celestion ditton 44 : advice please

[admin_exported]

Hi

Can anyone please help ? I have had a pair of celestion ditton 44 's for over 25 years and I would love to find a replacement. The base and power that they deliver is still amazing, but time moves on and I would love to find a new replacement that can still perform. I love rock music and have tested some B&W speakers that were recomended by my local store but they were a very poor replacement. Any comments would be very welcome

Many thanks

 

[gregory]

if i were you i would keep them,great speakers and maybe upgrade your source or amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for your advice I know what you mean they do sound great

 

[Anonymous]

I used to have Celestion Dittons, but gave them away after a house move and they didn't sound right. With hindsight I am fairly sure it was because I had them sitting directly on a wooden floor and not any failing of the speakers.

I think my friend's son is still enjoying them!

 

[Anonymous]

Speakers are often capable of a much better sound than the source/amplification gives. So upgrading other kit, as gregory suggets, might get a whole new sound from your Dittons. You could also consider your stands and speaker cable: there might be some cost effective improvements there.

I had mine on the end of free speaker cable from the retailer so probably never heard how they should have sounded!

The Dittons I had were quite big so you would need to get the right height of stands to have the 'tweeter' at seated ear height.

 

[Anonymous]

Great to hear from you, many thanks for your advice I will try to get some stands and hang on to them. I think I would miss them to much. All the best and Happy New Year !

 

[Gyp]

My father has these speakers and very nice they are too.

First off, if you're happy with them, then you're probably best sticking with them and not messing about. As mentioned earlier, stands might improve them and ebay item 150197615969 would probably be quite suitable (if a little tatty).

You are right that speakers have moved on though. To my ear, the 44s are a tad muffled; a little lacking in detail. The bass response is rich and full but communicates weight better than accuracy

To improve upon them and maintain their range will either be expensive or time consuming. Or more likely both.

The expensive route will involve a trip to your local hi-fi shop where you'll need to audition some floorstanding speakers; you'll need floorstanders to get anything near the 44s. Improving the clarity will be easy and relatively inexpensive - improving the clarity whilst retaining the lovely full rounded warm bass won't.

Of course, if you pop in with some CDs in your hand you might find that you walk out with a whole new system

The time consuming route will involve looking for highly-regarded floorstanding speakers from the last 10-15 years second hand. They should still give a marked improvement if you're electronics are up to it

I know I've got a clear Kef bias, but consider something like ebay item 230207602653, then maybe drive them with a pre-loved Pioneer A400

 

[Anonymous]

Taking the front grilles off, putting them on low stands and using 6mm cable transforms them.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gyp

Many thanks for all your advice I will check out the ebay Item's you mentioned. The kef's look great.

All the best and Happy new year

 

[Gyp]

The Kefs are superb speakers, even now. I was chatting with one of the chaps in my local hi-fi shop on Monday and he's finally replaced his after 15 years, but only with the new £7k version

I was meaning to add that it might be worth considering something cheaper with a lighter character like the Monitor Audio 14s, and having had a look on ebay there's some of those there too - 160194216080

I auditioned some way back when and rather enjoyed them, but decided to spend about 6x as much on my Kefs

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Many thanks for the great response, What a terrific community.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Just been reading your ad and just had to write back

my friend has had a pair of dittons for years and I must say they sound fantastic

I am looking for a pair of ditton 44's and would gladly swop two pairs od misson speakers ,I have the 751's and 761i 's and would make any adjustment if needed for a good pair of ditton 44's

if you know anyone who would be interested you can contact me gian1950@aol.com mobile 07800846631

I live in gwent south wales

many thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Norma

Just been reading your ad and wonder if you would be interested in and exchange for your ditton 44's

I have an arcam alpha 8 amp mint and also two sets of mission speakers the 751's and the 761i in good condition. I just love the ditton 44's and my friend has had a pair for years

regards

Gian

 

[muskokaphotog]

Hey, I have a pair of these speakers. My dad bought them new along with an HK 960 or 980. I eventually got rid of the 980. The treble sounded scratchy and the sound was generally flat. It may be been in need of restoration.

Well as fate would have it, I reclaimed a pair of these speakers from a friend who has had them in his garage for the last 10 years or so. I just hooked them up. First to a 1990's HK 7900, 170 watts, beyond clean power and huge requency range.

Compared to my other speakers, custom built from a Toronto store with really sweet and clear components, the 44's sounded flat and lifeless. The room, I would say is medium sized bedroom with typical stuff in it. When you look at the components of the 44, the drivers are all pre kevlar, carbon fibre, etc.

When speakers or an amplifier seem to have lots of "bass" is it because the lower frequencies are really present or are they clumped together and therefore sound more present? The bass drivers of the 44's are certainly not going to be up to modern comparisons. They are big and limp.

But the story doesn't end there. I hooked them up to a vintage HK 760, which many consider to be better than the 900 series. The old 760 had been professionally cleaned. The 760 is noisy compared to a modern amp and far less damping, BUT it has goobs of life because of those huge power sources. So it really grooves. Perfect for these old speakers.

If you want to try to remain vintage, look for such an amp that will kiss ass with these speakers and place them in a bright sounding room. Otherwise, put them in your garage and begin the quest to update. There is NO point in trying to replace drivers, that would be good money wasted.

There is without question a lot of hype in speakers, all all hi fi equipment. The only way to judge is to listen at home. Don't be afraid to look for used gear either. You can also search for a business that builds speakers and sample different drivers. A good speaker builder can customize a sound for you very effectively for less than the designer speakers.