Just added some great speakers to my system
I purchased the Castle Severn speakers on Ebay. I am really looking forward to hooking those up.
Years ago I heard these speakers at Absolute Sound in WV. A great Hi-Fi shop, now closed unfortunately.
Although it was Pied Piper that introduced me to Polk SDA and Monitor, Absolute Sound let me hear REALLY expensive stuff.
I heard the Castles on a set of monoblock tubes with an Audible Illusions M3 preamp. Yes, that was back in the day, but I remember it was one of the best sounding setups I had ever heard.
No, I don't have $20k monoblocks, or the $2K M3, but I also got to hear the Castles on some Rotel stuff, which I do have, so I'm really looking forward to getting them.
On a side note, you know how we audio nuts like to find "the best deal in the world?" I was at a flea market the other day, and one of the vendors had a stack of audio gear he hadn't tested yet. I found an item I was interested in...it was an Adcom preamp. He said he didn't know if it worked, but he'd let me have it for $10. It works great. Can you believe it???
The moment I hooked up the preamp I noticed that everything was more defined, the soundstage was more real, and the vocals were outstanding. I was using an HK receiver with pre-outs, and now I must say that a dedicated 2-channel system really is the best way to go for strictly music listening.
So,
Years ago I heard these speakers at Absolute Sound in WV. A great Hi-Fi shop, now closed unfortunately.
Although it was Pied Piper that introduced me to Polk SDA and Monitor, Absolute Sound let me hear REALLY expensive stuff.
I heard the Castles on a set of monoblock tubes with an Audible Illusions M3 preamp. Yes, that was back in the day, but I remember it was one of the best sounding setups I had ever heard.
No, I don't have $20k monoblocks, or the $2K M3, but I also got to hear the Castles on some Rotel stuff, which I do have, so I'm really looking forward to getting them.
On a side note, you know how we audio nuts like to find "the best deal in the world?" I was at a flea market the other day, and one of the vendors had a stack of audio gear he hadn't tested yet. I found an item I was interested in...it was an Adcom preamp. He said he didn't know if it worked, but he'd let me have it for $10. It works great. Can you believe it???
The moment I hooked up the preamp I noticed that everything was more defined, the soundstage was more real, and the vocals were outstanding. I was using an HK receiver with pre-outs, and now I must say that a dedicated 2-channel system really is the best way to go for strictly music listening.
So,
Post edited by LBrize on
Comments
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Welcome to the dark side......
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Congrats on your new speakers.Linn AV5140 fronts
Linn AV5120 Center
Linn AV5140 Rears
M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
Odyssey Mono-Blocs
SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D -
Welcome to the dark side......
Not sure what you mean by dark side, perhaps it is the non Polk speakers?
Don't worry, I still have my Polks, and I'm selling a pair of Infinity RS4 and possibly a super nice Boston Sub to help pay for these.
So, I'm not a defector, just excited about the Castles. I still have my Monitor 10, Monitor 5, RT400, and SDA1 speakers lying around, although the SDAs are on the disabled list--I may retire them rather than try for repairs. Anyone need any parts?
The Infinitys are RS4, and really are awesome when played through good equipment. Back in the day at Circuit City, I didn't like them so much, but after picking them up and trying them at home, they're really nice. The sub is a Boston PV400. The most accurate sub I've ever owned. Absolutely fantastic for a den, dorm, bedroom, or a nice moderate system. I had to replace it with a room shaker, but the Boston sounds so much cleaner. Maybe I should post them on the 4-sale thread?
Perhaps the dark side was the UK, where the Castles were made. I hear it is rarely sunny there, so maybe that's it.
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That's awesome!! Congrats on the find!"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin, February 17th, 1775.
"The day that I have to give up my constitutional rights AND let some dude rub my junk...well, let's just say that it's gonna be a real bad day for the dude trying to rub my junk!!"
messiah, November 23rd, 2010 -
Not sure what you mean by dark side, perhaps it is the non Polk speakers?
The Dark Side is realizing that 2 channel is the way to go, and from this point on, investing all of your time and money into squeezing every last iota of performance out of it. This is what I'm in the process of starting...I've recently crossed over to the Dark Side.
Welcome to the Dark Side.;)
And congrats on the new toys.:)The nirvana inducer-
APC H10 Power Conditioner
Marantz UD5005 universal player
Parasound Halo P5 preamp
Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's -
comfortablycurt wrote: »The Dark Side is realizing that 2 channel is the way to go, and from this point on, investing all of your time and money into squeezing every last iota of performance out of it. This is what I'm in the process of starting...I've recently crossed over to the Dark Side.
Welcome to the Dark Side.;)
And congrats on the new toys.:)
You are incorrect little padawan, and the Force is weak in you. The Dark Side is the true nature of the ultimate power in the universe. -
Lord Vader wrote: »You are incorrect little padawan, and the Force is weak in you. The Dark Side is the true nature of the ultimate power in the universe.
Have you ever had an original thought or possibly thought of watching another movie?
Gordon2 Channel -
Martin Logan Spire, 2 JL Audio F112 subs
McIntosh C1000 Controller with Tube pre amp, 2 MC501 amplifiers, MD1K Transport & DAC, MR-88 Tuner
WireWorld Eclipse 6.0 speaker wire and jumpers, Eclipse 5^2 Squared Balanced IC's. Silver Eclipse PCs (5)
Symposium Rollerblocks 2+ (16)Black Diamond Racing Mk 3 pits (8) -
This is a great hobby-Enjoy the Music!Linn AV5140 fronts
Linn AV5120 Center
Linn AV5140 Rears
M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
Odyssey Mono-Blocs
SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D -
Pics? and welcome."The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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Which Adcom pre did you score?I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.
Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii
Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999
Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3
HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000 -
concealer404 wrote: »Which Adcom pre did you score?
The GTP-400. I don't remember it getting great reviews, maybe I'm wrong about that, but I have to tell you what a difference it made in my system.
I was using that HK AVR, but in two channel mode, but still, the difference has to be the best $10 anyone has ever spent on an audio upgrade!!
On a sad note--I received the Castles and one of the woofers is a victim of ungluing. The spider gasket, as well as the dust cap, are no longer attached, and as such the woofer made a lovely pop when I tried them out. More bad news? Castle offers no replacement, and having the woofer repaired would cost more than I paid for the speakers, because I would have to have both woofers reconed--plus I don't think I would get OEM quality that way.
The good news about the bad news? I found a brand new pair of Castle upgrade woofers, actually the carbon fiber models, still in the box. I have them coming from the U.K., so I am very much looking forward to getting those in the cabinets and hearing these wonderful speakers.
--Wilmslow audio in the U.K., who appear to build Castle now (a look at their available speakers online reveals that these speakers are Castle), helped me find the replacements and stated that the ones I bought will actually improve the sound over the originals, in that they will be a more accurate, smoother sounding woofer, so now I'm actually glad the woofer was bad.
Here's a pic of one of the Castles:
