The Celestion Owners Thread

[IMF_Pioneer]

Hi All,

Apart from owning many IMF products I also have quite a few Celestion SL Speakers which I'm quite fond of. Mine are all from the SL6 range but am still looking for a set of the Holy Grails which are the SL12Si, these are the larger version of the SL6 using two Mid Bass drivers.

They would have to be one of the most underated Bookshelf size speakers made.

Anyway I thought I'd kick this off and have a dedicated category for Celestion that was once such a proud British company along with KEF.

Cheers.

 

[canuckaudiog]

I have owned many Celestion speakers in the past. I do not currently own any but if a pair came across my way I'd probably get them!

I have owned:

-DL12 MK2
-SL6
-Ditton 25, 44 and 66
-Ditton 442
-Celestion 3

I enjoyed them all.

@IMF_Pioneer, isn't the holy grail of the Celestion SL series the SL700?

 

[IMF_Pioneer]

Hi Canuckaudio,

I guess that ones up for debate, depending on what sound you are after. The SL12 was made in such small amounts compared to the 700 but the 700 is considered higher up the food chain. Personally I don't like the sound of the aerolam cabinets compared to the timber units, they sound far more sterile opposed to the timber which gives the sound a tad more colour IMHO. The SL12si just has a fuller sound with more Bass due to the larger cabinet and twin woofers, while the SL700se is really a near field monitor.

The following piece sort of supports what I've suggested about the SL700
http://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-to-identify-a-celestion-sl-700-se

But in saying that" to each their own".

Cheers.

 

[Harvey/ Ga]

I have a pair of Celestion 66 mkll speakers that I love. Haven't recapped them yet. Also had a pair of Celestion 15XL's but liked the sound of my Smaller Advents a bit better, so I traded them to a friend.
Also deep into the British camp with a pair of Wharfedale W-60E's and W-70E's.

 

[canuckaudiog]

Hi Canuckaudio,

I guess that ones up for debate, depending on what sound you are after. The SL12 was made in such small amounts compared to the 700 but the 700 is considered higher up the food chain. Personally I don't like the sound of the aerolam cabinets compared to the timber units, they sound far more sterile opposed to the timber which gives the sound a tad more colour IMHO. The SL12si just has a fuller sound with more Bass due to the larger cabinet and twin woofers, while the SL700se is really a near field monitor.

The following piece sort of supports what I've suggested about the SL700
http://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-to-identify-a-celestion-sl-700-se

But in saying that" to each their own".

Cheers.

True! Of course everyone may have their own holy grail.

There is also the Celestion Kingston, I sure would love to hear a pair of those.

Or, how about the Celestion Ditton 88?

The Celestion 7000 was also quite interesting, using a ribbon tweeter.

And perhaps another holy grail, the Celestion System 6000!

 

[IMF_Pioneer]

Wow ! that System 6000 really looks interesting. That's an upgrade that most SL owners feel they would need to get some serious boom boom boom and the Ditton 88 looks like a IMF HPCM but using conventional round woofers while IMF used the 128/20 Bass driver. Also the similarity with the shamferred edges.

 

[IMF_Pioneer]

Just out of interest does anyone happen to have a spare Copper Dome tweeter for a SL6 Celestion set ?

Cheers.

 

[The G.O.A.T.]

I've currently got a pair of Studio 66 MKII's and a minty pair of ditton 25's hook'd up to a Mac. I love british speakers.

Celestion-ditton-25-983544

• The G.O.A.T.
• May 8, 2017

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAhy1bcndFQ/?taken-by=audiolectual

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdlvWz6DPyr/?taken-by=audiolectual

 

[montrecott]

I had a pair of Celestion model 3 which I sold to a coworker, who loves them. Nice little bookshelf speakers that I think sound better than some more expensive vintage speakers.

I still have my Celestion Ditton 33 speakers, which I'm listening to right now. A really good sounding all around speaker IMO. Love the tight bass.

 

[BilboBaggins]

I have or have had;
Celestion Ditton 66 1st version
3 pairs Ditton 44s 2nd version with veneered wood under the dust cover
1 pair Ditton 44s 1st version in rosewood
1 pair of Ditton 442s
A single Ditton 10, still have
2 pairs of Ditton 15s including 1 pair in rosewood veneer
Ditton 22s
Ditton 33s

I never did hear the 66s in all their glory in my space, but after I sold them, I got to hear them on a Kenwood 700M. Very impressive when playing Sade "Love is Found"!

The most surprising of these are the Ditton 15s. Excellent sounding speakers for their size when driven by a high current amp. When driven by a regular receiver, just meh...

 

[BilboBaggins]

I would love to put a pair of 66s right beside my Kef 105s and AB them on my two Bose 1801s. That would be very interesting.

 

[Nexusmusic]

Hey guys!

I was wondering for those who own the Celestion Ditton 66, if any have an idea normally how much it would cost to "body restore" an original Ditton 66 MKII approximatively. Just the overall wood body work of the pair. Would really appreciate ;-)

Best,

 

[Yvan_donald]

Hi,welcome but we need pictures if someone give you estimation.

 

[Nexusmusic]

Hi,welcome but we need pictures if someone give you estimation.

Hi Yvan,

No one gave me any estimation yet. Its a set of Ditton 66 MKII of my friend of mine. He bought them, got them shipped to him but the transport company didn't take care of the speakers as they should have done. The speakers were well wrapped etc... but the "****ers" didn't give a shit even if they were giving instructions etc... and even if in the package of each speakers (as they were package 1 by 1) and it was written clear EXTRA FRAGILE etc... they just messed up.

Here are some pictures:

And the original pics before he got them shipped to him speakers were in neat conditions in terms of the wood as you can see the damage.

I believe in this case, wood need to be fully restored no???

Good thing, the rest, everything about drivers all is in mint conditions and the speakers are working A1.

Whats your assessment?? What kind of work would be needed & how much $$$? I know is filing a CLAIM report to the transportation company.

Thanks a lot in advance,

 

[Yvan_donald]

Hi, they are in a really poor state now, me if I was you I will ask for the complete refund.price you pay,shipping and trouble.the front baffle is Split, the corner in bad shape,now air leak from the cabinet.It happen to me,I bought IMF MK III ,size of speaker18"×17x42 100 pound. Even the celestion speaker is a big speaker,that why delevery is made by 1 Guy from à big truck, so he come to your place he drop the box from couple of feet and voila, what happen,the box can not take the shock. Not easy to find other pair in such a great shape, or find cabinet maker and bring him one speaker empty,to see how much it will cost to make new. That is a bad trip my friend.

 

[Nexusmusic]

Hi @Yvan_donald

Could not agree more with you I swear. I just spoke with the delivery transport company CLAIM departement and they are waiting to receive how much everything will cost to get them fully restored to as they were originally before they screw up. I told them by chance, all the drivers are in mint condition, its really the WOOD cabinet work that they did damage because they did NOT take the needed precautions to deliver the speakers as they were.
At least the transport company want to get this situation solved. I can see you're in montreal. The transport company is Dicom, never again.

Thats what I heard from a company here specialize in audio restoration (but not the cabinet), the man who was really cool told me , you'll need to find a very fine specialized wood maker who can restore the cabinet as they were but each Cabinet need to be EMPTY so the wood maker (ebeniste) can do a great job.

But for sure all the trouble and restoration will be covered by the Transport company. No way he's paying for the work to be done.

Thank you Yvan for your valuable input. Really appreciate, it will help in this process. Just hope that it is possible to get the cabinet redone as original because the drivers parts are intact.

Cheers ;-)

 

[The G.O.A.T.]

My old friend Evan would be perfect for this!
"evanfabrick" on IG

He is a red seal carpenter that has won a few awards for his work, and is reasonable when it comes to working within a budget.

 

[Nexusmusic]

Hi @TheG.O.A.T

Thanks a lot for your refer but I think in my case I'd need someone from the Montreal area ;-) Thanks a lot

 

[twiiii]

Way back in the early 70's Mcintosh introduced The ML-1c, 2c and 4c. I really liked the mids & bass but found the top two octaves all wrong. So I was still very happy I had purchased my Grands in late 69. So when the sales staff came back from Winter CES in 1971 with B&O speakers I was very intrigued. The highs were beautiful and the mids fantastic. The bass was colored a bit, but acceptable. What really surprised me was when I discovered the 5700/02 were both using Celestion Tweeters and Midranges. in a bookshelf type speaker, where Celestion was using the same drivers in a taller floor standing speaker. When I decided to up grade my Concert Grands is 72 rather than spending tons of money the B&O Representative was able to procure 4 pairs of Celestion tweeters for two short line array for each Grand. Model 2000 I think. I changed to tri-amping my speakers and thanks to Celestion tweeters have enjoyed the best highs I have ever heard from speakers. Only Magicos latest diamond drivers seem to do as well. But for what price.

Over the years with traveling and doing business in OLD Mexico as well as the US. I discovered professional Celestion entertainment speakers. They, too, had a special sound all their own. Its a shame Celestion chose to cut corners on crossovers causing HF drivers to fail. But with a little experimentation and using passive 3rd order filters for the tweeters most of the issues were solved. Using Mcintosh amps with Power Gard was the final cure. Just match the power ratings of the HF drivers to the amps via the crossover and all was well. We were never a Celestion dealer, but when ever I visited dealers in Denver and Scotts dale I was always fascinated. But as I had my Celestions at home sort of speak I never considered purchasing a pair.

When I started modifiying Bozak Symphony for highs above 10,000 using passive crossover I tried to use Celestion tweeters. Unfortunatly my source of supply dried up and I had to change to Viva with silk domes. It was good sound but never Celestion sound. So I wish you Celestion owners out there many hours of future listening that I have experienced since 1972.

 

[jmacd27]

Hi All,

Apart from owning many IMF products I also have quite a few Celestion SL Speakers which I'm quite fond of. Mine are all from the SL6 range but am still looking for a set of the Holy Grails which are the SL12Si, these are the larger version of the SL6 using two Mid Bass drivers.

They would have to be one of the most underated Bookshelf size speakers made.

Anyway I thought I'd kick this off and have a dedicated category for Celestion that was once such a proud British company along with KEF.

Cheers.

I am currently restoring my Celestion SL12si's. I bought these new and looking forward to hearing them again. They have been in storage for many years when I moved to the US for 8 years and this has caused the cabinets to look terrible. I am currently refinishing them, I have one speaker done and about to start the second tonight.

I also need to repair some drivers, 1 tweeter and 1 woofer surround are bad. I have managed to get my hands on replacements an will install when the cabinets are done.