I own Celestion SL6si 1987 bookshelves and really enjoy them. There seem to be many iterations of similar sized Celestion two ways from the late 1980's, and I am not sure why so many and what any differences may be.
Hi, I am a huge Celestion fan as of late. I started with the DL4, then went to the Celestion 7mkii which I thought sounded exactly the same but with a smidge of bass that I felt was needed. Now I have some celestion 9s. The 9s sound completely different than the 7s. The receiver I'm using is the HK330b BTW. The 9s are smoother with a recessed top end compared to the 7s. However, the 9s never sounded shouty to me. The 9s also seemed to have better instrument separation. The 7s sounded very in your face in the best possible way. With the 7s I had to lower the treble on my receiver slightly. When I did they sounded great. Very revealing and powerful. However they are slightly grainy than compared to the 9s. With the 9s, I have to turn the treble back to flat. Then, I am picking true details in the music. Both speakers are 8 out of 10 but for different reasons. The 9s are objectively better but the 7s might be more enjoyable because they have such an effortless open sound. I enjoy the 9s because I constantly hear more nuances in the music. I enjoy the 7s because they get me into the groove. As of right now, I wouldn't part with either.
I've had a pair of these for years and would agree that they are on the polite / smooth side. But i wouldn't describe mine has ever harsh sounding. Maybe my crossover has seen better days, that's why I'm dreading the day that something fails in there. Mine are perfect for long listening and by far the easiest speakers I've had to live with
I had the sl6s for a while back in 88. I think the sl6 especially the first two versions excelled in the subtle delivery of their mid range. They kept everything controlled and that was their speciality. The aerolam or metal cabinet only really came into its own probably with the 700 & more so with its separate bass sub woofer. But really this was a different speaker by that time.
i think the NAD 3020 is a lot more powerful than one would think, happily running B&W 120 watt speakers off one of these! the NAD has an excellent phono/ preamp section. Treble is slightly rolled off compared to modern amp (Rega Brio) so is good with older albums which sometimes can sound very bright .
Found a pair of Celestion 11 on the trash the other day! Woofers are completely fine, twetters were both dented, left one badly so, completely pushed in. They made sound, but not a pleasant one. I've been able to push them out and get them fairly smooth by pushing with the end of a small rounded metal rod against a spoon. Not perfect, but sounds much, much better. The right tweeter wasnt as badly pusehd in, but it has a small tear. I think i'll replace them both with ebay diaphgrams, doesn't look too difficult. BTW, what an excellent pair of speakers, I'm testing them with a Yamaha CX-1/MX-1 combo, and they sound really well, maybe lacking a bit of bass, but I'm used to my Infinity Kappa 8.2i, with 12" woofers.
They all sounded quite similar, but some sounded a tad more open than others. However I did think the female voice sounded very very slightly cuppy on all of them.. To be fair that could be You tube compression, the JBL monitors connected to my pc etc.. so I am probaly not hearing it as it is in your room. Regardless though really interesting comparison thank you
Remarkably similar sound to all 5 speakers! It's what one might expect from a great manufacturer such as Celestion, but what's most interesting (to me anyway) is the amount of refinement in even the oldest of these speakers. The journalists who wrote in all the hi - fi rags in the '80's proclaiming that these couldn't play a tune to save their lives were talking out of their backsides! Wonderful stuff! Thank you Kevin for this exposition.
Reminds me of the year I got into separates and the speakers I bought were the Paradigm 7se, a bit taller but similar in driver size. At the time, hard to beat at the price in the States and sounded really good with strong mid bass and actually would dip in to the mid 30s Hz region as well. Today, I have shrunk everything down in size, amps, speakers and a small sub with equally good results albeit sounding a bit different than my original equipment. Not to mention my hearing and tastes have changed over the years. Nostalgia.
@@dittonworksThanks for the suggestion but nothing, there are not even images online of the Studio 1A crossover, if someone knows even the circuit parts, please let me know! Thanks
The wonderful Peerless midrange used in the design and other classic speakers like the Gale 401 was a real sleeper and quite inexpensive in it's day. It doesn't look like much but the sound is amazing.
Very very enjoyable chat. I have just discovered an independent Harbeth reseller in Montpellier, France. I went to the store to try some REGA equipment and the new Aya loudspeakers. I discovered a large room of much more expensive amplifiers and the whole Harbeth range! Spent an hour here. Hopefully, I will be in the market by the end of year. I haven’t got a clue what to order? Cheers
these are great medium size speakers...and love the sound but...they sound a little weak when compared to my larger sized Spendor S100...missing a fullness the larger S100 delivers...
The separate Class AB amps from NAIM through the EVOKE sounded marginally fuller-bodied, warmer, more detailed and comely compared to the D class amps of the powered model. Personally, I'd power the Evoke with a Simaudio MOON 600i integrated and likely be happy for life.
100% agree. Sl600's have a real life feel whereas the Si version might be technically better, but my preference is for the 600 version. Treble extension is not the be all factor here. They got the 600's right imo. 😂
White SL’s have poly on HF only. New Alcaps in LF circuit. 100’s now have air core inductor on LF, Janzen on HF and Clarity cap on LF. Mundorf M resist and mills.
Loved the video. I have to say I am a great Celestion fan boy having owned multiple models over the last 40 years. Sl600's taught me about spacial characteristics and imagining depth, one thing that makes music all the more believable. Shame they are soo inefficient, but power is a lot cheaper today. Keep the videos going please, I enjoy their insight!
All the jantzens ive used sounded edgy until about 40 hours, they then go dull and flat for about 1-2 hours and then boom! Stunning. Very very weird run in journey. I thought it was me imagining things when it first happened but then the same thing then happened on 2 more occasions, 3 different speakers.
