The 15XRs sound rich, mellow and musical. Lively, dynamic and boppy bass. They always bring a smile and convey the music.The UL8 are great too but sound very different... more extended at the frequency extremes but a bit 'hifi' , thinner and flatter in comparison.
Just found your channel, thanks for your content. I've got a pair of XR15s running through a Sansui AU2200 and to my inexperienced ear, they sound great and people of my generation who are used to tiny stuff like Sonos and Ipods comment on how good all this vintage gear looks! I got them both for nothing at a Scout group jumble about 25 years ago! My dad is running a Goldring Lenco GL78 through a pair of Dynatrons, again from the same source. Might put a review on my channel one day!
Thanks for the comment, Nice little score on the units you manage to get hold of, the au2200 has that nice sweet sound that the XR15's will really excell in. Amazing 25 years down the line and now there will be no chance in getting any of these old items for free now. Newer and small does not always mean better, though lugging the Sansui and Celestions around room to room or on the train would be quite a pain lol.
Chances are the shouty character is because the 4.7 uF capacitor on the tweeter has drifted off value.I have a pair here that measured 5.8uF and 5.6uF so too much upper midrange /lower treble would be going to the tweeter.Replacing them with metalized poly caps at exactly 4.7 improved the sound greatly.They sound very good and better than most modern stand mounts.
Hello, new subscriber. Funny how you recommended Ditton’s channel and then Ditton says that he’s done for now making videos and recommended going over to your channel 🙂
Thanks for subbing!, It is a shame that Kevin at Ditton Works had to pull the plug, though I did speak to him last night and I am looking forward to some up and coming podcasts that hopefully he will get off the ground. Also wont be surprised if an odd video gets uploaded now and then. His knowledge and honesty will be greatly missed. I hope you might find one or two things of an interest on my channel, even though I am many leagues below Kevins channel in terms of audio phonic finesse. There are still some good sounds to be heard on a real low budget.
XR stands for extra range. The original Ditton 15 circa 1966 had the HF1300 which tops out about 15khz. The HF1000 or HD1000 is a good HF unit but it’s prone to lead wires to the coil breaking. The latter Ditton 150 is a very similar speaker but has the stronger HF1001. The pressed steel xr drivers are lower quality in my opinion. The very best variant of these is the UL8. Great review mate 👍
@@MichaelYates they won’t fit without modifications to the cabinets mate. Honestly I wouldn’t worry about changing them unless they are blown. Put new caps in the crossovers
@@MichaelYates HF1000’s ain’t a bad tweeter, they can blow if over driven.. like most older tweeters.. HF1001 have terminal on one side and only three mounting screws, you’ll have to modify the cabinets accordingly.
Ciao Michele I am writing to you from Venice Italy congratulations on your youtube page I am your subscriber ... i love the celestion ditton 33 but i never found a full review on the net ... when do you make one on this pair of speakers? besides the Ditton 33 I also have a couple of County C and they are fantastic ...
Hi Ciao and thanks for the sub, I hope you might find some of my uploads of some use. I have yet to acquire a pair of Ditton 33's or County c's , but they are on my list at the right price and prefer a local pickup to insure they are working correctly and I get them in one piece, so as soon as I do I will be doing a review that will be for sure.
I get rid of the HF1000 and replace it with the HF1001. It has more sparkle and detail, and it doesn't have the external wires that are prone to being broken.
Hello Michael, love watching your channel (and Ditton Works as well). Where are you based ? It’s just that I have a pair of Celestion DL10s that are surplus to requirements. I’d love to donate them for you to do your usual dissection and sound quality review. Which one do you do first? Depending on geography, it may or may not be feasible. I’m based in the North West, so could suffer a nose blood if you are south of Birmingham. Good luck with the growth of the channel. Richard
Thanks Richard that is very kind of you and thanks for the offer, but I am in Essex so by the looks of it we are quite away from each other which is a shame.
i did not feel these needed a sub at all, these should sound good on any old Sansui amp or receiver pre 80's, I also had these set up running on a Sony STR V3L receiver which worked well. Any amp with reasonal amount of bass punch will be fine. They are a livley sounded pair of speakers.
Hello Michael, I know it's up to my ears, but I would like your opinion. I have two pretty good deals going on right now. It's between the Wharfedale Linton XP2, which look like the Glendale's you had a segment on. Or I can get a pair of Celestion DL10s. They would both run the same price. Well just want to hear what you have to say. I enjoy your station. Thanks. Victor.
Hi Victor, I have not heard the DL10's or the Linton XP2, but If I was buying blind over the 2 I would go for the DL10's If the Linton XP2's sound similar to the Glendale's I have, they will be ok, more of a fun speaker, lacking some detail and definition , I have had the DL3 and DL4's , both which are better than the Glendales, the DL3's being really nice if a little rolled off. but please let me know how you go and what you thought of which ever you went for.
You might find tidying up the bass add some weight to the radiator in the front some 2 or 3 inch washers maybe two or three attach them with some Blu-Tack. What do you mean by shouting in the tweeter in the woofer
Thanks John, I will give that a try. I did read a review some ware that the reviewer did plot a frequency sweep and found a large spike around the 5khz range, how much of a spike I do not know, but well could be a little spike around that frequency, as these sound a little pronounced some ware around that frequency. Though I thought the original 15 were a lot more pronounced some ware around that frequency and was not for me personally. Though I know a lot of people like them.
@@MichaelYates I think the tweeter is a second-order isn't it a capacitor and an inductor to ground, you could try in parallel with the inductor 4.7uF cap with an inline resistor 5 Watts, this will vary somewhat between 10 to 30 ohms depends how much you want to filter off that frequency, you can use normal capacitors tie them together like both Plus leads give you a non-polar this might be more desirable you can up the Frequency to 4.9 uF using two different capacitors.
@@johnsweda2999 Thanks John, I will have a little tinker with these at some point, I am keeping them so can see a few experiments that I will share on the channel coming up, thanks again
@@MichaelYates you probably got most of those components lying around and you don't need to use high wattage resistor for test purposes if you keep the volume low say 70 DB. as I say 2 electrolytics tied together will give you a non polarised capacitor, of course you knowing that you have to half the capacitance of each to give you the final capacitance, might be worth putting a .1 or .2 or .3 capacitor for the woofer from plus to minus on the crossover, in front or behind the inductor will be a difference sound. you're causing electron Bridge and should knock the top end off the woofer same thing a resist might be needed. just do one speaker don't do both listen to one speaker unchanged and then do one speaker changed and listen to them in the centre and just listen to one at a time switch between the two! give you more than idea what you need to do or what you've gone too far! plus there's no imbalances what you get with two speakers running, when using your final components try and get 1% 0.1% for both speakers so they match as a pair! you can do this yourself by testing the components and matching them up so don't need to buy high value because they are a bit more expensive if you have plenty of a lower value say 10% you just have to go through them match them up. A 6-digit metre ideal four-digit won't give you the zero point one percent. Try and get a metre with capacitance and inductance because the inductors maybe not balanced more than likely not
Nice review michael. These do look better than rough looking 15's with their chip board baffles exposed. I wonder how they compare to the KEF 104 that seem to have a very similar concept.
Thanks for the comment, I see what you mean about the 104's, also see the KEF Calinda SP1053 have a similar setup, could well be a few others, I will keep an eye out for a cheap pair as a matter of interest.
@@MichaelYates Those also look very good and powerful. The KEF Candenza looks more like the 104, but no treble attenuator, and probably a cheaper crossover.
The 15XRs sound rich, mellow and musical. Lively, dynamic and boppy bass. They always bring a smile and convey the music.The UL8 are great too but sound very different... more extended at the frequency extremes but a bit 'hifi' , thinner and flatter in comparison.
Glad you like the 8000a. All most will ever need
Thanks for the recommendation, I decided to get a very nice condition one as I thought it will be probably for keeps and it will be that is for sure.
Just found your channel, thanks for your content.
I've got a pair of XR15s running through a Sansui AU2200 and to my inexperienced ear, they sound great and people of my generation who are used to tiny stuff like Sonos and Ipods comment on how good all this vintage gear looks! I got them both for nothing at a Scout group jumble about 25 years ago! My dad is running a Goldring Lenco GL78 through a pair of Dynatrons, again from the same source. Might put a review on my channel one day!
Thanks for the comment, Nice little score on the units you manage to get hold of, the au2200 has that nice sweet sound that the XR15's will really excell in. Amazing 25 years down the line and now there will be no chance in getting any of these old items for free now. Newer and small does not always mean better, though lugging the Sansui and Celestions around room to room or on the train would be quite a pain lol.
Chances are the shouty character is because the 4.7 uF capacitor on the tweeter has drifted off value.I have a pair here that measured 5.8uF and 5.6uF so too much upper midrange /lower treble would be going to the tweeter.Replacing them with metalized poly caps at exactly 4.7 improved the sound greatly.They sound very good and better than most modern stand mounts.
Hello, new subscriber. Funny how you recommended Ditton’s channel and then Ditton says that he’s done for now making videos and recommended going over to your channel 🙂
Thanks for subbing!, It is a shame that Kevin at Ditton Works had to pull the plug, though I did speak to him last night and I am looking forward to some up and coming podcasts that hopefully he will get off the ground. Also wont be surprised if an odd video gets uploaded now and then. His knowledge and honesty will be greatly missed.
I hope you might find one or two things of an interest on my channel, even though I am many leagues below Kevins channel in terms of audio phonic finesse. There are still some good sounds to be heard on a real low budget.
XR stands for extra range. The original Ditton 15 circa 1966 had the HF1300 which tops out about 15khz.
The HF1000 or HD1000 is a good HF unit but it’s prone to lead wires to the coil breaking.
The latter Ditton 150 is a very similar speaker but has the stronger HF1001.
The pressed steel xr drivers are lower quality in my opinion.
The very best variant of these is the UL8.
Great review mate 👍
Thanks for the extra information Kevin, the driver did take me by a bit of surprise
Got a pair of HF1001 on there way so will do an updated video once i get them
@@MichaelYates they won’t fit without modifications to the cabinets mate.
Honestly I wouldn’t worry about changing them unless they are blown. Put new caps in the crossovers
@@dittonworks Ok thanks Kevin, I did not realise that oops !
@@MichaelYates HF1000’s ain’t a bad tweeter, they can blow if over driven.. like most older tweeters..
HF1001 have terminal on one side and only three mounting screws, you’ll have to modify the cabinets accordingly.
Ciao Michele I am writing to you from Venice Italy congratulations on your youtube page I am your subscriber ... i love the celestion ditton 33 but i never found a full review on the net ... when do you make one on this pair of speakers? besides the Ditton 33 I also have a couple of County C and they are fantastic ...
Hi Ciao and thanks for the sub, I hope you might find some of my uploads of some use. I have yet to acquire a pair of Ditton 33's or County c's , but they are on my list at the right price and prefer a local pickup to insure they are working correctly and I get them in one piece, so as soon as I do I will be doing a review that will be for sure.
@@MichaelYates Thank you, I hope to see the review here from you .. I renew my congratulations and I follow you with admiration see you soon greetings
I get rid of the HF1000 and replace it with the HF1001.
It has more sparkle and detail, and it doesn't have the external wires that are prone to being broken.
Might well just do that, as holding on to these and some HF1001 might come a long.
@@MichaelYates They're not too expensive. I see them fairly regularly on ebay, so easy enough to get cheaper.
@@Stikibits I've got a pair on their way, so will do an update when they arrive, thanks again
Hello Michael, love watching your channel (and Ditton Works as well). Where are you based ? It’s just that I have a pair of Celestion DL10s that are surplus to requirements. I’d love to donate them for you to do your usual dissection and sound quality review. Which one do you do first? Depending on geography, it may or may not be feasible. I’m based in the North West, so could suffer a nose blood if you are south of Birmingham.
Good luck with the growth of the channel.
Richard
Thanks Richard that is very kind of you and thanks for the offer, but I am in Essex so by the looks of it we are quite away from each other which is a shame.
Recently got a pair of these and find them a little bright and tizzy for my ears.
Hello what amp would you recommend to run with these speakers. Would you run them with a sub woofer?
i did not feel these needed a sub at all, these should sound good on any old Sansui amp or receiver pre 80's, I also had these set up running on a Sony STR V3L receiver which worked well. Any amp with reasonal amount of bass punch will be fine. They are a livley sounded pair of speakers.
Hello Michael,
I know it's up to my ears, but I would like your opinion. I have two pretty good deals going on right now. It's between the Wharfedale Linton XP2, which look like the Glendale's you had a segment on. Or I can get a pair of Celestion DL10s. They would both run the same price. Well just want to hear what you have to say. I enjoy your station.
Thanks. Victor.
Hi Victor, I have not heard the DL10's or the Linton XP2, but If I was buying blind over the 2 I would go for the DL10's
If the Linton XP2's sound similar to the Glendale's I have, they will be ok, more of a fun speaker, lacking some detail and definition , I have had the DL3 and DL4's , both which are better than the Glendales, the DL3's being really nice if a little rolled off. but please let me know how you go and what you thought of which ever you went for.
@@MichaelYates thank you Michael.
good review but why is the volume so low?
Yes sorry I forgot to increase the volume when editing the video
You might find tidying up the bass add some weight to the radiator in the front some 2 or 3 inch washers maybe two or three attach them with some Blu-Tack.
What do you mean by shouting in the tweeter in the woofer
Thanks John, I will give that a try. I did read a review some ware that the reviewer did plot a frequency sweep and found a large spike around the 5khz range, how much of a spike I do not know, but well could be a little spike around that frequency, as these sound a little pronounced some ware around that frequency. Though I thought the original 15 were a lot more pronounced some ware around that frequency and was not for me personally. Though I know a lot of people like them.
@@MichaelYates I think the tweeter is a second-order isn't it a capacitor and an inductor to ground, you could try in parallel with the inductor 4.7uF cap with an inline resistor 5 Watts, this will vary somewhat between 10 to 30 ohms depends how much you want to filter off that frequency, you can use normal capacitors tie them together like both Plus leads give you a non-polar this might be more desirable you can up the Frequency to 4.9 uF using two different capacitors.
@@johnsweda2999 Thanks John, I will have a little tinker with these at some point, I am keeping them so can see a few experiments that I will share on the channel coming up, thanks again
@@MichaelYates you probably got most of those components lying around and you don't need to use high wattage resistor for test purposes if you keep the volume low say 70 DB. as I say 2 electrolytics tied together will give you a non polarised capacitor, of course you knowing that you have to half the capacitance of each to give you the final capacitance, might be worth putting a .1 or .2 or .3 capacitor for the woofer from plus to minus on the crossover, in front or behind the inductor will be a difference sound. you're causing electron Bridge and should knock the top end off the woofer same thing a resist might be needed.
just do one speaker don't do both listen to one speaker unchanged and then do one speaker changed and listen to them in the centre and just listen to one at a time switch between the two! give you more than idea what you need to do or what you've gone too far! plus there's no imbalances what you get with two speakers running, when using your final components try and get 1% 0.1% for both speakers so they match as a pair! you can do this yourself by testing the components and matching them up so don't need to buy high value because they are a bit more expensive if you have plenty of a lower value say 10% you just have to go through them match them up. A 6-digit metre ideal four-digit won't give you the zero point one percent. Try and get a metre with capacitance and inductance because the inductors maybe not balanced more than likely not
@@johnsweda2999 Ok thanks John
Change that 4.7uF capacitor for a standard non polar new capacitor, and that will help with the treble.
Thanks, I will give that ago at some point when I get these out again
Nice review michael. These do look better than rough looking 15's with their chip board baffles exposed. I wonder how they compare to the KEF 104 that seem to have a very similar concept.
Thanks for the comment, I see what you mean about the 104's, also see the KEF Calinda SP1053 have a similar setup, could well be a few others, I will keep an eye out for a cheap pair as a matter of interest.
@@MichaelYates Those also look very good and powerful. The KEF Candenza looks more like the 104, but no treble attenuator, and probably a cheaper crossover.
@@D1N02 had both. The Cadenza beats the 104 (ab). More and tighter bass. Makes the 104 sound soft. The B200 in the Cadenza has a much bigger magnet
@@martindevon3204 I thought the 104's are held in higher esteem. They were a reference speaker, but maybe that explains the more modest bass.
adverts so loud, mike up your review , please delete this comment afterwards
Thanks for letting me know, very much appreciated