. I upgraded to the YBA Integre DT and felt so proud of owning a quality Class A unit. Expensive unit but reproduced extremely true and uncolor sound. I had both a bright room and bright speakers so I had to let it go because it didn't do much to tame my problem. I then looked around for a tube unit with remote control and only found one that is affordable, Golden Tube. I checked out the Golden Tube Integrated for about 2 days on loan from the local dealer. Tubes are great but I can't say anything good about the SI-50 in this case. My local dealer has Manley and Cary Integrateds that I am very familiar with and the Golden Tube Integrated was not anything close. I went to another dealer in my area and checked out the Myriad and the Sim Celeste. The Myriad was very average and didn't leave any positive impression except for the low price. However, the Celeste surprised me because I had expected it to be dynamic and fatiguing. It was dynamic but in a nice way that kinda bring a smile to your face. The vocal from Diane Krall on Lets Face The Music and Dance came across really tolerable, sibilance was very well neutralized. I asked the dealer to put the Sim Moon I-5 into the same set up so I can compare the two Sim units. The I-5 is very much in the same style as the YBA Integre DT, accurate and neutral. The Celeste is actually more generous on bass than both the I-5 and YBA DT, it was also smoother when it comes to sibilance from female vocals. I knew I had found my integrated amp.

Similar Products Used:

Owned YBA Integre DT, Audio Refinement Complete, Denon 5600, Golden Tube SI-50 II. Auditioned Myriad, Sim I-5, Anthem II, Manley Stingray, and Cary SE.

This is actually a follow up to a previous review I posted earlier. The I-5080 I bought was a store demo so I assumed that it was fully broken in when I first did my review. Well, it was broken in BUT it was plugged into the AC outlet for about a day. I discovered later that upon plugging the amp into the AC outlet, you must give it at least 3 days for the internal components to stabilize electronically. The manual also confirmed this as I read it more thoroughly. The difference you hear after the amp's been plugged in a while is that the high end had more of a crystalline nature. It was still on the smooth side but it did not sound rolled off like it did earlier. The overall warmness that I experienced initially was also slightly reduced, the sound was leaning more toward neutral now. The speed and the dynamics are still there. Basically, each musical note comes out at you like it's been propelled from a spring board. They come across complete and with great resolution. It is almost impossible to have music playing from this amp and not paying attention to it. There is an unmistakable live sounding feel in all the instruments. Poorly recorded classics like Carole King, Early Eagles, America (etc) sound like they just gone thru some magical remastering process. Good recordings like Pink Floyd, Patricia Barber, Jimmy Scott and most Chesky releases come across like they're played thru very expensive equipment. This amp will give a you a good perspective on the difference between loud and deep bass versus rhythmicly accurate and precise bass. The bass may be accurate but it is not understated or lean, it will definitely leave you impress and maybe, even a bit overwhelmed.

Equipment: (prices listed are full retail)
Celeste I-5080 amp ($1300)
Sony 88ES CD player ($1100)
MIT CVTerminator II 750 Speaker cables ($1100)
MIT CVTerminator II 330 IC cables ($550)
JM Lab Cobalt 815 speakers ($1800)

To give an idea of what my taste is, my previous amp was a Manley Stingray. This was a very balanced sounding integrated tube amp that I totally loved. I forgot to turn it off several times so I decided to go with solid state now. Also, I wanted a remote control amp too.

Really locks down images, soundstage and bass.
Cheap unit considering what it does.

Extreme high frequencies are rolled off somewhat.

The reviews I read below on this unit is quite accurate so I'll try not to be redundant. This unit is a winner with one or two caveats. If you are chasing after absolute transparency and neutrality which of course requires an expensive system, don't get this unit. Get the Moon I-5. If you have very good components (but not quite world class stuff), this would be a great unit for you. It does everything so well except it doesn't have the extreme HF that you hear with other solid state equipment. Unless your speaker are slightly dark, this should not be a problem though. The overall sound with the polished top end is very exciting and inviting that you will naturally want to crank it up loud. People with bright and revealing systems will certainly benefit from the warmness and the "take command" bass from this unit. Goes great with Totem, JMLab, Joseph and B&W speakers. Not good for Paradigm, Energy or bass heavy speakers unless you love rock and mainstream pop.