Celestian Ditton 25’s

[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....