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Celestion F1 vs Dayton B652 air

Which should I get?

  • Dayton B652 air

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Celestion F1s

    Votes: 3 100.0%
  • Total voters
    3
MarantzMan31

MarantzMan31

New Member
Hello, forum. First time post, thanks for any response/wisdom. I have a Marantz 2270 I bought from a friend a few years ago for $20. It was in rough shape, I fixed it up and now I'm looking for the perfect pair of speakers to match this thing's potential. I have the regular Dayton B652s on it now and I was looking to upgrade to the airs. Then I thought I'd check around craigslist to see what else I could get for under $100. I found some Celestion F1s for $60. I haven't found much on them but they seem like a super solid option. What do you guys think? I'm leaning toward the Celestion even though I could buy the airs new online for a similar price. Any other speakers I should wait for on the ol CL, or should I get the F1s?
 
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Picked up a pair of both the B652 Air & T652 Air for friend's starter systems, both punch above their weight (which is extremely light) but I think the Celestion speaks would be better, but no personal experience.
 
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If you can locate a nice pair of Infinity RS-325's I would highly recommend grabbing them. Depending on finish and condition can be found for $60-$120, but make sure the surrounds have been professionally replaced or this will be required. The repair kits are cheap and readily available, the speaks are real sleepers so definitely worth the effort.

High sensitivity so not a ton of watts required, but handle good power so can really crank when called to. I've had a few pair pass through to family members always intending to keep them myself but their need was greater.

Always preferred sealed cabinets, still do over rear ported, but these little jems changed my opinion when it came to front ported designs. None of the location difficulties associated with rear ports booming, and these avoid any issues ports can exhibit with chuffing, just outstanding tight bass for a small speaker.

I'm partial to the blonde finish, but it's a premium over the black and harder to find.

f8f21db36e8d42bb98c5ff0cd417acc0.jpg
 
MarantzMan31 said:
These guys are nearby. Different part of the RS line. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/ele/d/infinity-rs-1001/6478826275.html
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Welcome to AK. To your general question, it would be good for us to know your room size and what type of music you like (e.g. do you like lots of bass). Also, are you limited to bookshelf speakers? Would floor standing speakers be an option? Would you be open to using a subwoofer? Are you handy if a vintage speaker needs a little TLC?

I would personally hold out for different speakers -- your Marantz certainly can handle better than the options you've listed. All of the models you've listed are on the small side and would lack the deep bass you could usually get from larger speakers and/or a subwoofer. There are so many options out there, especially with new things popping up on Craigslist all the time. There are great deals to be had on very good used speakers, but patience is a virtue in that regard. No matter what, always listen before buying.

To more directly answer your question, I would go with the Celestions. The Infinity RS series of speakers is pretty good, but the RS 1001 is the smallest of the bunch, so the bass response may be limited. I had the RS 2000, which sounded good, but really needed a subwoofer to fill out the low end. I also had the RS 4000, which has the very well regarded EMIT tweeter along with much better bass (FWIW, I got those for free from CL in the Twin Cities -- they just needed new surrounds). Lastly, the B652-AIRs are good, but not way better than the standard B652s.

Some other speakers I've gotten off of CL for under $100 that I would probably* take over the models you've listed include:

New Large Advent (bullnose style)
EPI 100 (this would probably be my top choice if space is limiting, but beware of some later models)
Advent Laureate and Heritage
DLK 3
KLH 17 and 20
Realistic Optimus 1B
Realistic Nova-7B and 8B

*Caveat: some required minor restoration, like new surrounds. Your ears may also be a bit different than mine.

EDIT/ADDITION: For what it's worth, I have mostly moved on to newer options instead of 'vintage' speakers. For example, my main speakers are now Elac Uni-Fi UB5s, which were on sale for $350 over the holidays. That's just one of many similarly priced examples out there that, in general, will outperform the speakers I listed above due to improvements in modeling and engineering. In my opinion, that's the way to go if you can afford it. Of course, I still have my dalliances with vintage speakers from time to time.
 
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Celestions have great sound

Grenadeslio said:
If you can locate a nice pair of Infinity RS-325's I would highly recommend grabbing them. Depending on finish and condition can be found for $60-$120, but make sure the surrounds have been professionally replaced or this will be required. The repair kits are cheap and readily available, the speaks are real sleepers so definitely worth the effort.

High sensitivity so not a ton of watts required, but handle good power so can really crank when called to. I've had a few pair pass through to family members always intending to keep them myself but their need was greater.

Always preferred sealed cabinets, still do over rear ported, but these little jems changed my opinion when it came to front ported designs. None of the location difficulties associated with rear ports booming, and these avoid any issues ports can exhibit with chuffing, just outstanding tight bass for a small speaker.

I'm partial to the blonde finish, but it's a premium over the black and harder to find.

View attachment 1131354
Click to expand...

wise man once told me to never buy a pair of infinitys without emits
 
I've never seen an Infinty polycell tweeter that deteriorated, and we're talking decades old drivers.

I would normally agree about the Emit, I have Infinitys incorporating them, but the RS-325 is a special little speaker for little money. The only caveat are the woofer surrounds, they last about 10yrs.
 
Nah, the Polycell tweeters are all but indestructible. I have two pairs of SM boxes with tweeters which were probably subjected to untold abuse over the 20 years before I got them. They're still in great shape and serving in my home AV system. I had another pair before, of a similar age which I sold for parts, and the tweeters were still like new. The woofer surrounds, however, are probably all toast by now.
 
Awesome advice everyone. I'll be keeping an eye on the Twin Cities Craigslist market in the near future to see if I can snag one of these deals. The Celestions fell through. There are some Infinity One Reference Speakers for $80 right now.
 
MarantzMan31 said:
Awesome advice everyone. I'll be keeping an eye on the Twin Cities Craigslist market in the near future to see if I can snag one of these deals. The Celestions fell through. There are some Infinity One Reference Speakers for $80 right now.
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Is there a size limitation?
 
For their size, and cost, the Celeston F1's are a great speaker — and yes I own a pair. They're 'flat' (no frequency anomalies). I've used them as 'mains' in a 2-channel stereo system for music-only, augmented by subs, and the arrangement sounds like a far bigger and more expensive full-range floorstander, without taking up all that space and dominating the room. I've also used them in many auxiliary roles (center channel, side and rear surrounds) and they never disappoint. At their price used, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another pair — I'd like to try them 'stacked' in a MTM arrangement.
 
I would definitely go for sealed or front-ported speakers if you're limited to putting speakers inside that bookshelf (it looks like that's where your B652 speakers are located). If you can put a pair of speakers on top of the shelf, and pulled away from the wall a bit, rear ported should work fine. In that case, I would suggest taking a look at the Sony Core SSCS5, which sometimes go on sale for less than $100 new. There are many other options out there.

However, if this were my setup, I would opt for narrow tower or standmount speakers to place on either side of the bookcase. That way you get better stereo separation and the tweeters are at a more appropriate height (you generally want tweeters at ear height at your usual listening position). For example, Pioneer FS52 towers occasionally go on sale for $129 per pair from Amazon. Polk also sells some decent towers that sometimes go on sale for less than $100 per pair (at least they did over the holidays). That said, I know how wives can be and how floor space can be a premium. Good luck!
 
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Awesome suggestions. I put the Daytons back up on the top shelf again where they should be. Forgot how much clarity I lost by putting them down low. Might be fun to try the towers... wife permitting. I was just looking at those Sony Core SSCS5s. Looks like there is at least one pair on Ebay for $100. I'm sure this is already like 100 places in other spots in Audio Karma. Sony Cores vs Pioneer BS22. Which comes out on top?
 
MarantzMan31 said:
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I was just looking at those Sony Core SSCS5s. Sony Cores vs Pioneer BS22. Which comes out on top?
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Good question. Pio BS22 and Cores are both rear-ported, so a little breathing room needed behind them. Local BestBuy had the Core bookshelves for under $90.00/pr pre-Black Friday, but I missed out and am awaiting next sale to snag a pair to try against the Pio BS22s among others I have. BBuy is nice in that they have a good return policy, so if these are not so great - they go back.

I snagged a pair of Pio BS22's off of Frys for under $70.00/pr free shipping to see what the hype was about. Could not pass them up at that price given their reputation and performance, and I was absolutely not disappointed.
Just note that the Pios are rated at 6ohms - which meant to me that efficiency was somewhat affected in that I had to give them a hair more volume knob than say the sleeper Insignia NS-SP213 I A-B'd them against.
I seen this same behavior when I did a simple A-B of 70's vintage Dynaco A25s and Original Smaller Advents.
 
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