Looking at changing my Celestion A2s...but to what?
Discussion
gizlaroc said:
I have not read through all the replies, so sorry if I repeat or contradict earlier replies.
For starts, you have never heard what the A2s can do, not on that amp.
I had A2s and at one point had them on a Cinepro 3k6 amp bridged, when you hear them with that amount power they really come alive.
I would say first I would upgrade your amp to something much better.
I would also say go for the A3s, they are just nicer, the disappear more and sound more effortless.
I'm really agonising over this one. I agree with you completely about not hearing the best out of the A2s and I really should upgrade the amp and the front end. I was getting some CPU noise through the Creative X-Fi so I'm temporarily using a cheap Behringer UCA202 DAC instead which lets me run optical out of the PC rather than via USB which is where the noise was coming from. Helpfully it also supports WASAPI exclusive which the Creative doesn't. It's not a permanent solution though.For starts, you have never heard what the A2s can do, not on that amp.
I had A2s and at one point had them on a Cinepro 3k6 amp bridged, when you hear them with that amount power they really come alive.
I would say first I would upgrade your amp to something much better.
I would also say go for the A3s, they are just nicer, the disappear more and sound more effortless.
I measured up last night and the A3s really would be pushing it in my room which is about 4m x 5m with the speakers firing across rather than down the length - this also usefully keeps them out of the corners too. I'm half tempted to buy these for the simple reason that they don't come up often in this colour and seem to be in immaculate condition and with an eye to where I could use them in a future property (although even as I type this it now sounds like a daft idea). The seller has said he's happy for me to bid and if I win (and am happy) to pay in cash when I go to collect so that's one concern removed.
The logical part of me knows I'd do better chucking a grand or two at a power amp (or a better integrated) and a decent DAC as per the excellent advice from everyone earlier in this thread. There's 9h left on the auction although I still think £1,100 is about 10-15% overpriced.
Decisions, decisions...
Edited by Funk on Friday 28th September 11:00
I still can't quite shake the idea of the A3s apart from the nagging thought that they might be too big for my room. They'd be about 0.5m from the rear wall but firing across rather than down the room so away from the side walls (probably just over a metre or so). For those who've had A3s, am I likely to find they don't work in the size room I have? There's no scope for re-arranging either unfortunately.
Either way I think an amp upgrade is on the cards anyway.
Either way I think an amp upgrade is on the cards anyway.
Funk said:
I still can't quite shake the idea of the A3s apart from the nagging thought that they might be too big for my room. They'd be about 0.5m from the rear wall but firing across rather than down the room so away from the side walls (probably just over a metre or so). For those who've had A3s, am I likely to find they don't work in the size room I have? There's no scope for re-arranging either unfortunately.
Either way I think an amp upgrade is on the cards anyway.
If you go for the A3s getting a more powerful ballsy amp is very wise.Either way I think an amp upgrade is on the cards anyway.
They’re efficient (as most large, ported multi-driver speakers are) but a nominal 4ohm load which dips below this at certain frequencies might well be too much for a Cyrus integrated amp.
I used a pair in a larger room but quite close to the rear wall without issue - the three 8” bass drivers look like they would cause issues with the lower frequencies dominating or over driving the room but they were quite happy only a foot or so out into the room.
The A3s are excellent speakers - great sound at all volumes and capable of handling vast amounts of power (your ears and internal organs will give up long before they reach their limits with a large power amp.).
They’re very well built and designed to last a lifetime and I think they’re unsung heroes being the last serious speaker from Celestion before all the badge-engineered nonsense started.
It’s surprising how much these types of speakers are fetching on the used market - I bought and sold mine for less than £900. Similar with Kef 4.2s and Martin Logan’s - now it seems you need to add at least another 20% to join the party 10 years later!
557 is OK, I think there are better amps out there.
I had a 559 running my Quad Z3s originally, in the end a Bel Canto S300 replaced it. Seriously good amp that.
Look on hififshark, there are a few 577s, but I would look at other options too.
Oh, that is from a complete Meridian fanboy.
I had a 559 running my Quad Z3s originally, in the end a Bel Canto S300 replaced it. Seriously good amp that.
Look on hififshark, there are a few 577s, but I would look at other options too.
Oh, that is from a complete Meridian fanboy.
This is where my money would go, try and get that for £900.
Awesome dac, amazing pre and stunning power amp.
The control from these is gobsmackingly good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332816295879
Awesome dac, amazing pre and stunning power amp.
The control from these is gobsmackingly good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332816295879
gizlaroc said:
This is where my money would go, try and get that for £900.
Awesome dac, amazing pre and stunning power amp.
The control from these is gobsmackingly good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332816295879
Interesting; I think this would solve my next conundrum which is streaming FLAC from a network share. Would that Hegel be up to driving the A3s? I think I'm going to take a punt on those I mentioned earlier, but either way my amp needs an upgrade. The plan was to put a 557 on there (the one I missed this morning was £850) and use the Cyrus' pre-outs for the time being, possibly adding a 502 later on.Awesome dac, amazing pre and stunning power amp.
The control from these is gobsmackingly good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332816295879
That H90 looks like it would do everything provided it could control the A3s...
Edit: there's also a Bel Canto S300 on ebay at the mo.... At £600 it's almost worth a blind punt just to see!
Edited by Funk on Friday 5th October 14:17
Which S300?
Power amp, monos or the integrated?
I paid £600 for a pair of monos.
Also, the only issue I would have with the Hegel, which is silly, Rick at Musiccraft fell out with Hegel and cleared them out at £360 a pop.
He was doing the H160 for £850 or so, and the H360 for £1250 or something like that.
I ordered a 360 and then he sold it to someone else. By that time the 160 and 90s had gone.
Power amp, monos or the integrated?
I paid £600 for a pair of monos.
Also, the only issue I would have with the Hegel, which is silly, Rick at Musiccraft fell out with Hegel and cleared them out at £360 a pop.
He was doing the H160 for £850 or so, and the H360 for £1250 or something like that.
I ordered a 360 and then he sold it to someone else. By that time the 160 and 90s had gone.
I think the Hegel would do ok with A3s - they pride themselves on the huge damping factor and ability to drive tricky loads on all their amp modules.
I could have kicked myself last year when I spent too much time thinking about an H360 at a stupidly low price (less than the H90 linked above!!) - I was deciding on getting all the DAC,streamer and pre functions in a one box source then adding power amps or doing it the Hegel way - by the time I’d decided the H360 had gone
The Hegel ‘house’ sound using their inbuilt DAC is described by some as a little on the ‘dark’ side which I think would match well with the tweeters in the Celestion A range (the only tiny criticism I could aim at them - that top end could be a little strident at times).
Do a little research on the brand - some of the reviews I found last year where excellent and from reviewers who aren’t normally associated with praising everything they lay ears on.
Having said all that....
I’m a ClassD convert (Nord NCore in my case) - Bel Canto were early adopters and I know owners who love them.
It’s been years since I listened to them and the newer stuff is supposed to be even better so it’s a viable option.
Personally, I’ve got my ‘forever’ speakers sorted and now have amps capable of driving them.
I could have kicked myself last year when I spent too much time thinking about an H360 at a stupidly low price (less than the H90 linked above!!) - I was deciding on getting all the DAC,streamer and pre functions in a one box source then adding power amps or doing it the Hegel way - by the time I’d decided the H360 had gone
The Hegel ‘house’ sound using their inbuilt DAC is described by some as a little on the ‘dark’ side which I think would match well with the tweeters in the Celestion A range (the only tiny criticism I could aim at them - that top end could be a little strident at times).
Do a little research on the brand - some of the reviews I found last year where excellent and from reviewers who aren’t normally associated with praising everything they lay ears on.
Having said all that....
I’m a ClassD convert (Nord NCore in my case) - Bel Canto were early adopters and I know owners who love them.
It’s been years since I listened to them and the newer stuff is supposed to be even better so it’s a viable option.
Personally, I’ve got my ‘forever’ speakers sorted and now have amps capable of driving them.
gizlaroc said:
I ordered a 360 and then he sold it to someone else. By that time the 160 and 90s had gone.
No consolation but that happened to a few of us.Easy to be cynical but, at the time, I doubted the ex-demo H360s even existed.
I was offered a shockingly good deal on the H30 (?) monoblocks but no use at a time I was trying to move away from even more huge boxes.
Probably another decision I regretted at the time but comfortable with now.
gizlaroc said:
Which S300?
Power amp, monos or the integrated?
I paid £600 for a pair of monos.
Also, the only issue I would have with the Hegel, which is silly, Rick at Musiccraft fell out with Hegel and cleared them out at £360 a pop.
He was doing the H160 for £850 or so, and the H360 for £1250 or something like that.
I ordered a 360 and then he sold it to someone else. By that time the 160 and 90s had gone.
Dual-mono power amp S300.Power amp, monos or the integrated?
I paid £600 for a pair of monos.
Also, the only issue I would have with the Hegel, which is silly, Rick at Musiccraft fell out with Hegel and cleared them out at £360 a pop.
He was doing the H160 for £850 or so, and the H360 for £1250 or something like that.
I ordered a 360 and then he sold it to someone else. By that time the 160 and 90s had gone.
Re. Hegel, tbh what I don't know won't hurt me I guess re. historical pricing etc. At the end of the day, something's only worth what someone's prepared to pay for it. I paid £600 for my A2s 20 years ago (they were only a year or so old at the time too) as I was buying from a guy upgrading to A3s at cost (he worked for a local hi-fi dealer at the time and the £600 was his cost to change; I told him I'd give him that immediately for his A2s and he could order his A3s the next day...he took the deal)! The A2s are still worth £400+ today...
I'm all over PFM etc already too...!
I'm quite sold on the Hegel concept as it would solve my 
DAC issue as well. Been reading and researching quite a bit the last couple of days and can't help wondering if I might do better going for the Röst with the A3s as it has around 15% more grunt? Feature-wise they don't really seem to differ much from what I can tell.
DAC issue as well. Been reading and researching quite a bit the last couple of days and can't help wondering if I might do better going for the Röst with the A3s as it has around 15% more grunt? Feature-wise they don't really seem to differ much from what I can tell.Funk said:
Those A3s ended up going for just over a grand which was more than I was willing to pay. If anyone here has a pair in cherry with the later 3-bar tweeter they're considering selling please message me through PH.
The ones in Finland might still be available....if not you could place a wanted advert.https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=celestion+a3
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