Celestion Redemption

davidro

Lunatic Member
My only exposure to Celestion speakers is one with the ubiquitous Ditton series. I think it was Ditton 22 or something. It was bright sounding and lacked mid-range, not to mention the bass. I liked the look but they really were mediocre speakers for me. Celestion left that cheapish impression on me since then.

But I've been aware of their SL series which seems to have gained a bit of a cult status. Wussy bass but gorgeous mid-range. Alas the SL series is however difficult to run into Down Here. The Dittons are everywhere and the DL series is not rare, but no SL.

It looks like I'm picking up a pair of SL600 tomorrow though. Let's see how this unfolds.
 
Ah, nice score David! I was damn tempted to pull the trigger on those, but the very low sensitivity made me reconsider.

Looking forward fo hearing your thoughts!
 
I know. It's pretty damn low. 82dB I think. But my Redgum should be able to handle it.

I've got the speakers delivered to my office. Wanted to fire them up but alas they want banana plugs. Bi-wiring, too. The below image is from SL600si which is similar (the binding holes in mine are arranged vertically):

IMG_8177.JPG


This is a little annoying. How do I connect them together when I don't have bi-wiring cables? There's no room for jumpers!
 
My only exposure to Celestion speakers is one with the ubiquitous Ditton series. I think it was Ditton 22 or something. It was bright sounding and lacked mid-range, not to mention the bass. I liked the look but they really were mediocre speakers for me. Celestion left that cheapish impression on me since then.

But I've been aware of their SL series which seems to have gained a bit of a cult status. Wussy bass but gorgeous mid-range. Alas the SL series is however difficult to run into Down Here. The Dittons are everywhere and the DL series is not rare, but no SL.

It looks like I'm picking up a pair of SL600 tomorrow though. Let's see how this unfolds.



Wow...Two V-12 Mercedes!
 
This is a little annoying. How do I connect them together when I don't have bi-wiring cables? There's no room for jumpers!

There should be sufficient room for you to run a short length of copper speaker wire between the two positive and two negative binding posts. This is the easiest way to go about it, and sonically it will perform just fine.
 
The photo shown above is one that I took of my Sl600si a couple of years ago- I posted a question asking if anyone had ever seen jumpers for them. I've always just used bi-wire cables since I have a few sets. But you can just make it work with single cables if you have appropriate banana plugs. Interlocking type or side feed bananas work well.

You can also make a set of bi-wire cables in a few minutes with some decent four conductor CL3 rated cable . if you're a subscriber, there's a listing up for bi-wire cables in the subscriber "barter town" area.

The SL600si are pretty impressive. Certainly not as easy to drive as paradigm reference studio 20 v3 but with the right amp they make the LS3/5a Sound like a pair of Yamaha NS-10m.

I think the last amplifiers I used to power them with excellent results were the Audire Otez, Audire Forte and McIntosh Mc7300. equally stellar results were had when driven by tube gear ( Primaluna Prologue 7 mono amps and VAC PA 80/80 stereo amp).
 
There should be sufficient room for you to run a short length of copper speaker wire between the two positive and two negative binding posts. This is the easiest way to go about it, and sonically it will perform just fine.

Ahem... disregard my post entirely. I should have checked the photo more carefully.

These Jaycar bananas would do the job in a functional sense, allowing a length of wire to join the two banana plugs, and you can either use bare wire/banana/spade speaker cables:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP0426
 
Wow...Two V-12 Mercedes!
:banana::banana::banana:

The photo shown above is one that I took of my Sl600si a couple of years ago

Yes it is I'm busted! :D

The SL600si are pretty impressive. Certainly not as easy to drive as paradigm reference studio 20 v3 but with the right amp they make the LS3/5a Sound like a pair of Yamaha NS-10m.

Wow that's exciting. I have also read reviews of those who thought they were better than current high-end (not ultra high-end) standmounts.


Ahem... disregard my post entirely. I should have checked the photo more carefully.

These Jaycar bananas would do the job in a functional sense, allowing a length of wire to join the two banana plugs, and you can either use bare wire/banana/spade speaker cables:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP0426

Thanks Pete. I think I do have some of those plugs at home!
 
I like the SL-600s.
They like a bit of power, even from tubeage.
They're physically larger than my Spendor mini-monitors and the Aerolam (spelling?) cabinets are nice.
They're a bit more chesty sounding than today's best, but they follow and improve upon the LS3/5A sound and have the only metal dome tweeters I like.
 
The continuing reference to the venerable 3/5A excites me.
Yes the cabs were interesting indeed! But I'd say they're not such big mini-monitors.
I will take some banana plugs with me and power up the Celestion at my office today.
 
Since Bostown's rear shot of his SL600si helped me earlier, I might also post the rear shot of my SL600 for reference purposes, which shows how I managed the wiring with banana plugs:

FxCam_1389306192175_zps9de108b7.jpg
 
Davidbo do yours have the copper dome tweeters? I think you will like these tweeters the bass that is there is really good IMHO ....It is the best metal dome tweeter I have heard.....
 
A lot of Celestions are pretty good. And yours are very nice indeed.

But even those that have been trashed above can sound "very" good on the RIGHT amp! Because there has always been "trickle" down tech at Celestion!

Enjoy some of the winners!

cnh2
 
That hookup was exactly what I trying to describe.

:yes:

Davidbo do yours have the copper dome tweeters? I think you will like these tweeters the bass that is there is really good IMHO ....It is the best metal dome tweeter I have heard.....

it sure is!

A lot of Celestions are pretty good. And yours are very nice indeed.

But even those that have been trashed above can sound "very" good on the RIGHT amp! Because there has always been "trickle" down tech at Celestion!

Enjoy some of the winners!

cnh2

I've tried quite a few different amps on the Dittons, but they never sounded good to me :no:


So I heard them near-filed on my office desk yesterday. I liked them better than the Wharfedale I used to have. Better definition & resolution (to think these speakers are a few decades older than the Wharfedale!), better imaging and effortless mid-range.

The speakers responded more sensitively to the tube rolling on my Qinpu. I did feel the Qinpu was sweating a bit with the Celestion though. 82dB certainly was a bit of push, but they still made enough volume for my office purposes.

FxCam_1389325075145_zpsd9cae28e.jpg
 
Looks like I just don't have luck with Celestion...

In the heat of experimenting new speaker stand candidates, I've accidentally caused one speaker to fall onto the floor, causing dent to its tweeter.

The damage is audible, as in no sound :tears:

I guess I'll have to look for a replacement or sell the lot as is.....

If anyone runs into a replacement please PM me.
 
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh man.......David are you familar with Canadian and USA audio mart put a add on there wanted .....Sorry to hear that dude.
 
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