Celestion ditton 44

[rt1980]

so the time has come for me to part with my much loved speakers:( they have over 15yrs of service!! not bad at all and still sound fantastic!! but about to have a baby and apparently we must make some space :steam::steam: could someone please give me some advice on how much to sell for please?? seen all sorts of prices but thought id ask some serious people who no there stuff any help would be great thanks in advance ;)

[Macca]

you'll need to stick some photos up:)

[DSJR]

Is £50 to £75pr too mean a price to ask? eBay goes mad at certain times of the year and prices fluctuate wildly. I mean, Marco paid well over the odds (IMO) for his Ditton 66's, which normally fetch £650 or less, but he loves 'em so that's fine for him...

Don't rush to sell 'em is my advice. if you have to get summat smaller, some Ditton 15XR's (to keep brand loyalty) or some later Ditton 100's or 110's could be got cheap while you sound the market out for the real worth of 44's, which are a bit bulky for modern tastes (I don't care, but wifey would).

I've seen Ditton 44's broken up for parts, which is a crying shame, but this may influence the eventual selling price. I hope you get hundreds for them, as NOTHING available for under £500 new (IMO) will give that visceral weight and power.

[rt1980]

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/31/speakers001.jpg
By spursfan1980 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spursfan1980) at 2011-07-14

[rt1980]

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/9283/001jli.jpg
By spursfan1980 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spursfan1980) at 2011-07-14

[rt1980]

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9154/speakers2002.jpg
By spursfan1980 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spursfan1980) at 2011-07-14

[rt1980]

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/2670/speakers002.jpg
By spursfan1980 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/spursfan1980) at 2011-07-14

[rt1980]

Thanks for advise ill look into the ditton range but smaller. would like to hang on to these really but someone already offerd £300 for them but im not sure if its good or not... ARGGGH!!

[Macca]

Thanks for advise ill look into the ditton range but smaller. would like to hang on to these really but someone already offerd £300 for them but im not sure if its good or not... ARGGGH!!

£300 is a good price esp as you have damage to a mid driver (looks like it anyway but a replacement is not expensive) worse examples go for around that on eBay

[Rare Bird]

Only a dust cap Martin, should come out.. Loverly pair those..

[DSJR]

If you've been offered £300 for them, I'd bite his hand off if I were you. My Gawd, they're good, but not THAT good........

Sorry, but the used market for vintage gear has gone berserk, with people paying all sorts of money for forty year old well obsolete gear. At this rate, I could ask £500 for my BC2's because they're bass-better and so much more rare than BC1's. Madness!!!!!

[rt1980]

See on the one hand i thought take £300 and run but there going for crazy prices i put them up for sale within 24hrs ive had four offers i mean the 66s went for over a grand on ebay i no there not the same, it just made me think.(MONEY MONEY MONEY) but hey £300 aint bad they were around £200 new that was some years ago now think ill be being greedy to expect anymore.. I THINK THE PROBLEM IS I DONT REALLY WANA SELL THEM

[Marco]

Sorry, but the used market for vintage gear has gone berserk, with people paying all sorts of money for forty year old well obsolete gear.


I hear what you're saying, Dave, but I personally wouldn't class the 44s (or for that matter, my 15XRs or 66s) as "well obsolete gear", in terms of their sonic performance.

In fact, "obsolete" is hated term of mine when used (often in a derogatory sense) in reference to quality vintage gear, which may be "obsolete", in the sense that it is no longer made (in many cases more is the pity!), but not in the sense that, sonically, it is not up to today's standards. In my experience, quite the opposite is true!

There's a reason why I paid £1200 for my Celestion 66s, and it wasn't in order to revel in the 'warm glow' of an early-1970s nostalgia trip (which means zero to me anyway, as in those days I was more interested in playing with my toy soldiers, than having any concerns about the merits of particular loudspeakers).

It was because, purely and simply, they completely outperformed most loudspeakers I've heard made today, and certainly any which are under the £3-4k mark, new. It's the exact same situation with my Tannoy Lockwoods, although even more so!

Therefore, the 44s in question at £300, are in my opinion, a HUGE unmitigated BARGAIN, and should be snapped up immediately by anyone looking for a top-quality pair of speakers that will outperform most of the dross made today at MANY times that price.

It's a real shame that Ryan has to sell them, because when he tries to replace them, he'll soon discover how difficult that will be, and exactly how special what he had was that he's sadly now had to let go.....

Marco.

[Marco]

I THINK THE PROBLEM IS I DONT REALLY WANA SELL THEM


Then dig your heels in and don't! That's my advice, Ryan.

I respect your personal circumstances, but a partnership is all about give and take, so if your good lady has YOUR best interests at heart, as well as her own, then she won't MAKE you sell something which, quite clearly, means a great deal to you.

I know what I'd tell Del if she tried to make ('make' being the operative word) me sell any of my speakers. But then I know that she wouldn't even dream of going there......! ;)

Best of luck, anyway, with whatever you decide :)

Marco.

[chelsea]

What will you replace them with?

[rt1980]

The baby lol.. not sure really how do you replace them without spending top money i cant think of anything really below £750!! i may have to reconsider this sale ;)

[Marco]

There are always ways around things, Ryan, if both of you put your minds to it! The arrival of a baby needn't mean that you have to clear out all of your prized possessions....

I presume that your good lady isn't disposing of her shoe collection, in order to make way for nappies? ;)

Marco.

[chelsea]

The baby lol.. not sure really how do you replace them without spending top money i cant think of anything really below £750!! i may have to reconsider this sale ;)

I would to.
Size wise your not going to save much space with bookshelf speakers and stands plus there more unstable than the dittons.

I made stands out of paving slabs and bricks to stabilise the stand mount speakers i had when my kids were small.

[Rare Bird]

I'd personally keep them, they aint that big only about 10'' deep. You'll regret it i did.

[rt1980]

Thanks guys i will stand my ground got to be done i think ive made space for the past 15 20 yrs.. As for her parting with the shoes we all no the answer there;0

[DSJR]

Hi Marco. What I meant by well obsolete wasn't to damn them in any way - REALLY!!! - What I mean is that spares and service is going to be nigh on impossible and that many oldie items need some work. In the case of the 44's, I suspect a recap, even with new low-loss electrolytics, may improve things a bit. As for your 66's. I do remember them with huge affection as you know, but again, an unfortunate mishap to a driver will have you in tears, although I suspect a bass unit could be repaired ok as long as the suspension isn't a specific type as the BBC derived models could have I think...

You know, one case for old large Tannoy's is that Lockwoods can repair and refurbish old drive units and crossovers to better than new standard WITH OFFICIAL PARTS I understand. Did you see the Lockwood Major cabs on ebay just now? Cheap enough to be re-veneered and filled with new drivers etc...

Anyway, I agree that possibly the 44's could be stored safely for a while and temporarily (for a few years) replaced with summat friendly like 15XR's, or one of the replacement models such as any of the the DL series perhaps. The OP will kick himself in a few years time if the 44's really do go...

[Macca]

Hi Marco. What I meant by well obsolete wasn't to damn them in any way - REALLY!!! - What I mean is that spares and service is going to be nigh on impossible and that many oldie items need some work. In the case of the 44's, I suspect a recap, even with new low-loss electrolytics, may improve things a bit. As for your 66's. I do remember them with huge affection as you know, but again, an unfortunate mishap to a driver will have you in tears, although I suspect a bass unit could be repaired ok as long as the suspension isn't a specific type as the BBC derived models could have I think...

...

Mid range and bass drivers for the 44 are available fairly consistently and cheaply on ebay (not the tweeters) - I know because I've followed a few out of interest since I got my 44s.

IMHO it would be a struggle to replace them with something new and modern for just £300 - you certainly would not get anything with the same quality of finish.

Comparing them to my more modern A2 the closed box design really does give bass a tautness and timing that shows up the more modern ported A2 (although they do time well for a ported box). IMHO the weak point of the 44 is the midrange which is a little boxy compared to the very open and clear mid of the A2.