View Full Version : Celestion Ditton 66 anyone?
Hi Guys
Slight change of track here.... After considering the Klipsch Hersey speakers my attention has moved to the Ditton 66s. Has anyone got/used them? How would they partner an 845 SET 25W in a smallish room? (Musical tastes pop/rock, acoustic and ambient.) Any other considerations I should bear in mind, given their age?
How do you rate these vintage speakers?
Many thanks
Wakefield Turntables
07-12-2012, 18:39
Cue, Marco......... c'mon put the guy out of his misery. :lol:
Lol....
Hi Drew,
How do I rate them? How would "freakin' awesome", do? :D
They're piss-easy to drive, and so very valve friendly. Have you used the search facility and read some of the many threads here on the subject? If not, I suggest you do :)
Marco.
heard marcos' at scalford 2011 , awesome , awesome , and erm awesome again
Ali Tait
07-12-2012, 19:22
Dunno what your budget is, but Colin Topp's Edingdales would be a great match with your amp IMHO.
tannoyman
07-12-2012, 19:31
Hi Guys
Slight change of track here.... After considering the Klipsch Hersey speakers my attention has moved to the Ditton 66s. Has anyone got/used them? How would they partner an 845 SET 25W in a smallish room? (Musical tastes pop/rock, acoustic and ambient.) Any other considerations I should bear in mind, given their age?
How do you rate these vintage speakers?
Many thanks
Hi
I have used Fortes and Klipshorns for many years but not their baby brothers the Heresys. Judging by the Fortes brethren you have expect them to be very lively and a little forward and a bit less tha sophisticated but good fun. I saw a review which described them as a 'hooligan of a loudspeaker'
The Ditton 66's I heard at shows years ago and they were very impressive. Smooth and detailed with an extended frequency response and very listenable. I cannot comment on amplifier matching.
David :):)
Dunno what your budget is, but Colin Topp's Edingdales would be a great match with your amp IMHO.
Very interesting....Is there info to hand on pricing, contact etc?
Reid Malenfant
07-12-2012, 19:34
Seconded with the 66s, I also own a pair :)
Don't just think of them as a good loudspeaker, think of them as an investment to! They are only going to go up in value as they become rarer & more sought after :cool:
Lol....
Hi Drew,
How do I rate them? How would "freakin' awesome", do? :D
They're piss-easy to drive, and so very valve friendly. Have you used the search facility and read some of the many threads here on the subject? If not, I suggest you do :)
Marco.
Thanks Marco...Going through the search facility as we speak...
Hi Drew
I recently bought a pair of Ditton 66s......they are big, great sound and awesome bass.....I've run KEFs for many years which I've loved, but the 66s rock....as they say.
John
Rare Bird
14-12-2012, 01:36
The Ditton '66's are great but (this might sound crazy) i sold mine years ago for a pair of Ditton '33's! Of course i would buy another pair of '33' if they came at a good price..
Lol... You just prefer smaller speakers, dude, because you don't like to listen (or can't) listen loud.
66s have way more 'heft' and scale than 33s, as good as those are, and such things are important to me (along with their 'hear through' clarity in the midrange and transparent, highly extended top-end), when I want to try and recreate the huge 'swell' and 'physicality' of an orchestra in full flow, in my lounge, as I'm enjoying right now with some Shostakovich, on the 66s - oh yes indeedy!! :eek: :eyebrows:
Marco.
Rare Bird
14-12-2012, 16:24
Lol... You just prefer smaller speakers, dude, because you don't like to listen (or can't) listen loud.
That maybe the case now but when i had the '66' i live in a house with one def neighbour, hence loudness wasnt an issue.. No it was the speaker as a whole i prefered. Same tweeter as your '15XR's..
Yup, they defo have different types of musical presentation, and I can understand why you'd prefer the 33s.
I'm just used to listening to big speakers, and the effortless scale that they have, so anything smaller than 66s, for me just sounds, erm, 'small'... Even the 66s sound 'small' compared with my Lockwoods!! :eyebrows:
Marco.
Reid Malenfant
14-12-2012, 22:34
I'd bet you any money that the Lockwoods will be cleaner (to yours & to my ears) doing deep bass compared to the 66s. It's bugger all to do with size of the enclosure, but everything to do with the loading of the driver in it's respective enclosure size.
I'm sure I could build a speaker the same size as your Lockwoods that'd sound bloody horrible in the bass end :lol:
It's nothing to do with size (though done right you'll get higher SPLs from a bigger speaker), but everything to do with implementation.
If you didn't happen to want as listen quite so loud then I know I could get the same kind of response from a speaker a quarter the size of your Lockwoods.
However, I agree that it's a seriously good idea to make any loudspeaker have an extended response (into the bass end - where it's most difficult) & still play stupendously loud ;)
Simply because at normal listening levels the distortion the speaker itself will produce will be minimal.
Merry christmas :D
Hi Mark,
I'd bet you any money that the Lockwoods will be cleaner (to yours & to my ears) doing deep bass compared to the 66s. It's bugger all to do with size of the enclosure, but everything to do with the loading of the driver in it's respective enclosure size.
You're not wrong, dude, but the the bass of the 66s isn't exactly unclean either. Driven by the Copper amp, it's tight as a drum, very 'fast and slammy', and without a hint of boom or overhang.
I agree with what you're saying, but I also think much depends on the room they're being used in and the amp that's driving them. The Copper amp really grips and controls those 12" drivers and the partnering ABRs! :exactly:
It also does the same job with the Lockwoods upstairs in a much smaller room.
I'm sure I could build a speaker the same size as your Lockwoods that'd sound bloody horrible in the bass end :lol:
It's nothing to do with size (though done right you'll get higher SPLs from a bigger speaker), but everything to do with implementation.
If you didn't happen to want as listen quite so loud then I know I could get the same kind of response from a speaker a quarter the size of your Lockwoods.
Don't doubt any of that!
However, I agree that it's a seriously good idea to make any loudspeaker have an extended response (into the bass end - where it's most difficult) & still play stupendously loud ;)
Simply because at normal listening levels the distortion the speaker itself will produce will be minimal.
Yup... Don't get me wrong, I can still quite enjoy small-ish loudspeakers, as long as they've been voiced to sound musical, and not falsely 'hi-fi'. Ultimately, however, when a bass line I'm familiar with in music, is due to kick in, which I know inside out, and when it happens, I don't get that visceral punch in the chest, as I'm used to, it dilutes my enjoyment of the music, as something important is missing...
Creating convincing scale, from appropriate music, is very important to me in a hi-fi system. It's one of the reasons why, much as I admire what statics do in certain areas, I couldn't live with them in the long-term, as I'd miss the 'heft' and loudness capabilities that I desire, when the music and the mood takes me! :hairmetal:
Merry christmas
Same to you, dude - have a nice one! :christmas:
Marco.
Reid Malenfant
14-12-2012, 23:18
Aye, we appear to be in pretty much total agreement :)
The 66s aren't designed to be flat to 20Hz or whatever, just like your Lockwoods, they both roll off & the output dips below a certain frequency.
The Lockwoods take a more gradual approach until about 25Hz when they hit a brick wall. The 66s are flatter in the upper bass (60 - 100Hz) which might not be a good thing in a smaller room, & roll off gradually below about 40Hz.
They also hit that same brick wall at about 25Hz though, where they roll off at 24dB/octave.
The differences between the two will be between 40 - 150Hz, where the 66s may be a little bit more solid in delivery, but not quite as fast or detailed. While the Lockwoods will sound clean & fast all round but without the upper bass weight of the 66s.
Like you say though, it'll be entirely room & amp dependent.
But all things being equal, that is what you'll get ;)
Wakefield Turntables
15-12-2012, 08:59
Man I only wish I had a bigger room to experience the delights of either the lockwoods or the bigger celestions. :(
walpurgis
19-12-2012, 23:01
The Ditton 66 is like other ABR equipped speakers at the bottom end, once the main system bass resonance is reached, the ABR and main bass driver rapidly go out of phase to each other, but still deliver energy, causing bass cancellation, hence the very steep cut off. The Kef 104 and Cadenza do exactly the same.
Must admit I loved the 66 and always wanted a pair, but never had the room, Why do manufacturers insist on discontinuing great products, it's not always 'progress'. I know it's an old design, but If this speaker was made today, I reckon it would still sell well (probably cost a fortune though).
southall-1998
19-12-2012, 23:12
What is the 66 sensitivity?
I'm not exactly sure, Shane. It'd guess at around 88-90db, as they hardly take any driving at all to go stupidly loud with my 50W Class A valve amp.
Even at the very low listening levels I'm currently playing music at (one click from zero on the stepped attenuator of my Croft preamp), as Del's asleep upstairs, the lounge is still being effortlessly filled with music.
The 66s have got bags of presence and dynamics, therefore unlike many modern speakers, they don't need thrashed to within an inch of their lives before coming alive! :exactly:
Marco.
southall-1998
19-12-2012, 23:23
Lovely! So would 10 watts drive them to decent levels?
Must admit I loved the 66 and always wanted a pair, but never had the room.
You don't actually need that much room, Geoff, in order for them to perform superbly well. Neither of the rooms I use them in are big, and being sealed boxes, they can go close to walls and also into corners of the room without creating bass boom - indeed that is where they sound best! :)
Why do manufacturers insist on discontinuing great products, it's not always 'progress'. I know it's an old design, but If this speaker was made today, I reckon it would still sell well (probably cost a fortune though).
Lol... "Progress"? When it comes to out-and-out sonic performance with speakers and electronics, there hasn't been much of that in the last 30 years!
Marco.
Rare Bird
19-12-2012, 23:29
Yes they are high efficiency..They only need an handfull of watts to boogie :)
Lovely! So would 10 watts drive them to decent levels?
10 quality valve watts, perhaps, but with SS, you'd need more. I'd say that a good 30W SS integrated amp would be fine, as a minimum, but they really need high-quality source and control components to deliver what they're capable of, sonically - and also because they are ruthlessly revealing of both system and recording defects, hence their monitor heritage in studios and broadcasting houses.
Get it right though, and they sound utterly sublime! :)
Marco.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.