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Speakers To Replace Castle Edens

My Castle Edens (stand mounted monitors)  may be on their last legs. The woofer is bottoming out with more dynamic passages at louder than average volume. If I could find another working pair, or a pair with, say, damaged tweeters, I could take the woofers out and put them in mine. The company no longer exists, so getting a new set of woofers is rather remote.

 

The midrange on the speaker is gorgeous. It's detailed, tactile, rich, spacious. I was up at an audio shop with them and we compared it with several others, including some costing a few thousand.  We both agreed that the Eden was, by far, the best. Instruments and voices were 3-dimensional and placed distinctly in the soundstage. And the speaker is very communicative. 

 

So... the closest to these Castles I have heard is the Sonus Faber Minima, but that's $5400 with stands ($4000 w/o), more than my budget.  I'm going to listen to the Fyne 500SP, although from reading, I'm not sure if I'll like them. 

 

I've heard a couple of the lowest level Reynaud speakers. I know those who rave about the better ones, including an old friend who had a pair of Offrandes. The ones I've heard (Trente and Twins) were really warm, generous, and communicative, but not detailed and frequency response was uneven down below. 

 

The closest dealer to me, Bob Neill of Amherst Audio, is no longer the distributor. He thinks the Bliss Jubilé is a great speaker, more immediate and lively than the previous Bliss models, but not as warm as previous Bliss. They could be in my budget. But I'd have to order them without hearing them. From what others tell me and what I have read, I'd probably like them, but that's a gamble.

 

BTW, I live on the north shore of Boston. I don't know if there's another dealer within New England.

 

Any thoughts on this? 

analogj
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,855 posts
 

If you have a Sonus Faber dealer nearby ask them when they will have the new Lumina II in for demo ($1200/pair).

I owned Castle Isis (20+ years ago) purchased from their distributer in Niagara Falls and have also listened to Castle Pembroke floor-standers (sp?) plus the original and 2nd version of the Richmond.

I replaced the Isis with Renaud Twins MkII around 2002 and then switched to flea watt tube amps and wide band single drivers (which I still use).

On the cheap (if you can find them) you would probably like the Richmond or Richmond II.

I'm considering switching to SS for the living room setup and am interested in the Lumina II's based upon listening to a few "good" Youtube demos.

A local dealer (I'm in Los Angeles) either has or will have them in stock shortly per a blurb on their website.

Never been a SF fan in the past, but liked the YT sound of their new inexpensive stand mount.

One YT video/demo compared them to 2 other speakers.

 

DeKay

 

analogj OP
105 posts
 

Thanks all. 

 

My wife has a pair of Isis. They're good, but a VERY different speaker. They're wide open sounding, but don't come close to eye sumptuous Eden midrange, nor do they go nearly as low. The two don't sound like they're from the same family.

 

I haven't listened to the SF Lumina, but have to the Sorrento and they didn't do much for me. The only ones anywhere close to my price range were the Minema Avetor, and boy, do they have some midrange magic. Real, tactile, and soundstage like crazy. 

 

And in terms of rebuilding the drivers, I'd think that it would change the character of the speaker. I'd put money into it (I wouldn't do it myself) only to possibly not be thrilled with eye result. The woofers were Castle's own in-house.

 

Not a fan of the KEFs. I've heard them. For me they're quick and open, but not possessing of a particularly expressive or gorgeous midrange. In a way, they sound like the Castle Isisb model. 

 

I'm hoping to get a hold of the current Reynaud US importer and see if I can arrange to get a hold of a pair of current Reynauds to hear. I'm also wondering what the Cantabile Jubilé brings to the table compared to the Bliss Jubilé, and whether that would work in a relatively small room (12'x12'x11').

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,855 posts
 

The Richmond are much fuller sounding than the Isis (I preferred the II model, but both were good).

DeKay

analogj OP
105 posts
 

I did hear the first version of the Richmond. Very good midrange. As a viola player, I thought it reproduced the tone of strings really beautifully. 

analogj OP
105 posts
 

So I'm not sure of what to do. The lower end Reynauds I have heard were flawed, but oh so musical. So I'm tempted with a better one. The Bliss Jubilee w/stands come to $3000 US. I could eventually get a pair of demos to try from the importer, Mike Planka.

Or, there's a pair of Cantabile Jubilees that would cost me about $3600 (retail $5000) to get them to me from Canada including shipping and import fees, but I wouldn't be able to hear them first. That's about the outer edge of my budget.

Or, I could reeaalllly stretch to get a pair of Sonus Faber Minima at $4000, which I have heard, but wouldn't be able to afford the stands for a while. I have 22" stands which I used for my Castles. The Minima stands are 29".. They're beautiful, but cost $1400, bringing the total price of that speaker to $5400.

 

I would feel more financially comfortable at $3000 (that'd be the Bliss Jubilee), but at $600 more, the Cantabile is supposed to be a better speaker, although I have never had a floorstander in my 12'x12'x11' room before, albeit a small floorstander.

 

I'd guess that I'd really like the Cantabile, but that's only a good guess based on the lower end Reynauds I have heard. Is it worth the gamble since I haven't actually heard those particular ones?

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