Celesion Ditton 44's and foam insulation

[BeR]

Hello

First time on the forum, so if I inadvertently miss one or two of the discussion protocols, it's not intentional.

I recently purchased a pair of mint condition Celestion Ditton 44's. The seller indicated he was the original owner, and didn't do any modifications whatsoever. When I removed the bass driver to have a look at the crossovers, I noticed a significant amount of foam insulation inside the cabinet. So much os that the foam was actually pressings against the metal bonnet of the driver to such a degree, that the foam had been molded around the housing.

I've had vintage speakers before, (better than entry level) where some foam was used, but never to this extent. My question is whether or not this is an intentional factory design. Also...I've read suggestions about cutting two ports holes ( approx 1.5" - 2".0 diameter) at the bottom front of the cabinets, resulting in them now being bass reflex, and am wondering if anyone has any feedback on this.

Thanks

Regards

BeR

[DarrenHW]

Hi Bevis,

Welcome to the forum.

What you describe sounds normal to me, every pair of 44's I've been inside has 1 piece of foam (~75mm thick) between the crossover and woofer.

Hope that helps.

[karma67]

and green! :)

[Macca]

Yes it is normal.

Cutting ports in the cabs is not a good idea. Especially as they are in good condition, these are quite a desirable vintage speaker. You could refresh the crossovers and upgrade the internal wiring, they are potentially useful mods that won't ruin the sound or reduce the desirability.

[DarrenHW]

and green! :)

or not....

http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u606/drtwas/IMG_7628_zpscw1zzneb.jpg (http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/drtwas/media/IMG_7628_zpscw1zzneb.jpg.html)

[DarrenHW]

Cutting ports in the cabs is not a good idea. Especially as they are in good condition, these are quite a desirable vintage speaker. You could refresh the crossovers and upgrade the internal wiring, they are potentially useful mods that won't ruin the sound or reduce the desirability.

What he said!

A good read if your considering a refurb: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?31916-Renovation-of-Celestion-66-Studio-Monitors&highlight=ditton

[walpurgis]

Hello Bevis. Welcome to AOS.

Tell us what music you listen to and what equipment you use in your Hi-Fi system.

The Celestion Ditton 44 is a well liked vintage speaker. The speaker is tuned to work as a sealed system, so cutting ports in the front baffle is probably not a great idea. As mentioned, they can be modernised a bit with sensible upgrades like high quality capacitors in the crossovers and better internal wiring. If you do make any changes, keep all the old parts in case you sell the speaker. Some buyers want originality and may need the parts.

Modifications and upgrades have been covered here before. If you want to discuss these, start a thread in the Past Masters section. I'm sure there'll be plenty of response to any questions you may have.



Enjoy the forum,
Geoff.

[spendorman]

My friend modified some Ditton 44's by removing the cone midrange units and replacing them with the dome midrange units from Ditton 66's. According to him, this resulted in an improvement in the mid.

[Macca]

If I was going to heavily modify a speaker, I wouldn't start with a Ditton 44.

[Macca]

Although I suppose you could make them active without doing anything irreversible. That would be interesting.

[walpurgis]

If I was going to heavily modify a speaker, I wouldn't start with a Ditton 44.

I agree. Although the mid swap is a good idea (if you can find any), as it is compatible with the other drivers and the crossover.

[Macca]

When I had some I thought the mid range driver was the weak point so maybe so. But some say it is their strong point so who knows?

[walpurgis]

When I had some I thought the mid range driver was the weak point so maybe so. But some say it is their strong point so who knows?

It is. The bass driver is excellent, as is the HF2000 tweeter (if a little fragile). I've had a couple of pairs of Ditton 44s and thought the mid could be improved on. A KEF B110 could be a drop in fit and maybe about the right sensitivity, but the impedance is slightly higher, so the crossover values would need adjusting.

[BeR]

What an incredible first experience on this forum!. You've made a close to 60ish old rocker quite humble. Can't thank everyone enough for the fantastic feedback.

My system:

Thorens 160 with an Origin Live Onyx arm, and Charisma MC cart.
Bryston 4B power amp
Rothwell Rialto MC phono stage
Proceed Pre-amp

Music preference are extremely varied from:

Black Sabbath to Beethoven
Beatles to Bowie
Sinatra to Scorpions
Uriah Heep to UFO
Genesis (Gabriel only) to George Benson
Pink Floyd to Fleetwood Mac
Andy Williams to The Who
Cream to Conniff Singers
Traffic to Tull
Zeppelin to ZZ Top

I think you get the message. To me at least...good music has no barriers.

[spendorman]

It is. The bass driver is excellent, as is the HF2000 tweeter (if a little fragile). I've had a couple of pairs of Ditton 44s and thought the mid could be improved on. A KEF B110 could be a drop in fit and maybe about the right sensitivity, but the impedance is slightly higher, so the crossover values would need adjusting.

Yes, the B110 would need a lot of equalisation to get things 'right' due to its rising response in the mid, the well know 'quack'. It's still a little bit evident even in the LS3/5a.

In my view the original Celestion cone mid is a better choice in the 44's. The 66's dome midrange being the easiest and probably best upgrade, a bit costly though.

The standard 44 is still quite a nice speaker, I still have a pair. Gave one pair to the friend that modified them with the 66 dome midranges.

"You've made a close to 60ish old rocker quite humble"

Oh, a youngster then, some of us are quite a bit older than that.

[Macca]

What an incredible first experience on this forum!. You've made a close to 60ish old rocker quite humble. Can't thank everyone enough for the fantastic feedback.

My system:

Thorens 160 with an Origin Live Onyx arm, and Charisma MC cart.
Bryston 4B power amp
Rothwell Rialto MC phono stage
Proceed Pre-amp

Music preference are extremely varied from:

Black Sabbath to Beethoven
Beatles to Bowie
Sinatra to Scorpions
Uriah Heep to UFO
Genesis (Gabriel only) to George Benson
Pink Floyd to Fleetwood Mac
Andy Williams to The Who
Cream to Conniff Singers
Traffic to Tull
Zeppelin to ZZ Top

I think you get the message. To me at least...good music has no barriers.

Good kit and good taste in music too!

[walpurgis]

What an incredible first experience on this forum!. You've made a close to 60ish old rocker quite humble. Can't thank everyone enough for the fantastic feedback.

We aim to please! :)

Hope you enjoy being here, it's a friendly forum with much useful knowledge available for the asking.

[JohnJo]

Good kit and good taste in music too!

+1 :)