+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 34 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 340

Thread: Renovation of Celestion 66 Studio Monitors

  1. #1
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default Renovation of Celestion 66 Studio Monitors



    These are the Celestion 66 Studio Monitors I purchased off Fleabay.
    They have very nice cabinets with good original grill cloth and badges, I got them for a ridiculously low price. The following is the story of their renovation back to full working order.






    They are an early version unofficially referred to as Mk I.
    When you take the grills off they don't look so smart and certainly look their age.







    The drivers show all the signs of being stored for years unused.
    The tweeter covers had unglued themselves and were lying inside the main grill covers.






    Here is where things get ugly, both bass drivers have perished surrounds, but I knew that when I bought them, that's why they were so cheap. Within a minute of winning them in an auction on Fleabay I also had an offer of £80 accepted for a pair of early 66 bass drivers that looked in great condition, they will be going in as soon as possible. Strangely enough the two original drivers still measure the correct resistance so I will keep them for now.







    That's the first cabinet stripped out and ready for work to start.
    First thing I did was paint the horrible white glue line around the edge of the baffle board. Some satin black and an artists brush did the trick. The sides and back of the cabinet seem relatively stiff and resonance free. The top and bottom seem very boxy when you give them the old knuckle wrap - I will be applying a bitumen dead sheet to both.
    As you can see my workshop - err kitchen - is in a bit of a mess at the moment, sooo many projects.






    That's the x-over, confirming they are an early (Mk I) version. It's taken as a wiring reference should I forget how it all goes back together. I will be keeping everything pretty much as original as a first step. Once I have got used to how they sound I will consider upgrades such as re capping and even the tweeter upgrades. For now I will simply renew the puny internal wiring and the binding posts, as one of my posts is broken.

    More to follow………..

  2. #2
    Join Date: Jan 2012

    Location: leicestershire

    Posts: 694
    I'm John.

    Default

    Nice cabinets......looking forward to following the renovation.
    You won't be disappointed with the 66s.....currently listening to The Muswell Hillbillies through mine.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Technics 1210/Mike New Bearing/Jelco SA750d/Goldring 2500/Paul Hynes SR5 21/27.
    Cambridge Audio 840c CD. Squeezebox Touch. Synology NAS.
    Teac A-3440.
    Beresford Bushmaster.
    Quad II monoblocks....Quad 44/405.....Croft Micro.....Cambridge Audio 840.
    Celestion Ditton 66.....KEF Reference One

  3. #3
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    John - yes they were just too good to pass on, I had to pull the trigger.

    Need a bit of work but I think they will tidy up nicely.

    Never actually heard a set but everyone I speak to has good things to say about them - can't wait.

  4. #4
    Join Date: Nov 2013

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 4,243
    I'm Andr'e.

    Default

    Even thought the 'Ditton' fad is over with most people this should be very interesting thread, look forward to the finished article..

  5. #5
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 9,302
    I'm Andrew.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by The Barbarian View Post
    Even thought the 'Ditton' fad is over with most people this should be very interesting thread, look forward to the finished article..
    Ouch! They ain't that bad.
    SS
    CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10

    VALVE
    PRE
    Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker



  6. #6
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Deleted

    Posts: 6,585
    I'm Deleted.

    Default

    That crossover is interesting Ken - all air-coed coils and point to point hard wired. It's odd that the coils aren't orientated a bit better though.
    Account Deleted

  7. #7
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    Mark - If I do a re-cap at some point it would be good to try and re-orientate the coils at the same time. (Possible phase II)

  8. #8
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Deleted

    Posts: 6,585
    I'm Deleted.

    Default Renovation of Celestion 66 Studio Monitors

    Repositioning the coils isn't difficult, certainly not for someone with your DIY expertise . As fas as caps are concerned, there only looks to be one electrolytic in the whole thing!
    Account Deleted

  9. #9
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Bristol

    Posts: 6,843
    I'm Justin.

    Default

    Well, I'd rather a pair of 66s than, say, a pair of LV OBX-R2s, to which, IMHO, the Celestions give a massive hiding. At massively reduced cost.

    If you get them working well, they'll easily beat 90% of the speakers that were at this years Bristol Hi-Fi show. In my opinion, that is.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    I think those big bundles of 6 and 9 caps are elctrolytics, to be honest I haven't had time to go there yet.

    There is a huge thread generated over a period of about five years covering all kinds of 66 based stuff on diyaudio.

    When you swap out the old electrolytics for modern polyprops you have to add a risistor in series to keep the values as original.

    They give the values required. Lots of frequancy plots etc. I will get into all that later on, my immediate task is to get a working set to standard spec.
    Last edited by Qwin; 14-04-2014 at 15:33.

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 34 12311 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •