Invitation : vintage speakers & wine.

[Fran]

Just to add in my thanks - what an enjoyable afternoon! Those Kef Carltons were just lovely but I was most surprised by the B&W DM4s - they did everything very well... Maybe at the expense of the beautiful voicing of the Carltons. François ran at least of the music through a beautiful NAD receiver too. All objects of desire!


Fran

[Ivor]

Only getting to the PC now.... so I too would add my thanks to P2R fro a very enjoyable visit. It was lovely to hear gear almost as old as myself (almost) and it many ways brought me back to my earliest experiences of Hifi and why I ever got into this never ending hobby.

Again the Kef Carlton II speakers were, for me, the stars of the show. I could easily live with them in a main system. A lovely warm "analogue" sound that seemed to do everything very well.

Thanks again Francois.

[Fran]

More of a ramble than anything....


But I was thinking after, what made us all really appreciate the Carltons? After all, on a critical reflection, I would have said that the small B&Ws would have had tighter bass for sure, and the big Kef reference 105/3 were more "accurate" (forward?) and probably offered better reproduction at the high and low frequencies (the highs are controllable via an L-pad I think). Looking back on it, I really think the Carltons nailed it in the mid range. Vocals, instruments, etc all just sounded "right". The bass was there, and fullsome, but yes, not as tight as the others. Francois mentioned the size of the drivers in this speaker - an elliptical driver 18 inches tall with a cast iron frame. The sheer size of it has to help coherence hugely. Francois mentioned about how small the improvements have been since then, and I'd have to agree with him. There may have been advances in convenience, and maybe in component quality, but not much in actual sound quality.

Fran

[tony]

http://www.leboncoin.fr/image_son/923190164.htm?ca=12_s

You will have to do a booze trip to France Fran!

[Ivor]

I would have said that the small B&Ws would have had tighter bass for sure, and the big Kef reference 105/3 were more "accurate" (forward?) and probably offered better reproduction at the high and low frequencies (the highs are controllable via an L-pad I think).

I find all speakers to be a compromise - well in my price range anyway! But I have no problem with that!
I know from experience that those B&Ws are great for short listening sessions but like a lot of B&Ws can be very tiring after a while. That said that pair sounded better than any I've heard and were in stunning condition. The Kek 105s too sounded great initially, more forward and sharper but again I fear that would become tiring. As was mentioned on the day the treble can be dialled back so maybe it's just a case of personal taste.

The Carltons too were a compromise but an easy one to make. Perhaps they weren't as defined or as detailed but neither fault is a deal breaker. I've known speakers that were defined and detailed but were, after a time, harsh and more "hifi" than music. As I say, I'd happily have those Carltons in my listening room.

[Ivor]

http://www.leboncoin.fr/image_son/923190164.htm?ca=12_s

You will have to do a booze trip to France Fran!

Count me in. I know some people on the wine front ;)

Actually saw that ad last night (didn't we all?) and wondered how far a drive would it be!

[tony]

http://www.leboncoin.fr/image_son/923190164.htm?ca=12_s

You will have to do a booze trip to France Fran!

Count me in. I know some people on the wine front ;)

Actually saw that ad last night (didn't we all?) and wondered how far a drive would it be!

Looking at all the interest in these speakers no trip needed just a group buy and pay postage.
A couple of months each will be fine.

[panda2rom]

Thx again for the kind comments :)

But, guys, that add is for a Carlton 2 - it has nothing in common with the Carlton !!
The Carlton 2 is like a newer/smaller version of the Kef reference 104.
http://www.kef.com/uploads/files/en/mus ... ton_II.pdf

The Carlton is an evolution of the K1 monitor.
http://www.kef.com/html/en/explore/abou ... index.html

The T15 was replaced by the famous T27.
The mid was developped for this speaker (M65). And due to difficulty in production, wasn't used ever again.
It's a big dome, so there isn't any crossover between 200 Hz and 4.5 Khz; so congrats Fran for your analysis ! You nailed it :)
Btw it 's kef 105.1

The bass was done by the B1814 !
The grills are not simple to remove, so, here is a youtube video so you can see how big it is :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33QY6uNWYM

The Kef 105 goes down to 38 Hz (at +/- 3 db)
The tech file for the Cartlon says it goes down to 20 Hz - but back in those days it was at +/- 10dB.
I need to do some measurement, but i'm pretty sure it goes 10Hz lower than the Kef 105.
You get every note of a cello :) - on some music the difference between the Carlton and the Kef 105 is huge... but on alot of track it's small.

[panda2rom]

So here is some photos of the Carlton :







The mid is "loaded" with a tube full of a blue heavy wool (so it doesn't get disturbed by the bass waves).

They are from 69.

[nige2000]

looks like i really missed out on a great day
what thickness is that baffle on the carlton?
built like a tank