Castle Speakers
Joe Adams
On 12 Dec 1996 03:21:09 GMT, "William Kapp Clark" <bcl...@sover.net>
wrote:
>Does anyone know anything about Castle Speakers ? I listened to them today,
>and they were quite impressive, but I had never heard of the company
>before.
>
>Many thanks
>
>Bill Clark
>bcl...@sover.net
I listened briefly to the Castle Isis, a "What HI-FI?" 5 star (highest
rating) bookshelf speaker that sells for about $400 and I prefered it
to the Alon Petite and PSB Alpha which were on hand for comparison.
They also offer a great variety of real wood veneer finishes for their
cabinets, unlike most speaker mfrs. Audio Lab in Cambridge Mass sells
them (617-864-1144).
Hope this helps,
Joe
William Kapp Clark
Michael Rothberg
very sweet smooth speakers that reproduced classical music VERY well,
though a little light on the bass. Unfortunately my wife did not like
the look so back they went and out came a pair of B&W604's. Why I do not
know. The Castle are beautifully constructed speakers of solid woods.
Call Brady at Scientific Stereo in Brattleboro VT. He will take care of
you.
ASK for BRADY!
Shane Matthews
In article <01bbe7db$c984d380$aa12...@Pbclark.sover.net>, William Kapp
Clark <bcl...@sover.net> writes
>Does anyone know anything about Castle Speakers ? I listened to them today,
>and they were quite impressive, but I had never heard of the company
>before.
>
>Many thanks
>
Hi. Which model did you listen to? When I bought my first system a
little while ago I listened to the Castle Isis which sounded beautiful.
Unfortunately I decided to go with Mission 731LE's instead because they
were almost as good but cheaper. Big mistake! After hearing the Castles
all I could hear in the Missions was the difference.
Anyway, back to the point. Castle speakers are made in Yorkshire,
England. IMHO they're the best made speakers I've come across and well
worth a listen.
BTW, what sort of price are they selling at over there?
Shane
--
Shane Matthews
Lye Jit Hui
Castles are Brit speakers. First came across them early 90's, but they
have been around longer. They have a full range of speakers, mostly floor
standing, some with upward-firing cones. Generally very well-regarded.
Can't give you more details. I have heard them (can't remember model),
driven by Sony XA7ES and Densen amps (Danish). Sounded very good! I was
actually auditioning the Sony, but couldn't digest the price $2500
singapore dollars (about US$1800), ended up with a Marantz 63KI-S for 35%
of the price of a Sony.
Daniel J. Weiss
I too compared the Castle Isis to the Alon Petites and found that the
Petites won hands down in every category...That is not to say that the
Castles are not impressive, I just didn't find them to be in the same
league as the Petites (as well they shouldn't be...they sell for around
400-500 dollars compared to the Petites at 1,000).
I think the Castle's are really strong contenders in their price
range. Aside from sounding great, they have a choice of fantastic
finishes. I would really be interested in hearing some of their more
expensive speakers such as the Eden and the Harlech and Howard...
dan
F. Blaine Dickson
Daniel J. Weiss <da...@wjh.harvard.edu> wrote:
I think the Castle's are really strong contenders in their price
> range. Aside from sounding great, they have a choice of fantastic
> finishes. I would really be interested in hearing some of their more
> expensive speakers such as the Eden and the Harlech and Howard...
> dan
UHF is considering putting Castle Winchesters in their second reference
system. They reviewed them and thought very highly of them. Would
probably be worth a listen.
hma...@aol.com
"William Kapp Clark" <bcl...@sover.net> wrote:
>Does anyone know anything about Castle Speakers ? I listened to them today,
>and they were quite impressive, but I had never heard of the company
>before.
>Many thanks
>Bill Clark
>bcl...@sover.net
I recently purchased a pair of Castle Severns. They cost about DM 1600
here in Germany. In England they are approx. 550 pounds. In the U.S.
they should probably cost around 900 bucks.
I primarily listen to classical music and I found the Castles to be
quite excellent. They cover the entire range from a Mahler tutti fff
to a violin sonata very well. For pop enthusiasts they might be just a
little light on the bass but for classical music the sound seems very
balanced and enjoyable.
FYI, I auditioned them carefully and compared them to the following
speakers: JBL L 60, Canton Fonum 501, Ruark Templar 2, Infinity Kappa
6.2 and they were clearly the best. The only speakers coming close
were the Ruarks but they did not seem to fit to well my Yamaha
amplifier (too bright).
Anyway, I really enjoy my Castle speakers and I am happy I did not buy
one of the major brands in some kind of megastore but went to a small
hi-fi dealer, instead. Cause that's were you find speakers like the
Castles.
Helmut
Joe Adams
>
>I too compared the Castle Isis to the Alon Petites and found that the
>Petites won hands down in every category...That is not to say that the
>Castles are not impressive, I just didn't find them to be in the same
>league as the Petites (as well they shouldn't be...they sell for around
>400-500 dollars compared to the Petites at 1,000).
> I think the Castle's are really strong contenders in their price
>range. Aside from sounding great, they have a choice of fantastic
>finishes. I would really be interested in hearing some of their more
>expensive speakers such as the Eden and the Harlech and Howard...
>dan
>
I felt the Petites had a more sparkling top, but imaging and live
presence were not as good as the Isis. I don't agree that the 2:1
price differential necessarily makes one speaker better than another.
There are tradeoffs, to be sure, but there are also some exceptional
speakers which sell for <$2k which put to shame some "high end" $8k
boxes. BTW "Audio" magazine (11/96, p.120) rates the Isis a B+.
Daniel J. Weiss
I think it comes down to a matter of taste...I didn't feel that
the Isis had more of a live presence than the petites...just the opposite
in fact. I also think that the petites image remarkably well...I don't
remember how the Isis did in that category.
My point was not that price differential makes one speaker better
than another. It depends on which speakers you are comparing...My point
was that the Petites are excellent speakers at just under 1k while the
Isis are excellent speakers at around 500...Given that they are both good
values in their dollar range, one would expect to get more from the
petites (and in my opinion that is what one gets). To make my point
clearer: b%w 601's are excellent speakers for around 300 or so dollars.
Still, one would not expect them to perform in the range of excellent
speakers costing 1k (say the CDM1's for instance). I agree thatthere are
some expensive speakers which don't sound as good as cheaper ones. Still,
if you choose between quality contenders, one will often find that
perfomance does increase with more expensive speakers. There are
exceptions as usual...
Finally, I must admit that I am quite apathetic about how Audio
magazine rates anything. The petites have received rave review from many
"reputable" mags...but as you know, you gotta go by your own ears...
dan