Castle Pembroke opinions

I own a pair of Castle Conways and I use the Jolida 202A and the sound is marvelous. The Castle's, driven by the Jolida, are as smooth as silk. In fact, I'm thinking of picking up a pair of Pembrokes to partner with another tube amp in a smaller room. Will work best in small/medium sized rooms. Also, I would think that this would not be a good choice for bass heavy rock music. I listen to small combo jazz as well as classical and, to my ears, the Jolida/Castle pairing is very pleasing. By the way, the cabinet work on the Castle's is extraordinary!

It's strange. Hifi choice gave the speakers rave reviews back in 2000, but turned around and trashed them just this month. Check the 10/12/03 review.

I missed that new article in Hi-Fi Choice. From all the feedback on this thread, sounds like these are a nice pair of speakers for the Jolida, but unfortunately Jpstereo's comment (about not being a good choice for bass heavy rock music) sticks out for me as I do listen to a variety of things. Vertical Horizon, for example, is a favorite of mine and has a pretty strong bass line. The right speaker needs to be able to convey the rhythm.

A little background to this line of questioning... I've been through several speaker changes now, from the spendor S3/5 to the Monitor Audio Silver S6 to the Alon I Mk II. I didn't like the Alon's (didn't have enough power) and very much liked the S3/5 and S6s. Between these two, it's a trade off of fullness of bass (S6) vs. realistic midrange and tube magic (S3/5). I'm inclined to return to (as I am locked in with the dealer) either the S6 or S3/5. I am also considering the S3/5se or the new spendor S5e floorstander. The last one is the most expensive upgrade, and given the lack of information on it, I am not sure about making that leap.

So what I'm really asking about the Castles is: I'm looking for a speaker with some of the tube magic of the S3/5 and a fuller bottom end like the S6. Given this, which of the Castles would you choose? Conway, Pembroke, Stirling, Warwick, or Durham?

Thanks for all of your great feedback!

Leonard

Jer:

I just saw the "new" Pembroke review @ Hifi Choice and sent off a query to their review editor (regarding the lack of continuity).

Dekay, I will be interested to hear HiFi's response. I have heard second hand that Castle's US distributor ended their business relationship and that is why Castle's are on closeout. They are so beautiful; you would think someone would pick up the distribution. Wish I knew the whole story.