hifi speakers

I have a pair of old Celetion Ditton 15xr speakers in which date back to the 70s. They work and sound fine to me but after 30 years of service are begining to look out of date.So my question is have the speakers that are on the market nowadays changed in sound quality.

 

I would say that when you look at SOME vintage hifi that might just cost a few hundred quid now but cost the equivelant of thousands when it was released....

.. and then compare that to something costing just a few hundred quid brand new, theres a very good chance the new equipment will get a spanking.

.. If you compare the same vintage item with the latest and greatest available today for a similar amount to what the vintage item cost when it was new then I think you are quite likely to see the new equipment sounding better in some areas.

Thats my general feeling .. but I'm painting a too-broad picture and making too many generalisations.

I think Leonard on the forum uses vintage Celestion Dittons 15s. He can probably give you a better idea of how that particular speaker compares with more modern fare.

I believe he has just done some shopping about fairly recently.

 

I use the ditton 66 series 2..
I think they may use the same tweeter, but the much larger 66 has the BBC dome mid range, plus 12" bass unit and 12" radiator.
I don't know if the 15 sounds similar to the 66, but the 66 is very neutral - especially driven by 600+ watts of Bryston, and has most excellent bass - Celestion give a lower figure of 18dB (though who knows whether that's -3, -6 or -136dBs!).
I've tested them against all sorts of pretty high end speakers, such as Audio Physic Virgos, ProAc response 1.5, Lumley Lampro 200/400, ATC SCM 35s and Active 50s, and the Dittons beat them all easily.
If the 15 has anything like the 66s performance I'd expect them to give most speakers of a similar size a run for their money! They will probably need lots of power to make them sing properly...

 

I'd audition Proac D25's (£3K) and Martin Logan Clarity's (£2.5K)

 

well, on the basis of what I have heard afew speakers, although my list is far from exhaustive, in my current situation KEF reference 104's are making me very happpy/as satisfied as can be. From what i can make out they date from 1973, and I have to say that i think in terms of enjoment they are superb. certainly, for the £85 that i payed they are far suprior to budget contendors even at this age. Extended bass response, suprsingly extended trebel(t27's are supposed to have a response upto 40,000khz) and good to fair imaging with vocals sounds v natural.

Have hit more than a few :guiness: :guiness: tonight, but I have to say, after spending 1k on speakers and also £85, it really has opened my eyes to the fact that theyre are some great, classic designs out there.

 

Good for you. I've been looking out for a pair of 104ab's thare are close to me for a while, as they have such a great reputation, and at the price they go for it would be rude not to! All my gear is 2nd hand and a lot of stuff I've had has been quite old, speakers no exception. If you want quality at a bargain price then it's the only way to go - my personal favourites have been Rogers Studio 1 (original 3 way bbc inspired design) that cost me ~£170 (outstanding), and my current pair Tannoy Cheviots that cost me £50 + ~£90 to repair.

Fortunately I like the retro 70's look of my Tannoys, with their big ugly brown covers, although I think I'm in the minority here
If you can live with the dated look of some models, there are bargains aplenty out there that compare very favourably with modern speakers, IMO.

 

Seriously - Russ Andrews Quave LS1s are worth a listen, in view of comparisons with your existing/previous speakers. They are a really good speaker (particularly as the price has been reduced by £1000 since their release - even at the original price they recieved favourable reviews. They have an interesting design with a largeish (compared to many modern designs) bass driver and simple crossover giving a very good sound indeed. I've only heard a demo so did not have a prolonged listen but ~ I was very impressed, I gave them serious consideration but couldn't miss out on a pair of Merlin VSMs.
Link to website.

 

Russ Andrews gives no specs for frequency response on that page. Anyone know how low they go?

 

my monica comes from my affection for the pair of Celestion Ditton 15s that I bought new for £109 in 1975, and which were in my main system until about three years ago when I started upgrading.

My sig shows my current set-up, now with floorstanders.

I still have them (along with documentation and receipt!) but they were displaced from my second system by the JM Lab Electra 905s. These allowed me to assess front-end upgrade issues much more successfully than the Dittons.

The Dittons are sensitive and do not require a lot to drive them. I know regard the bass as a bit wholly/warm in complete contrast to the Soundpax speakers I play with (in guest bedroom) which offers more detail.

Might be interesting to put them back into my current set-up and see how they compare - though I worry that the Bel Canto Evo 4 in bridged mode might be a bit strong ...

 

There's a pair of Ditton 66's on retrohifi.co.uk at the mo', might be a good buy @ £90 especially when described as 'perfect', if anyone's near the Nottingham area.

 

Dittons 66s in good nick for £90!
I've never seen them for less than £400 - proper bargain for someone who's got a grunty amp and wants some bass...