House of Celestion

[Artmin]

Here are a few pictures of my Celestions. The collection has been expanding quite quickly recently as I have been snapping up any local sales.

Celestion Ditton 662 & 15 XR
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/v8wgm/Celestion%20Ditton/20130428_123021.jpg

Modified 15 XR
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/v8wgm/Celestion%20Ditton/20130505_175242.jpg

Celestion Ditton 33
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/v8wgm/Celestion%20Ditton/20130622_133044.jpg

Celestion A3
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/v8wgm/Celestion%20Ditton/20130531_195821.jpg

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the other equipment, but I'll get round to that some day.

[stupinder]

Had a pair of Celestion A1s a few years ago - they're the younger sibling of the A3 s above. Fabulous loudspeaker and an absolute bargain if you can find them!

[Artmin]

Hi Stu. Yes, the A1 is a lovely loudspeaker too.

I still feel that I need more grunt in my power amp for the A3s. Anybody have any suggestions?

[RichB]

Nice pics, those 15 xr look very tidy. I have a pair of 15s, they look a bit tatty but still sound the business in stock form. What mods did you do on them?

[Artmin]

Nice pics, those 15 xr look very tidy. I have a pair of 15s, they look a bit tatty but still sound the business in stock form. What mods did you do on them?

Hi Richard, nothing major, but there is a write up on them on my blog here: http://artmincnc.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/celestion-ditton-15-xr-refurbishment.html

[DSJR]

Any ideas of the 150 model? I think it offered updated styling, a further revised bass-mid driver and the mesh covered tweeter dome, but I have no other info on it.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Great collection, I own a super modified pair of 15XR's which I use with a number of systems. Do you think you'll ever get a pair of 66's? :eek:

[jandl100]

Nice photos - lovely collection. Go on - show us the rest! ;)

[Idlewithnodrive]

My son has had my Celestion A1's for the last 3 or 4 years and I have just acquired a pair of Ditton 44's.

Both quite wonderful speakers and the 44's in particular have been quite a revelation, although I still haven't quite got the amp / speaker match right I feel.

[Wakefield Turntables]

My son has had my Celestion A1's for the last 3 or 4 years and I have just acquired a pair of Ditton 44's.

Both quite wonderful speakers and the 44's in particular have been quite a revelation, although I still haven't quite got the amp / speaker match right I feel.

You don't need much of an amp to power these beasts, I have a pair of these as well. I preferred valves when using mine but SS can sound good as well. Anything upto 50-60 watts should more than ample to drive the big 12" bass drivers on these classics, can you tell I love celestion vintage speakers ???

[pjdowns]

If I remember correctly, Robin Marshall, the designer of my Epos ES14's was heavily involved in the development of a number of Celestion speakers. Personally I've never heard any of the larger Celestion's but I remember a smaller pair that used to give the Wharfedale Diamond a serious run for their money!

[Artmin]

There are quite a few other Dittons that I would be interested in. The 150s I have seen on the 'bay but postage makes them uneconomical. If I ever happen across 44s I'll defo snap them up. To be honest not sure if I'd buy a pair off 66s. I've never heard a pair though I have read that the midrange is superior to the 662. But could you imaging me trying to smuggle those into the house without the wife noticing. She had said a flat NO to the 662s but I bought them anyway. They are now regarded as part of the furniture. It cost me a small fortune to recap those using Supersounds but I'll never part with them.

Andrew, I happened across your 15 XR modifications whilst Googling. Was it you who had mentioned testing by removing the ABR & adding a second woofer in place? I can't find it now.

I now have enough spare 15 XR parts to build a set. I'll do it as a project with my son as he is getting into Hi-Fi now. I think I'll profile layers of MDF on the CNC and sandwich them together to create a profiled box & then laminate them. I think a piano gloss black finish would look nice with brushed aluminium driver surrounds :D

[Wakefield Turntables]

Andrew, I happened across your 15 XR modifications whilst Googling. Was it you who had mentioned testing by removing the ABR & adding a second woofer in place? I can't find it now.

D

Nope that wasn't mine but I have read the same thread. Adding a second woofer would kill the speaker IMHO it's a fantastic little piece of kit that really doesn't need much doing to it. I mainly just worked on some of the speakers weak points (like the crap binding posts), recapped the xo, uprated the intrinsic wiring etc. What nifty tricks have you done to yours, I might learn something new..:eyebrows:

[Artmin]

I was wondering what would happen & I couldn't imagine how to use the second woofer in the same enclosure without enlarging & compartmenting the box.

I just did the basic upgrades. There's a wee write up on them in my blog below. I am still using the original binding posts as I didn't think they were bad, recapped the XO, isolated the XO, QED wiring directly to XO and just did the bit of cosmetic updating to them. I did read you had changed the damping material & added sorbothane to the inner walls. Did that do much to tighten the bass?

[stupinder]

Hi Stu. Yes, the A1 is a lovely loudspeaker too.

I still feel that I need more grunt in my power amp for the A3s. Anybody have any suggestions?
Yep the A1s liked a good deal of power up 'em and so I imagine the A3s are similarly demanding. I was using an American pa style amp that was modded in factory for domestic use (Soundcraftsman) with great results. One of the speakers I do regret selling as it happens but I'd gone to 300Bs ((PSE) and they just didn't have the welly for the A1s sadly.
Bit od a "not very hifi" suggestion but what about something from Crown -I know Stew that writes for us swears by 'em http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Crown-xti1000-power-amplifier-/300924958600?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item4610867788

[Artmin]

Bit od a "not very hifi" suggestion but what about something from Crown[/url]

Ha ha, I thought you were trying to flog me some paint there. Must admit I've never heard of them but I'd never heard of Sonneteer either. I wonder where I'd get to hear a pair of those. I did test a Quad 606 which was nice but it 'popped' on power on. I've heard a Krell is nice with them.

[stupinder]

Ha ha, I thought you were trying to flog me some paint there. Must admit I've never heard of them but I'd never heard of Sonneteer either. I wonder where I'd get to hear a pair of those. I did test a Quad 606 which was nice but it 'popped' on power on. I've heard a Krell is nice with them.
Loads of Crown on E bay but I'm sure someone who has experimented will be along to offer a listen///
They are PA amplifiers - I've let Stew know about this thread so with a bit of luck he'll be along to advise ;_)

[stewartwen]

Here I am! If you need loads of power, and current, then go for a Crown DC300A. I have lusted after one of these for many years, I now have four of them!
They are unusual in that they dont sound like a semiconductor amp at all. Rather they have the finesse that the more expensive valve amps have but they also have the semicon punch. Mine have 220 watts rms per channel in to 8 ohms, 400 watts rms into 4 ohms and a healthy 550 watts rms into 2 ohms. But mine have been completely rebuilt some more than once. Crown in America have an excellent service dept and all the components are still available but sadly casework and transformers are not available from them. Service manuals are to be got from the Crown website, for free!
All I can say is to take a listen to one and decide for yourself.................dont take any notice of the gainsayers......as well as the single ended valve brigade, as your Speakers require loads of current and lots of watts.
S

[Macca]

Hi Stu. Yes, the A1 is a lovely loudspeaker too.

I still feel that I need more grunt in my power amp for the A3s. Anybody have any suggestions?

They are a tough load - I am using an XTZ amp with my A2s that delivers both watts and current - Highly recommend it for your A3s, will give you effortless power and control.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/amplifiers/xtz-ap-100-710209/review

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac233/Macca_photos_2009/001-6.jpg (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Macca_photos_2009/media/001-6.jpg.html)

[Wakefield Turntables]

I was wondering what would happen & I couldn't imagine how to use the second woofer in the same enclosure without enlarging & compartmenting the box.

I just did the basic upgrades. There's a wee write up on them in my blog below. I am still using the original binding posts as I didn't think they were bad, recapped the XO, isolated the XO, QED wiring directly to XO and just did the bit of cosmetic updating to them. I did read you had changed the damping material & added sorbothane to the inner walls. Did that do much to tighten the bass?

Yeah bass improved quite a bit. The 15XR also improves further if you couple it via a layer of sorbothane to your speaker. I stand mine on wooden stands altough some folk swear by steel frame supports.

[walpurgis]

Have you heard a pair of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161054101997?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

They are like mini Ditton 15s and proportioned rather like elongated LS3/5As. I've had a couple of pairs and they sound amazing for their size. A rare speaker now.

[shane]

Does anyone have any experience of the 3000 and 5000 series with the ribbon tweeters? Always looked like a nice idea but they disappeared off the scene very quickly. Any good

[The Grand Wazoo]

I seem to recall that at least one member has/had some. Can't remember who though.

[Artmin]

Never heard a pair of those Ditton 120s but they look interesting. I take it they sound bigger than they look, like the 15s? i could easily smuggle a pair of those into the house. The box & woofer remind me a bit of the Videoton Minimax 2.

Interesting amps to add to the list to listen too.

[dantheman91]

Have you heard a pair of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161054101997?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

They are like mini Ditton 15s and proportioned rather like elongated LS3/5As. I've had a couple of pairs and they sound amazing for their size. A rare speaker now.

Ahh my first pair of speakers excellent little things should of kept them

[walpurgis]

Never heard a pair of those Ditton 120s but they look interesting. I take it they sound bigger than they look, like the 15s? i could easily smuggle a pair of those into the house. The box & woofer remind me a bit of the Videoton Minimax 2.

Interesting amps to add to the list to listen too.

The Ditton 120, like the Ditton 15, do sound bigger than you'd expect. They use basically the same drivers as the now much sought after Ditton 10, but in elongated cabinets to accommodate the ABR unit.

As for amps, well, that's down to how much you intend to spend! As I've said on AOS before, in my collection of amplifiers, I have a couple of Monarchy Audio Class A power amps, an SM-70 and an SM-70 Pro and they amaze me every time I use them, they sound beautiful. Grab one if you see one. Check the online reviews.

[walpurgis]

Just spotted on eBay, one of the most unusual Celestion speakers. The Bang & Olufsen 5700, that's not a mistake, they really are Celestions. Look at the drivers, it's like a Ditton 66 with ten inch bass unit and ABR. And yes, they sound remarkable, I've heard them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bang-Olufsen-BeoVox-5700-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/171049042064?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudio HiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item27d3514090

[Lionheart]

I won the auction for the 120's that you linked to, I must say they are really nice sounding speakers, they were a bit marked so I rubbed them down and waxed them today. They sound to my ears like a scaled down pair of 25's, you still get the bass but it's not as deep as the larger Celestions which isn't altogether a bad thing in average size rooms.

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/lionheart-uk/005_zps8b448a2d.jpg (http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/lionheart-uk/media/005_zps8b448a2d.jpg.html)

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/lionheart-uk/018_zpsd5116c13.jpg (http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/lionheart-uk/media/018_zpsd5116c13.jpg.html)

These are 25's to show you the difference in size

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/lionheart-uk/009_zps8863cfc4.jpg (http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/lionheart-uk/media/009_zps8863cfc4.jpg.html)

[walpurgis]

That's good. I know what they are capable of, I had a couple of pairs. Nobody seems to have caught onto them yet, the smaller Ditton 10s are changing hands for hundreds.

[Lionheart]

Geoff............I've sold 15 pairs of bookshelf speakers of various brands over the last year, I can honestly say along with a pair of AR 18's they are the best sounding small speaker I can recall hearing (at a sensible price). They seem to be able to relay music in a more realistic and believable way unlike most bookshelf speakers I've used that seem never to do everything right.

[walpurgis]

All down to the HF1300 tweeter, which presents a huge amount of information and ambience. I actually prefer balance of the Ditton 120 to the Ditton 15.

[Lionheart]

It seems to be strange that there is no mention of the 120 anywhere on the web, I was originally looking for a pair of 15's but was intrigued by these and the seeming lack of info on the model and took a chance.

[Marco]

Nice one, John. Lovely pics of your system, too! I love your vintage gear.

Almost all Celestions from that range sound excellent. I won't ever change my 66s,as they sound truly superb and offer a valuable counterpoint, in terms of musical presentation, compared with my Tannoys. Enjoy! :cool:

Marco.