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Ditton 44's - what a great surprise

TheMJ

TheMJ

pfm Member
Just thought I'd pass on a bit of budget / Vintage speaker experience.

I've been having a bit of a budget speaker journey recently, trying to find something with decent bass that works well in a small listening room and I think I may finally have arrived at my destination :)

In the past 4 or 5 months I've done ProAc Tablettes (very detailed and airy, but a little clinical and very bass shy), Snell K's (again ! - they just won't :confused: work in this room), Royd Minstrels (cracking speakers but a bit bass shy), Linn Sara's (again, lovely speakers, do some things fantastically, great bass but quite difficult to drive well, ended up using a Crown DC300A), culminating in my Ditton 44's.

For their age and cost these things are amazing. The 12" bass drivers really move some air; very natural, unforced and low bass, great midrange and those HF2000 tweeters are something else, very smooth and extended. Not at all harsh. Sat up on 10" heavy 'stands' they really convey a sense of being among the music, more detailed and less coloured than I expected when being driven by my big Sony ES amp or my T-Amps (the attack when using those is pretty astonishing).

Of course they're not the best speakers in the world but at the budget (and maybe even mid) range of things I think you would struggle to find better sound for pound.

As I said originally, very pleasantly surprised :)
 
Nice write up.

I used to have and still highly rate the Ditton 66, man that's real bass!

The 44 is one down in the range and a great speaker. That 12" driver is very good indeed, though I'm not a fan of the HF2000 so much, I think that is where both speakers are weak.

I saw your ad wanting maybe a little Creek to drive the 44s but would suggest something with more punch and attack, the speakers veer slightly on the warm side of the fence as does the Creek.

It does go to show there is some excellent vintage kit about and you have indeed done you due diligence by listening to a diverse range of speakers in the very room they are to be used, really the only way to know what will work and what you like.

I sit here waiting for UPS to deliver my vintage JBL4311s which I think will be a lot of fun.

Glad you are happy with the 44s!
 
Always fancied trying some 44s as they are, to my mind, the most sensible 'format' of moving coil speaker: a three way infinite baffle with an adequately proportioned bass unit. I can't for the life of me understand why there is no modern equivalent of this classic speaker type (AR3A, Yamaha NS1000, Goodmans Magister, Ditton 44 etc). I don't think I've heard a pair of 44s since the early 80s, and I certainly liked them then.
 
Tony L said:
Always fancied trying some 44s as they are, to my mind, the most sensible 'format' of moving coil speaker: a three way infinite baffle with an adequately proportioned bass unit. I can't for the life of me understand why there is no modern equivalent of this classic speaker type (AR3A, Yamaha NS1000, Goodmans Magister, Ditton 44 etc). I don't think I've heard a pair of 44s since the early 80s, and I certainly liked them then.
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It does make you wonder exactly what we've achieved in speaker design the last 30 - 40 years.
 
TheMJ said:
It does make you wonder exactly what we've achieved in speaker design the last 30 - 40 years.
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To my mind we've moved forward in driver technology, construction, pair matching etc, but completely lost site of the goal due to a market dictating form-factors so small as to requite very obvious port loading. A real shame as I suspect a Ditton 44 / NS1000-type loudspeaker built using modern technology would be something very special indeed.
 
Ditton 44s are excellent and a bargain. The 66 is of course better but much more expensive these days, at 3 or 4x the price.

A mate is preparing an "I got all this system for £200/£300, have a listen and tell me why you need to spend more" room for the next Scalford show, I won't spoil the surprise but a pair of Dittons would be on the shortlist.
 
stevec67 said:
Ditton 44s are excellent and a bargain. The 66 is of course better but much more expensive these days, at 3 or 4x the price.

A mate is preparing an "I got all this system for £200/£300, have a listen and tell me why you need to spend more" room for the next Scalford show, I won't spoil the surprise but a pair of Dittons would be on the shortlist.
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I must admit Steve, that my current system is pretty much along those lines, other than the TT :)
 
Just enjoying a similar experience with a shabby old pair of Rogers LS7s. Thought I'd hook them up in the living room before disposal and they convey an eye opening sense of scale and weight.
Unfortunately my one year old grandson is going to do his utmost to push them off their stands tonight.
 
I had a few pairs of Dittons "BT" (Before Tannoy) and the 44s were, IMO, the most balanced of the lot. I never had 66s, but I found the 25s (same bass config as the 66s) too boomy in my room. The 44s were a great balance, and the only thing that cause me to sell them was Tannoys. I honestly wish I'd kept them for a second system.
 
flatpopely said:
44 plus RX602 plus Zero100SB was my Dads hi fi, sounded great! But the 44s were ok but nothing more!
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This is one of the most interesting things about this hobby; we all hear differently or look (listen :) ) for different things in the way our music is presented. One mans meat is another mans poison and all that.

It means there is always enough different kit to go round.
 
GAIUS said:
... though I'm not a fan of the HF2000 so much, I think that is where both speakers are weak
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The HF2000 is a fine tweeter IMO but that's in the context of a full strip/clean/rebuild and a new set of crossover components feeding them. All bets are off in any other situation.

Mr Tibbs
 
Mr Tibbs said:
The HF2000 is a fine tweeter IMO but that's in the context of a full strip/clean/rebuild and a new set of crossover components feeding them. All bets are off in any other situation.

Mr Tibbs
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Agree with that. In any speakers of this age the crossovers have to be the things that will mostly determine how relatively good / bad they sound, especially when they are fairly complex as on the Mk1 Ditton 44's.
 
Those 44s were really nice units - I had a good friend who was able to obtain a pair brand new for a good discount though another friend who then worked for Celestion. At that time the SL6 had just come out and I really wanted a pair of those after hearing them at the Nottingham audio fair where they were partnered with a pair of Maranz monoblocks - I fell in love with the SL6s but simply could not afford them but later over a few years when I heard the Ditton 44s regularly at my friends playing some JJ Cale and Bob Marley tracks I was glad I had not bought them. The Dittons although less refined were much nicer to listen to with a much fuller and easier sound and so I was then set on seeking speakers to match that type of sound - but that's another story.
 
Just set up a slightly bruised pair on engineering bricks. Connected to an Audiolab CDQ/8000P they sound wonderful; fast assertive bass, great 'body' and soundstage and slightly recessed top end: it suits The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill extremely well!
 
I can't believe I have not hijacked this thread with - I have a pair for sale at £170.

They are quite good. But not very good. The mids are a touch annoying to me. Bottom and top is good, though.
 
richgilb said:
I can't believe I have not hijacked this thread with - I have a pair for sale at £170.

They are quite good. But not very good. The mids are a touch annoying to me. Bottom and top is good, though.
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Paid £100 for mine some months ago, they sound great
 
I found that raising them off the floor made a big difference; also worth checking that screws securing the drivers are all tight.
 
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