Celestion Redemption

Meanwhile my Celestions have been endowed with new DIY speaker stands made of construction grade metal and kitty litter fills
They sound noticeably better with the new support.

Celestion 300 Speakers

Nice going...
I've got my keeper speakers that should be around a long time...some Celestion 300's, great walnut finish on all sides, small footprint - essentially a narrow baffle 2-way (same drivers as 100 model) in a transmission line cabinet reaching down to the 35hz range. Just about as wide and open a soundstage as the little Spendor S1 model I got maybe a month ahead of them but with much deeper bass. I really hit the jackpot on these as they only required a rubdown with lemon oil/scratch cover and the purchase included a spare tweeter - unavailable anywhere now.

Hmmm never seen those speakers before. That's some cool LF performance.

Another pair of SL600 sold for $721 in the States.

Meanwhile, I've started driving mine with -gasp- 3.5wpc!

So the Celestions are still here on my work office desk.
Currently a Sonneteer is driving them. Driving good.
I've toyed with the speaker placement a little more, and the imaging and sound-stage is just so spot on.
Such great speakers.

Hi,on the ditton side the tweeter HF1300,super tweeter HF2000 are much better and have been use on reference speakers(imf prof.,Tls 80,Spendor,B&W,Gale...). these SL can not compare with the previous ditton model.Yvan Donald

Yvan you really have no idea what you are talking about........http://theaudiolog.com/2012/09/01/celestion-sl-600/ ......

Yvan_donald said:

Hi,on the ditton side the tweeter HF1300,super tweeter HF2000 are much better and have been use on reference speakers(imf prof.,Tls 80,Spendor,B&W,Gale...). these SL can not compare with the previous ditton model.Yvan Donald

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You're definitely right in that they can't be compared - they are a much different animal with a different design objective.

They're excellent speakers - some of the best monitors from their time. They paint a far more accurate representation of music than the old Ditton series which have warm tones and a colored sound. Then again, they were not designed with the same objective in mind so, as you said they cannot (and should not) be compared.

YMMV, of course.

2tumsup said:

... I was wondering where the SL12Si's fit in the scheme of things. I know they're better than the 6Si's but better or worse compared to the SL600's

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I have not had the pleasure of doing a direct comparison between the SL6si and the SL12si speakers. According to Celection: “SL12Si you hear loud and clear … a rather different addition to the SL range, developed to provide SL sound quality in a new extended bass system”. Specifications indicate the SL12Si goes ever so slightly lower (-3dB at 70Hz. VS -3dB at 75Hz.) than the SL6Si. In addition the power handling is slightly increased and the sensitivity is 2dB greater with the SL12Si. The SL6Si is considered a true classic and the SL12Si seems to fly completely under the radar.

2tumsup said:

... I was wondering where the SL12si's fit in the scheme of things. I know they're better than the 6si's but better or worse compared to the SL600's? ... I would really like to hear a comparison from someone that's had or heard both the SL600 and SL12Si

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I have had the opportunity to hear both the SL600 and the SL12Si, unfortunately, not in a side by side comparison. I have be able to compare the SL12Si and the SL700 and they sound very similar. In my smallish listening room (about 1,250 cu. ft.), I do not need a lot of power. At the levels I generally play my music, I do not have to worry about over driving the speakers or dynamic compression. Also, I use a receiver with an 80Hz. crossover and a subwoofer, which limits the low frequency demands of the SL speakers.

Comparing the SL600 and the SL700 speaker systems, I find they both sound well balanced and accurate. The SL600 has a lower high frequency level which, depending on the associated components one uses, can either be a benefit or liability. I have been using the SL700 as my main speakers for the past twenty-five years and expect to use them until they or I die. I also use a pair of SL12Si in the same system.

One of the SL12Si in the corner:

canuckaudiog said:

You're definitely right in that they can't be compared - they are a much different animal with a different design objective.

They're excellent speakers - some of the best monitors from their time. They paint a far more accurate representation of music than the old Ditton series which have warm tones and a colored sound. Then again, they were not designed with the same objective in mind so, as you said they cannot (and should not) be compared.

YMMV, of course.

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I doubt that's what he meant when he said the SL can't compare to the Dittons

He most likely meant to say the Dittons 'paint a far more accurate representation of music'.

Which is why I said he has no Idea what he is talking about . The tweeter in the sl 600 is a great dome tweeter one of the best metal dome I have heard smooth as silk....To say the HF2000 is far better is IMO not true .....

HI, not compare one against one but the HF1300 with the HF 2000 super tweeter are a good match or HF1300 with the coles super tweeter too,they have been use many time.I have this in my speakers and it is the sound I like.Thanks Davidro that's what I mean to say.Yvan

Seeing that you come back to the thread unlike other trolls, have you actually heard the SL series in your system and came to such conclusion?

FWIW, I've had the KEF Reference speakers as well as the Dittons in my own system.
I don't know if they really have the same drivers but the Dittons sounded like a lame crab dancing in Peking mud.

I liked their look so tried very hard to like them.

Thats all that matters Yvan is you like the combo and yes those drivers have a huge following. But the sl series has a huge following also and was a serious speaker in its day....have you ever heard the SL series ? ......

wsissons I quite enjoyed my Chinese mud crab dish last weekend so the image popped up in my mind

HI,I own a pair of ditton44,and was not such a great speaker,in the ditton serie only the Ditton66 was a more complete speaker,but I own a pair of IMF prof.MKIII for way speaker's with the combo ditton tweeters with kef speakers and very satisfied with it.Celestion is more refine today and they have improve their products,at the time IMF use the celestion combo and made magic with it, do my IMF with one new celestion tweeter will do the same magic? we can't say,but the combo HF1300 and HF2000 are not crap.Yvan

I take it you haven't had the SL series in your system then?

like canuckaudiog said,they are not made for the same purpose,he knows he own IMF Prof.These SL are studio monitor and probably one of the best for studio monitoring.You start the thread by demolishing Celestion Ditton's serie,but never consider some good components came out of it,and the same company Celestion came out with your fantastic speakers.

Ok I give up eliciting an actual response from you.
Looks like the stuff means life or death to you.

Guys, just remember, opinions are like.. well, you know.

In a lot of cases with vintage speakers from the 70s the opinions vary so widely only because of the fact that deterioration is a major factor - unless you restore it, you aren't really hearing what it's capable of. And a lot of people are making opinions on vintage gear based on that. In some cases, people like the unrestored sound and vice versa. It's a useless point to discuss what vintage speaker is better than the other because the playing ground is not equal. Let's not forget how many people speculate without having any firsthand experience. Bleh.

However, it is fair to say that the design of both the old Ditton series and the newer SL series both achieved what the designer set out to do. Whether or not you like them doesn't matter in the slightest. All I will say is if you like it, good for you.