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Celestion Ditton 15XR

SeanyP

SeanyP

pfm Member
Does anyone know anything about the above speakers? I have a chance to get a pair for a really good price and wondered if there's any info floating about.

Thanks in advance

Sean
 
Dunno the exact model but I like Dittons, the 33 44 66 and 25 are all nice. Celestion will supply drivers for all. Go for it, they sound great and have yet to catch on and become fashionable, unlike Tannoys of the period.
 
Thanks for the replies. The drivers all look in very good condition, which is a bonus I suppose. The cabinets are a wee bit tatty, but they look like solid wood so I guess they can be refurbed. Something for me to do over xmas.

I should get them tomorrow, so I'll post pics if anyone's interested.

There's also a Sansui AU-101 in the same shop for a bargain price. Tempting.
 
Mousey,

I had a pair back in the late 70s. Not bad in their day. It was either the Ditton 15XRs or a pair or MS Carnivals in those days as budget speaker. From memory, sweet if a bit limited top end, slightly veiled mids and slightly plummy bass. For their time, they weren't bad as a budget speaker. My pair were about 100 quid in 1978. My cabinets were teak veneered chipboard.

Charlie
 
AFAIK all the Dittons were veneered chip, I've only seen teak. It *was* the 70s!

Bear in mind 44s are cheap, as are 33s and these are superior if you have the room. 66s are *fantastic* but are likely to be £200+, at that there is stiff competition.
 
I remember those 15s from my university days ,Celef monitors weed on them I didnt like them at all.I used to have a pair of modified Videotone Minimax 2 with Richard Allen DT20 tweeters a la HiFi Answers which were preferrable.
 
Ok, so I got them. At the moment they're stuck on a set of 50cm Something Solid stands which are probably a bit too high, but they'll do for now.

They sound pretty good - Charlie's description of "limited top end, slightly veiled mids and slightly plummy bass" isn't too far from what I'm hearing, except for the low end response. Compared to my Minstrels they move a lot of air so drums sound a bit more lifelike. Consequently they seem a lot more dynamic. They also have a bit more headroom than the Royds. I'm only driving them with a Trends TA10.1, but they can put out quite unbearable volumes without sounding strained. Maybe I'll get used to them in a day or two and decide that the Minstrels are preferable. If not I'll be looking at getting the cabinets touched up. They are veneered chipboard, but it's 'real' veneer, not that fablon stuff.

Here's a quick snap for your delight and delectation

ditton.jpg


Apologies for the curtains
 
I used to have a pair of these during my student days and quite enjoyed them!

They are a budget speaker, but fun sounding. The capacitor will need replacing by now - I changed mine for a wilmslow own brand one.

Another tip is to turn them upside down and see what sound you prefer.
 
bennyboyph said:
The capacitor will need replacing by now - I changed mine for a wilmslow own brand one.
Click to expand...

I did quickly attempt to open them up, but the drivers are seated extremely tight in the cabinets. Do I need to carefully prise them out with a blunt blade, or just take the screws out and put on some Augustus Pablo at full volume?
 
Hold off on pulling the drivers out!!

The crossover is directly attached to the speaker terminals, so try opening these up first.
 
Now that's going to be difficult. The only way to remove the terminals is to take the drivers out. I'll have a go at it later, as I've just spent about an hour with some wire wool and teak oil, so I don't want to touch the cabinets for a while. They're looking quite smart now :)
 
Great to see your photo. these take me back, my first 'hi-fi' speakers. Tweeters blew a couple of times though but were replaced foc at the time. Cheers.
 
Now this is interesting. Without loking up my HiFi Choices from this era, I always though that both Ditton 15 varients had HF1300 tweeters as standard...... These either never did, or they've been replaced!

I remember that the 15XR sounded veiled, nasal and "pinched" and with a "boppy" bass compared to the mid seventies competition like KEF Chorales, B&W DM4's, Monitor Audio MA7's and 5's and the original and replacement AR equivalents, let alone Celestion's own UL6's. The Ditton 15's really were at the end of their road by this time, as things had improved so much at this price level by 1975/6.

To be honest, the best Dittons today by miles were the 66's and the replacement one (606?), which still sound good with not too much colouration but restricted maximum volume.
 
There do appear to be a few different tweeter variants with the Ditton. This pair http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pair-Celestio...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318 has got an original tweeter fitted (same as mine) plus a not very looky-likey replacement. Someone obviously rates them, as they're currently at £72 (about 5 times what I paid).

Here's a close-up of one of my tweeters. Any clues? I know for sure that they're not HF1300's.

ditton-1.jpg
 
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The tweeter looks to be the same as that fitted to the UL series and according to the 1978 HiFi Choice review, is the correct one :)

The main problem, according to the response plots, is a magor response "spike" at 5KHz, with a suckout before and after this. Distortion was apparently very low and they played louder than many at the price. The speaker wasn't recommended though.

Perhaps if the simple crossover had its caps upgraded, you may get a better sound even though the basic character won't be changed.
 
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