Celestian Ditton 25’s

[Brian28]

Hi all , just brought a pair of 25’s , in very. I’ve condition overall ..

My question is regarding the cabinets .. would you deaden the cabinets with Something like silent coat .. bitumen sheets, as I was recommended to do on some tannoys .. and new foam or is that not advisable on these cabinets ? Any thoughts or advice

Regards Brian

[walpurgis]

I'd guess the ABR tuning may be fairly important and would avoid making irreversible alterations, including anything that significantly changes cabinet volume.

[Pigmy Pony]

My thoughts are that the boffins at KEF will have tried (and mostly rejected) all manner of damping in the cabinets when developing the speakers, and as long as everything is working as intended you can just relax and enjoy :)

[Lawrence001]

My thoughts are that the boffins at KEF will have tried (and mostly rejected) all manner of damping in the cabinets when developing the speakers, and as long as everything is working as intended you can just relax and enjoy :)Why would the Kef boffins have helped with the damping in these, were they moonlighting there??

[struth]

In 2003, the Celestion and KEF manufacturing operations were united under the banner of KH Manufacturing Ltd.:eyebrows:

[walpurgis]

The Ditton 25 entered the market around 1968 and stayed in production until the mid seventies. I quite like them, they feature some of the best sounding tweeters made in the UK.

[Pigmy Pony]

Why would the Kef boffins have helped with the damping in these, were they moonlighting there??

:doh: Got KEF on my mind, thinking about some R11s.

[Pigmy Pony]

In 2003, the Celestion and KEF manufacturing operations were united under the banner of KH Manufacturing Ltd.:eyebrows:

There you go Lawrence, I may have been (unintentionally) correct after all. Actually no, the Dittons pre-dated that. On an unrelated note, why is my laptop never happy with my spelling of Celestion? I've no idea what it wants me to type. Maybe Celestian? Nope that didn't work either.

[Lawrence001]

There you go Lawrence, I may have been (unintentionally) correct after all. Actually no, the Dittons pre-dated that. On an unrelated note, why is my laptop never happy with my spelling of Celestion? I've no idea what it wants me to type. Maybe Celestian? Nope that didn't work either.Probably Celestial. My phone keeps changing it, drives me nuts.

[Barry]

In 2003, the Celestion and KEF manufacturing operations were united under the banner of KH Manufacturing Ltd.:eyebrows:

And both are now part of the Gold Peak Technology Group. Along with Quad and Wharfedale, that's another couple of traditional established British audio manufacturers that have been swallowed up by Hong Kong entrepreneurs. :doh:

[Wakefield Turntables]

I've restored 9 or 10 pairs of Celestions over the years, my thoughts (for what they are worth) are just to keep them stock, don't try and overly damp them. Binding posts and new caps can make a difference in my experience but other than that I'd leave alone.

[Brian28]

Thanks for your thoughts.. that’s great and exactly what I will do..

[Wakefield Turntables]

My thoughts are that the boffins at KEF will have tried (and mostly rejected) all manner of damping in the cabinets when developing the speakers, and as long as everything is working as intended you can just relax and enjoy :)

This is very true upto the year they produced the speaker. All manner of materials probably got invented after the speaker design. Then there is the HUGE black hole of trying loads of different new stuff, which, to be honest can be fun, expensive, and frustrating. So, do you want the sound of a pair of speakers from the 60s/70s or are you trying to update a 60s/70s speaker with a more modern, accurate sound? Quandries, quandries.........

[rodthebod]

I have built completely new cabinets for my Studio 66's and kept the spec identical to the original 18mm chipboard cabinets. Recapped and made them tri-wireable so tri-ampable (is that a word..). I used only the original foam and no extra damping at all. The speakers were elevated on carb fibre speaker supports by around 10 inches to help sort the bass out. I would never use any extra damping on these out any other Celestion speaker of this vintage.

I can say after months of listening to these mid 1970's speakers the designers back then really knew what they were doing, the timbre on acoustic and percussive music is spot on, they are fast and agile and the cabinets disappear. Celestion had all kinds of options on materials for these flagship speakers but they went for chipboard because it's more lively and transmits energy at a higher frequency. Damping the internals would destroy the life they convey. Marvellous speakers and a joy to live with, my favourite vintage speaker by miles. The bass they produce is uncanny especially on the elevated carbon supports which control the low end punch and make for a very articulate speaker. Top end is sublime and the midrange believable. Happy chap....

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