Castle Speakers gone....maybe.

[Bernd]

Just heard that the speaker manufacturer "Castle" has been put into administration. Looks like another one bites the dust.
They make some very decent speakers and did the cabinets for Proac among others.
A real shame when a specialist firm bails out. Let's hope its safeable.

Peace

Bernd

[TheHills44060]

wow...i hope not. i absolutely love my Howard S3's

[Florian]

The good ones usually die and leave the rest to come out with diamond tweeters or a new shape for the speaker of the year, 10 years running

[Pat D]

Just heard that the speaker manufacturer "Castle" has been put into administration. Looks like another one bites the dust.
They make some very decent speakers and did the cabinets for Proac among others.
A real shame when a specialist firm bails out. Let's hope its safeable.

Peace

Bernd

Where did you hear this?

[topspeed]

How strong is/was Castle over there, Bernd? On this side of the pond, they are almost impossible to find. I heard a pair of floorstanders a few years back and thought they were pretty nice, but I have a predilection towards the Brit sound anyway. This is not to say a manufacturer has to have a prescence in the States, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt long term viability.

[nightflier]

I never really cared for them much. I bought a pair of Harlech's from AA, when they were touting them as their best speakers. True they had very nice workmanship, but the sound was just an also-ran with marginally acceptable bass. The problem with castle was that they looked way too plain & boxy. While that is not my defining criteria, it is for most of the buying public. I had a devil of a time selling them and lost my shirt on them in the process. They just had no re-sale value.

[Woochifer]

Never got around to trying them out. My understanding is that Castle speakers were among the few that were still voiced to the more traditional British sound. Seems that there's not much of a market for those types of speakers nowadays. B&W went away from the British sound years ago in much the same way that JBL no longer makes speakers with the "west coast" sound. In a way, it's sad that these once distinctive characteristics have narrowed so much, and the speaker market is more homogeneous than before. But, that's market reality -- speakers nowadays are generally more accurate and less expensive than when voice characteristics were more clearly differentiated.

[Bernd]

I heard it from a couple of friends who are in the business.
Castle is well known over here, but I agree their sound has somewhat stayed the same. They did have the odd gem. Stirling 3, Richmond 3 are such models. But they are more known for their cabinet making.
I also think that Castle's marketing and distribution was very poor. They do have a house sound and it is on the warmer side off neutral.
I also think that never to have designed and promoted a money no object product made them stay entry level. And that market has been hit pretty hard with manufacturing done in the far east.
I just hope that they can keep the cabinet manufacturing going, as they make cabinets for several other makes.

Peace

Bernd

[Peter Duminy]

If this is true, it is indeed a sad day for the Loudspeaker Industry. I do know that Karl-Heinz Fink has been retained to create and R&D new models for the sound issues here:

http://www.fink-audio.com/

I will ask him, and a couple of othersm if there maybe some further news. Their woodwork and general quality is superb for the money IMHO.

[Peter Duminy]

Well it is true folks that this venerable Company is up for sale:

http://www.businessesforsale.com/ft/a399490.aspx

My hope is some enthusiasts might be able to invest in the plant and assets and start again.