Celestion Ditton 44 Review

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Celestion Ditton 44
4.2 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.2 out of 5

From 11 ratings and 17 reviews

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Gordon MacPherson's Review of Celestion Ditton 44 Stereo Speakers

3rd Nov 2006

Overall Rating

5 stars
  • Value for money
    5 stars
  • Sound Quality
    5 stars
  • Time Speakers Owned
    Over 1 Year
Good Points

Full, warm sound. Very good with classical orchestral music


Bad Points

Old, large, and when I removed a speaker gill, lots of decomposed black material fell out - sound quality not affected.


General Comments

I have had these speakers for well over 20 years. When we revamped our living room I decided that we needed good quality bookshelf speakers. I had a budget of around 350 GBP. After a lot of research, I listened to the the Monitor Audio Silver RS2. I tried several CD's, including the Georgiev Rite of Spring and Richard Burton narrating Under Milkwood. I was very impressed, but found them a little harsh. I went straight back home and played them on the Celestion Ditton 44 speakers. I was amazed - it was (to quote a US politician) a no-brainer. The sound was fuller, detail was clear and crisp, and the base expansive and clear. One of the R of S climaxes was mind-blowing. I had advertised the 44's for sale on the web - I immediately withdrew them! I hope they go on forever.

Gordon

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Members' Comments onGordon MacPherson's Review

  • Greg Mitchell on 10th Jan 2007

    Would totally endorse Gordon's comments. I have listened to many makes of speakers and thes 'old' 44s still best suit my ears - subjective I know, but doesn't speaker choice have to be?
    In view of their undoubted bulk compared to more modern designs, what is the best speaker stand to use? Or should I just settle for applying floor spikes?

  • noel99 on 16th Jan 2007

    Just bought a pair of Celestion Ditton 44 speakers today, for all of £6.00. I decided to look them up, and I am well chuffed. I can't wait to try them out tonight.

  • cgkdesign Rank: Sergeant on 2nd Aug 2007

    Kudos to Mr. MacPherson's review. I have to agree with him that they perform well with classical music with one point to add. With exception of some very well done recordings in other genres (Joe Jackson's "Big World" comes to mind) a good audiophile classical publishing (Deutsche Grammophon is almost always a safe bet) is in fact the only way to fully bring out the wide clean bass and midrange on these speakers. They play rock just fine, but the overcompression on most pop music publishings just doesn't "push" these speakers far enough to really appreciate their quality, especially when viewed from a bang for buck perspective.

    2 thumbs up to Gordon's review.

    as post script - one thing I noticed that I should have mentioned in my review, is that these speakers seem to be less dependant on position than others I have tried. Or, more accurately, the sound quality didn't seem to fall off as harshly when moved further from their optimum position in a room.
    I noticed this when I was "test driving" (borrowing from retailer) mine at home before I actually purchased them. this is purely a subjective opinion, though perhaps this has something to do with why they also sound so good outdoors.