Printable View
I know lol, there's certainly enough room in there for one!:D
I think it was essentially a clever design that just needed some further refinement... The Koss are being shipped today from Bulgaria, so shouldn't be long until they arrive - full review to follow:)
Marco.
The Celestion 15s have arrived, and after giving them a good clean inside under the grilles, removing years of dust and yellowy nicotine (yuk - this type of exercise always reminds me of just how filthy a habit smoking is:spew:), and quick polish of the exterior wood, which is in remarkably good condition, I fired them up....
All I can say is :wow::wowzer:
These sound quite different to the XRs, and not in any way inferior, that's for sure... Just laughably good for the £89.00 I paid!!:lol::mental::D
[A lot] more later!!
Marco.
In the meantime, some pics...
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/MY5hT7.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/uOCgT5.jpg
Spot one of the Yamaha subs on the floor!;) Just showing how nice condition the wood is in:
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/fgh9lZ.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/JdhDKC.jpg
And a few shots of the gear making up the downstairs system, with the Sony amp, Virgin V6 box,Beresford DAC, also the Paul Hynes PSU, for the RPi:
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/3NXSW7.jpg
The other Ditton 15XR performing duties as a centre speaker (as part of the home-cinema system):
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/pzQt1m.jpg
Very pleased with these Ditton 15s! :cool:
Marco.
They look pretty tidy. Andre's favourite Celestion IIRC
Digging the 'Old Charm' cabinet.
I really must dig out my 15's and give them a spin sometime.
I think his favs were the 33s and these, one of which I used to use as a centre speaker (forget the model number):Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...921/9zDSvT.jpg
But as far as the 15s go, yes he preferred the originals :)
These just sound lovely mate, stupidly good for £89... You'd need to put a zero on the end of that and head well up towards £1k to get the sort of sound these Ditton 15s are producing, for smallish stand-mount speakers.
Yup, they're superior to the XRs (even modified/upgraded as mine were) - simply because they use better quality drivers. The top end in particular of the HF1300 ultimately has more texture and clarity than the soft-dome units on the XRs, and even though the measured frequency response rolls off as it does, 'dull' they ain't!
There's a lovely 'crisp and sparkly' openness to their treble response, and the midrange is fabulous, making vocals sound rich and sonorous, but also unfailingly believable and lifelike. Bass hits harder and deeper too, than it does with the XRs, and it's also more rhythmic and tuneful with it.
The only thing I would say is I can still detect the telltale 'signature' of electrolytic caps, which imbue the presence region with a touch of hardness and a slight 'nasal' quality, which I know would disappear by fitting some quality polypropylene ones, such as I did to the XRs, but it's nothing major.
Dunno if the crossovers in these are the same, but once I get more used to their sound I'll investigate that area, and possibly also replace the speaker terminals with something better, as things have moved on rather drastically in that area!
I'm only getting away with using the rather flimsy stock ones, as I use Chord Sarsen speaker cable in this set-up, which is very thin (but good quality): https://www.hifix.co.uk/chord-sarsen...able-per-metre
Anyway, off for another listen - I may be some time!:eyebrows:
Marco.
Well spotted, Roy-boy! You like that stuff? It's very sturdily made (solid oak), and the traditional style suits the room. We have a fair bit of it:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
Marco.
Yeah defo, Andy. You've got XRs though, haven't you? They're good, but the originals are better, IMO (as I've outlined). TBH, very rarely have I heard speakers get better with more modern incarnations of the same, as cost-cutting inevitably enters the equation (where at one time they just built stuff using the best of what they had available, regardless), and quality suffers accordingly.Quote:
Originally Posted by REXTON
The original Ditton 15s (these ones I'm using from the 60s) are from Celestion's 'golden era'... Here's an interesting link to read, outlining the history of the company: https://www.bygonetones.com/the-hist...celestion.html
Sadly, most of these great British loudspeaker companies have long gone, or are simply trading under the brand name, but are now a shadow of their former selves., often now Chinese owned. I think the only ones left are Spendor and Harbeth, still doing things in the time-honoured tradition.
Marco.
Yes, my telly & av gubbins sits on/in one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cfb5867f_o.jpg