And now it's Castle making a comeback

[Al ears]

IAG group at it again I see.
Castle speakers, two of, making a comeback.
Just who is buy this overpriced retro kit??

 

[matthewpianist]

I had a pair of Knight 2s when IAG last made an attempt with the Castle brand. They were OK, but nothing special by the standards of the competition.

I've fallen into the retro trap more than once, but once the novelty wears off this kit is no better or worse than anything else and it has to compete on the same terms.

 

[SR-91]

IAG group at it again I see.
Castle speakers, two of, making a comeback.
Just who is buy this overpriced retro kit??

Castle Windsor Series loudspeakers are born and bred in Britain

We'd vote for this Windsor framework

www.whathifi.com

 

[matthewpianist]

Castle Windsor Series loudspeakers are born and bred in Britain

We'd vote for this Windsor framework

www.whathifi.com

Wow, pricey!

It's good to see something being manufactured in Britain, and I'm sure they'll be capable given their designer, but they're up against some extremely stiff competition - we're well into Spendor, Harbeth and PMC territory there - as well as similarly retro competition both from in-house brands (Wharfedale, Mission) and from the likes of JBL, Klipsch, Fyne...

 

[jjbomber]

Wow, pricey!

It's good to see something being manufactured in Britain, and I'm sure they'll be capable given their designer, but they're up against some extremely stiff competition - we're well into Spendor, Harbeth and PMC territory there.

This British Hi-Fi week is on the slow burner isn't it. One pair of speakers in 4 days! Was looking forward to Leema and IotaEnterprises. Going to be a long wait.

 

[Al ears]

Wow, pricey!

It's good to see something being manufactured in Britain, and I'm sure they'll be capable given their designer, but they're up against some extremely stiff competition - we're well into Spendor, Harbeth and PMC territory there - as well as similarly retro competition both from in-house brands (Wharfedale, Mission) and from the likes of JBL, Klipsch, Fyne...

True, and that should read ' constructed in Britain ' I imagine....

 

[matthewpianist]

True, and that should read ' constructed in Britain ' I imagine....

More than likely!

 

[Al ears]

More than likely!

Castle were well known for their cabinetry skills but I am guessing not all components of these expensive boxes are manufactured here in UK

 

[Gray]

I always remember being in a record shop and being unusually impressed by the sound - from little Castle speakers, despite (or maybe because of) poor close to ceiling position.

These new ones look nice, but they really do need to sound it too 🤨

 

[Al ears]

I always remember being in a record shop and being unusually impressed by the sound - from little Castle speakers, despite (or maybe because of) poor close to ceiling position.

These new ones look nice, but they really do need to sound it too 🤨

for the price they need to sound more than nice...

 

[Noddy]

Castle were well known for their cabinetry skills but I am guessing not all components of these expensive boxes are manufactured here in UK

Quite. I once worked for an English company that put Made In England on the products. Not one component was English, the glass, the camera, the case, the circuit boards and the cables were made in China. They did employ British staff to assemble and test them, but it was dishonest in my view. Oh, and perhaps the cardboard packing box and paper instructions were English.

 

[Al ears]

Quite. I once worked for an English company that put Made In England on the products. Not one component was English, the glass, the camera, the case, the circuit boards and the cables were made in China. They did employ British staff to assemble and test them, but it was dishonest in my view. Oh, and perhaps the cardboard packing box and paper instructions were English.

Indeed, the idea that you can buy in transducers from here, crossover components from there, stick it in an expensive box, possibly constructed in the UK, amd then slap a Made in Britain sticker on it rather degrades from everything I feel.
No doubt the rich Japanese / Chinese will still buy it....

 

[plastic penguin]

Perhaps it's just me, but I'm getting bored with IAG and others reintroducing famous brands from the past.

 

[Al ears]

Perhaps it's just me, but I'm getting bored with IAG and others reintroducing famous brands from the past.

Personally the only new editions that had me interested were the new Epos 14N because they didn't look like retro standmounts.

 

[plastic penguin]

Personally the only new editions that had me interested were the new Epos 14N because they didn't look like retro standmounts.

Haven't seen those Eposes. Tell me they're not owned by IAG.

 

[Al ears]

Haven't seen those Eposes. Tell me they're not owned by IAG.

I will.
Bought out from Creek by one Karl -Heinz Fink.....

 

[plastic penguin]

I will.
Bought out from Creek by one Karl -Heinz Fink.....

Thank gawd for that.

Nothing against IAG but they seem to have swallowed up many of the major brands.

 

[matthewpianist]

Personally the only new editions that had me interested were the new Epos 14N because they didn't look like retro standmounts.

They sounded very fine at the Bristol Show, though they are extremely expensive.

 

[jimbofisher]

Thank gawd for that.

Nothing against IAG but they seem to have swallowed up many of the major brands.

The Sports Direct of the Hi-Fi world!

 

[Deliriumbassist]

Wonder if Peter Comeau is still with IAG then, if Fink is involved with this.

 

[Al ears]

Wonder if Peter Comeau is still with IAG then, if Fink is involved with this.

As far as I am aware Peter is still Director of Design at IAG

 

[plastic penguin]

The Sports Direct of the Hi-Fi world!

Zackley

 

[matthewpianist]

Zackley

Let's face it, this is happening all over the place. The car industry is another example:

Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi, Porsche and Bentley all owned by Volkswagen Group

Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Opel, DS, Fiat Chrysler all owned by Stellantis

That's a significant amount of the mainstream car market in two companies.

Record companies too - Warner and Universal own a substantial amount of the market between them and they're still not done yet Eg. Universal has just bought British classical music label Hyperion.

 

[plastic penguin]

Let's face it, this is happening all over the place. The car industry is another example:

Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi, Porsche and Bentley all owned by Volkswagen Group

Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Opel, DS, Fiat Chrysler all owned by Stellantis

That's a significant amount of the mainstream car market in two companies.

Record companies too - Warner and Universal own a substantial amount of the market between them and they're still not done yet Eg. Universal has just bought British classical music label Hyperion.

Too true. It just seems that IAG have jumped on the bandwagon and charging eye watering prices for their retro styled speakers and as I briefly owned Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary speakers they fell short of a speaker of the sub-£500 mark.

I preferred Usher S520, they were very good indeed.

 

[Noddy]

Let's face it, this is happening all over the place. The car industry is another example:

Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi, Porsche and Bentley all owned by Volkswagen Group

Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Opel, DS, Fiat Chrysler all owned by Stellantis

That's a significant amount of the mainstream car market in two companies.

Record companies too - Warner and Universal own a substantial amount of the market between them and they're still not done yet Eg. Universal has just bought British classical music label Hyperion.

Is this a bad thing? VAG uses the same platforms for numerous cars across the brands. Thus a Seat Leon is a VW Gold is an Audi A3. Audi is a premium brand but cheaper than Mercedes as it is a Golf in a posh frock. Nowt wrong with that, Mercedes ain’t cheap. VAG can spread development costs over multiple brands, we all win.

If boutique hifi brands get swallowed up, they can share infrastructure and technology to produce better products. I’ve had numerous electronic brands from +/- boutique brands fail soon after the warranty expires: Arcam Solo Movie, Chord Mojo, Audeze Sine. My Japanese big name company products are bomb proof, as are my Sennheiser headphones.