Celestion 442's

Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

Hi Folks,
In scrounging for used components for a second system for an apartment I managed to scoop up a pair of Celestion Ditton 442's from the late 70's. The cabinets are in decent shape. Grill cloths are shot, but who uses those things anyway.... At any rate, the drivers are mint. I have a wonderful main system. Not the best ever, but very enjoyable. All tube custom separates driven by a nice Consonance Ref 2.2 tube CD player. My main speakers are Joseph RM 25 Mk2. Anyway, hooked the Celestions up in place of the Josephs for a test drive and they sound pretty good. Actually very good for the $150 I paid for the pair! Yes, I know some of you find them for $10 at the thrift store.... Anyway, the Celestions are pretty nice. They throw a nice soundstage, maybe just about as wide or a hair wider than the speaker distance. Height is most of the way to the ceiling. Depth isn't bad. They are on the warm side as with most British speakers. They are also not the last word in air or detail, but will make a nice, very listenable second system. My question is this.... Since these 442's are approaching 30 years old, should I open them up and change out the caps with new ones of the same value? Anyone done this with this model and have any recommendations? I'm all ears. Or....is this a good case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Is this as good as they really ever were? I mean I am not dissatisfied for $150. Just wondering if the caps have drifted enough that it is hurting the clarity and air. I fully realize that speaker technology has changed in the past 30 years. Also, this does point out how good the Josephs really are. These old 442's are good enough that you are listening to the music and not fretting about the speakers, but you miss the clarity and detail you are used to. The Josephs are good enough to just completely vanish. You really aren't aware of speakers, just music, and the detail and soundstage are amazing. So should I do some surgery on those old Celestions or just leave 'em? Any opinions, or war stories are welcome!
cheers,
Don

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Topic - Celestion 442's - dls123 23:12:56 07/14/06 (4)

Re: Celestion 442's - Bold Eagle 18:36:37 07/15/06 (3)

Re: Celestion 442's - dls123 23:40:09 07/15/06 (2)

Re: Celestion 442's - Bold Eagle 13:45:34 07/16/06 (1)

Re: Celestion 442's - Crazy Dave 10:11:17 07/17/06 (0)

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