Castle Loudspeakers

[Jason36]

Does anyone know much about the Castle range of Loudspeakers.....you just dont seem to see many reviews of them and I was wondering where they sit in the world of Hi Fi.........

I have some Pembroke Floorstanders and some Richmond Stand mounts and I am stuggling to find any reviews on them at all.....just wondering how these would sit with mid range hi fi, such as Cyrus, Naim or Roksan.....

At the moment the Pembrokes are too large for the room I have so have the Richmond's set up on Atacama stands.

Anybody have any opinions on them???

Jay

 

[matthewpiano]

Castle made some gorgeous speakers with (generally) a very rich and musical sound. They were famous for the quality of their finishes and could sound absolutely stunning on the end of the right kit. They don't suit overly warm electronics though.

The name is now owned by the same Chinese company that owns Mission, Audiolab, Quad, and Wharfedale - IAG - but I've not heard of any new ranges being produced as of yet.

 

[John Duncan]

Not terribly fashionable any more, but very good in their heyday - I coveted but couldn't afford them when I was buying my first hifi back in 84. Think they're still around though, and thought WHF had reviewed some recently, but can't spot them in the reviews section.........

 

[Jason36]

Yeah I noticed they are owned by IAG now.

and I must say I do love the warm sound that mine produce........I am looking to upgrade my old amp and CD player to either the Cyrus 8vs amp amd 6CDse or the Roksan Kandy LIII and believe that these electronics should work very well with my Richmond Standmounters and hopefully when I get a big enough room my Pembroke Floorstanders.

What make of speaker cable would you recommend with this set up?? I'm currently using terminated sonic link cable.

Jay

 

[Andy Clough]

Jason36:
Does anyone know much about the Castle range of Loudspeakers.....you just dont seem to see many reviews of them and I was wondering where they sit in the world of Hi Fi.........

I have some Pembroke Floorstanders and some Richmond Stand mounts and I am stuggling to find any reviews on them at all.....just wondering how these would sit with mid range hi fi, such as Cyrus, Naim or Roksan.....

Castle speakers were indeed very good in their day and beautifully made, but we've not heard from them since the company was bought by IAG, which now owns the brand-name. We've removed them from the Buying Guide as they're no longer available in the UK. I don't know if IAG have any plans at this stage to release new models under the Castle name.

 

[Andrew Everard]

IAG Deutschland showed a range at the Munich High-End Show in the Spring, some of which looked like slightly altered versions of the last line-up, and some, such as dipole rear speakers, exactly like rebadged Missions.

The company was making a great play of the Britishness of the enterprise - pictures of castles and so on - and words were had about the use of WHFSV star ratings on what were clearly not quite the same speakers as the versions we'd reviewed.

But nothing more has been heard about a UK relaunch since...

 

[matthewpiano]

I sincerely hope that IAG don't start badge engineering or just relying on old designs. If they bring Castle back to the UK it needs to be done properly or its not worth doing at all.

 

[the record spot]

Castle exists in name only and maybe a Chinese owned and designed range. Don't confuse it with the original as the original guy (from Skipton in Yorkshire I think) sold up.

A mate of mine had the Severn 2 floorstanders and they were very impressive. That was about ten years back though.

 

[biggus_1961]

castle Howard S2 sound stunning with Electrocompanient amp and those upward firing drivers give a large sound stage..I like them alot, would be a great second hand buy.

 

[davo]

As to make of speaker cable, I had an email exchange with Chord in 2004 in which it was said that the"MD of Castle" was using Chord Rumour for his speakers - Rumour 4 because Castles supposedly responded "disproportionately well" to bi-wiring.

But I'm using Wireworld Solstice (bi-wire) with my Castle Chesters and I think that works well - better, especially for bass, than the Audioquedt 4 I used before.

 

[Anonymous]

Preview of their new website here:

http://www.castle.uk.com/

Not much on there yet though..........

 

[Anonymous]

Two months ago, I listened at home, for 3 days, the Richmond 3i and Durham 3.

They were not fully broken-in, and I had the flu, so I couldn't listen to them very seriously.

Voicing was very similar to the Wharfedale Evo2-10 that I have. Good integration between drivers, with a cohesive, warm and coherent sound. Highs were very soft with a nice sense of air, specially on the Durham, which exhibited grain-free HF (the Richmond was not as clean there). Both speakers were expressive and communicated the musical message convincingly. But both lacked LF authority and punch. The Durham was also too polite for my taste, lacking dynamics and softening transient attacks. The Richmond, though less refined and with a smaller soundstage, was more entretaining to listen to, with better timing, sharper transients, and a more propulsive (if less extended) bass.

Personally I prefer the Evo2-10 to the Durham; it has a "meatier" sound, with more weight.

But as I said, they were not broken-in, so maybe I'm not being fair.

The Richmond is another story; they are mini-monitors, so they have that really special sound, with transparent mids, fast bass, and they perform quite well the "disappearing act".

IMHO

 

[Anonymous]

I have just bought a last pair of Castle Richmond 3 Bookshelf Speakers from a vendor working with Castle UK since its appearance on the market. He has quit working with them due to the overtake by IAG and he recommended not to buy any of the new speakers if they ever come out (bad finishes, poor quality fineers and even worse material usage are a chinese trademark). But if you can get one of the old speakers you will surely make a deal since they were highly valued by What HiFi. I for sure haven't been regretting my buying them. Where many of the other speakers screeched or didn't sound as warm in the listening studio, these speakers immediately had me going enthousiastic.

A very nice buy indeed.

 

[Andrew Everard]

lMaNDoSl:(bad finishes, poor quality fineers and even worse material usage are a chinese trademark)

Absolutely, as the Quad 11L series speakers show. What tosh...

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:
lMaNDoSl:(bad finishes, poor quality fineers and even worse material usage are a chinese trademark)

Absolutely, as the Quad 11L series speakers show. What tosh...

I agree. What a poorly finished finish...

And it doesn't even bear thinking about the awful sound that the B&W 685s have...

 

[matthewpiano]

Old fashioned prejudices alive and well!! I agree with Andrew - complete tosh. A great deal of hi-fi manufactured in China is of a very very high standard and the sheer snobbery of a dealer who denigrates modern Castle speakers on the basis of their Chinese build is a dealer to be avoided. If they are lower in quality it has absolutely nothing to do with them being Chinese. The Quads are an excellent example of high quality Chinese finish, as are the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s in their own price class.

 

[Clare Newsome]

And I agree, too - i've been around IAG's speaker factory in China, and there's incredible care put into the build and finish.

To say 'the Chinese make shoddy stuff' is as outdated and generalistic as saying 'all British food is rubbish'.

And here's another gorgeous pair of Chinese-built speakers - this time from Mordaunt Short - that I have the pleasure of gazing at every day. Exquisitely made.

 

[Andy Clough]

Clare, you're just making me jealous now! But seriously though, Clare and Andrew are right - we've all been round several speaker factories in China, and believe us, they make some others we've seen elsewhere look decidedly shoddy. Many British hi-fi companies now manufacture in the Far East for cost reasons, and the quality of their products is excellent.

 

[chebby]

lMaNDoSl:.... he recommended not to buy any of the new speakers if they ever come out (bad finishes, poor quality fineers and even worse material usage are a chinese trademark).

As poor quality 'fineer' as your your spelling of it? (It is veneer by the way.)

This sounds like something my grandad would have said about Japanese goods in the 1960s. (Just as wrong then as well.)

Best to steer clear of ill-informed xenophobes even if they are masquerading as a dealer.