Author Topic: Castle UK (Read 13703 times)

synchro_01 · « **on:** May 06, 2012 at 10:12 AM »

Going out of my Dyn, B&W and Celestion comfort zone, I decided to pull the trigger on a pair of slightly used Castle Speakers. It was sold to me by an old Korean guy who is a dyed in the wool analog junky back in Vegas. I didn't have the time nor the equipment to set it up right because all my gears are in the Phil so I just had it stored until I get it shipped here. Now the need has come for me to set up a small system in my receiving room and I finally decided to have the speakers shipped. I don't have any idea whatsoever on what type of gear should I mate it with. I auditioned it back in the US prior to getting the speakers and they were driven by a vintage sansui integrated amp and a Lenco turntable. The sound was classic Brit hifi.

The model that I got is the Trent 2 bookshelves in Rosewood. I was wondering if any of the members here have managed to own one or is using one right now. Would appreciate feedback on the speakers tendencies like amp power and type, cable, set up orientation etc. can the small Dared Integrated amp drive this thing to satisfying results? Will a Sakura tube amp drive it as well? I am on a budget since it will just be used occasionally.

The old Korean dude told me that Castle is one of the very few speakers aside from Dynaudio that manufactures their own drivers and enclosures. I was also informed that ProAc gets the services of Castle to make their enclosures for their speakers. I admit it was an impulse buy because when I saw the finish of the speakers it literally screams HANDCRAFTED with love.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

muypogi · « **Reply #1 on:** May 06, 2012 at 11:31 AM »

Have a pair if castle richmond bookshelves myself. Sound signature of castles are classic british warmish signature. They were also known for their furniture grade cabinets, which were handcrafted in the uk.

However, they were bought out in 2008 by the IAG group, a chinese owned conglomerate which also owns the brands of Mission, Wharfedale, Quad and more recently Luxman. I have the last batch of uk-made Castles, and I suppose your pair is uk made as well, since IAG relaunched Castle just last year pero made in China na lahat pero still retaining the sound and premium cabinet construction.

muypogi · « **Reply #2 on:** May 06, 2012 at 11:34 AM »

Forgot to add that I used to drive them with an AMX tube amp with very good results. Dyn audience 42 will however beat the Castles in terms of dynamics and clarity.

matehifi · « **Reply #3 on:** May 06, 2012 at 12:18 PM »

Very nice speaker, i have castle Tay before.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 06, 2012 at 12:39 PM »

Wow...nice to hear that we have members that used to own Castle speakers before.Yup the ones the I got are still Made in the UK. Probably when they get here I'll be auditioning integrated tube amps to match it. I'm not at all looking for a game ender in the Trent 2's in terms of dynamics and clarity. It will be set up on a vintage wooden table sans speaker stands so imaging, sound staging will be compromised. Will not even augment it with a sub. I just want it to be a clean sounding system.

muypogi · « **Reply #5 on:** May 06, 2012 at 02:57 PM »

Quote from: synchro_01 on May 06, 2012 at 12:39 PM

Wow...nice to hear that we have members that used to own Castle speakers before.Yup the ones the I got are still Made in the UK. Probably when they get here I'll be auditioning integrated tube amps to match it. I'm not at all looking for a game ender in the Trent 2's in terms of dynamics and clarity. It will be set up on a vintage wooden table sans speaker stands so imaging, sound staging will be compromised. Will not even augment it with a sub. I just want it to be a clean sounding system.

Ok na yan. The castles used to form part of my office system before. Driven muna by a JojoD amp then by a vintage HK330c. For nearfied listening, nothing beats the warm British sound augmented by the loudness function of a vintage receiver . . .

Now they're on loan with my father in law whose driving them with a vintage Fischer SS receiver as well.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 06, 2012 at 06:55 PM »

Muypogi, that's exactly the kind of set up I'm eyeing. Just an integrated and the Castles. I'd like it to be devoid of complexity but with a killer sound quality. No more of the complex set up that my wife nor my kids cant turn on by themselves.

muypogi · « **Reply #7 on:** May 06, 2012 at 07:27 PM »

Quote from: synchro_01 on May 06, 2012 at 06:55 PM

Muypogi, that's exactly the kind of set up I'm eyeing. Just an integrated and the Castles. I'd like it to be devoid of complexity but with a killer sound quality. No more of the complex set up that my wife nor my kids can turn on by themselves.

Nice. If they're biwirable, suggest you biwire them, as they sound better biwired. Per my experience, pag single wired setup, best to use heavy gauge wire as links.

Adam Warlock · « **Reply #8 on:** May 09, 2012 at 04:11 PM »

For those who are interested, We still have a pair of UK made Castle Richmond 7. Please call 395-5115 for discounting.
Sorry for jumping in guys...

Cheers

Signal2Noise · « **Reply #9 on:** May 16, 2012 at 03:44 PM »

I managed to owned both pairs of Castle Durham 3 loudspeakers last 2009 and currently the Castle Knight 1 model for my bedroom setup ( in rare antique oak finish). The Durham 3 is more dark sounding while the Knight1 is a bit detailed in terms of sq. But both has the trademark of a traditional warm British sound and excellent for vocals, acoustic, violin and jazz music...I paired it with my 6L6GC tube amp and I didn't go wrong with these 2 models.

It was my regret that I sold my Durham 3 to a very persistent female Singaporean last year, she was stunned by the furniture-grade quality of the pair and liked it a lot.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2012 at 05:31 PM »

Wow...the finish of those speakers are truly stunning. That's one thing about Castle speakers...they are meant to admired both by looks and by performance as well. A lot of mainstream speakers look at home in a studio or in an industrial themed abode but judging the way Castle speakers look they are at home in a log cabin inspired setting with a fireplace to boot. Well....maybe in this lifetime I can acquire the speaker but not the cabin

Been exercising the Contours for the past couple of days because I see myself being busy with the Castles when they get here. Planning on mating it with my REL and see how they perform.

Signal2Noise · « **Reply #11 on:** May 17, 2012 at 09:29 AM »

Quote from: synchro_01 on May 16, 2012 at 05:31 PM

Wow...the finish of those speakers are truly stunning. That's one thing about Castle speakers...they are meant to admired both by looks and by performance as well. A lot of mainstream speakers look at home in a studio or in an industrial themed abode but judging the way Castle speakers look they are at home in a log cabin inspired setting with a fireplace to boot. Well....maybe in this lifetime I can acquire the speaker but not the cabin

Been exercising the Contours for the past couple of days because I see myself being busy with the Castles when they get here. Planning on mating it with my REL and see how they perform.

I would suggest, paired the Castle with MJ Acoustics Sub. We compared an $850 MJ Acoustics sub against a $2400 Rel. All of us inside the listening area were surprised on how the 10" driver / sealed box / downward firing MJ sub delivered the lows with a great depth while the 12" driver, bigger box / front firing Rel sub overwhelms the low end, kinda boomy and we could hear the distortion emanated from the 12" woofer. MJ is refined while REL is powerful and both of them are originally Handcrafted in England that's how I described the 2 subs.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 20, 2012 at 04:14 PM »

Thanks for the suggestion though I am looking towards using my existing equipment at my disposal. When I got the Castles I vowed to myself that a good integrated is of priority rather than a sub for bottom end augmentation. I seldom use the REL's because the 1.8MKII's that I have is capable already of filling the room with adequate bass. I only fire it up when I listen to bottom heavy tracks. It's a StrataII btw.

muypogi · « **Reply #13 on:** May 21, 2012 at 09:13 PM »

Quote from: Adam Warlock on May 09, 2012 at 04:11 PM

For those who are interested, We still have a pair of UK made Castle Richmond 7. Please call 395-5115 for discounting.
Sorry for jumping in guys...

Cheers

Just curious, what's the price for the Richmond 7i?

Signal2Noise · « **Reply #14 on:** May 26, 2012 at 04:30 PM »

Quote from: synchro_01 on May 20, 2012 at 04:14 PM

Thanks for the suggestion though I am looking towards using my existing equipment at my disposal. When I got the Castles I vowed to myself that a good integrated is of priority rather than a sub for bottom end augmentation. I seldom use the REL's because the 1.8MKII's that I have is capable already of filling the room with adequate bass. I only fire it up when I listen to bottom heavy tracks. It's a StrataII btw.

Year 2002 when I first heard the Rel in Riyadh....It was the small yet powerful Quake model paired with Castle Durham 3 monitors. Damn...that tiny downward firing Rel really impressed me especially during the soundtracks and effects of Gladiator Movie. The tiny Rel went down decently with power and punch, while the Castle Durham 3's were the overall incharged of soundstage....The powerplant was NAIM (pre/power combo). Really amazing but expensive setup at the time

synchro_01 · « **Reply #15 on:** Jun 03, 2012 at 07:57 AM »

S2N,

Throughout my audio journey I managed to own at one time or another quite a number of subs from Kinergetics, MK, Dynes, B&W, tannoy etc but for me it's the REL that beats them all. It may fall short of expectations from the HT crowd in terms of sheer SPL but for music it's accuracy, speed, lack of overhang and most of all its easy integration to the mains via its ABC electronics makes it a very good choice. I think it will be a good match for the Castles.

Amplification plans had somewhat of a reorientation. Will no longer pursue an integrated but will instead drive the castles with a pair of monoblock amplifiers from Rotel (RMB100). Now to find a preamp that has balanced outs because I plan on utilizing the balanced line in of the monoblocks for a fully balanced signal chain.

I hope there will be no delay in the shipping of the Castles and the Monoblocks.

AudioAmplified · « **Reply #16 on:** Jun 07, 2012 at 11:09 AM »

Quote from: Adam Warlock on May 09, 2012 at 04:11 PM

For those who are interested, We still have a pair of UK made Castle Richmond 7. Please call 395-5115 for discounting.
Sorry for jumping in guys...

Cheers

Hey, speaker ko yun bebenta mo na? hahaha

Castle produces very good UK made speakers. We used to carry this brand before it was bought out by a Chinese conglomerate

qguy · « **Reply #17 on:** Jun 07, 2012 at 12:24 PM »

Natawa ko dito !!!

Quote from: AudioAmplified on Jun 07, 2012 at 11:09 AM

Hey, speaker ko yun bebenta mo na? hahaha

AudioAmplified · « **Reply #18 on:** Jun 07, 2012 at 07:14 PM »

Quote from: qguy on Jun 07, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Natawa ko dito !!!

That is one of the very last UK made castle speakers left kaya tinago ko yun. Richmond 7, rose wood color na floor stander. It uses the same drivers as the bookshelf Richmond but deeper and more controlled bass.

I was suppose to use it for my own house but we moved to a smaller place so I wasnt able to set it up na. paired with tubes that speaker sounds oh so smooth.

Adam Warlock · « **Reply #19 on:** Jun 09, 2012 at 01:45 PM »

Quote from: qguy on Jun 07, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Natawa ko dito !!!

Hahaha
Tagal na kasing nakatambay dito, may bayad warehousing

By the way, Mahogany yon

Cheers

Signal2Noise · « **Reply #20 on:** Jun 15, 2012 at 01:15 PM »

Gorgeous, Classic-looking & Furniture-grade Castle Knight 1 in rare Antique Oak real wood veneer finish.....

synchro_01 · « **Reply #21 on:** Aug 04, 2012 at 05:38 PM »

Finally they have arrived.

I never really listened to these long term when I initially got it so now that I have time to exercise its voice coils the performance is in a word...stunning.

initially using them with these rare Rotel Mono Block Amps pumping out 125 watts RMS @ 8 ohms:

never really enjoyed the rainy season but now I do

...will try em out with Classe amplification next week for a different flavor.
Initial impressions would be: killer mids and highs. Well balanced and with an airy top end. Close miked recordings with hall ambiance is very eerie when played with the Trent 2's. Low end is expectedly limited and will pale in comparison with a Dyne A50 bookshelf that I owned for several years however what respectable low end it has it is very articulate. Compared with a Dyne A50, surprisingly I find this very musical.

I think these are keepers.

AudioAmplified · « **Reply #22 on:** Aug 06, 2012 at 09:18 PM »

try to use tubes sir. castle plays really well with a powerful tube amp. i used to listen to my castle with a Cayin A70 or A100.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #23 on:** Aug 07, 2012 at 10:10 AM »

Quote from: AudioAmplified on Aug 06, 2012 at 09:18 PM

try to use tubes sir. castle plays really well with a powerful tube amp. i used to listen to my castle with a Cayin A70 or A100.

will do sir. thanks for the advice.

synchro_01 · « **Reply #24 on:** Nov 08, 2012 at 08:16 PM »

After a couple of months of owning a Castle, its fair to say that I have tried and tested the limits of what the Trent II can do in SS and Hybrid configuration. I haven't tried it with tubes simply because I don't have a tube amp presently. First off the mids and the highs are very good. Good enough to scare speakers that are much more expensive. Soundstage is very expansive and goes beyond the physical boundaries of the speakers themselves if properly positioned. height is superb but the depth is just about average. Probably it needs more space away from the back walls to improve on depth but all in all im a happy camper.the bass though is expectedly lean due to its size so matching it with the proper room size is a must or get bass reinforcement and in my case it's sounds superb with a REL Strata II.

Goes to show that sometimes the obscure brands that don't get advertised in magazines is worth a listen to and worth taking a risk in ownership as well. This speaker is going to be in my stable for a very long time.

Thanks to those who suggested set ups and tweaks. Just like you guys I am now addicted to its sound.

A pic with my usual suspects:

luis · « **Reply #25 on:** Jul 13, 2015 at 04:44 PM »

happy owner of Castle Richmond 7i, internet and forum reviews are consistent with my experience.