is it just me?

[bkgengwe]

I have been on the market for a few months now for speakers, but I just can't seem to find something close to my 30 year old celestions!! the next best thing I've heard was the new Spendors A6's. the worst of the lot was B&W CM9's:uhho::wanker:. how anyone can listen to any B&W speakers is beyond me:eek:. I used to think the world of 892D's until I realised they have a poor bass control compared to cheaper alternatives. I tried to demo the hallowed Rotel and B&W combination but was left disappointed. Anyway coming to mu original thread, I can't seem to find suitable replacement for my celestions A2's. my fear is that, they are so old, they soon kick the bucket and I'll have to spend obscene money to come even remotely close to them. what can I do?:scratch:

[synsei]

I am in a similar situation with my B&W DM2's which are over forty years old, except that I have no intention of exchanging them for something else. Should a component fail I will simply replace the offending component, after all there are plenty of spare parts knocking about for DM2's so I am confident I can keep mine going for many years to come.

[Audio Al]

I am in a similar situation with my B&W DM2's which are over forty years old, except that I have no intention of exchanging them for something else. Should a component fail I will simply replace the offending component, after all there are plenty of spare parts knocking about for DM2's so I am confident I can keep mine going for many years to come.

+1 :)

[synsei]

How are you getting on with yours Al? :)

[Audio Al]

How are you getting on with yours Al? :)

I have them all prepped ready to paint but its still too cold for the paint , may end up taking them somewhere and getting it done in a spray shop

I am in no rush as I still have the Tannoy's ;)

[synsei]

I have decided I am going to annoy the purists and give my pair a more contemporary look sometime this year (probably during the summer months). Not sure how far I intend to take them just yet but one aspect I have decided on is to change the particle board baffles for Birch Ply items. I'd also like to have the cabs re-veneered in walnut ;)

[Macca]

I have been on the market for a few months now for speakers, but I just can't seem to find something close to my 30 year old celestions!! the next best thing I've heard was the new Spendors A6's. the worst of the lot was B&W CM9's:uhho::wanker:. how anyone can listen to any B&W speakers is beyond me:eek:. I used to think the world of 892D's until I realised they have a poor bass control compared to cheaper alternatives. I tried to demo the hallowed Rotel and B&W combination but was left disappointed. Anyway coming to mu original thread, I can't seem to find suitable replacement for my celestions A2's. my fear is that, they are so old, they soon kick the bucket and I'll have to spend obscene money to come even remotely close to them. what can I do?:scratch:

As a fellow A2 owner I sympathise - the next step up is big money. I would say that they should last you a long time yet as they are a quality loudspeaker, both in build and sound. If I had to replace them on a budget I would seriously consider B&W 683 - they are a bit less than a grand but a real Subaru Imprezza of a loudspeaker and do pretty much everything the A2 does but with arguably a better midband. They do need a lot of running in, though. And a chunky amp.

[nat8808]

The A2 is supposed to be a great speaker ! (I've not heard a pair though)

They use the same drivers as the Celestion Kingstons, their 1995 £2500 flagship, an extended development of the SL600/700s flagships.

However, I think your dilemma stems from comparing apples with oranges price-wise.

Of course you can't pick anything up NEW as good without chucking loads of money at it but you CAN pick up secondhand bargains that might beat them for perhaps a bit more or even the same money if you choose well and find a bargain.

Going to an even older speaker could be an improvement if that speaker was a mega-buck audiophile revelation back in its day, as opposed to simply a very good, high street dealer consumer speaker like the A2.

I've seen say Magneplan MG3s sell for £400 - an amazing speaker of its time - and seen A2s sell for £300 odd on ebay. Not much difference there in outlay. Quad ESL63s can be found for £4-500 too for example.

Regarding B&W - I've never heard anything more recent from them than about '92 but their Matrix range is/was excellent. My first 805 Matrix's cost £250 from ebay and blew away anything I'd previously heard in terms of lack of box colourations - suddenly I could hear a weird box-honk from other speakers that I'd never noticed before, like it was being played down a wooden tunnel.

[Puffin]

I have decided I am going to annoy the purists and give my pair a more contemporary look sometime this year (probably during the summer months). Not sure how far I intend to take them just yet but one aspect I have decided on is to change the particle board baffles for Birch Ply items. I'd also like to have the cabs re-veneered in walnut ;)

Will these mods alter the caracteristics you like?

[synsei]

I hope not Rob. Most of the work will be cosmetic, the birch ply baffle on the other hand may well change the sonic characteristics, for the better hopefully. The baffles need to be sorted though because in 40 odd years of unscrewing and screwing them back on again the screws are beginning to pull through the holes :eyebrows:

[Puffin]

Captive nuts and bolts:eyebrows:

[synsei]

Yup, that is the answer but I would still like to scratch the Birch ply itch out of curiosity. I will be rewiring the internals (not sure what with as yet) and replacing as necessary any caps on the crossovers. I also intend to hardwire all the new wiring to the internal connections as currently they are connected with plastic push fit plugs.

[nat8808]

The A2 is supposed to be a great speaker ! (I've not heard a pair though)

They use the same drivers as the Celestion Kingstons, their 1995 £2500 flagship, an extended development of the SL600/700s flagships.



Just to say, I got that wrong - was thinking of the Celestion 200, not the A2 which is later and uses different drivers..