Trying to figure out these Castle Trent speakers

[mswer]

I'm considering picking up a pair of Castle Trent speakers, or at least...I think that's what they are, they look like the right drivers and certainly have the Castle Trent badge, but I can't seem to visually match them with any Castle Trent pictures I find. They have a white plastic cutout like I'd more expect to see on a PA speaker, and look like they connect with 1/4" cables? The only thing I can think of is that someone built a new cabinet for the drivers, and then went to the trouble to transfer the badge. The only info from the listing is "Vintage passive bookshelf speakers. Good working condition. Custom grill covers. 7" x 8" x 13""

I'm attaching a few pictures. The white speakers are the pair I'm considering, the wood cabinet ones are from other old listings I've found with a totally different cut out on the back for the cables. Finally, attaching the only visually similar image I can find from a pair of Castle Pembrokes which appear to have the same handle and inputs on the back. Maybe there was a utility cabinet version or something...any theories?

 

[vinylkid58]

They look like they've been hacked, and then spray painted white. The terminal cup on the back doesn't have any connectors either. I see no reason to purchase those speakers.

jeff

 

[mswer]

They look like they've been hacked, and then spray painted white. The terminal cup on the back doesn't have any connectors either. I see no reason to purchase those speakers.

jeff

Until I found that image of the Pembrokes that seems to have the same cup and inputs on the back, I was absolutely thinking the same, and you could still very well be correct. It was just finding that similar image of another Castle speaker that gave me pause. Appreciate your thoughts.

edit to add: and I do agree about the spray painting. Awful.

 

[Dswankey]

They look like they've been hacked, and then spray painted white. The terminal cup on the back doesn't have any connectors either. I see no reason to purchase those speakers.

Not to mention they look like they need to be refoamed

 

[Dswankey]

Castle-Trent - www.hifi-guide.com

www.hifi-guide.com

Icons from our History

Castle

castle.uk.com

 

[Nat]

My memory of reviews in British stereo magazines is that Castle made well regarded speakers, and that they made their own cabinets, which were thought to be much better than average. I also think they may have made the drivers themselves.
At any rate, it seems odd to me to buy speakers with very nice cabinets and then paint them and replace the grill cloth carelessly and it looks like them might even have painted the cloth. I can't tell if the cabinets are replacements - they do seem narrower.

 

[A400]

It could be that these are early versions, of which there are fewer photos online, prior to terminal plate changes on later models.

Similar terminal plates were used by B&W and accept 4 mm banana plugs (and possibly DIN 2 pin under the centre cover).

The painting etc is unfortunate, but not as rare as it might be (refer ‘upgrades’ thread).

 

[maxhifi]

Yep those are 4mm banana sockets. Many older British speakers like EPOS and Mourdant Short have similar terminals. I like them, banana plugs are very convenient.

New foam and a cabinet refinish would be a fun project if the price is right.

 

[mswer]

Well, unfortunately for me, the seller agreed to my very lowball offer because of how strange the speakers looked, she just wanted them to not end up in the trash, and as a result I had to pick them up...my curiosity simply got the best of me

Despite the poor paint job, I can tell it's a well made and finished cabinet, but I was a bit surprised when I picked them up that they seemed a bit on the light side, and I'm guessing that given the tweeter is connected with twisted wire and electrical tape, these are most likely replacement drivers. I didn't check if that's the case on both speakers, but the woofers are connected properly. Also, the screws on the backplate are absolute stripped to hell, so whoever did open these up did a crappy job.

I remain intrigued if only because I find it odd that someone who otherwise seems to have done shoddy work, also seems to have gone to the trouble to find drivers with very similarly-shaped metal baskets (assuming they aren't original), and the tweeter looks very similar to both the Trent images I can find, and that odd Castle Pembroke I included in the OP that also has the similar plastic handle backplate. Can't find any info on that CAL LAB stamp on the driver

Can't do much of a meaningful playtest until I replace the surrounds, but I'll at least do that much and give them a spin before I invest more time. I also found a Castle Acoustics FB group and posted there — maybe someone there will have an idea. Crossover definitely looks factory and untouched.

 

[mswer]

Well, this is pretty cool. I got a very nice response back from Andrew Hill, apparently the designer of the Trents in the Castle Acoustics Speakers Facebook group.

These are the Trent Loudspeaker Serial Number 1723. This would have been the second batch and produced in November 1984. The early version did not have a veneered back, but stepped back and painted in Black, It was pitched at £69.99 a pair. Standard finishes were Teak, Walnut, Black Ash, Antique Oak and Rosewood (Subject to a premium). As you are in NYC, the would have been supplied to Nizar Akrhass of May Audio Marketing in Canada as he was responsible for the American Market. The Treble unit is Part No. 08:08 and had a production life of 24 years. The Bass unit part No. 06:13 or 06:41 (Fitted the Clifton 2 but had no leads). The version you have has two fuses on the circuit board, Treble was 500 ma Quick Blow and the Bass unit 800 ma Antisurge. The later Trent's used PTC RDE 050 in the Treble and the Bass used PTC RDE 070 devices and was an upgrade. The terminal panel was standard at the time, the earlier version had a DIN plug as well. CAL LAB is the test stamp which was mine! Paint job - well no comment! The Trent was my design all varients and had a production life of 14 years and was one of the most successful Loudspeakers Castle produced.

I've got replacement surrounds on the way, looking forward to getting them hooked up. Now just need to see about restoring the cabinets...tips on removing what appears to be spray paint?

 

[Nat]

That is a very helpful and nice response from Andrew Hill - wouldn't it be great if every designer was so attentive? Of course, many are no longer able to respond, alas.

 

[maxhifi]

Well, this is pretty cool. I got a very nice response back from Andrew Hill, apparently the designer of the Trents in the Castle Acoustics Speakers Facebook group.


I've got replacement surrounds on the way, looking forward to getting them hooked up. Now just need to see about restoring the cabinets...tips on removing what appears to be spray paint?

I'll be following this thread, what a cool story. I'd use a chemical stripper on that spray paint. Obviously not on the terminal cup.

 

[mswer]

Update on these speakers. I haven't gotten to trying to strip the paint but that's next in my queue, but I did get them re-foamed with 5" surrounds from Midwest Speaker Repair, specifically the F5-3 surround and it fits perfectly, in case anyone in the future stumbles across this thread and needs to re-foam a pair of them. They sound quite nice for their size. Hopefully more soon on the cab restoration