The Marantz has really made me stop and think carefully about the sort of sound I need for long term musical enjoyment and I realise I have been chasing a sound that in reality doesn't encourage me to sit down and relax, listening to the music fully. In fact some of the kit I've had has made me very restless.
The Zensor 3s are superb speakers and in terms of giving a punchy, forthright sound they are hard to beat at the price. However, switching to my Quad 11Ls showed me that I can sit and listen to a more subtle performance for much longer and that such a performance suits the majority of the music I listen to (mostly acoustic music - folk, jazz, and classical). It also showed me how capable the Marantz is - more so than quite a few of the seperate integrated amps I've used with the Quads. However, the underlying Quad quality - a slightly 'grey' sound - remained and I found myself wanting to find some speakers that would manage all the qualities of the Quads but with that extra something that is hard to define.
I found myself yearning for the Wharfedale Dentons, or even some Harbeths, but they are both beyond my financial means at present. I noticed the half-price deals on the Castle range and did some research, finding a dealer review from America that suggested they had all the qualities I was looking for.
Coupled with the Marantz, the Knight 1s are a supremely natural speaker, with no irritating spikes in the frequency response. Their imaging is holographic, and they portray the character of instruments and voices in a very cpativating way. Listening to Emmylou Harris' recording of 'Here, There and Everywhere' from Elite Hotel last night, her characterful voice was a living and breathing element. They are also deft with a rhythm, but in a very natural and un-forced manner. I've never heard Steeleye Span's 'Seagull' sound so infectious, and all the texture of the vocal harmonies was beautifully reproduced. These speakers lay the music out in front of you. They don't hurtle it at you. Yet tracks from Peter Gabriel's orchestral album still have decent weight and the speakers handle the larger soundstage and timbral complexity with a surprising sense of ease. These qualities also come across with solo piano music - unusually for an affordable speaker, pianos (when recorded properly) sound like a single instrument rather than the disconcertingly seperated impression many seem to give.
Will they suit everyone? Absolutely not. They aren't the sort of speakers that will impress those looking for massive sub bass, and they won't impress in a quick-shot demo or at a hi-fi show like some do. If you want the music to be pounded into the room, the Castles are not designed for you. In a way, despite them appearing to be like a typical small modern standmount speaker, Peter Comeau has very skilfully designed them to avoid many of the usual characteristics and, as such, they have a more sophisticated quality. They are probably quite unique amongst affordable speakers, certainly in my quite extensive experience. In fact, so much so that I worry about availability of similar product in the future as IAG don't seem to be doing much with Castle promotion-wise in the UK and with the current offers it almost seems like we might see them disappear.
They suit me very well and they are encouraging a new way of listening - well, new in the sense that I haven't listened like this for a long time.
Eventually I can see myself with a pair of Harbeths (and a more up-range one-box system) but until then, these are captivating.
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